Just Doing His Job a Working Stiff Brought Down a President

 

Watergate Security guard Frank Wills got 15 minutes of fame for discovering and reporting he break-in at Democratic National Committee offices.

Here’s to a working stiff just doing his job.  This one made/changed history.  In the early morning of June 17, 1972 Frank Wills, a $2 an hour rent-a-cop security guard at the Washington D.C. Watergate office building saw that something was amiss.  While making his rounds Wills noticed tape on a door between a basement stairwell and the parking garage. He removed the tape and went on his way. 

One of five men inside the building discovered that the tape, which was used to hold back the latch bolt so the door could be opened, was missing.  He replaced the tape. On his next round, around 1:55 AM, Wills saw that the tape had been replaced.  He immediately called D.C. Police who arrested five men wearing surgical gloves and in possession of electronic monitoring equipment in the offices of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). 

The five were James W. McCord, a former FBI and CIA agent and a security coordinator for the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP); Bernard L. Barker a veteran of the CIA Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and a Miami real estate broker; Frank A. Sturgis, a Miami associate of Barker with connections to the CIA and Cuban exile community; Eugenio R. Martinez, an employee of Baker’s real estate firm and an anti-Castro exile; and another Cuban, locksmith Virgilio R. Gonzales.  

Mug shots of the Watergate burglars.

The men were charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications.  The incident merited a brief mention on network news programs that evening and short articles buried deep in the pages of most newspapers outside of Washington. 

Despite the short notice of the press, the police investigation began unwinding a wider conspiracy quickly. A search of the suspects’ rooms turned up thousands of dollars in cash.  A background check quickly tied McCord to Attorney General John Mitchell, Chairman of President Richard Nixon’s re-election committee. 

Mitchell denied involvement and McCord was fired from his RNC and CREEP positions.  On August 1 a $25,000 check made out to CREEP was found to have been deposited in one of the burglars’ personal account.  Shortly after that another $89,000 in individual donations were found to have been moved through an account of a company controlled by Barker. 

CREEP Treasurer Hugh Sloan told authorities that he was directed by Committee Deputy Director Jeb Magruder and Finance Director Maurice Stans to turn the checks over to G. Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent, prosecutor, and White House aide who had been selected by Mitchell to run the operational end of the Plumbers Unit—a secret White House operation to control leaks, conduct intelligence operations, surveillance of political enemies, and play “dirty tricks” on opponents. 

Nixon's Plumbers Unit spooks E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Libby head into court.

Liddy was soon tied to H. Howard Hunt, the former author of pot-boilers and thrillers who was a high level undercover agent and “super spook” for the CIA before retiring.  Hunt had deep connections with the Cuban exile community and recruited the Cubans to Liddy’s operations. 

The first black bag job of the Plumbers was the botched break-in of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist in search of dirt on the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers.

On September 15th a Federal Grand Jury indicted Liddy, Hunt, and the five burglars.

On December 8, 1972 Hunt’s wife Dorothy was among those killed in the crash of a United Air Lines jetliner near Chicago’s Midway Airport.  $10,000 in cash was found in her purse.  

All were convicted on January 30, 1973 and sentenced to prison. 

Meanwhile, investigations by Congress and by the press slowly connected the event to a wider conspiracy that led ultimately to Richard Nixon’s doorstep.   That Byzantine tale is too complex to summarize here, but you know how it ended—lots of suits in prison and a disgraced President waving farewell to power from the door of a helicopter. 

The ultimate fruit of Frank Wills's diligence.

As for Wills, he had his 15 minutes fame.  He soon resigned from the security company unhappy that his service was not rewarded with a raise or vacation time.  Unable to find steady work, he returned to his hometown in South Carolina to care for his ailing mother.  They lived in poverty.  In 1983 he was convicted of shoplifting a pair of sneakers and sentenced to a year in prison. 

He died penniless of a brain tumor in 2000 at the age of 52.  Bob Woodward, one of the investigative reporters who doggedly followed the story looked back at Wills and said, “He’s the only one in Watergate who did his job perfectly.”

 

A Watergate Working Stiff Did his Job and Brought Down a President

 

Watergate Security guard Frank Wills got 15 minutes of fame for discovering and reporting he break-in at Democratic National Committee offices.

Here’s to a working stiff just doing his job.  This one made/changed history.  In the early morning of June 17, 1972 Frank Wills, a $2 an hour rent-a-cop security guard at the Washington D.C. Watergate office building saw that something was amiss.  While making his rounds Wills noticed tape on a door between a basement stairwell and the parking garage. He removed the tape and went on his way. 

One of five men inside the building discovered that the tape, which was used to hold back the latch bolt so the door could be opened, was missing.  He replaced the tape. On his next round, around 1:55 AM, Wills saw that the tape had been replaced.  He immediately called D.C. Police who arrested five men wearing surgical gloves and in possession of electronic monitoring equipment in the offices of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). 

The five were James W. McCord, a former FBI and CIA agent and a security coordinator for the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP); Bernard L. Barker a veteran of the CIA Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and a Miami real estate broker; Frank A. Sturgis, a Miami associate of Barker with connections to the CIA and Cuban exile community; Eugenio R. Martinez, an employee of Baker’s real estate firm and an anti-Castro exile; and another Cuban, locksmith Virgilio R. Gonzales.  

Mug shots of the Watergate burglars.

The men were charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications.  The incident merited a brief mention on network news programs that evening and short articles buried deep in the pages of most newspapers outside of Washington. 

Despite the short notice of the press, the police investigation began unwinding a wider conspiracy quickly. A search of the suspects’ rooms turned up thousands of dollars in cash.  A background check quickly tied McCord to Attorney General John Mitchell, Chairman of President Richard Nixon’s re-election committee. 

Mitchell denied involvement and McCord was fired from his RNC and CREEP positions.  On August 1 a $25,000 check made out to CREEP was found to have been deposited in one of the burglars’ personal account.  Shortly after that another $89,000 in individual donations were found to have been moved through an account of a company controlled by Barker. 

CREEP Treasurer Hugh Sloan told authorities that he was directed by Committee Deputy Director Jeb Magruder and Finance Director Maurice Stans to turn the checks over to G. Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent, prosecutor, and White House aide who had been selected by Mitchell to run the operational end of the Plumbers Unit—a secret White House operation to control leaks, conduct intelligence operations, surveillance of political enemies, and play “dirty tricks” on opponents. 

Nixon's Plumbers Unit spooks E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Libby head into court.

Liddy was soon tied to H. Howard Hunt, the former author of pot-boilers and thrillers who was a high level undercover agent and “super spook” for the CIA before retiring.  Hunt had deep connections with the Cuban exile community and recruited the Cubans to Liddy’s operations. 

The first black bag job of the Plumbers was the botched break-in of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist in search of dirt on the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers.

On September 15th a Federal Grand Jury indicted Liddy, Hunt, and the five burglars.

On December 8, 1972 Hunt’s wife Dorothy was among those killed in the crash of a United Air Lines jetliner near Chicago’s Midway Airport.  $10,000 in cash was found in her purse.  

All were convicted on January 30, 1973 and sentenced to prison. 

Meanwhile investigations by Congress and by the press slowly connected the event to a wider conspiracy that led ultimately to Richard Nixon’s doorstep.   That Byzantine tale is too complex to summarize here, but you know how it ended—lots of suits in prison and a disgraced President waving farewell to power from the door of a helicopter. 

The ultimate fruit of Frank Wills's diligence.

As for Wills, he had his 15 minutes fame.  He soon resigned from the security company unhappy that his service was not rewarded with a raise or even vacation time.  Unable to find steady work, he returned to his hometown in South Carolina to care for his ailing mother.  They lived in poverty.  In 1983 he was convicted of shoplifting a pair of sneakers and sentenced to a year in prison. 

He died penniless of a brain tumor in 2000 at the age of 52.  Bob Woodward one of the investigative reporters who doggedly followed the story looked back at Wills and said. “He’s the only one in Watergate who did his job perfectly.”

 

 

Comey Firing Brouhaha Masks Trump Ransom Note

Doomed FBI Director Robert Comey testifying before Congress Monday.

Note:  We interrupt our scheduled post—the tale of the arrest of on-the-lam Jeff Davis, late President of the defunct Confederate States and most wanted traitor who may or may not have been cross-dressing in an attempt to disguise himself.  Great stuff. Maybe next year.  But today current events have intervened…Are there new traitors in the woodpile?

Almost all of the considerable uproar erupting in the regular media, blog-o-sphere, and social media over the Cheeto in Charge’s abrupt dismissal of FBI Director Robert Comey late yesterday has focused on the timing and suspicions that it was meant to derail further investigation into the connections between erstwhile National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Vladimir Putin and the Russians, the Trump Presidential campaign, and maybe—just—maybe, the old wheeler-dealer himself.  And why not?  It seems as obvious as a turd on a State Dinner Plate.

That was especially evident after two days of Senate testimony by Flynn and especially by fired former interim Attorney General Sally Yates.  Despite clumsy Republican attempts to deflect the issue, the toothpaste can no longer be squeezed back into the tube.  Investigations will go on, widen, and deepen.  So Trump had every motive to try to rein in or derail the investigation being conducted by the FBI—the only agency with the manpower, scope, and expertise to deeply pursue the far flung international threads and connections of the case.  And it fit with his already established pattern of panic firing others—case in point Sally Yates herself—who might get too close and intimidating others.

On top of that Trump knew something neither the Senate or the American people yet knew—that a Federal District Court in Mayland had already that day issued subpoenas to people around Michael Flynn in the search of business records—an indication the FBI investigation was seriously ramping up.

But, of course, that is not what Trump claimed was the reason for the sudden dismissal.  Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren was one of the first to note that he was tying it to Comey’s role in the infamous Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation and his leak-from-the-top of ultimately empty evidence of an odd link between her Muslim aide Huma Abedin and the lap top of her disgraced husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner. As recently as last week Clinton attributed her stunning and unexpected  election defeat to Comey’s unusual announcement and to Russian meddling.  Shortly after the announcement of the firing Warren took to twitter:

But does anyone seriously believe @realDonaldTrump fired the top person investigating his ties to Russia because he was unfair to Hillary?

But that is exactly what he said.  Of course it harkened back to the familiar GOP/Fox News diversion tactic of screaming Obama/Benghazi/E-mails no matter what reeking pile of manure was steaming on the front lawn for all to see.  It was so transparently ridiculous  that the pundit herd  simply ignored it and pounded on the admittedly sensational Russian connection and the sheer ham handedness of the action.  The press was so busy falling all over themselves coming up with Nixon/Watergate parallels and metaphors that they failed to take much notice that there was something going on beyond Trump’s ham handed and seemingly impulsive actions.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Cheeto in Charge--both touched and tainted by Russian connections and eager to shift the conversation and blackmail Democrats with an implied threat to go after Hillary Clinton.

In his letter to the President Attorney General Sessions, who was himself burned by the Russian campaign connections and had to publicly recuse himself from any role or oversight in ongoing investigations of the matter, heavily relied on a memo from brand new Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who cited three points, all of them concerning the alleged Clinton e-mail scandals.

1. “The Director was wrong to usurp the Attorney General's authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution. It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement. At most, the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings to federal prosecutors.”
2. “…the Director ignored another longstanding principle: we do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation. Derogatory information sometimes is disclosed in the course of criminal investigations and prosecutions, but we never release it gratuitously.”
3. “…the goal of a federal criminal investigation is not to announce our thoughts at a press conference. The goal is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a federal criminal prosecution, then allow a federal prosecutor who exercises authority delegated by the Attorney General to make a prosecutorial decision, and then—if  prosecution is warranted—let the judge and jury determine the facts.”

Rosenstein emphasized that there was bi-partisan criticism of Comey and asserted he had “lost the confidence” of the FBI rank and file and the Department of Justice.

There is truth in all of those claims, of course.  But it has been true for months under President Obama, who could not act against Comey for fear that it would look like he was interfering in an investigation and trying to cover up for Clinton, and under Trump, who heaped praise on Comey for smearing “Dirty, Crooked Hillary” during the campaign. 

During the Presidential campaign thought that Coney's unprecedented and premature announcement of reopening the Clinton e-mail investigation was a great patriotic service. 

His letter announcing the firings was not so much a simple declaration as it was a  blackmailer’s hostage note.  It was his signal to Democrats and any Republicans with unusual temptations to put country over party that he was prepared to have the FBI re-open the whole e-mail can of worms and hand over “evidence of wrong doing” to Sessions and his minions who would leap at the opportunity to bring an indictment against Clinton.  If I go down, Trump was threatening, so does Clinton and maybe even Obama somehow.

Plus, by repeatedly stressing he was acting at the urging of Sessions and Rosenstein he was setting them up as patsies to take the blame if the whole scheme blows up in his face.  Which seems likely.

Will it work?  Apparently Democrats are united in calling for a special prosecutor and special Senate investigation a la Watergate.  The Republicans, not so much.  Few of them are willing to take the principled stands that Howard Baker and Hugh Scott, for instance, played back then.  Sometime mavericks Lindsey Graham and John McCain have made some noises in that direction, but Mitch McConnell and leadership sneering dismissed calls for special investigations this morning and seem to be ready to stand with Trump in a stonewall defense.

Don't hold your breath waiting for a tidy, bloodless end to the drama this time.

This is not 1973 and just because things worked out just short of a full Constitutional crisis back then does not mean a deranged would-be despot will let that happen again.

Stay tuned for more developments.