Overview

Everette Howard Hunt Jr. was a career CIA covert operations officer who became one of the principal architects of the Watergate break-in and one of the most consequential figures in American political scandal history. Over a 23-year CIA career, Hunt participated in some of the agency's most significant Cold War operations, including the 1954 overthrow of Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz and the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, where he served as political action officer for the Cuban exile brigade. After retiring from the CIA, Hunt was recruited by Charles Colson to join the White House "Plumbers" unit in 1971, ostensibly to stop national security leaks following the Pentagon Papers disclosure. Operating from a White House office, Hunt organized the September 1971 break-in of Dr. Lewis Fielding's office (Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist) and then masterminded the Watergate operation with G. Gordon Liddy. Hunt recruited the four Cuban-American burglars (Bernard Barker, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis, and Virgilio Gonzalez) from his Bay of Pigs contacts and directed the operation from a Howard Johnson's hotel room across from the Watergate complex. After the burglars' arrest, Hunt became the linchpin of the cover-up, demanding increasingly large hush money payments from the White House, reportedly receiving over $200,000. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 2.5 to 8 years, serving 33 months in federal prison. In his final years, Hunt made a deathbed confession to his son implicating Vice President Lyndon Johnson in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a claim that remains highly controversial. A prolific spy novelist who wrote over 80 books, Hunt embodied the dangerous intersection of intelligence operations and domestic political warfare that defined the Nixon era.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (2)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

6 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports