James W. McCord, Jr.

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.

Career

McCord was born in Waurika, Oklahoma, 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. 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. 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.