THE SECRET FIXER Famous Watergate Figure is Dead ne of the most famous people involved in the Watergate affair has died. Presidential aide Charles ‘Chuck’ Colson, described by one intelligence official as a “ruthless evil genius,” was special counsel to President Richard Nixon and jailed for his involvement in the covert operation instigated to get Nixon
O
Charles Colson receives Presidential Citizens Medal from George Bush
re-elected. Colson once famously remarked, “I would walk over my grandmother to get the president elected to another term in office.”
President]. Others saw him as a “dirty tricks operator.” Of course it all went horribly wrong following a break-in at the Watergate Hotel in 1972, when its so-called security director James W. McCord was arrested. This strange operation led to Nixon’s resignation in August 1974.
Colson was a brilliant user of spy tradecraft, and helped Nixon gather vast amounts of intelligence from the opposition on behalf of ‘CREEP’ (Campaign [to] Re-elect [the]
Daniel Ellsberg
However, Colson was under the FBI’s microscope long before this most infamous action. Colson acknowledged he had tried to tarnish the reputation of
Charles Colson pictured in 1969 DOD man Daniel Ellsberg. Ellsberg himself leaked a variety of files dubbed the ‘Pentagon Papers’ that provoked much anger in the USA. Colson used operatives attached to Nixon called the ‘Plumbers’ to gain access to Ellsberg’s psychiatrist - this in an effort to glean information which could be used to discredit Ellsberg and his anti-war rhetoric. Colson’s direct connection to Watergate was deemed irrelevant in court, but he still served seven months in prison for the Ellsberg burglary. Despite his wrong-doings, Charles Colson is still regarded as one of the most formidable men ever to have operated within the secret corridors of power in Washington. This was recognised in 2008, when he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George Bush. Charles ‘Chuck’ Colson was eighty-years-old.
CHINESE WHISPERS
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INTEL OR POLITICAL
eil Heywood, 41, a British businessman killed in China is at the centre of a major political scandal that has captivated the country, and led to the downfall of one of Beijing’s most powerful politicians, Bo Xilai. However, it is the manner of his death that some people believe could have played a part in the very long delay in the reporting of the incident. Heywood also occasionally provided reports to
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Neil Heywood rumoured to have had British intelligence contacts business intelligence firm Hakluyt founded by former officers of MI6. Hakluyt conduct business investigations. Heywood died in Chongqing in November, but details of the case only surfaced in the media in March. Officially, his family and the British
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