Dwight L. Chapin
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Dwight Lee Chapin (born December 2, 1940) is an American political organizer, businessman, and retired public servant. He was Deputy Assistant to
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, during the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
. Chapin was convicted of lying to a grand jury (
perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
) during the scandal and served nine months at the
Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc The Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc (FCI Lompoc) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Lompoc, California. It is part of the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Lompoc) and is operated by the Federal Bu ...
.


Early life

Chapin was born in
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
. He got his first experience in
California politics The recent and current politics of the U.S. state of California are complex and involve a number of entrenched interests. ''(For historical politics, see Politics of California before 1900).'' Government The Big Five is an informal institution ...
in 1958 at the
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
's
Boys State The American Legion Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Girls State are summer leadership and citizenship programs for high school juniors, which focus on exploring the mechanics of American government and politics. The programs are sponsor ...
summer program, where he was elected the head of the Tory Party. His counterpart, the Whig Party leader, was
Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictiona ...
, who went into acting as a career. Chapin graduated in 1963 from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, where he was a member of
Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...
fraternity. At USC, he was a member of Trojans for Representative Government with future
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
participants Tim Elbourne,
Donald Segretti Donald Henry Segretti (born September 17, 1941, in San Marino, California) is an attorney best known for working as a political operative with then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President during the early 1970s. Segret ...
, Gordon C. Strachan, Herbert Porter, and
Ron Ziegler Ronald Louis Ziegler (May 12, 1939 – February 10, 2003) was the 13th White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President, serving during United States President Richard Nixon's administration. Early life Ziegler was born to Louis Daniel ...
.


Early political career

When Nixon ran for California Governor in 1962, Chapin, then still at USC, was a paid Field Man (on-the-ground organizational leader for election campaigns) and worked with the volunteer organization. After the 1962 campaign, he was hired by
H. R. Haldeman Harry Robbins Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate s ...
to work at the
J. Walter Thompson Company J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...
, an advertising firm, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Chapin was part of Nixon's presidential campaign from 1967 to 1968, serving as Nixon's personal aide. ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' described him as "young, athletic, religious, handsome, clean-cut, bright, ambitious, and tough."


Nixon White House staff

He was Special Assistant to the President (1969–1971), and then Deputy Assistant (1971–1973). He was the appointments secretary, responsible for scheduling presidential activities, appointments, and travel. In addition, Chapin was in charge of the White House television office. Chapin also oversaw the hiring and supervising of the presidential advance men, and headed that group in 1969 to prepare for Nixon's
trip Trip may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character * Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers'' * Trip, in the 2013 film ''Metallica Through th ...
to the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. In 1973 Chapin was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the year by the
United States Junior Chamber The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...
(Jaycees) for his work on the historic China trip. Even Chinese Premier
Chou En-lai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...
was impressed with Chapin's skill at detail work, singling him out publicly in the
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
meetings: "You are an example of how we should utilize young men in government."


Watergate scandal

It was during this time Chapin hired
Donald Segretti Donald Henry Segretti (born September 17, 1941, in San Marino, California) is an attorney best known for working as a political operative with then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President during the early 1970s. Segret ...
, his former colleague from USC, to disrupt the campaigns of Democratic presidential hopefuls during the 1972 presidential primary season through acts of political "sabotage" - known as the "dirty tricks" campaign. Chapin was asked to find a " Dick Tuck" (a legendary Democratic political saboteur) type of prankster to perform the "dirty tricks" to work under
H. R. Haldeman Harry Robbins Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate s ...
, Nixon's Chief of Staff, and the President. Segretti later testified before a Watergate
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
about the activities, including Chapin's supervisory role. Chapin denied any detailed knowledge of Segretti or the activities that Segretti undertook during grand jury testimony. Segretti testified, "When Dwight hired me he made it clear he was hiring me because I was a lawyer and would know what was legal and what was not." Chapin was never indicted for any of Segretti's activities. Chapin resigned to work as an executive for
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
, but was drawn back into the swirl of Watergate legal proceedings.


Imprisonment

In a 1974 jury trial, Chapin was convicted of making false material declarations before a grand jury and was imprisoned in the federal corrections camp at
Lompoc Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called ...
, California (so-called "Camp Cupcake") from August 1975 to April 1976. Despite the relatively minor repercussions he remained indignant, initially vowing to appeal "all the way to the Supreme Court" (which he did) in a very hostile political climate. It was later revealed that he was earning $1,000 a week while in prison, on the payroll of
W. Clement Stone William Clement Stone (May 4, 1902 – September 3, 2002) was an American businessman, philanthropist and New Thought self-help book author. Biography Stone was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 4, 1902. His father died in 1905 leaving his family ...
Enterprises.


After Watergate

After his release from prison, Chapin re-entered the private sector and worked at W. Clement Stone Enterprises in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. From 1977 to 1984, he published a magazine called ''Success Unlimited''. Chapin then went to work for the international public relations firm
Hill & Knowlton Hill+Knowlton Strategies is an American global public relations consulting company, headquartered in New York City, United States, with over 80 offices in more than 40 countries. The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1927 by John W. Hil ...
in Chicago. Later, Chapin had assignments in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
, Switzerland,
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan, and
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, where he was Managing Director, Asia, for Hill & Knowlton. In 1986, Chapin started Chapin Enterprises. The firm provided consulting services to many prestigious companies and associations. Chapin remained involved in politics, and in 1980 worked for
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's election as president. In 1988, he had a position in the
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
presidential campaign. He has maintained an active interest in politics and is now a business consultant and mentor/coach in
East Hampton, New York The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a total ...
.. In 2022, he published a memoir titled ''The Presidents Man''.''The President's Man''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Dwight 1940 births American businesspeople American businesspeople convicted of crimes American perjurers American political consultants California Republicans New York (state) Republicans Living people Nixon administration personnel People convicted in the Watergate scandal People from Wichita, Kansas University of Southern California alumni