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E05: Gemstone, Part I –– Bugging, Mugging, and Prostitutes episode artwork

Dec 18, 2025 52 min

E05: Gemstone, Part I –– Bugging, Mugging, and Prostitutes

from Limited Hangout Hosted by Devin Vaughn

The Committee to Re-elect the President got off to a disorganized start as Attorney General John Mitchell dragged his feet on his slow march over from the Justice Department to once more manage Nixon's presidential campaign. Running the committee in his boss's absence, deputy director Jeb Magruder quickly found himself overwhelmed by his newfound role atop the CRP as he faced unrelenting pressure from the White House to get the ambivalent Mitchell's approval for a campaign intelligence program called Gemstone that had been initiated by White House counsel John Dean and masterminded by an eccentric former FBI agent named G Gordon Liddy. This pressure resulted in a memorable presentation in Mitchell's office that included descriptions of high-tech spy planes, kidnappings, and a houseboat full of hookers.

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The Committee to Re-elect the President got off to a disorganized start as Attorney General John Mitchell dragged his feet on his slow march over from the Justice Department to once more manage Nixon's presidential campaign. Running the committee in his boss's absence, deputy director Jeb Magruder quickly found himself overwhelmed by his newfound role atop the CRP as he faced unrelenting pressure from the White House to get the ambivalent Mitchell's approval for a campaign intelligence progra...

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E05: Gemstone, Part I –– Bugging, Mugging, and Prostitutes

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