Gordon Creighton Strachan (born July 24, 1943) is an American attorney and political staffer who served as an aide to H.R. Haldeman, the chief of staff for President

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 ...

and a figure in 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 contin ...

Early life and education

Strachan was born in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. At

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, he was a member of Trojans for Representative Government with future

participants Dwight L. Chapin, 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 ...

, 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 ...

. In 1965, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from the

. In 1968, received a Juris Doctor from the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

Career

From 1968 until 1970 he worked for the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

law firm of Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander, the same firm Nixon worked for before he ran again for the presidency in 1968. Gordon Strachan and Richard Nixon in Oval Office

Gordon Strachan and Richard Nixon in Oval Office

Strachan, who was recruited by Dwight Chapin, joined the

White House Office The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The ...

in 1970 and initially worked as a staff assistant to Herbert G. Klein. He was assigned to be

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 ...

's liaison to the

Committee for the Re-Election of the President The Committee for the Re-election of the President (also known as the Committee to Re-elect the President), abbreviated CRP, but often mocked by the acronym CREEP, was, officially, a fundraising organization of United States President Richard Nix ...

(CRP) when it was formed in March 1971. His duties at CRP focused on areas that he had previous experience with; as an advance man during 1970 mid-term election campaigns, he oversaw political operations. He testified as such before the

United States Senate Watergate Committee The Senate Watergate Committee, known officially as the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, was a special committee established by the United States Senate, , in 1973, to investigate the Watergate scandal, with the power to inv ...

and stated that

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

oversaw all political intelligence-gathering, including the Watergate break-in, at CRP. Strachan was indicted along with other

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

staffers on March 1, 1974, but all charges against him were dropped on June 10, 1975. He moved to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in 1975, and served as a clerk for Berman & Giauque in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. In 1977 his license to practice law was restored in Utah, and he was elevated to a lawyer at the firm, until he left for a partnership at Prince, Yeates & Geldzahler. He was a principal at the law firm, Strachan Strachan & Simon P.C., in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake Cit ...

, but is now retired. His practice mainly focused on antitrust, personal injury and business litigation in the recreational sports industry. He served on the Olympic Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Games, and is also general counsel to the

United States Ski and Snowboard Association United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. He is the author of several articles on law.

Sources

* * * ''John Ehrlichman: In the Eye of the Storm, Hosted by Tom Clancy'' (1997) Video.

References

External links

Strachan Strachan & Simon P.C. Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Gordon C. 1943 births Living people New York (state) lawyers Lawyers from Berkeley, California Lawyers from Salt Lake City UC Berkeley School of Law alumni USC School of International Relations alumni Utah lawyers California Republicans New York (state) Republicans Utah Republicans Lawyers disbarred in the Watergate scandal