Remember John McCord?

John McCord was one of the five burglars that were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in June of 1972.  He died of pancreatic cancer in 2017, but his death was not widely reported until now, almost two years later.  Can't  figure out why.

James McCord was born in Oklahoma, worked for the FBI, then the CIA, where he was described as one of the finest men they had.  He also  served as a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force Reserve.  In 1972 he resigned from the CIA.  Shortly thereafter he was hired by Jack Caulfield for "strict, solely defensive security work for the Republican National Committee and the Committee to Re-elect the President.  He was arrested for the Watergate break-in, which set off a chain of events that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon.

James McCord was one of the first men convicted in the Watergate trial.  He was charged with eight counts of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping.  He received a sentence of 25 years.  Later on, McCord wrote to US District Judge John Sirica, stating that some of his plea and testimony was perjured.  He said he was compelled by pressure from White House counsel John Dean and former AG John Mitchell, to testify as he did.  The letter to Sirica implicated senior individuals in the Nixon administration of covering up a conspiracy that led to the burglary.  As a result of the letter, McCord flipped and became a cooperating witness, and was released from his sentence for time served.

Why did his death go unreported for nearly two years?  I find this unusual, but could find no information as to the reason.  I remember the shock and sadness  during the Watergate scandal often as we live through the current scandals in the Trump White House.  No longer am I shocked, just saddened as I think how our leaders' ethics have sunk, and how long, if ever, it will take for our our democracy to recover.