Integrity : good people, bad choices, and life lessons from the Nixon White House

In 1971, Egil "Bud" Krogh was summoned to a closed-door meeting by John Ehrlichman, his mentor and key confidant of President Richard Nixon, in a secluded office in the Western White House. Krogh thought he was walking into a meeting to discuss the drug control program launched on his most recent trip to South Vietnam. Instead, he was handed a file and the responsibility for the SIU, Special Investigations Unit, later to become notorious as "The Plumbers." The unit was to investigate the leaks of top-secret government documents, particularly the Pentagon Papers, to the press. The president considered this task critical to national security. Nixon said he wanted the unit headed up by a "real son of a bitch." He got the studious, zealous, and loyal-to-a-fault Bud Krogh instead. In that instant, Krogh was handed the job that would lead to one of the most famous conspiracies in presidential history and the demise of the Nixon administration. Integrity is Krogh's memoir of his experiences—of what really went on behind closed doors, of how a good man can lose his moral compass, of how exercising power without integrity can destroy a life. It also tells the moving story of how he turned his life back around. For anyone interested in the ethical challenges of leadership, or of professional life, Integrity is thought-provoking and inspiring reading. SOON TO BE AN HBO SERIES,'THE WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS,'STARRING WOODY HARRELSON AND JUSTIN THEROUX In 1971, Egil'Bud'Krogh was summoned to a closed-door meeting by John Ehrlichman, his mentor and key confidant of President Richard Nixon, in a secluded office in the Western White House. Krogh thought he was walking into a meeting to discuss the drug control program launched on his most recent trip to South Vietnam. Instead, he was handed a file and the responsibility for the SIU, Special Investigations Unit, later to become notorious as'The Plumbers.'The unit was to investigate the leaks of top-secret government documents, particularly the Pentagon Papers, to the press. The president considered this task critical to national security. Nixon said he wanted the unit headed up by a'real son of a bitch.'He got the studious, zealous, and loyal-to-a-fault Bud Krogh instead. In that instant, Krogh was handed the job that would lead to one of the most famous conspiracies in presidential history and the demise of the Nixon administration. Integrity is Krogh's memoir of his experiences-of what really went on behind closed doors, of how a good man can lose his moral compass, of how exercising power without integrity can destroy a life. It also tells the moving story of how he turned his life back around. For anyone interested in the ethical challenges of leadership, or of professional life, Integrity is thought-provoking and inspiring reading. In 1971, Egil "Bud" Krogh was summoned to a closed-door meeting by John Ehrlichman, his mentor and key confidant of President Richard Nixon, in a secluded office in the Western White House. Krogh thought he was walking into a meeting to discuss the drug control program launched on his most recent trip to South Vietnam. Instead, he was handed a file and the responsibility for the SIU, Special Investigations Unit, later to become notorious as "The Plumbers." The unit was to investigate the leaks of top-secret government documents, particularly the Pentagon Papers, to the press. The president considered this task critical to national security. Nixon said he wanted the unit headed up by a "real son of a bitch." He got the studious, zealous, and loyal-to-a-fault Bud Krogh instead. In that instant, Krogh was handed the job that would lead to one of the most famous conspiracies in presidential history and the demise of the Nixon administration. __Integrity__ is Krogh's memoir of his experiences—of what really went on behind closed doors, of how a good man can lose his moral compass, of how exercising power without integrity can destroy a life. It also tells the moving story of how he turned his life back around. For anyone interested in the ethical challenges of leadership, or of professional life, Integrity is thought-provoking and inspiring reading. Contents 8 Foreword 10 Introduction 16 Part I: A Criminal Conspiracy 26 1. Two Decisions in Two Days 28 2. The Plumbers Gather in Room 16 46 3. A New Leak for the Plumbers 58 4. Sparring with the CIA, the FBI, and "Deep Throat" 68 5. A Proposal Gone Awry 76 Part II: The Making of a True Believer 94 6. Finding a Better Solution in Vietnam 96 7. Nixon at the Lincon Memorial 120 8. Ensnared in Watergate by Blind Loyalty 134 Part III: Consequences 142 9. Pleading Guilty 144 10. From Courthouse to Jailhouse 154 11. The Road Home 166 12. Making Amends 176 13. An Open Letter to the Bush Administration 200 14. Integrity in Public Life 210 Afterword: The Integrity Zone 220 Index 226 A former Nixon administration official describes the Watergate years and his role as an investigator into the leaks of top-secret government documents, and how he later realized that exercising power without integrity can ruin one's life.