Murder Suspect: G. Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy was born November 30th 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. He started as a
attorney after joining the army and fighting in the Korean War. He also was the youngest
Beaurea Supervisor in the F.B.I He later became a prominent figure in the Nixon administration
and served many jobs and positions before heading the Committee to re-elect the president in
1972. This organization known as CREEP was used to help stop important leeks of Nixon
campaign and presidential material. The CREEP leaders were closely related to the so-called
“Plumbers” and were paranoid about the opposition to Nixon. Liddy, who had early been seen as
somewhat of a loose cannon, did find many “democratic plots” and eagerly searched for a way to
embarrass and discredit democratic candidates. The biggest scandal Liddy ever organized was
the break in at the Watergate Complex. Later on, after his 5 men were caught he would be tried
and incarcerated for conspiracy, burglary, and illicit wiretapping. Liddy, an unbalanced man,
would be about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 for killing Nixon seeing as he feared serving 20 years in
federal prison.
Murder Suspect
a) Eldridge Cleaver: Cleaver was a political activist, writer and serial rapist best known for
being an early leader for the Black Panthers in the late 1960’s and early ‘70’s. After
getting out of jail on a rape conviction in 1966, Cleaver became a Presidential nominee
on the “Peace and Freedom” party. Cleaver was shot during the Oakland riots in 1968.
Later, in the 1980’s, Cleaver became conservative, and was a member of the Republican
Party.
b) After COINTELPRO’s attempts to break up the Black Panthers, Cleaver advocated the
escalation of armed resistance into urban guerilla warfare. Cleaver was strongly against
Nixon’s use of the FBI to try and break up the Black Panthers and other radical groups in
the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.
c) Cleaver’s main motive to assassinate would be to stop Nixon and the Nixon
administration from using the FBI to try and break up and infiltrate the Black Panthers.
Likelihood of conspiracy to kill Nixon: 7
d) Ho Chi Minh
e)
f)
Ho Chi Minh was President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 19451969. He led the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War. Ho
Chi Minh wrote in a letter to Richard Nixon in August 1969, “The longer the war goes
on, the more it accumulates the mourning and burdens of the American people.” This
shows the determination of Ho Chi Minh to get the Americans out of South Vietnam.
Later in the letter, Minh mentioned that “[his army was] determined to fight to the end,
without fearing the sacrifices and difficulties in order to defend their country and their
sacred national rights.” Minh had strong feelings towards getting the Americans out of
South Vietnam no matter the tolls. In order to reach peace, Minh felt that the Americans
needed to leave South Vietnam and end the war of aggression. Ho Chi Minh would have
had a strong desire to assassinate Richard Millhouse Nixon. This would have made it
easier for the communist North Vietnam to take over South Vietnam. The United States
would no longer be focused on the Vietnam War should there be a different President.
However, Ho Chi Minh died the morning of September 2, 1969 from heart failure at his
home in Hanoi. The likelihood that Ho Chi Minh assassinated Richard Nixon on August
7, 1974 is a 0 out of 10 because Minh himself was already deceased.
g) Woodward and Bernstein
h) Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were two reporters of the Washington Post,
responsible for cracking the Watergate scandal, which lead to the resignation of President
Nixon. Woodward and Bernstein took interest in the break-in that occurred in the
Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate Complex in Washington
DC. The two men teamed up and found a connection between the burglars and president
Nixon’s re-election committee. Their reporting revealed that the burglary was staged by
officials of the Nixon administration and the Committee to re-elect the president. Their
reporting also uncovered the political “dirty tricks” played within the white house- they
included wiretapping, burglary, and disruption of Democratic Party Activities. If
Woodward and Bernstein worked together in murdering President Nixon, their motives
could’ve been spurred by their disgust in the corruption present during Nixon’s
presidency and the want to instate a more competent president or possible paranoia and
fear that Nixon was going to work to silence them.
Person: Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey was a twice serving senator from Minnesota then was the Vice President
under Lyndon B. Johnson. Hubert Humphrey was part of the democratic party and was a
nominee in the 1968 election against Richard Nixon. Nixon’s defeat of Hubert Humphrey in
1968 was a close call in terms of popular votes: 31,783,783 to 31,271,839. However the
score of the election (in terms of electoral vote) was much more embarrassing. The count of
electoral votes was 301 to 191 in favor of Richard Nixon. Such a humiliating electoral defeat
is ample enough reason for Hubert Humphrey to hate Richard Nixon. I would rate the likely
hood that Hurbert killed Nixon a 6 out of ten because while he had motive, he was elderly
and lacked ability.
Mao
Since the death of Richard Nixon, the CIA has compiled a list of suspected assassins, agents, and
political leaders. After a lot of research, the main suspect has been narrowed down to
the Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. Ever since Nixon's visit to Russia, Mao had
suspected foul play. By assassinating Richard Nixon, Mao hoped to shaken any pacts between
the Soviet Union and the United States. By planting objects such as the Cuban cigar near the
body (Cuba had been a puppet of Russia for some time), the Chinease government felt that they
could slowly shift the blame onto Russia, bringing at best unstable relations but more than likely
mutual destruction. This destruction would have allowed for China to become the worlds largest
power in place of the United States. With Mao's failing health, he has little to lose
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy, brother of president John F. Kennedy, was an increasingly popular political
leader in the 1960’s. During his brother’s presidency, he was appointed the attorney general. In
1964, he easily won the senatorial election in New York. In March of 1968, he announced that he
would be running for president in the upcoming election. In this election, he would be running
against Richard Nixon. Nixon, having a solid following, was a major competitor for Kennedy in
this election. Also, because he was John F. Kennedy’s brother, there must have been a lot of
pressure on him to win the election and live up to the expectations placed on him. Therefore, he
did have motive to want to kill Nixon. However, Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968
after delivering a speech in Los Angeles; Nixon went on to win the election. It is impossible that
he could have killed Nixon on August 7th, 1974 because he was already dead. On a rating scale
from 1-10 on likelihood to kill, he deserves a 1.
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyen Van Thieu was born in Vietnam on April 5th, 1923, and was educated at the
National Military Academy in Hue. He joined the armed forces after World War II and by
1963 was chief of staff of the Armed Forces of South Vietnam. Nguyen Van Thieu then
was appointed chairman of a 10-member military directorate. He also became Minister
of Defense and in 1967 was elected as President of South Vietnam.
Nguyen Van Thieu and President Nixon associated with one another for reasons
surrounding the Vietnam war. They met at Peace Talks, where representatives from the
United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front.
Nguyen Van Thieu directly appealed to President Nixon for more financial aid although
the U.S. was already supplying the South Vietnamese government with military
equipment and providing 1 to 30 billion dollars of financial aid. Nixon later sent a letter to
Thieu, promising military help if it appeared that the NLF were winning in South
Vietnam.
Nguyen Van Thieu had a few motives for killing Nixon. When Nguyen Van Thieu
requested for more financial aid, the move was blocked by the U.S. Congress, although
Nixon was sympathetic. Later, starved by funds, Thieu had difficulty paying the wages
of his large army and desertion became a major problem. It is possible that Thieu
blamed and resented Nixon for these problems that arose, even though it was the U.S.
Congress that blocked the move for more aid. Also, later on when Nguyen announced
in desperation that he had a signed letter from President Nixon promising military help if
it appeared that the NLF were winning in South Vietnam, Nixon was no longer in a
position to fulfill his promise as he had been forced to resign over Watergate. On April
25th, 1975, President Thieu accused the United States of betrayal, resigned, and left
the country. The likelihood of Thieu’s conspiracy to kill is a 5 on a rating from 1 to 10.
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg was a consultant to the Defense Department of the White House. He worked
under Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on the operational plans for general nuclear war. He
worked on the Pentagon Papers. He was a consultant to Kissinger and Nixon during the organization of
a presentation on operations in Vietnam. President Nixon had learned, shortly after his first federal
indictment, that he had also copied the Top Secret NSSM-1 from Nixon’s own National Security Council
and given it to Republican Senator Charles Mathias. Nixon feared that he had other documents from his
own Administration, including nuclear threats and plans for escalation, which had yet to be carried
out. Nixon secretly directed criminal actions to prevent him from disclosing such secrets, including the
burglary of Ellsberg’s former psychoanalyst’s office in search of information with which to blackmail him
into silence, and later an effort to have him incapacitated totally at a demonstration at the
Capitol. Ellsberg knew things about Nixon that he didn’t necessarily want to go public, so Nixon kept
trying to shut him down using the legal system. Ellsberg would probably have a 7/10 likelihood of killing
Nixon. He would want to get revenge at Nixon who had been trying to shut him up and ruin his
reputation.
Archibald Cox was a lawyer and law professor, who served as US Solicitor General under JFK when he
was President. Cox was teaching law at Harvard when he left to be the first special prosecutor for the
Watergate scandal. He confirmed Elliot Richardson as the New Attorney General for Nixon. Nixon
ordered Richardson to dismiss Cox. Richardson resigned instead, as well as his second-in-command,
Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. These resignations left Solicitor General Robert Bork as
the highest-ranking member of the Department of Justice. He proceeded to dismiss Cox. The only
reason Cox would want Nixon dead is for the forced resignation, however as a member of the law he
would like to see justice served, therefore his likelihood of killing Nixon is a 2 at best.
Murder Suspects – Bob Dylan
In the wake of Nixon’s murder, Bob Dylan seems next to invisible upon reviewing
suspects. Ironically, Bob Dylan had a troubling career, and political affiliations which he wished
he had never formed. Instead of distancing himself from the suspects, he actually was a model
one.
Originally deeply opposed to war and societal demands, Dylan dove into writing many
famous protest songs. In doing this, Dylan made his mark as a protester which then affiliated him
fully with the entire protest movement of the time. Later, Dylan wished to have removed these
connections between him and the protest movement. Since he could not manage this, Dylan’s
reputation would come back to haunt him.
After the 1960’s, the star fell to producing unpredictable art which got him plenty of bad
coverage. Having been used to riding high on great publicity, “Self Portrait” started Dylan’s
career in the downward direction. Having been in the spotlight for the previous ten years, Dylan
most probably did not take his failures following him throughout the early seventies well at all.
With these issues, Dylan could have easily turned bitter over a short period of time.
During the Nixon administration, Nixon attempted to remove Lennon from the U.S.
Fearing his anti-war protest, Nixon hoped removing him would have a drastic effect on
protesters. During this time, many famous Americans wrote letters to Lennon and his legal team.
Of those that wrote, Bob Dylan was one of the more famous to mail their message. Not only does
this bring into question whether or not Dylan could have disliked Nixon, but if his message was
exposed, how could Dylan handle a resurgence of his old protest affiliations. With this final
culmination of pressures on Dylan, his actions could have led to many outcomes.
Without question, Dylan had motive to kill Nixon simply from snapping. While Dylan
had ridden high in the 60’s, the seventies were rough, and brought great stress to the former star.
With the Nixon attempt at removing Lennon, it is absolutely possible that Dylan Killed Nixon.
. a. Robert Bork is an American legal scholar who served as the Solicitor General during Nixon’s
Presidency.
b. b. After the Watergate Scandal, a special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, was appointed by the
Attorney General to investigate the Watergate break-in. After Cox subpoenaed President Nixon
for tape recordings that he refused to hand over, Nixon began what was later referred to as the
Saturday Night Massacre. He ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson
refused, and resigned in protest. He then ordered Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus to fire
Cox. He also refused, and then resigned in protest. Nixon then turned to Robert Bork, who
complied with Nixon’s command and fired Cox.
c. c. Bork did not want to fire Cox because he didn’t want to be perceived as the man who did the
President’s bidding to save his own job. He agreed to do it however, because he knew that Nixon
was just going to keep searching until he found someone to fire Cox. This disagreement could
have manifested into hatred and then could have motivated him to kill Nixon. His likelihood of
conspiracy to kill is a 5.
My suspect is Spiro Agnew. He was elected Vice President in 1968 on the Republican
ticket with President Nixon. Like many vice presidents, he had hopes of becoming president.
Nixon did not think the right winged, racial-repressing man was worthy of such a title and
wished he could be replaced. In 1973 Agnew resigned from office after being charged with
taking bribes and pleading no contest. He was also charged with tax fraud, bribery, extortion,
and conspiracy. After resigning, he never spoke to Nixon or a reporter again. His autobiography
suggested that Nixon and the staff would have assassinated him, had he not resigned. Agnew
was fed up with the disrespect showed to him in the White House, and probably jealous that
Nixon was willing to basically make Connally an “alternate president” in the election of 1972.
However, Connally would not accept the position and Nixon once again supported Agnew so
that he would still have a chance of winning. Nixon would not defend Agnew from his bribery
charges, and staff members asked him to voluntarily resign. At first he refused but eventually
did so, claiming that he was practically forced. Agnew said that Nixon “naively believed that by
throwing me to the wolves, he had appeased his enemies.” Clearly, there was a lot of tension
between the two that went unresolved. Could this built up pressure and disrespect have led to
Agnew playing a part in Nixon’s assassination? His motives of revenge and ending the tension
could have led to such an act. However, I would rate the likelihood of conspiracy to kill a 4
since Spiro Agnew’s criminal activity seemed to end after the bribery lawsuit. Although he
might have hated President Nixon, Agnew did not display any evidence of carrying out such
animosity on August 7th, 1974.
Abbie Hoffman was a political and social activist. He was a founding member of the Youth
International Party, a radical youth and counter culture movement. He was known for
very theatrical protests. Hoffman was a member of the Chicago 8/7, a group of people who were
arrested and charged with conspiracy and inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National
Convention. Hoffman's Yippies came into conflict with Nixon's policies with the occupation of
a town in Washington to protest the Invasion of Cambodia, as well as inciting a riot in retaliation
of the shooting at Kent State. He was quoted saying "All you kiddies remember to lay off the
needle drugs,the only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon". Rating to kill 1-2
Alger Hiss
In 1948 Richard Nixon was a member of the House Committee on Un-American Activities and
urged a federal grand jury to indict former state department official, Alger Hiss, espionage.
Nixon was under the impression that Alger Hiss was a Russian spy. In 1950 Alger Hiss was
found guilty of perjury which in his being sent to prison. Nixon’s accusation resulted in Alger
Hiss being convicted.
There is a 3/10 chance that Alger Hiss would actually kill Nixon. Hiss ended up serving only 3.5
out of the five years he should have been in prison. His arrest was mostly due to the spread of
Mc Carthyism and intense anti communist feelings.
Suspect: Sam Ervin
Biography: Democrat, Sam Ervin served 20 years in the US Senate and described himself as an
“old country lawyer”. A religious North Carolina native, Ervin fought for civil liberties and
became somewhat of a hero. He was more known, however, as the chairman of the Senate
Select Committee to Investigate Campaign Practices (Senate Watergate Committee) that helped
lead to the downfall and resignation of President Richard Nixon. Senate Majority Leader Mike
Mansfield appointed him to this position and it was ironic because before Watergate, Nixon
admired Ervin’s strict interpretation of the Constitution that was blind of party lines. Previously
in 1954, VP Nixon assigned Ervin to a committee to study whether or not McCarthy should be
censured, a position few were eager to take. But when later asked about the Watergate scandal,
Ervin firmly believed and announced that the President had broken into “every home of every
citizen of the United States” and compared the Watergate burglars to having “the same mentality
of the Gestapo”. To Americans, he was seen as “a stern father figure who wasn't confused about
what was right and wrong, moral and evil, and who took for granted the moral courage to stand
up for what was right”.
Motive: 4 – May have felt betrayed by Nixon, but never really looked up to him that much in the
first place - it was more so that he was favored by Nixon than Nixon was favored by him
John Ehrlichman-The Untimely Death of Nixon
A.
B.
C.
John Ehrlichman was a Republican lawyer and veteran navigator for the Air
Force during World War Two.
He became an assistant under President Nixon for domestic affairs. He
established a group called “The Plumbers” who aimed to stop presidential press
leaks and attempted to discredit Nixon’s political opponents. This group became
a major part of the Watergate scandal. Because of this, Ehrlichman was
eventually convicted for conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury and
sentenced to jail time.
Ehrlichman was betrayed when he was fired by Nixon in any attempt for Nixon to
save his political reputation. Ehrlichman had been a close aide to Nixon during
his presidency. Referring to the Watergate Scandal, Ehrlichman was merely
acting on Nixon’s orders so for him to be punished more severely than Nixon, this
would surely sever the ties to all relations they had previously had. I rate
Ehrlichman a 9.5 on the likelihood of conspiracy to kill Nixon.
General William Childs Westmoreland
Gen. Westmoreland was the commanding U.S. Army General during the peak of
the Vietnam War. A native of South Carolina, and a West Point graduate, his greatest
achievement in Vietnam was repelling the Tet Offensive. Westmoreland believed that the
war could be won if they continued large scale artillery and air use to lower the
Vietcong’s morale and supplies. He soon was sent back home and replaced as acting
commander, where he had been criticized as the general who “Won every battle until [he]
lost the war.”
As the commanding officer of the entire Army in Vietnam during 1964-1968, it is
assumed that he and Nixon had direct talks over many matters of the war, from how it
was doing, to troop morale. After he had been sent home, he became the Chief of Staff
for President Nixon at the White House. However, Westmoreland, a Republican, was
hardly ever sought out for advice from Nixon, and never advanced to the post of
chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs.
General Westmoreland has a rating of 4 on the likelihood to kill Nixon chart.
While he was a man all about honor and showing respect, he still believed that he could
win the Vietnam War if he had stayed in control of it and continued his war of attrition.
When Nixon replaced him, Westmoreland saw all his time and work go to waste. Not
being ever called upon for advice also added to his want for killing Nixon, as it was a
slight upon his honor as a Chief of Staff member.
The suspect is Warren. E. Burger. He’s the 15th Chief Justice of the United States
Supreme Court. He was nominated by Nixon for the position. Nixon liked the way
Burger was a strict-constructionist and would be different from Earl Warren in his
leadership of the court. Burger’s likelihood to kill Nixon is a 2 on the scale from one to
ten. His motives could have been that he disagreed with the president about the
Executive Privilege to withhold documents that are being requested for investigation in
US v. Nixon. Burger said that Nixon, though the President, has to abide by the law like
every other citizen. His other motive could be his disagreement with Nixon in US. V. US
District Court on removing the Warren Court’s right given to people under domestic
surveillance that says that the investigators need a warrant. Warren Burger is not a
likely candidate to have killed the president. Nixon appointed him to be Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court. They may have different views on certain decisions but they are not
mortal enemies. Earl Warren is much more likely to have killed Nixon. Warren was
railed against by Nixon during the 1968 Campaign. Nixon disagreed with and called him
out on every decision made. At the end of day, Chief Justice Warren Burger was is not
a likely suspect in the death of Richard Nixon.
Peter W. Rodino:
My suspect is Pelligrino Rodino Jr., also known as Peter Rodino. Mr. Rodino, descendent of
immigrants from, was an active proponent of civil rights and immigration reform. He was a New
Jersey congressman from 1949 to 1989, serving as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
from 1973 to his retirement in 1989. During this, he oversaw the impeachment hearings of
former president Richard Nixon. It was his job to be a fair moderator of Nixon’s hearings.
During this time was when he may have developed a motive for killing Nixon. During
the trials, Rodino worked himself to exhaustion which ended in his hospitalization for six dies.
Rodino worked himself to the point of hospitalization in an effort to impeach Nixon just to have
him resign leaving his full impeachment plan unfulfilled.
My suspect is Helen Gahagan Douglas an actress who later became a politician and greatly
impacted American politics. Helen Gahagan Douglas is politically connected to Nixon in many
ways. In 1950 Helen ran for the United States Senate in California on the Democratic Party
Platform. Helen ran against Nixon and lost. Helen considers that she was victimized by a smear
campaign and that Nixon publically exposed her as a supporter of communism, which lost her
the election. Douglas’s main motive for killing president Nixon is that he pretty much ruined her
political career. She retired from politics after her loss in the 1950 election and Nixon gave her
the reputation of being a supporter of communism. On a 1 to 10 scale the likelihood of Douglas
conspiracy to kill would be a six. She has a reason, but I don’t believe that reason is strong
enough to make her take Richard Nixon’s life.
Murder Suspect: Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem is a writer, editor, and activist for women, children, and all races. Her opinion of
Richard Nixon varied directly with his actions regarding women's rights, and I would therefore
rate her likelihood of conspiracy to kill at a 5. Although he campaigned as an Equal Rights
Amendment supporter in the election of 1968, he did little to aid its passage after he was
elected. Yet even before he was elected Ms. Steinem wrote in her article "In Your Heart You
Know He's Nixon" (October 28, 1968 issue of New York Magazine) that "we just couldn’t
imagine going into a polling booth and pulling the lever for this man who had betrayed so much,
no matter who the alternative was." After being elected in 1968 Nixon increased the number of
female appointments to administrative positions. Nixon was also recorded furiously ranting
about her.
Suspect: John Dean
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, John Dean served as a presidential aide and was later
appointed White House Counsel to President Nixon. Under Nixon, Dean was trusted to run
some of the covert political operations. He became deeply involved in the Watergate scandal
and its cover-up. Dean was given the responsibility to control the political fall out, which
involved him paying out large sums of money to the arrested burglars. President Nixon also
asked Dean to write a full report on the Watergate scandal, including his involvement. While
doing so at Camp David, Dean came to believe that he was becoming a scapegoat for the entire
operation. He returned to Washington without completing the report. In April 1973, Nixon
asked Dean, along with Erlichman and Haldeman, to resign, but Dean refused. On April 30,
Nixon fired Dean. After his dismissal, Dean became a star witness for the prosecution,
confirming the president’s involvement in the cover-up. Dean himself was charged with
obstruction of justice and spent four months in prison. Dean’s possible motives for killing Nixon
would be resentment for Nixon’s firing of him or for the president’s desire to turn Dean into a
scapegoat, leaving Dean at a 6-7 on the likelihood of conspiracy to kill.
Huey Newton
Huey Newton was one of the co-founders of the Black Panthers Party for Self-Defense. The
group’s purpose was initially set up to protect African American neighborhoods from police
brutality. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale created this group because they believed that they can
protect African American people, but eventually tuned into a Marxist revolutionary group. The
Black Panthers were involved in a varied of violent crimes that primarily took place in
California, but other places as well. Just like President Nixon, Huey Newton was also invite to
China, but before the president had been. Many people within the country were amazing to hear
that Huey Newton had been invited, especially before Nixon, and when he returned a press
conference was held to hear about the trip. The Black Panthers Party has never been a supporter
of Richard Nixon. The Panthers did not agree with the Vietnam and in the 1970s twenty one
Black Panthers were charged with plotting the assassination of a police officer, and later that
year Black Panther chief of staff was put on trial of plotting the assassination of President Nixon.
The Black Panthers never separated their illegal and legal acts from one and another, causing
them to always be under attack by President Nixon, and the rest of the government.
Jesse Jackson:
Jackson is a Civil Rights activist who worked very closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and the
SCLC. After King’s assassination, Jackson had a falling out with Ralph Abernathy, King’s
successor, and proceeded to form the Rainbow Coalition. Jackson is a liberal, who ran for
President in both 1984 and 1988. He is said to be an anti-Semite, and accused Richard Nixon of
being less attentive to poverty because “4 out of 5 [of Nixon’s top advisors] were German Jew’s
and their affairs are in Europe and Asia.” He would have wanted Nixon dead because they were
on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Jesse Jackson’s platform included the termination of
the Reagan tax cuts, which Nixon wouldn’t have liked. Although Nixon voted in favor of Civil
Rights, he only took action on desegregating schools when the courts pressured him to. This
could have angered Jackson and been motive to kill him. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the likelihood
of conspiracy to kill, Jackson was about a 3.
Senator Daniel Ken Inouye:
Senator Inouye was born on September 7, 1924 in Honolulu Hawaii. He is a Nisei
but grew up in a Chinese-American enclave in Honolulu. Inouye was at Pearl Harbor
Attack as a medical volunteer. In 1943 he dropped out of the University of Hawaii’s
premedical program and enlisted in the US Army. Inouye served mostly in Italy and was
promoted quickly (Sergeant by 1944 & Lieutenant by 1945). On April 21, 1945, Inouye
led assault on a heavily defended ridge near San Terenzo, Italy. During the assault
Inouye’s right-arm was shot in the elbow a German soldier – his arm was too damaged to
save and was later amputated in a field hospital. Despite the amputation, he served until
his Honorable Discharge is 1947, when returned home to study Political Science at
University of Hawaii and Law at George Washington University Law School. He was
later elected to House of Representatives and held office until 1963 when he was elected
as a senator from Hawaii. In 1973 Inouye was appointed to the Select Committee on
Presidential Campaign Activities, which was investigated the Watergate Burglaries. It is
unlikely (3-4/10) that Inouye killed Nixon because he only has one arm.
Bebe Rebozo
My suspects name is Charles (Bebe) Rebozo born on November 17, 1912 in Tampa Bay,
Florida. The son of Cuban immigrants, Rebozo is now a successful Florida banker and owner of
the Key Biscayne Bank &Trust. He is most famous for being a close friend of Richard Nixon
after they met through congressman George Smathers. After vacationing together in Key
Biscayne the two became very close, continuously golfing, boating, and swimming together.
Rebozo was routinely named as Nixon’s primary recipient of covert payments. He has been
investigated for accepting large covert payments from Howard Hughes on behalf of Nixon. And
it was reported that after Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox started to investigate
Rebozo's role in Nixon accepting covert payments he was fired. It was also reported that Rebozo
has ties to the mafia and has information that could be used to smear Nixon’s political
opponents. On a scale of 1 to 10, Rebozo is about a 2 on likelihood of conspiracy to kill. Rebozo
was claimed to have “homosexual relations” with Nixon because of there close relationship.
With this in mind, Rebozo did not really have a motive to kill Nixon.
John Mitchell
John Mitchell’s political life started when he graduated from Fordham University School
of Law and served New York as a municipal bond lawyer. In this job, he met Richard Nixon and
the two men became very close friends. When Nixon announced that he was going to run for
president, Mitchell agreed to be his campaign manager. When Nixon won the presidency he
named Mitchell the new attorney general and he made an unprecedented direct appeal
to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover that the usual background investigation not be conducted. He
remained in office from 1969 to 1971 until he resigned to manage Nixon’s successful reelection
campaign. He believed that the government’s need for law and order justified restrictions on civil
liberties. He also believed in the use of wire taps in national security cases without court orders
and he believed in the right for police to employ the preventive detention of criminal suspects. In
1973 Mitchell was indicted on federal charges for obstructing and investigation on a financier
who had made a $200,000 contribution to the Nixon Campaign, yet he was acquitted. Because
Mitchell was a good friend of Richard Nixon, supported all of Nixon’s wire taps and spying
games, and even took part and was imprisoned for his role on the Watergate Incident, I don’t
think that John Mitchell had a big motive for killing President Nixon. His rating on the
likelihood of conspiracy to kill the President is a 2.
H. R. Haldeman
After exhaustive research I have completed my evaluation of the suspect H. R. Haldeman
(codename: FLATTOP). Haldeman was born in 1920’s Los Angeles to an upper-middle class
family. As a young man he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, served in the Naval Reserve, and
received an excellent education at the University of Southern California and at the University of
California, Los Angeles. It was at UCLA Haldeman made his first contact with John Ehrlichman.
Haldeman then went on to work in the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency, along with
Ronald Ziegler. Ehrlichman and Ziegler both worked in the Nixon administration alongside
Haldeman.
Haldeman first worked with Nixon during Nixon’s vice-presidential election campaign in
1956. He also worked in Nixon’s 1960 presidential campaign, his 1962 California governor
campaign, and served as Nixon’s Chief of Staff during the 1968 presidential campaign and held
that position through Nixon’s terms until he was asked to resign in April 30, 1973. During the
Nixon administration Haldeman worked closely with the President as one of his closest advisors.
Both he and Ehrlichman were notorious for closely guarding the President’s secrets. Indeed, it
was Haldeman who proposed the predecessor to the Watergate break-in. Haldeman and his
underlings created Operation Sandwedge; an intelligence gathering plot with the aim of snooping
on the Democratic Party during the 1972 election. It was also intended to counter the intelligence
gathering capabilities of the Democratic Party. Haldeman, Nixon, and the select few involved in
the scheme were afraid that the Democrates would hire Intertel to serve as a sort of mercenary
spy force. Operation Sandwedge was then reworked into Operation Gemstone. The break-in at
Watergate was part of Operation Gemstone. Nixon and Haldeman frequently conversed in the
Oval Office; however, 18.5 minutes of conversation are missing from the Nixon tapes of his
conversations. This gap occurs during a conversation between Nixon and Haldeman. Lastly,
barely a year before Nixon’s assassination the President asked Haldeman to resign. Haldeman
resigned from his position as the Nixon administration’s Chief of Staff on April 30, 1973.
Edmund Muskie
Edmund Muskie was a Senator from Maine from 1959-1980. In the 1968 Presidential election he ran as
the Democratic Vice President and was a candidate for Democratic Presidential nominee for the 1972
election. His run for president was destroyed by the “Canuck Letter” that revealed Muskie saying
disparaging remarks about French Canadians which led Muskie to deliver his “Crying Speech” which lost
him the run for President. During the Watergate scandal, it was revealed that the Nixon's campaign had
forged the letter. Muskie had built up resentment towards Nixon, but murder would not advance his
ambitious political career. Rating for Muskie to kill Nixon: 5.
Ronald Reagan Profile
My suspect is Ronald Reagan, he was the 40th president of the United States and served
from 1981-1989. Like Nixon Reagan’s administration was Republican. Both presidents were
huge anti-communism enforcer during the Cold War. However, unlike Nixon Reagan was said to
have had influence from his many advisors regarding Cold War politics. Reagan even asked
Nixon for help with conflict with the USSR, Nixon also gave Reagan advice on the nation’s
economy. Although, Reagan never really liked Nixon he did campaign for Nixon when he ran
against John F. Kennedy and also when Nixon ran for governor of California in 1962. Nixon
didn’t dislike Reagan, but in his White House tapes he said that Reagan was “strange” and
“uncomfortable to be around”. On a scale from 1-10 the likelihood of Reagan killing Nixon is a 2
because his only motive would have been personality clashing. If Reagan had motives to kill
Nixon, which seems unlikely it would be on the grounds of having contrasting personalities
because politically they seemed to support each other in various political issues and were from
the same political party.
Leonid Brezhnev was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982. He practiced a
policy of détente, which means the relaxation of strained political relations, to reduce tensions
between the US/Soviet superpowers during the Cold War. After Nixon visited Mao Zedong in
China in 1972, Brezhnev invited him to three summits in the Soviet Union. This was regarded as
a momentous breakthrough in US-Soviet relations. The two started off distrustful of each other,
but by the third summit in 1974 Brezhnev greeted Nixon ceremoniously and they acted as
friends.
There were some problems in the relationship. Nixon angered the Soviets and Brezhnev
when he increased the bombings of North Vietnam and ordered incursions into Cambodia. Nixon
was also a staunch anti-Communist. Brezhnev’s anger at these events could be a motive for him
to kill Nixon. However, through the summits Brezhnev and Nixon became friends, and the
Nixon administration was known for its cordial relationship with the Soviet Union, so it is
unlikely that Brezhnev killed Nixon. His rating is a 2.
My suspect is John Sirica, who was the Chief Judge of the United States District Court in
Washington DC. He had a pretty uneventful career until his role in the Watergate scandal. He
ordered Nixon to turn over his recordings of White House conversations and had a strong
position in the case. Sirica believed that the Watergate burglars did not work by themselves, and
that Nixon had something to do with it. Although Sirica held a hatred for Nixon, there is a very
slight chance that he actually killed Nixon, maybe a two out of ten chance. Sirica’s dislike for
Nixon makes Sirica a suspect, but a very unlikely one. Sirica is a Chief Judge after all, and it
would defame the United States District Court if he did kill Nixon.
Gerald Ford:
Gerald Ford was a major figure in the Republican Party in the era. He first met Nixon in the first
year that Ford joined the House of Representatives. From then on, Ford proved to be a supporter
and ally of Nixon as Ford encouraged Eisenhower to pick Nixon as his vice president in both of
Eisenhower’s terms. Through the years, Ford continued to expand his power and influence in the
House until he became the Minority Leader. His goal was to be the Speaker of the House and
had even declined an invite from Nixon to be the Vice President in his campaign. However once
Vice President Agnew was accused of several crimes such as tax evasion, Agnew’s resignation
allowed Ford to be elevated to the Vice Presidency. Soon after, the Watergate Scandal began to
flare up the population against Nixon. Even then, Ford continued to support and defend Nixon
until the very end of Nixon’s career as President. Therefore, the likely hood that Ford was
responsible for Nixon’s death on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is as probable as winning the
lottery two times in a roll and 10 is as probable as the sun rising tomorrow, is 1.
McGovern was the Democratic nominee against Nixon in the 1972 presidential campaign
(McGovern replaced President Kennedy due to his assignation. McGovern loved the Kennedys,
which explains the ticket to the Kennedy center). Nixon won this election in one of the largest
landslide in presidential history, leaving McGovern with only the electoral votes from
Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Publicly embarrassed, McGovern has the personal
motive to kill Nixon.