Fred LaRue
Encyclopedia
Frederick Cheney "Fred" LaRue (October 11, 1928, Athens, Texas
– July 24, 2004, Biloxi, Mississippi
) was a presidential aide of the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon
who served time in prison for his role in events resulting the Watergate first break-in
and the subsequent Watergate scandal
and cover-up. LaRue did not have any rank, title, salary or even listing in the White House directory. LaRue was present at an early meeting with his friend, U. S. Attorney General John Mitchell
at which the Watergate burglarly was planned. After the Watergate burglary, LaRue assisted the cover-up, supervising the shredding of documents and the destruction of financial records.
With his newfound wealth, LaRue invested in many failed business ventures including casinos in Havana, just prior to the revolution, and Las Vegas. He also used his wealth to become a political financier and served as a member of the Republican National Committee
from 1963 until 1968. He was a heavy financial contributor to Barry Goldwater
's presidential campaign in 1964. He was also a longtime friend of the virulent racist Mississippi Democratic Senator James Eastland
. (ref. Caro, Robert: Master of the Senate p.102-103, & p. 867). After Goldwater lost the election, LaRue began getting involved with Nixon's career. LaRue was one of the principal planners of Nixon's so-called "Southern strategy
" for winning the election, part of which he helped coordinate with advertisements from the campaign office of segregationist Strom Thurmond
.
LaRue also recommended the use of a "special ballad-type song in the current 'country-and-western music
style, by which nationally famous artists will sing the message via the radio and TV." The song was called "Bring Our Country Back" and included "alternate" lyrics with the couplet: "Dick Nixon is a decent man/Who can bring our country back." LaRue proposed broadcasting the song by local radio and television programs throughout the South. However, he had difficulty finding artists to perform the song; everybody either sympathized with George Wallace
or did not want to help Nixon. Eventually, LaRue managed to convince Roy Acuff
and Tex Ritter
, who were unsuccessful Republican candidates themselves for governor and U.S. senator, respectively, in the state of Tennessee
at different times, to perform versions of the song.
LaRue, with Eastland's help, helped the process for the confirmation of many of Nixon's judicial nominees. He has been described as a special assistant in an "advisory capacity" to then-Attorney General
John Mitchell
, who later managed Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President
.
On March 30, 1972, LaRue attended a meeting in Key Biscayne, Florida
with Mitchell and Jeb Magruder. Mitchell, having announced his resignation as Attorney General on February 15, assumed his new duties as head of the Committee to Re-elect the President
, effective on March 1. The March 30 meeting has been the subject of great dispute among its three participants. According to Magruder, the three men approved the so-called Operation Gemstone
and other aspects of a "dirty tricks" campaign against the Democratic Party. LaRue and Mitchell, to their deaths, always denied this vehemently. In 2003, Magruder stated, for the first time, that it was at this meeting that President Nixon, speaking to Mitchell by telephone, voiced specific approval for the Watergate burglary. Mitchell and Nixon had both been dead for years, and Fred LaRue denied Magruder's claim publicly.
LaRue was known as the "bagman" because he delivered more than $300,000 in cash ("hush money") to the conspirators and their attorneys to keep participants of the Watergate burglary quiet. LaRue was the first Administration official to plead guilty to crimes related to his involvement with the Watergate burglary and the cover-up. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in July 1973 and served four and a half months in custody at the Maxwell Federal Air Force Base near Montgomery, Alabama
. LaRue's fellow Watergate-convicts John Mitchell and Charles Colson also served their prison time at Maxwell AFB.
It is notable that LaRue refused to testify against Nixon or others.
One of Nixon's first public appearances after his resignation came in 1977 at a Salute to the Military in Biloxi and directed by LaRue, perhaps as a reward to LaRue for his loyalty.
Athens, Texas
Athens is a city in Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,710. It is the county seat of Henderson County. According to the Texas Legislature, Athens is the "Original Home of the Hamburger"...
– July 24, 2004, Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
) was a presidential aide of the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
who served time in prison for his role in events resulting the Watergate first break-in
Watergate first break-in
The Watergate burglaries, which took place on May 28 and June 17, 1972, were the focus of the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon...
and the subsequent Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
and cover-up. LaRue did not have any rank, title, salary or even listing in the White House directory. LaRue was present at an early meeting with his friend, U. S. Attorney General John Mitchell
John N. Mitchell
John Newton Mitchell was the Attorney General of the United States from 1969 to 1972 under President Richard Nixon...
at which the Watergate burglarly was planned. After the Watergate burglary, LaRue assisted the cover-up, supervising the shredding of documents and the destruction of financial records.
Biography
LaRue's father, Ike Parsons LaRue, went to prison for violating banking laws, and, upon his release, made a fortune in the oil business. Fred LaRue sold one of their Mississippi oil fields for a reported $30 million in 1957. Later that year, he accidentally shot and killed his father while hunting with friends in Canada.With his newfound wealth, LaRue invested in many failed business ventures including casinos in Havana, just prior to the revolution, and Las Vegas. He also used his wealth to become a political financier and served as a member of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
from 1963 until 1968. He was a heavy financial contributor to Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
's presidential campaign in 1964. He was also a longtime friend of the virulent racist Mississippi Democratic Senator James Eastland
James Eastland
James Oliver Eastland was an American politician from Mississippi who briefly served in the United States Senate as a Democrat in 1941; and again from 1943 until his resignation December 27, 1978. From 1947 to 1978, he served alongside John Stennis, also a Democrat...
. (ref. Caro, Robert: Master of the Senate p.102-103, & p. 867). After Goldwater lost the election, LaRue began getting involved with Nixon's career. LaRue was one of the principal planners of Nixon's so-called "Southern strategy
Southern strategy
In American politics, the Southern strategy refers to the Republican Party strategy of winning elections in Southern states by exploiting anti-African American racism and fears of lawlessness among Southern white voters and appealing to fears of growing federal power in social and economic matters...
" for winning the election, part of which he helped coordinate with advertisements from the campaign office of segregationist Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
.
LaRue also recommended the use of a "special ballad-type song in the current 'country-and-western music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
style, by which nationally famous artists will sing the message via the radio and TV." The song was called "Bring Our Country Back" and included "alternate" lyrics with the couplet: "Dick Nixon is a decent man/Who can bring our country back." LaRue proposed broadcasting the song by local radio and television programs throughout the South. However, he had difficulty finding artists to perform the song; everybody either sympathized with George Wallace
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
or did not want to help Nixon. Eventually, LaRue managed to convince Roy Acuff
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
and Tex Ritter
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
, who were unsuccessful Republican candidates themselves for governor and U.S. senator, respectively, in the state of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
at different times, to perform versions of the song.
LaRue, with Eastland's help, helped the process for the confirmation of many of Nixon's judicial nominees. He has been described as a special assistant in an "advisory capacity" to then-Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
John Mitchell
John N. Mitchell
John Newton Mitchell was the Attorney General of the United States from 1969 to 1972 under President Richard Nixon...
, who later managed Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President
Committee to Re-elect the President
The Committee for the Re-Election of the President, abbreviated CRP but often mocked by the acronym CREEP, was a fundraising organization of United States President Richard Nixon's administration...
.
On March 30, 1972, LaRue attended a meeting in Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324....
with Mitchell and Jeb Magruder. Mitchell, having announced his resignation as Attorney General on February 15, assumed his new duties as head of the Committee to Re-elect the President
Committee to Re-elect the President
The Committee for the Re-Election of the President, abbreviated CRP but often mocked by the acronym CREEP, was a fundraising organization of United States President Richard Nixon's administration...
, effective on March 1. The March 30 meeting has been the subject of great dispute among its three participants. According to Magruder, the three men approved the so-called Operation Gemstone
Operation Gemstone
In the context of the Watergate scandal, Operation Gemstone refers to a series of clandestine or illegal acts, first proposed by G. Gordon Liddy in two separate meetings with three other individuals: the then-Attorney General of the United States, John N. Mitchell, the-then White House Counsel...
and other aspects of a "dirty tricks" campaign against the Democratic Party. LaRue and Mitchell, to their deaths, always denied this vehemently. In 2003, Magruder stated, for the first time, that it was at this meeting that President Nixon, speaking to Mitchell by telephone, voiced specific approval for the Watergate burglary. Mitchell and Nixon had both been dead for years, and Fred LaRue denied Magruder's claim publicly.
LaRue was known as the "bagman" because he delivered more than $300,000 in cash ("hush money") to the conspirators and their attorneys to keep participants of the Watergate burglary quiet. LaRue was the first Administration official to plead guilty to crimes related to his involvement with the Watergate burglary and the cover-up. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in July 1973 and served four and a half months in custody at the Maxwell Federal Air Force Base near Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. LaRue's fellow Watergate-convicts John Mitchell and Charles Colson also served their prison time at Maxwell AFB.
It is notable that LaRue refused to testify against Nixon or others.
One of Nixon's first public appearances after his resignation came in 1977 at a Salute to the Military in Biloxi and directed by LaRue, perhaps as a reward to LaRue for his loyalty.