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Miller is well respected in Washington as a talented lawyer, although some say that he does not possess the trial skills of either Neal or former Nixon Presidential Defense Lawyer James St. Clair. At the Justice Department, however, Miller effectively led the prosecution of former Teamster Boss James Hoffa and Lyndon Johnson's Senate aide Bobby Baker.
Miller left the Government to set up his own law firm in 1965. He became intimately acquainted with Watergate defense problems when he represented former Attorney General Richard Kleindienst and Lawyer William O. Bittman. Miller plea-bargained with Jaworski to get Kleindienst off with a misdemeanor charge. According to a list of overt acts cited in the conspiracy indictment, Bittman had handled some of the hush money for his client, Watergate Burglar E. Howard Hunt. But Bittman was named only as an unindicted co-conspirator in the cover-up case.
Three Courses. If Nixon is indicted, three possible courses now seem most likely: 1) Nixon could seek a one-count charge from Jaworski, plead guilty to it, and then possibly be pardoned by President Ford; 2) he could plead nolo contendere as Spiro Agnew did, but it seems improbable that a judge would accept such a plea without a full admission of wrongdoing by Nixon; or 3) he could stand trial and if convicted then perhaps be pardoned by Ford.
While preparing for these or other eventualities, Nixon may have considerable federal financial help. President Ford last week asked Congress to provide Nixon with $850,000 as the initial payment on his pension and for transition expenses through next June 30. The total is in addition to Secret Service protection and the large sums of federal money already spent on Nixon's San Clemente property.