James Rosen - The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Work on The Strong Man began in the fall of 1991 with a grant from the Historical Research Foundation and its Council of Elders: the late, great William F. Buckley, Jr., Van Galbraith, and Dino Pionzio. Bill Buckley also arranged for me to publish my first article, in National Review. Steve Hess, my professor at Johns Hopkins, was an early source of encouragement; so too was my mentor and friend, Dan Rather, and, in a previous life, before he became a cultural phenomenon, John Hodgman.

Jill Mitchell-Reed exhibited extraordinary faith to overcome her skepticism about her fathers biographer, and to share with me her memories, photographs, laughs, and tears. The attorney generals brother, Robert, and Roberts son, Joseph, also provided invaluable assistance. The same is true for the Gore Dean family: Mary, Deborah, and Gordon.

Eva Zelnick was of singular help in transcribing interview tapes, performing data entry, and organizing my materials. When Eva fell ill, her mother, Pam, and sister, Marni, took up the slack. Likewise Bob Zelnick, a veteran of the Nixon-Frost interviews, offered wise counsel. Tyler Evans worked tirelessly on my tapes; Teri Schultz and David Karol also did valuable transcription work. Tim Goldsmith unearthed some of the most important documents referenced in this book. Mark Corallo walked me through the attorney generals office suite, and the late Russell Long gave me a tour of hisformerly the MitchellsWatergate duplex. Steve Giermek got my computer going and gave me doses of fun when I needed it. Michelle and Dave Feller-Kopman gave me everything I could ask for on my early research trips to Washington. Jeff Spector twice made his apartment ours. Barbara and Lynn Poole are my adoptive capital parents.

At the National Archives Nixon Presidential Materials Project, I am indebted to James Hastings, Joan Howard, Scott Parham, Fred Grabowski, and the late Carlos Narvaez. Dick McNeill supplied videotapes of Mitchells Senate testimony; Mark Fischer tracked down documents on short notice; and Steve Greene navigated the maze of tapes and photographs. Rick Moss provided life-saving late-innings relief at Archives II. Archivists David Paynter and Elizabeth Lockwood steered me through the Freedom of Information Act process to thousands of important documents in the office of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, and the Library of Congresss Ed Schamel helped me obtain five thousand pages of executive-session testimony taken by the Senate Watergate committee. Dan Rather and his assistants, Amy Bennett, Sakura Komiyama, and William V. Madison, secured access to the CBS News library, where Cryder Bankes and Sam Register were unfailingly courteous. And Faye Haskins of the D.C. Public Librarys Washingtoniana Division helped me locate several photographs reproduced herein.

Among the daily-deadline reporters and historians of the Nixon era, Len Colodny and his wife, Sandy, opened their archives, home, and hearts to my wife and me. Jim Hougan and his late wife, Carolyn, shared their papers, time, and thoughts. Robert Gettlin, William A. Gordon, Stanley Kutler, and Tom Wells all supplied transcripts of their interviews with relevant figures. James Grady, Seymour Hersh, Joan Hoff, and Dan Moldea gave excellent advice. Herb Parmet steered me to some very useful documents. Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan allowed me inside their world. Bob Woodward shared his views at various points.

Mark Feldstein shared his massive ITT file; Manuel Miranda helped me obtain Mitchells ITT testimony. Benton Becker, Steve Freeland, Kerry Hook, and John Williams illuminated the proceedings in Dean v. St. Martins Press, et al. and Wells v. Liddy. William C. Herman opened his vault of Mitchell v. Mitchell records. Joe Treen cheerfully burglarized his ex-wifes basement to retrieve the U.S. v. Mitchell-Stans trial transcript. Joe Goren borrowed numerous books from a certain library a quarter century ago, for my benefit. Steve King, Francis X. Maloney, and the late Susie Morrison all provided handwritten letters from Mitchell; John Bonham lent me his original World War II photographs; and the late William Rehnquist allowed me to reproduce his original photograph of Mitchells Department of Justice team. I am especially grateful to all of the interviewees listed in the source notes.

Almost everyone at Fox News over the last decade has helped me in some way, but I owe special thanks to Roger Ailes, Bob Armfield, Erin Atkiss, Fred Barnes, the late Chet Collier, Mitch Davis, Laurie Dhue, Nina Donaghy, Jim Eldridge, Major Garrett, Brian and Sir Mark Haefeli, Kim and Brit Hume, Greg Kelly, Megyn Kelly, Brian Kilmeade, Bill Kristol, Ken LaCorte, Kevin Magee, Windsor Mann, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Jamie Nelson, Jacqueline Pham, Corbett Riner, Lee Ross, Andy Ryan, H. Andrew Schwartz, Greta Van Susteren, Brian Wilson, and Maya Zumwalt. Deepest thanks of all go to Neil Cavuto.

Thanks also to Richard V. Allen, Kathy Arberg, James Bailey, Ted Barreaux, Perry Beckerman, Robert Caro, Tom Casey, Paul Ciolino, Camila Dos Santos, Marty Edelman, Rich Eisen, Ken Emerson, Stef Farrand, Deborah Feyerick, Andrew Fisher, Ken Fisher, Philip Glass, Paul Golin, the late Michael Kelly, Heath Kern, Terry Lenzner, George Marlin, Adam Mazmanian, Susan Molinari, Charles Pinck, Robert Rinaldi, Melissa Russo, Jim Rutenberg, Dr. Saud A. Sadiq and his staff, Jon Schiumo, Jonathan Schwartz, David Shipley, Jack Singlaub, Jon Talmadge, and Julie Ziegler. One accumulates many debts over seventeen years, so my apologies to anyone I have forgotten.

Patricia Hass introduced me to my unbeatable literary agents, Lynn Chu and Glenn Hartley. At Doubleday, editor in chief Bill Thomas, executive editor Adam Bellow, and editorial assistant Dan Feder all showed extraordinary understanding, patience, and skill. Peter Collier helped chop down the 500,000-word behemoth. Without these literary professionals, this book would not exist; however, any errors contained herein are, of course, solely my responsibility.

Any good thing Ive ever done reflects the love and selflessness of my parents, Regina and Mike Rosen, to whom this book is dedicated. My big-hearted older brother, Eric Rosen, has given me more than I could ever begin to thank him for, including my fascination with the sixties; thanks, too, to Erics wife, Dalene, and their children, Charles and Hannah. My in-laws, Lorraine and Joseph Durkin, along with Ryan Durkin, Jen Barron, and Quinn Durkin, have supported me in innumerable ways.

My long-suffering wife, Sara Durkin, has learned more than she ever needed to know about John and Martha, Haldeman and Ehrlichman, and she has, in return, taught me everything I know about Vern Yip, Stuart Weitzman, andfar more importantlife, love, courage, and grace. Someday when were dreaming, Aaron will understand it all.

James Rosen
Washington, D.C.
February 2008

EPILOGUE

Everyone assumes I know the whole Mitchell story, but no one knows the whole Mitchell story.

William Hundley, 19851

DOGGED BY HEALTH problems in his final yearsincluding a mild stroke he suffered overseas, and concealed from intimatesMitchell still followed politics, but from above the fray. He watched the Iran-Contra scandal unfold with a sense of dj vu, bemused both by Len Garments reemergence as the lawyer representing former national security adviser Robert McFarlane (a pretty heady little character with a hell of an ego) and by the star turn of Oliver Norths bombshell secretary, Fawn Hall (the current Mata Hari). He worried President Reagan was verging pretty close to a replay of Nixons fate.