The President's Men Trivia Quiz

Answer: John Mitchell

John Mitchell (1913-1988) acted as the 67th United States Attorney General under President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1972. He was the director of Nixon's presidential campaigns in 1968 and 1972. He was found guilty of crimes relating to the Watergate scandal, and was sentenced to prison in 1977. He served 19 months.

Answer: John Dean

John Dean was born in Akron, Ohio in 1938. He acted as White House Counsel under Nixon from July 1970 to April 1973. The FBI called him the "master manipulator of the cover-up". He became a key witness against those involved in the Watergate affair. He pleaded guilty to a single felony charge, and received a reduced sentence.

Answer: H. R. Haldeman

H.R. "Bob" Haldeman (1926-1993) served as Nixon's White House Chief of Staff. One of the major participants in the Watergate cover-up, he resigned from his position. He was tried for perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice and was found guilty. He served 18 months in prison.

Answer: John Erlichman

John Erlichman (1925-1999) was Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs in the Nixon administration. It was determined that he was a major figure in both the Watergate break-in and the subsequent cover-up. Convicted of perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, he served 18 months in prison.

Answer: Ron Ziegler

Ronald Lewis "Ron" Ziegler (1939-2003) was White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President under Nixon. In 1969, his appointment made him the youngest White House press secretary since the establishment of that position. He denied the administration's part in the break-in and, in fact, became Assistant to the President in 1974, after the resignations of other senior officials.

He defended Nixon until the end.

Answer: G. Gordon Liddy

George Gordon Battle Liddy was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1938. In 1971, he was appointed to the CRP (Committee for the Re-election of the President) as general counsel of the finance operation or, as it was later known, the White House "Plumbers" unit, designed to stop leaks. Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wire-tapping, and served over four years in federal prison.

Answer: E. Howard Hunt

Everett Howard Hunt, Jr. (1918-2007) had been a CIA operative before being hired by the Nixon administration in the Special Investigations Unit, as one of the "plumbers", along with G. Gordon Liddy. He was part of the secret operation designed to fix "leaks" surrounding the Watergate break-in. He served 33 months in prison for burglary, conspiracy and wire-tapping.

Answer: Jeb Magruder

Jeb Stuart Magruder (1934-2014) was hired by the Nixon administration in 1969. He had various duties including Deputy Director of the CRP (Committee for the Re-election of the President). He was the second official to plead guilty to burglarizing the Watergate Hotel. He served seven months in federal prison.

Answer: Rose Mary Woods

Rose Mary Woods (1917-2005) served as Richard Nixon's faithful personal secretary from 1951 until his resignation. In 1974, in front of a grand jury, Woods admitted responsibility for inadvertently erasing part of the missing 18 1/2 minutes of an audio-taped recording made on June 20, 1972.

After Nixon resigned, Woods returned to Capitol Hill to work as secretary for a Republican congressman.

Answer: Lawrence O'Brien

I have included Larry O'Brien (1917-1990) in this quiz as the target of the Watergate scandal. At the time, O'Brien was the Democratic National Committee Chairman. It was his office which was burglarized on June 17, 1972. O'Brien led a very interesting life: he was involved in four presidential election campaigns, was a U.S. postmaster general and served as NBA Commissioner from 1975 to 1984.