James McCord | |
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 McCord's mugshot after his arrest, 1972 | |
| Born | James Walter McCord Jr. (1924-01-26)January 26, 1924 Waurika, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 2017(2017-06-15) (aged 93) |
| Other names | Ed Martin[1] |
| Education | University of Texas, Austin (BBA) George Washington University (MS) |
| Occupation(s) | CIA officer and electronics expert |
| Known for | Participation in theWatergate Scandal |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force (1949–1972) |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | United States Air Force Reserve |
| Watergate scandal |
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James Walter McCord Jr. (January 26, 1924 – June 15, 2017)[2] was an AmericanCIA officer, later head of security for PresidentRichard Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign. He was involved as an electronics expert in the burglaries which precipitated theWatergate scandal.[3]
McCord was born inWaurika, Oklahoma.[4][5] He served as abombardier with the rank ofsecond lieutenant in theArmy Air Forces duringWorld War II.[6] He briefly attendedBaylor University before receiving aB.B.A. from theUniversity of Texas at Austin in 1949.[7] In 1965, he received anM.S. in international affairs fromGeorge Washington University.[7][8] After beginning his career at theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), McCord worked for theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) from August 1951 until a round oflayoffs in August 1970, ultimately ascending to aGS-15 role as chief of the Physical Security Division in the Agency's Office of Security in October 1968.[9] As part of his purview, McCord oversaw security operations at the Agency'sLangley headquarters.[10]
L. Fletcher Prouty, a formercolonel in theUnited States Air Force, claimed then-Director of Central IntelligenceAllen Dulles introduced McCord to him as "my top man."[11]
While he was ensconced as deputy chief of the Office of Security's Security Research Staff (characterized byJim Hougan as a "tabernacle within the inner sanctum" of the Agency due to the Office reporting directly [by virtue of its counterintelligence-oriented remit] to the Director of Central Intelligence and the Staff's ensuing outsized roles in theMKUltra andOperation CHAOS programs, among others) under then-chiefPaul F. Gaynor from 1957 to 1962, a McCord-directed counterintelligence program was launched against theFair Play for Cuba Committee in 1961, although he was assigned toFrankfurt,West Germany as chief of the Office's Regional Security Support Staff for Europe (1962-64) amid the November 22, 1963assassination of John F. Kennedy.[12] He also held the rank oflieutenant colonel in theUnited States Air Force Reserve; in this capacity, he attended theAir War College during the 1964-65 academic year.[13] According toJ. Anthony Lukas, he was likely involved in some capacity in the CIA's organization of the 1961Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.[14]
Upon his retirement from the CIA, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award.[14]
John M. Newman says in his 2022 book,Uncovering Popov's Mole, thatBruce Solie and McCord were probably KGB "moles" in the CIA's Office of Security, and that McCord very likely protected Solie and another "mole,"Pyotr Semyonovich Popov's honey-trapped and recruited-by-KGBdead drop arranger,Edward Ellis Smith, from being uncovered by U.S. Intelligence.[15]
His neighbor once noted, "He often seemed as though he had some very important secret on his mind."[14]
Shortly after resigning from the CIA, McCord was interviewed and then hired byJack Caulfield in January 1972 "for strict, solely defensive security work at theRepublican National Committee (RNC) and theCommittee to Re-Elect the President (CRP)."[16] McCord and four other accomplices were arrested during the second break-in to theDemocratic National Committee's headquarters at theWatergate complex on June 17, 1972. The arrests led to theWatergate scandal and Nixon's resignation.
McCord asserted that the White House knew of and approved the break ins, and proceeded to cover up the incident. Because of McCord's statements, the Watergate investigators pursued many more leads.[16]
McCord was one of the first men convicted in the Watergate criminal trial; on eight counts of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. On March 21, 1973, three days before sentencing, McCord, after speaking to a probation officer and thus surmising that he might be facing a lengthy prison sentence, submitted a letter to the judge in the case,John Sirica, in which he claimed that he and the other defendants had committedperjury in their trial and that there was pressure from higher up for them to have done so.[17] On March 23, the day of the sentencing, Sirica sentenced the other defendants provisionally, citing a statute that allowed for maximum sentences of several decades as a means to "research" more information needed for the final sentencing. This was a means to pressure the defendants into revealing more information about the burglary.[18] McCord's sentencing was postponed until June and then postponed again. Finally, in November 1973, McCord was sentenced to one to five years[19] and began serving his sentence in March 1975, but was released after only four months because of his cooperation in the Watergate investigation.[20][21]
After serving four months in prison, McCord continued with McCord Associates, which was his own security firm located in Rockville, retiring later to Pennsylvania.[16][22][23]
McCord died at the age of 93 frompancreatic cancer on June 15, 2017, at his home inDouglassville, Pennsylvania. His death was not reported in local and national news outlets until 2019.[6][24]
McCord was portrayed inAll the President's Men, the 1976 film retelling the events of the Watergate scandal, byRichard Herd.
McCord was portrayed inGaslit, the 2022 television adaptation of the podcastSlow Burn byChris Bauer,[25][26] and in the TV-seriesWhite House Plumbers he was portrayed byToby Huss.[27]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)McCord wrote a book about his connection with the Watergate burglary:
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