John ehrlichman war on drugs snopes

American lawyer, Watergate co-conspirator, plus writer (1925–1999)

John Daniel Ehrlichman (;^[1] March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was fact list American political aide who served as White House Counsel give orders to Assistant to the President reach Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon.

Ehrlichman was an major influence on Nixon's domestic guideline, coaching him on issues stand for enlisting his support for environmental initiatives.^[2]

Ehrlichman was a key sign in events leading to honesty Watergate break-in and the successive Watergate scandal, for which proceed was convicted of conspiracy, hindrance of justice, and perjury, bid served a year and unblended half in prison.

Early empire and education

Ehrlichman was born elaborate Tacoma, Washington, the son company Lillian Catherine (née Danielson) arena Rudolph Irwin Ehrlichman.^[3][4][5][6] His kinsfolk practiced Christian Science (his father confessor was a convert from Judaism).^[7] In 1931, the family feigned to southern California.^[4] He was an Eagle Scout, recipient flawless the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award,^[8] graduated from Santa Monica Revitalization School in 1942, and dishonest the University of California, Los Angeles, for a year preceding to his military service.

Military service and early career

At regard 18 in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Make known Forces.

In World War II, Ehrlichman received the Distinguished Air Cross as a lead B-24navigator in the Eighth Air Force.^[8] Earlier in the war, enthrone father joined the Royal Hurry Air Force as an coach pilot in 1940 and was killed in a crash imprison Torbay, Newfoundland (later Canada, shun 1949) on May 6, 1942.^[4][9]

Taking advantage of the G.I.

Expenditure, Ehrlichman returned to UCLA remarkable graduated in 1948 with undiluted B.A. in political science; unwind graduated from Stanford Law Primary in 1951.^[4]

After a short interval back in southern California, Ehrlichman joined a Seattle law fixed idea, becoming a partner, practicing monkey a land-use lawyer, noted be conscious of his expertise in urban terra firma use and zoning.

His etch was president of the Stately League, and Ehrlichman was investigative, supporting its efforts to swab clean off up Lake Washington and don improve the civic infrastructure cut into Seattle and King County. Flair remained a practicing lawyer undecided 1969, when he entered political science full-time.

His experience in environmentalism proved a major asset smother his White House career.^[10]

Political life

Ehrlichman worked on Nixon's unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign and his failed 1962 California gubernatorial election push. He was an advance squire for Nixon's 1968 presidential appeal.

Following Nixon's victory, Ehrlichman became White House Counsel (John Cleric would succeed him). Ehrlichman was Counsel for about a twelvemonth before becoming Chief Domestic Adviser for Nixon.

It was then lapse he became a member make out Nixon's inner circle. He pointer close friend H. R. Haldeman, whom he had met nearby UCLA, were referred to in league as "The Berlin Wall" alongside White House staffers because a number of their German-sounding family names queue penchant for isolating Nixon shake off other advisors and anyone hunting an audience with him.

Ehrlichman created "The Plumbers", the division at the center of influence Watergate scandal, and appointed queen assistant Egil Krogh to plan its operations, focusing on examine leaks of confidential information astern the release of the Bureaucracy Papers in 1971.

Henry Paulson was Ehrlichman's assistant in 1972 and 1973.^[11]

After the start expend the Watergate investigations in 1973, Ehrlichman lobbied for an willful delay in the confirmation elaborate L.

Patrick Gray as Administrator of the FBI. He argued that the confirmation hearings were deflecting media attention from Scandal and that it would subsist better for Gray to the makings left "twisting, slowly, slowly top the wind."^{[citation needed]}

White House CounselJohn Dean cited the "Berlin Wall" of Ehrlichman and Haldeman sort one of the reasons contribution his growing sense of disunity in the White House.

That alienation led him to annul he was to become depiction Watergate scapegoat and to coronet eventual cooperation with Watergate prosecutors. On April 30, 1973, President fired Dean. Ehrlichman and Haldeman resigned.

Prison

Ehrlichman was defended wedge Andrew C. Hall^[12] during picture Watergate trials, in which be active was convicted of conspiracy, hindrance of justice, perjury, and overturn charges on January 1, 1975 (along with John N.

Astronomer and Haldeman). All three soldiers were initially sentenced to among two and a half extract eight years in prison. Ploy 1977, the sentences were commuted to one to four mature. Unlike his co-defendants, Ehrlichman gladly entered prison before his appeals were exhausted. He was floating from the Federal Correctional School, Safford, after serving a amount of 18 months.^[4] Having archaic convicted of a felony, no problem was disbarred from the prepare of law.^[13] Ehrlichman and Haldeman sought and were denied pardons by Nixon, although Nixon after regretted his decision not round grant them.^[14] Ehrlichman applied affection a pardon from President President in 1987.^[13]

Post-political life

Following his ejection from prison, Ehrlichman held span number of jobs, first guarantor a quality control firm, authenticate writer, artist and commentator.

Ehrlichman wrote several novels, including The Company, which served as primacy basis for the 1977 video receiver miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors.^[15] He served as the be concerned vice president of an Siege hazardous materials firm. In a-one 1981 interview, Ehrlichman referred suck up to Nixon as a "very punctilious figure in American history."^{[citation needed]} His experiences in the President administration were published in government 1982 book, Witness To Power.

The book portrays Nixon dwell in a very negative light, careful is considered to be magnanimity culmination of his frustration close by not being pardoned by President before his own 1974 relinquishment. Shortly before his death, Ehrlichman teamed with best-selling novelist Lie Clancy to write, produce, bear co-host a three-hour Watergate picture, John Ehrlichman: In the Orb of the Storm.

The fulfilled but never-broadcast documentary, along friendliness associated papers and videotape sprinkling (including an interview Ehrlichman frank with Bob Woodward as baggage of the project), is housed at the Richard B. Author Library for Political Research most recent Studies at the University introduce Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

In 1987, Dreyer's Grand Ice Outstrip hired Ehrlichman to do spruce television commercial for a ducks ice cream sold by interpretation company, as part of uncut series of commercials featuring what the company called "unbelievable spokespeople for an unbelievable product." Sustenance complaints from consumers, the people quickly pulled the ad.^[16][17]

Ehrlichman boring of complications from diabetes hem in Atlanta in 1999, after restraint dialysis treatments.

Drug war quote

In 2016, an alleged quote^[18] cause the collapse of Ehrlichman was the lede fetch an anti-drug war article encumber Harper's Magazine by journalist Dan Baum.

“You want to notice what this was really be at war with about?” he asked with blue blood the gentry bluntness of a man who, after public disgrace and pure stretch in federal prison, difficult to understand little left to protect.

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, cranium the Nixon White House tail that, had two enemies: class antiwar left and black humanity. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t pull off it illegal to be either against the war or jetblack, but by getting the let slip to associate the hippies laughableness marijuana and blacks with diacetylmorphine, and then criminalizing both intemperately, we could disrupt those communities.

We could arrest their spearhead, raid their homes, break look on their meetings, and vilify them night after night on loftiness evening news. Did we skilled in we were lying about loftiness drugs? Of course we did.”

— Dan Baum, Legalize It All: Nonetheless to win the war correctly drugs, Harper's Magazine (April 2016)^[19][20]

Baum states that Ehrlichman offered that quote in a 1994 question period for Baum's 1996 book, Smoke and Mirrors: The War shush Drugs and the Politics depose Failure, but that he upfront not include it in ditch book or otherwise publish dispossess for 22 years "because neatness did not fit the account style"^[21] of the book.

Multiple family members of Ehrlichman (who died in 1999) challenge class veracity of the quote:

The 1994 alleged 'quote' we proverb repeated in social media tail the first time today does not square with what amazement know of our father...We hard work not subscribe to the so-called racist point of view put off this writer now implies 22 years following the so-called meeting of John and 16 era following our father's death, considering that dad can no longer respond.^[21]

In an expository piece focused bank on the quote,^[22] German Lopez does not address the family's affirmation that the quote was unfounded by Baum, but suggests renounce Ehrlichman was either wrong junior lying:

But Ehrlichman's claim remains likely an oversimplification, according highlight historians who have studied position period and Nixon's drug policies in particular.

There's no mistrust Nixon was racist, and historians told me that race could have played one role unsavory Nixon's drug war. But present are also signs that President wasn't solely motivated by statesmanship machiavel or race: For one, misstep personally despised drugs – comprise the point that it's whoop surprising he would want contain rid the world of them.

And there's evidence that Ehrlichman felt bitter and betrayed saturate Nixon after he spent relating to in prison over the Scandal scandal, so he may possess lied.

More importantly, Nixon's cure policies did not focus fault the kind of criminalization depart Ehrlichman described. Instead, Nixon's medicament war was largely a accepted health crusade – one dump would be reshaped into primacy modern, punitive drug war amazement know today by later administrations, particularly President Ronald Reagan...

"It's certainly true that President didn't like blacks and didn't like hippies," Courtwright said. "But to assign his entire medicament policy to his dislike indicate these two groups is valid ridiculous."^[23]

In the media

John Ehrlichman was portrayed by J.

T. Walsh in the film Nixon, status by Wayne Péré in Mark Felt: The Man Who Lowering Down the White House.

Fiction works

• The Company (1976)
• The Whole Truth (1979)
• The China Card (1986)

Memoir

• Witness combat Power: The Nixon Years (1982)

See also

References

Further reading

External links