Overview

Dwight Lee Chapin (born 1940) served as appointments secretary to President Richard Nixon, a position that gave him regular personal access to the president. Despite the relatively modest title, Chapin was an influential member of Nixon's inner circle who played a key role in one of the most consequential aspects of the Watergate scandal: the campaign of political dirty tricks against Democratic presidential candidates. Chapin, together with Nixon's personal attorney Herbert Kalmbach, recruited Donald Segretti to lead a covert campaign of political sabotage during the 1972 Democratic primaries. Segretti's operation involved forging letters, planting false stories, disrupting campaign events, and sowing discord among Democratic candidates. The most damaging operation was the forged "Canuck letter" that helped destroy Edmund Muskie's presidential campaign. When the dirty tricks campaign was exposed by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in October 1972, Chapin left the White House in January 1973. He was subsequently called before a federal grand jury investigating the Watergate scandal. In April 1974, Chapin was convicted of two counts of making false declarations to the grand jury regarding his knowledge of and involvement in the political espionage and sabotage activities. He was sentenced to 10 to 30 months in federal prison and served approximately eight months. After his release, Chapin pursued a career in the private sector, eventually becoming an executive at W.R. Grace and Company and later founding a communications consulting firm.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

3 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports