Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008

John Mitchell - Attorney General, 1969-1972

After managing Richard Nixon's presidential campaign, Mitchell was appointed head of the Department of Justice. While there, he backed two Supreme Court nominees that were deemed unqualified, approved unconstitutional wiretaps, prosecuted anti-war protesters and was involved in the famed Pentagon Papers suit. It was an ignominious reign (on its own, enough, perhaps, to merit inclusion on this list), but Mitchell wasn't done. In 1974, he was indicted for conspiring to plan the Watergate break-in and for perjuring himself during the ensuing cover-up. Convicted the following year, he served 19 months in prison.