The Committee for the Re-election of the President (or the Committee to Re-elect the President, CRP, but often mocked by the acronym CREEP) was, officially, a fundraising organization of United States President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's 1972 re-election campaign during the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

. In addition to fundraising, the organization also engaged in political sabotage against Nixon's opponents, the various Democratic politicians running in the election.

History

Planning began in late 1970 and an office opened in the spring of 1971. Besides its re-election activities, CRP employed

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

and

slush fund A slush fund is a fund or account used for miscellaneous income and expenses, particularly when these are corrupt or illegal. Such funds may be kept hidden and maintained separately from money that is used for legitimate purposes. Slush funds m ...

s, and was involved in the

. The CRP used $500,000 in funds raised to re-elect President Nixon to pay legal expenses for the five Watergate burglars. This act helped turn the burglary into an explosive political scandal. The burglars, as well as

G. Gordon Liddy George Gordon Battle Liddy (November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021) was an American lawyer and FBI agent who was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration. Work ...

, E. Howard Hunt, John N. Mitchell, and other Nixon administration figures (

Watergate Seven The Watergate Seven has come to refer to two different groups of people, both of them in the context of the Watergate scandal. Firstly, it can refer to the five men caught on June 17, 1972, burglarizing the Democratic National Committee's headqua ...

), were indicted over the break-in and their efforts to cover it up. The acronym CREEP became popular due to the Watergate scandal.''100 Mistakes that Changed History: Backfires and Blunders That Collapsed Empires, Crashed Economies, and Altered the Course of Our World''
by Bill Fawcett, Penguin, October 5, 2010, page 289. Retrieved June 15, 2019.

Prominent members

Charles Colson Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as ...

, special counsel to the President * Kenneth H. Dahlberg, Midwest finance chairman; developer of the Miracle-Ear hearing aid * Francis L. Dale, chairman; publisher of ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...

''; owner of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

* E. Howard Hunt, consultant to the White House; retired CIA operative * Herbert W. Kalmbach, deputy finance chairman; President Nixon's personal attorney *

Fred LaRue Frederick Cheney LaRue Sr. (October 11, 1928 – July 24, 2004) was an aide in the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon. He served a short prison sentence for his role in the Watergate break-in and the subsequent Watergate scan ...

, deputy director; aide to John Mitchell *

, finance counsel; former aide to

John Ehrlichman John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American political aide who served as White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important infl ...

* Clark MacGregor, chairman *

Jeb Stuart Magruder Jeb Stuart Magruder (November 5, 1934May 11, 2014) was an American businessman and high-level political operative in the Republican Party who served time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. He served President Richard Nixon in vari ...

, deputy director *

Fred Malek Frederic Vincent Malek (December 22, 1936 – March 24, 2019) was an American business executive, political advisor, fraudster, and philanthropist. He was a president of Marriott Hotels and Northwest Airlines and an assistant to United States Pr ...

, manager, former Deputy Undersecretary of Health, Education, and Welfare * James W. McCord, Jr., security coordinator; former director of security at the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

Judy Hoback Miller Judith Hoback Miller (born May 10, 1937) acted as an investigative source in the Watergate scandal in 1972 during the presidency of Richard Nixon. She served as the bookkeeper for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President. Personal life ...

, bookkeeper * John N. Mitchell, director; former

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

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 ...

, political operative * DeVan L. Shumway, spokesman * Hugh W. Sloan, Jr., treasurer; former aide to

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

H.R. Haldeman *

Maurice Stans Maurice Hubert Stans (March 22, 1908April 14, 1998) was an American accountant, civil servant, and political organizer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Commerce from 1969 to 1972. He served as the finance chairman for the Committe ...

, finance chairman; former

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American Political consulting, political consultant and lobbyist. He is Donald Trump's longest-serving political adviser, best known for the Mueller special counsel investi ...

, political operative

References

{{Authority control Committees Watergate scandal 1972 United States presidential election Fundraising *

History

Prominent members

See also

References