James W. McCord, Jr.

James W. McCord, Jr.
Born	James Walter McCord, Jr. June 26, 1924 Waurika, Oklahoma, U.S.
Other names	Ed Martin[1]
Alma mater	Baylor University George Washington University
Occupation	former CIA officer and electronics expert
Known for	Participation in the Watergate Scandal

James Walter McCord, Jr. (born July 26, 1924) is a former CIA officer, later involved, as an electronics expert, in the burglaries which precipitated the Watergate scandal.^[2]

Career

McCord was born in Waurika, Oklahoma,^[3][4] briefly attended Baylor University, and was a graduate of George Washington University. McCord worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1961, and under his direction, a counter-intelligence program was launched against the Fair Play for Cuba Committee.^[5] During his career McCord was a security coordinator for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, and worked for the FBI and CIA, where he was in charge of physical security at Langley headquarters. He also held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Watergate

McCord was interviewed and then hired by Jack Caulfield in January 1972 "for strict, solely defensive security work at the Republican National Committee and the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP)". He and four other accomplices were arrested during the second break-in to the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The arrests led to the Watergate scandal and resignation of President Nixon. McCord was one of the first men convicted in the Watergate criminal trial; on eight counts of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping.^[3] In a later letter, written to U.S. District Judge John Sirica, McCord stated that his plea and testimony, some of which he claimed was perjured, were compelled by pressure from White House counsel John Dean and former Attorney General John N. Mitchell. The letter implicated senior individuals in the Richard Nixon administration of covering up the conspiracy that led to the burglary.^[6]

Notes

1. Dean, John (1976). Blind Ambition: The White House Years. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 90. ISBN 0671224387.
2. The Watergate hearings: break-in and cover-up; proceedings. New York: Viking Press. 1973. p. 147. ISBN 0-670-75152-9.
3. Dickinson, William B.; Mercer Cross; Barry Polsky (1973). Watergate: chronology of a crisis 1. Washington D. C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. p. 40. ISBN 0-87187-059-2. OCLC 20974031. This book is volume 1 of a two volume set. Both volumes share the same ISBN and Library of Congress call number, E859 .C62 1973
4. Dash, Samuel, Mads (1976). Chief counsel: inside the Ervin Committee--the untold story of Watergate. New York: Random House. p. 59. ISBN 0-394-40853-5.
5. Oswald and the CIA by John Newman page 138.
6. Dash, Samuel, Mads (1976). Chief counsel: inside the Ervin Committee--the untold story of Watergate. New York: Random House. p. 30. ISBN 0-394-40853-5. When Judge Sirica finished reading the letter, the courtroom exploded with excitement and reporters ran to the rear entrance to phone their newspapers. The bailiff kept banging for silence. It was a stunning development, exactly what I had been waiting for. Perjury at the trial. The involvement of others. It looked as if Watergate was about to break wide open.

See also

• G. Gordon Liddy#White House undercover operative

References

• Perlstein, Rick (2008). Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. Simon and Schuster. pp. 655, 666–67, 676–80, 683–84, 722. ISBN 978-0-7432-4302-5.

Further reading

McCord wrote a book about his connection with the Watergate burglary:

• McCord, James T. (1974). A piece of tape; the Watergate story: fact and fiction. [Rockville, Md.]: Washington Media Services. ISBN 0-914286-00-5. OCLC 1031449. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
• All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward