by Donald A. Carr with assistance from Judith Naiman
Purchase
Attorney General Elliot Richardson knew that U.S. Attorney George Beall was investigating kickbacks in the Baltimore County Executive’s Office. On July 3, 1973, Richardson met with Beall and his three assistant prosecutors. The meeting was preceded by a telephone call Richardson received from White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig who reported President Nixon’s fury at the latest news about Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox’s investigation. The meeting with the Baltimore prosecutors was interrupted twice by additional calls from Haig, the second of which Nixon broke in on. Following these calls, Richardson listened to the prosecutors’ presentation in which they informed him that there was evidence that Vice President Spiro Agnew had received regular payments as County Executive, then as Maryland Governor, and then as Vice President. This meant that there could be simultaneous criminal prosecutions of both President Richard Nixon and his Vice President. The implications of simultaneous prosecutions of both the President and the Vice President and the need to resolve the issues surrounding each of them were enormous. Richardson told Beall and the team from Baltimore to proceed with the investigation.
Of interest are how Attorney General Richardson came to be in this position and what informed his views of public service and jurisprudence.
Donald A. Carr was a Washington, D.C.-based attorney. He greatly admired Elliot Richardson and with Richardson’s assistance wrote this biography. Based on a multitude of interviews with persons knowledgeable of each stage of Richardson’s life and career, this biography contains a wealth of information and tells many a good story. Carr captures the tension between an upper class Bostonian bred for public service and the realities of a politician in a morally ambiguous world.
Westphalia Press 