Cord Meyer
Encyclopedia
Cord Meyer, Jr. was an American
Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) official.
. He was educated at St. Paul's School
, New Hampshire, and attended Yale University
, where he was a member of the Scroll and Key
society. After graduating in 1942, he enlisted with the 22nd Marine Regiment
and fought in Pacific War
; he took part in the Battle of Eniwetok
, and in the Battle of Guam as platoon leader, losing his left eye in a grenade attack. He shared his war experiences, writing for The Atlantic Monthly
.
In 1945, he married Mary Pinchot
, daughter of Amos Pinchot
.
After the war, Meyer was a strong advocate of world government
. He was an aide of Harold Stassen
to the 1945 San Francisco United Nations Conference on International Organization
and in 1947, was elected president of the United World Federalists, the organization he helped to fund.
, joining the organization in 1951 at the invitation of Allen Dulles. At first he worked at the Office of Policy Coordination
under former OSS
man, Frank Wisner
. In 1953 Meyer came under attack by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), which claimed he was a security risk for having once stood at the same podium of a "notorious leftist" and refused to give him a security clearance. An internal CIA inquiry summarily dismissed the claims. According to Deborah Davis, Meyer became the "principal operative" of Operation Mockingbird
, a plan to secretly influence US and foreign media. Meyer befriended James Jesus Angleton
, who in 1954 became the CIA's counter-intelligence
chief. From 1954 until 1962 Meyer was head of the agency's international organizations division. In 1959 Meyer's nine-year-old son Michael was hit by a car and killed. Meyer divorced his wife Mary Pinchot Meyer
shortly thereafter. Meyer headed the Covert Action Staff of the Directorate of Plans
from 1962. In 1964 his former wife Mary was shot dead by an unknown assailant alongside the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
. Her sister and brother-in-law Benjamin C. Bradlee
, the later Washington Post executive, caught Angleton breaking into Pinchot's residence. Angleton apparently was looking for Mary Meyer's diary, which contained details of a love affair with John F. Kennedy
, then U.S. President.
From 1967 to 1973 Meyer was Assistant Deputy Director of Plans under Thomas Karamessines
. After a posting as CIA station chief in London, Meyer left the CIA in 1977 and became a syndicated columnist
. He also wrote several books, including an autobiography. He was long incorrectly considered by some to be Deep Throat.
Writer C. David Heymann in The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club (2003) told of Meyer's response when, near the end of his life, he was asked to comment on his wife's still unsolved murder case:
He died of lymphoma
on March 13, 2001.
came forward with recordings and other documentation in which his father, on his death bed, claimed Meyer, William King Harvey
, Frank Sturgis
, and David Sanchez Morales
organized the assassination of John F. Kennedy
at the behest of then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
. The audio recordings contain further allegations that prior to the assassination, JFK had taken Meyer's ex-wife as one of his mistresses.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) official.
Early life
Meyer's father, Cord Meyer Sr., was a diplomat and former real estate developer. His grandfather, also called Cord Meyer, was a property developer and a chairman of the New York State Democratic CommitteeNew York State Democratic Committee
The New York State Democratic Committee runs the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of New York. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it has an office in Albany.-List of chairpersons:...
. He was educated at St. Paul's School
St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
, New Hampshire, and attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he was a member of the Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
society. After graduating in 1942, he enlisted with the 22nd Marine Regiment
22nd Marine Regiment (United States)
The 22nd Marine Regiment is an inactive infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Activated for service in World War II, they fought in the battles of Eniwetok, Guam and Okinawa. The regiment was under the command of the 6th Marine Division; took part in the occupation of Northern...
and fought in Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
; he took part in the Battle of Eniwetok
Battle of Eniwetok
-External links:* *...
, and in the Battle of Guam as platoon leader, losing his left eye in a grenade attack. He shared his war experiences, writing for The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
.
In 1945, he married Mary Pinchot
Mary Pinchot Meyer
Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer was an American socialite, painter, former wife of Central Intelligence Agency official Cord Meyer and intimate friend of United States president John F. Kennedy, who was often noted for her desirable physique and social skills...
, daughter of Amos Pinchot
Amos Pinchot
Amos Richards Eno Pinchot was an American reformist. He never held public office but managed to exert considerable influence in reformist circles and did much to keep progressive ideas alive in the 1920s....
.
After the war, Meyer was a strong advocate of world government
World government
World government is the notion of a single common political authority for all of humanity. Its modern conception is rooted in European history, particularly in the philosophy of ancient Greece, in the political formation of the Roman Empire, and in the subsequent struggle between secular authority,...
. He was an aide of Harold Stassen
Harold Stassen
Harold Edward Stassen was the 25th Governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943. After service in World War II, from 1948 to 1953 he was president of the University of Pennsylvania...
to the 1945 San Francisco United Nations Conference on International Organization
United Nations Conference on International Organization
The United Nations Conference on International Organization was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, California. At this convention, the delegates reviewed and rewrote the Dumbarton Oaks agreements...
and in 1947, was elected president of the United World Federalists, the organization he helped to fund.
CIA career
In about 1949 he started working for the Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, joining the organization in 1951 at the invitation of Allen Dulles. At first he worked at the Office of Policy Coordination
Office of Policy Coordination
The Office of Policy Coordination was a United States covert psychological operations and paramilitary action organization. Created as an independent office in 1948, it was merged with the Central Intelligence Agency in 1951....
under former OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
man, Frank Wisner
Frank Wisner
Frank Gardiner Wisner was head of Office of Strategic Services operations in southeastern Europe at the end of World War II, and the head of the Directorate of Plans of the Central Intelligence Agency during the 1950s....
. In 1953 Meyer came under attack by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI), which claimed he was a security risk for having once stood at the same podium of a "notorious leftist" and refused to give him a security clearance. An internal CIA inquiry summarily dismissed the claims. According to Deborah Davis, Meyer became the "principal operative" of Operation Mockingbird
Operation Mockingbird
Operation Mockingbird was a secret Central Intelligence Agency campaign to influence foreign media beginning in the 1950s.The activities, extent and even the existence of the CIA project remain in dispute: the operation was first called Mockingbird in Deborah Davis' 1979 book, Katharine the Great:...
, a plan to secretly influence US and foreign media. Meyer befriended James Jesus Angleton
James Jesus Angleton
James Jesus Angleton was chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's counterintelligence staff from 1954 to 1975...
, who in 1954 became the CIA's counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
chief. From 1954 until 1962 Meyer was head of the agency's international organizations division. In 1959 Meyer's nine-year-old son Michael was hit by a car and killed. Meyer divorced his wife Mary Pinchot Meyer
Mary Pinchot Meyer
Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer was an American socialite, painter, former wife of Central Intelligence Agency official Cord Meyer and intimate friend of United States president John F. Kennedy, who was often noted for her desirable physique and social skills...
shortly thereafter. Meyer headed the Covert Action Staff of the Directorate of Plans
National Clandestine Service
The National Clandestine Service is one of the four main components of the Central Intelligence Agency...
from 1962. In 1964 his former wife Mary was shot dead by an unknown assailant alongside the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
. Her sister and brother-in-law Benjamin C. Bradlee
Benjamin C. Bradlee
Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee is a vice president at-large of The Washington Post. As executive editor of the Post from 1968 to 1991, he became a national figure during the presidency of Richard Nixon, when he challenged the federal government over the right to publish the Pentagon Papers and...
, the later Washington Post executive, caught Angleton breaking into Pinchot's residence. Angleton apparently was looking for Mary Meyer's diary, which contained details of a love affair with John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, then U.S. President.
From 1967 to 1973 Meyer was Assistant Deputy Director of Plans under Thomas Karamessines
Thomas Karamessines
Thomas H. Karamessines was the Deputy Director for Plans of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from July 31, 1967 until February 27, 1973. Karamessines was actively involved in the Agency's Project FUBELT to undermine the government of Chilean president Salvador Allende....
. After a posting as CIA station chief in London, Meyer left the CIA in 1977 and became a syndicated columnist
Syndicated columnist
This list of syndicated columnists comprises columnists whose recurring columns are published in multiple periodical publications .*Ghaith Abdul-Ahad*Yasmin Alibhai-Brown*Timothy Garton Ash*Lucius Beebe*Max Boot...
. He also wrote several books, including an autobiography. He was long incorrectly considered by some to be Deep Throat.
Writer C. David Heymann in The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club (2003) told of Meyer's response when, near the end of his life, he was asked to comment on his wife's still unsolved murder case:
- Meyer held court at the beginning of February 2001 - six weeks before his death - in the barren dining room of a Washington nursing home. Propped up in a chair, his glass eye bulging, he struggled to hold his head aloft. Although he was no longer able to read, the nurses supplied him with a daily copy of The Washington Post, which he carried with him wherever he went. "My father died of a heart attack the same year Mary was killed," he whispered. "It was a bad time." And what could he say about Mary Meyer? Who had committed such a heinous crime? "The same sons of bitches," he hissed, "that killed John F. Kennedy."
He died of lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
on March 13, 2001.
Possible Ties to Kennedy Assassination
In 2007 the son of former CIA agent and Watergate figure E. Howard HuntE. Howard Hunt
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr. was an American intelligence officer and writer. Hunt served for many years as a CIA officer. Hunt, with G...
came forward with recordings and other documentation in which his father, on his death bed, claimed Meyer, William King Harvey
William King Harvey
William King "Bill" Harvey was a Central Intelligence Agency officer, best known for his role in Operation Mongoose. He was known as "America's James Bond."...
, Frank Sturgis
Frank Sturgis
Frank Anthony Sturgis , born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the Watergate burglars.-Early Life and Military Service:...
, and David Sanchez Morales
David Sánchez Morales
David Sánchez Morales was a Central Intelligence Agency operative who worked in Cuba.-Biographical highlights:...
organized the assassination of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
at the behest of then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
. The audio recordings contain further allegations that prior to the assassination, JFK had taken Meyer's ex-wife as one of his mistresses.
Books
- Peace or Anarchy, Little, Brown (1948).
- The Search of Security, World Government House (January 1, 1947).
- Facing Reality: From World Federalism to the CIA, University Press of America; Reprint edition (September 2, 1982). ISBN 0-8191-2559-8