Existing comment:
John Newton Mitchell, 1913-1988
John N. Mitchell was arguably the most powerful man in President Richard Nixon’s cabinet. He had practiced law with Nixon in New York City, beginning in 1962, and had served as his campaign manager in the 1968 presidential election. He served as Nixon’s attorney general from 1969 until early 1972. That year, he became the director of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP, or “CREEP”).
Mitchell approved giving Gordon Liddy and his co-conspirators $250,000 to break into and wiretap the Democratic National Committee headquarters in June 1972. During the cover-up, it was Mitchell who encouraged Jeb Magruder, the deputy director of the Nixon re-election committee, to give perjured testimony. Mitchell also directed White House counsel John Dean to have presidential aids raise and deliver hush money. In 1973, when this portrait was made, Mitchell had recently testified before the Senate Watergate Committee for three days. He was found guilty of conspiracy, perjury, and obstruction of justice.
George Giusti, 1973
Time magazine cover, July 23, 1973
Collection Description
In 1978, Time magazine donated approximately eight hundred works of original cover art to the National Portrait Gallery. The museum is dedicated to telling the stories of individuals who have shaped the United States, and the Time Collection -- featuring prominent international figures and events -- enriches our understanding of the United States in a global context. |