Of all the books written about Watergate and the domino effect those crimes left upon the federal government comes a rather late entry: In Nixon’s Web: A Year in the Crosshairs of Watergate.
This was is a rather interesting read since L. Patrick Gray wrote his first hand account leading the FBI as Watergate unfolded.
Gray was a political appointment to the FBI by Nixon following the death of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s only Director who served over 48 years as the top federal law enforcement officer to appointed by President Calvin Coolidge.
To many inside the FBI his appointment was considered a shock since he was not a career FBI agent, but rather a former Navy officer who left the armed services to campaign for Nixon.
Gray’s son Edward has authored a website regarding the book. There are interesting segments not only about Gray’s life before the FBI but also his management style that came from his Navy background as a skipper of subs during WWII and the Korean War. Nixon appointed Gray Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division in the Department of Justice.
Gray’s biggest lesson from Watergate was, as a life long Republican he was ultimately sacrificed by Nixon’s WhiteHouse over his confirmation hearings with the Senate. He was lead astray by John Ehrlichman and John Dean. As Director of the FBI he reported to Ehrlichman and not Nixon. Nixon’s men controlled access to the President.
Terrorist Attack at Chicago O’Hare
One of the surprises is Gray’s revelation of the terrorist attack planned for Chicago’s O’Hare following the 1972 Olympic tragedy. It was a rather unique peak into history, to understand how the FBI managed the threat and to learn about Gray’s actions to lead the FBI’s response.
Chuck was a member of the Watergate Seven and will be forever tied to the illegal actions of breaking into the private offices of psychiatrist Dr. Lewis Fielding and stealing files relating to patient Dan Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers. We should not look past his role of authoring Nixon’s Enemies List and his role in the Vietnamization of the war in SouthEast Asia.