Egil "Bud" Krogh
The author and narrator of the book, Krogh, was a young lawyer and political operative who served in the Nixon White House. He was involved in the Watergate break-in (he ran the so-called "Plumbers" team, which was ultimately responsible for the Watergate break-in) and later pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge. After serving time in prison, he advocated for ethics and integrity in government.
Throughout the book, Krogh emphasizes the importance of integrity and ethics in government and shares the lessons he learned from his experiences in the Nixon White House. He also reflects on his mistakes and their role in the Watergate scandal.
After leaving the Nixon administration, Krogh became a lawyer, businessman, and advocate for ethics and integrity in government. He has worked with organizations such as the Integrity Resource Center and has criticized corruption and unethical political behavior.
John Ehrlichman
John Ehrlichman is one of the key characters in Integrity. Ehrlichman was one of Krogh's bosses in the Nixon White House and a senior advisor to President Nixon. Along with Krogh and others, Ehrlichman was involved in the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to Nixon's resignation from the presidency.
In the book, Ehrlichman is portrayed as a hard-nosed political operative who was fiercely loyal to Nixon and willing to go to great lengths to protect him and the administration's interests. Krogh recounts how he and Ehrlichman were involved in the Watergate cover-up and how their actions ultimately led to their downfall and criminal convictions.
Despite his involvement in the scandal, Ehrlichman is also shown to be a complex and multi-dimensional character in the book. Krogh describes Ehrlichman as someone who genuinely believed in the importance of law and order and was deeply committed to advancing the administration's domestic policies. However, Krogh also acknowledges that Ehrlichman's loyalty to Nixon sometimes led him to make questionable and unethical decisions.
John Dean
John Dean was the White House Counsel to President Nixon during the Watergate scandal. He is perhaps best known for revealing the existence of the White House taping system that ultimately led to Nixon's downfall. In Integrity, Krogh describes Dean as a highly intelligent and talented lawyer who initially supported the Nixon administration but ultimately became disillusioned with its ethical lapses and cover-up efforts. Dean ultimately cooperated with investigators and testified against his former colleagues, which resulted in the conviction of several key members of the Nixon administration, including Krogh and Ehrlichman.
G. Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy was a lawyer and former FBI agent who was a crucial figure in the Watergate scandal. In the book Integrity, Krogh describes Liddy as a "rogue" willing to go to great lengths to carry out the Nixon administration's agenda, including breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex. Krogh recounts how Liddy approached him with the idea for the break-in and how he initially dismissed it as unworkable. However, Krogh later agreed to help Liddy plan the break-in and was subsequently convicted of conspiracy and other charges related to the Watergate scandal. Liddy was also convicted and served four-and-a-half years in prison for his role in the break-in and related crimes.
