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 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and a figure in 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 ...

. He is the last surviving person to be part of the

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 ...

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 Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. At

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 ...

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

participants

Dwight L. Chapin Dwight Lee Chapin (born December 2, 1940) is an American political organizer, businessman and retired public servant. He was Deputy Assistant to President of the United States Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Chapin was convicted of ly ...

, 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, serving during President Richard Nixon's administration. Early life Ziegler was born to Louis Daniel Ziegler, a production manager, and Ruby (Par ...

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

. In 1968, received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

Career

From 1968 until 1970 he worked for the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 st ...

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

H. R. Haldeman Harry Robbins "Bob" 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 Water ...

's liaison to the

Committee for the Re-Election of the President 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's 1972 re-election ...

(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 inve ...

and stated that

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is a disbarred American 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 scan ...

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. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

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

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

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

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. 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. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

, 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. 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