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Jeb Stuart Magruder
Former Deputy Director, Committee to Re-elect the President
Watergate Conspirator, Cover-up Coordinator
Overview
Jeb Stuart Magruder served as deputy director of the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP) under John Mitchell and was one of the central figures in both the planning and cover-up of the Watergate break-in. Named after Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart, Magruder was a young, ambitious political operative who approved the Watergate operation alongside Mitchell and John Dean. He personally destroyed documents linking CRP to the burglary and committed extensive perjury before the grand jury, FBI, and Senate Watergate Committee. Magruder was among the first high-ranking Nixon officials to cooperate with prosecutors, providing devastating testimony against Mitchell, Haldeman, and Ehrlichman. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice, defraud the United States, and intercept wire communications, receiving a sentence of 10 months to 4 years and serving approximately 7 months in federal prison. After his release, Magruder underwent a dramatic personal transformation, earning a divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and becoming a Presbyterian minister in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2003, he made the startling claim that Richard Nixon had personally ordered the Watergate break-in, contradicting decades of Nixon's denials. His memoir "An American Life: One Man's Road to Watergate" provided an insider account of how ambition and loyalty to the president led to criminal conduct.
Key Affiliations
Controversies & Concerns
WATERGATE APPROVAL: As CRP deputy director, participated in meetings where the Watergate operation was approved alongside Mitchell and Dean
DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION: Personally shredded documents linking CRP to the Watergate burglars immediately after the break-in was discovered
EXTENSIVE PERJURY: Committed perjury before the federal grand jury, FBI investigators, and the Senate Watergate Committee to conceal CRP involvement
GEMSTONE PLANS: Attended the January and February 1972 meetings where G. Gordon Liddy presented escalating intelligence-gathering proposals including bugging, burglary, and kidnapping
COVER-UP COORDINATION: Worked with John Dean, John Mitchell, and others to coordinate false testimony and conceal the connection between CRP and the burglars
SLUSH FUND: Had knowledge of and access to CRP's secret cash fund used for dirty tricks and hush money payments
COOPERATION DEAL: Provided testimony against former colleagues in exchange for reduced charges, devastating the defense of Mitchell, Haldeman, and Ehrlichman
NIXON ACCUSATION: In 2003, claimed Nixon personally ordered the Watergate break-in during a phone call, contradicting the former president's lifelong denials
Related Investigations (1)
Criminal Charges & Violations
4 documented violations
18 U.S.C. 371Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice; Coordinated cover-up of Watergate break-in involvement(Federal)
18 U.S.C. 371Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; Undermined lawful government functions through deception(Federal)
18 U.S.C. 2511Conspiracy to Intercept Wire Communications; Approved illegal wiretapping at DNC headquarters(Federal)
18 U.S.C. 1621Perjury; False testimony before grand jury and Senate committee(Federal)
Known Associates & Connections
John Mitchell
CRP director and co-conspirator who approved Watergate plan
John Dean
White House counsel, attended Gemstone meetings together
G. Gordon Liddy
CRP counsel who devised Watergate operation
H.R. Haldeman
White House Chief of Staff, testified against at trial
Richard Nixon
President, claimed Nixon ordered the break-in
Sources & Documentation
5 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Senate Watergate Committee Testimony of Jeb Stuart Magruder(1973)
Jeb Stuart Magruder, "An American Life: One Man's Road to Watergate"(1974)
United States v. Magruder - Federal Case Records(1973)
New York Times Obituary: Jeb Stuart Magruder(2014)
PBS Frontline: Magruder Claims Nixon Ordered Break-in(2003)
Personal Information
- Born
- November 5, 1934
- Birthplace
- Staten Island, New York, USA
- Also Known As
- Jeb
Education
- •B.A., Williams College (1958)
- •M.B.A., University of Chicago (1963)
- •M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary (1981)
Key Timeline
November 5, 1934
Born on Staten Island, New York
1958
Graduates from Williams College
1963
Earns MBA from University of Chicago
1969
Joins Nixon White House as special assistant to the president
1971
Becomes deputy director of Committee to Re-elect the President
January 27, 1972
Attends first meeting where G. Gordon Liddy presents $1 million intelligence plan ("Gemstone")
February 4, 1972
Attends second Gemstone meeting with Mitchell, Dean, and Liddy
March 30, 1972
Attends meeting where scaled-down Watergate operation reportedly approved
June 17, 1972
Five burglars arrested at DNC headquarters in Watergate complex
June 18, 1972
Begins destroying incriminating documents linking CRP to the burglary
August 1972
Commits perjury before federal grand jury investigating Watergate
January 1973
Commits perjury during Watergate burglars' trial
April 1973
Begins cooperating with federal prosecutors, implicates Mitchell and Dean
June 14, 1973
Provides devastating public testimony before Senate Watergate Committee
August 16, 1973
Pleads guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and related charges
May 21, 1974
Sentenced to 10 months to 4 years in federal prison by Judge Sirica
January 1975
Released from prison after serving approximately 7 months
1974
Publishes memoir "An American Life: One Man's Road to Watergate"
1981
Graduates from Princeton Theological Seminary with Master of Divinity
1990
Becomes senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky
2001
Retires from ministry
2003
Claims in PBS documentary that Nixon personally ordered the Watergate break-in
May 11, 2014
Dies in Danbury, Connecticut at age 79