Overview

Herbert Lloyd "Bart" Porter (1938-) served as the scheduling director for the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) and became one of the Watergate defendants who contributed to the unraveling of the cover-up. Porter was responsible for approving disbursements from the CRP budget and authorized payments to G. Gordon Liddy that Porter knew were for intelligence-gathering (political espionage) activities rather than the legitimate campaign purposes cited on the paperwork. When FBI agents investigated the Watergate break-in, Porter lied about the purpose of the $100,000 in payments he had authorized to Liddy, telling investigators the money was for a legitimate program to infiltrate radical groups that might disrupt Republican campaign events. This was the false cover story that Jeb Stuart Magruder had developed and that Porter agreed to support. In January 1974, Porter pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI. He was sentenced to five to fifteen months in prison, with all but thirty days suspended, and placed on probation. He served one month. Porter testified before the Senate Watergate Committee and at the subsequent trials, providing testimony about the financial operations of CRP and the cover-up of the political espionage program. Porter was among the lower-ranking Watergate defendants, a campaign functionary who went along with a cover story devised by his superiors. His case illustrated how the cover-up extended beyond the senior White House staff to encompass mid-level campaign officials who were pressured to lie to protect the re-election effort.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

3 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports