WATERGATE REVISITED
THE WATERGATE scandal rocked Capitol Hill and incriminated a number of late political officials.
Alongside late former president Richard Nixon, his confidante and fellow politician, John N Mitchell, was also part of the media firestorm known as Watergate.
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Who was John N Mitchell?
Born on September 15, 1913, much of John N Mitchell's early life was centered in New York City.
Following his graduation from Fordham University, John entered a career in law.
During his tenure at the now-defunct law firm, Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon, John became friends with his co-worker and future president, Richard Nixon.
He later became Nixon's campaign manager during the 1968 United States Presidential Election.
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On January 21, 1969, John was appointed the 67th United States Attorney General, a position he served until 1972.
In June 1972, journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the reports of the Watergate scandal for and a media fallout ensued.
Several officials from the Nixon administration were named as perpetrators of the break-in and subsequent cover-up.
John was named one of the political perpetrators and served prison time as a result.
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On January 1, 1975, he was convicted of charges related to conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury.
A month later on February 21, the former attorney general was sentenced to two to eight years in prison.
Of his jail sentence, the Nixon confidante only served 19 months behind penitentiary bars.
On November 9, 1988, the former lawyer and politician died from a heart attack in Washington DC.
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Was John N Mitchell married?
John married his second wife, Martha Mitchell, on December 30, 1957.
Martha's outspoken statements during the efforts to cover up the Watergate Affair were chronicled in multiple reports at the time.
After she was held captive by the FBI, she became a controversial figure for revealing secret information to publications and media outlets regarding the Nixon administration and their role in Watergate.
Nixon claimed to journalist David Frost: "If it hadn't been for Martha Mitchell, there'd have been no Watergate."
According to , in the wake of his sentencing, John also told reporters: "It could have been a hell of a lot worse."
"They could have sentenced me to spend the rest of my life with Martha."
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Martha and John's marriage during the Watergate chaos was dramatized in the 2022 Starz television program, Gaslit.
Martha is portrayed by Julia Roberts, while John is played by Sean Penn.
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