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Bruce Givner (The Watergate "Mystery Man")

Bruce Givner
Born	Bruce Givner (1950-11-16) November 16, 1950 Lorain, Ohio, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia Law School, New York University
Occupation	Attorney

Bruce Givner (Born November 16, 1950 - Lorain, Ohio), tax attorney, has been referred to as “The Mystery Man” in the Watergate Scandal. It was Givner (as an intern for less than a week at the DNC offices at the Watergate) who stayed late (after everyone else had left the offices on June 16, 1972). His late departure precluded the Watergate burglars from entering those offices according to their original plan. As the Watergate story unfolded, it was often thought that Givner may have been part of the sinister plot, though he was not. Givner has found himself in the spotlight numerous times throughout his four-decade career as an "accidental bystander" in some of the most pivotal legal scandals that have marked the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to Watergate, Givner was peripherally involved in other legal matters for three of the most acclaimed alleged murderers in Hollywood: O. J. Simpson and Phil Spector (pension plans); and Robert Blake (probating his late wife’s estate). He also was quoted in a number of top-tier news sources when the Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton scandal broke. Givner’s former partner, William Ginsburg, represented Dr. Bernard Lewinsky, Monica’s father. Media sought out Givner several times for comment.

Early Life

Givner was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio. Givner’s father, Eugene, was diagnosed with M.S. when Givner was 8-years-old. Givner’s father was forced to leave the family business in Lorain—Givner’s Luggage and Jewelry, a general store of sorts that sold luggage, jewelry, and the engraving of it; and men’s clothing. Due to his illness, Eugene Givner was restricted to a wheel chair and was told he would have to move his family to a less humid climate. That meant the family could choose between Texas, Arizona and California. He chose the latter, and the city of Encino, California, after finding a wheel-chair friendly home in that town. Givner’s mother, Sonia Ann (“Sunny”) worked as a realtor (and sometimes in the Givner store’s jewelry department).

Education

The day after Givner graduated from Admiral King High School, he flew to L.A. and moved into Sproul Hall at UCLA. By the end of 1971, his sophomore year, he became involved in student government. The faculty assigned him to a group that Rick Tuttle was in, an original freedom rider with Martin Luther King, who later became treasurer of the city of L.A. Sheila Kuehl, currently an L.A. County Commissioner, was also part of that group. At the end of his junior year at UCLA, Givner entered the Summer Internship Program which placed students in various government offices in the city of L.A., the state capitol, and in Washington D.C. Givner landed an internship at the DNC, not the most coveted position; those who were lucky were assigned to ones with members of Congress.

• Washington Elementary School (1956 to 1963)
• Hawthorne Junior High (1963 to 1964)
• Admiral King High School (1965 to 1969)
• University of California, Los Angeles, CA (1973); B.A. - Major: History
• Columbia Law School, New York, New York, (1976); J.D.
• New York University School of Law, New York, New York, (1977); LL.M. (Tax)

Watergate

With regard to Watergate, Givner is cited in many articles such as Harper’s January 1980 feature story: "The McCord File" by Jim Hougan . He also was the only subject in Columbia Law School News' If Not For Him, Nixon Might Still Be President by Jim Shaw , referring to Givner as the person “if not for….” He also has been written about in a book by Roger Stone and Mike Colapietro titled Tricky Dick: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Richard M. Nixon , and White House Call Girl: The Real Story written by Phil Stanford .

Givner was a 21-year-old intern working at the DNC offices on the 6th floor of the Watergate when his prolonged stay on that floor the night of June 16, 1972, precluded the group of “bandits” from entering the building to correct their earlier wiretap work. The criminals were made to remain on watch across the street in a suite above the Howard Johnson's while they waited for the lights to go out in the offices on the 6th floor DNC offices. Though Givner finished his intern duties around 7:30 p.m., he stayed on to use a WATS line to call friends and family, both in L.A. and Ohio. Sometime during the middle of those calls, Givner needed to relieve himself of a full bladder. Realizing he could not re-enter the suites using a bathroom in the hallway because he had no key to re-enter, Givner stepped out onto the balcony and relieved himself in a cement planter (the Watergate burglars likely witnessed that event through binoculars as they lay in wait for the right time to make their move, which they finally did less than a hour after Givner left the building on June 17, 1972 at 12:05 a.m.). That was long after the burglars had hoped to get in. That lengthy delay led to the arrest of the burglars which opened the floodgates to the Watergate investigation, ultimately culminating in the impeachment proceedings against Nixon.

After Givner turned off the lights at 12:05 a.m., he stated to authorities and numerous reporters that he then bolted down the stairwell where he began chatting in the lobby with Frank Wills, the security guard who clocked in for duty at midnight at the Watergate. After some friendly small talk, Wills and Givner headed across the street to the Howard Johnson’s restaurant for cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes. After getting their orders, Givner left on his motorcycle and Wills scurried back to his post. Wills began to follow up with his supervisor’s supervisor (he couldn’t reach his own)—the guy to whom he reported the tape on the basement doors before he left for the Howard Johnson’s. The tape was still there which prevented the door from locking. Shortly after reconnecting with his supervisor’s supervisor, Wills called police, who arrived within minutes. The burglars had snuck in. Arrests were quickly made.

When Givner returned to his office at the DNC the following day—Saturday afternoon, around 3 p.m.—the 6th floor was swarming with police, FBI and other authorities. Givner let them know he had not left the building until shortly after midnight. That crucial piece of information was pivotal to the investigation (and the beginning of what would lead to the downfall of Nixon).

On November 10, 1974, the Sunday New York Times Magazine published an article by Sol Stern (Sternnov) about the Watergate break-in, “A Watergate Footnote,” wherein Stern refers to Givner as “the mystery man” in the Watergate event. Givner wrote to the Times explaining who he was; denouncing any participation in the critical and historical event. The Times published his letter. He also was interviewed by Bob Fink, a researcher for the Washington Post, who had been hired by Woodward and Bernstein to work on their book, “All the President’s Men.” Fink confronted Givner. At first, Fink strongly suggesting that Givner may have been a part of the botched event (a plant) but shortly after that conversation, Fink was convinced Givner had not played a role in the crime.

Givner was not only questioned by the D.C. police, and the FBI, but in October 1973, he also was interviewed by Senator Fred Thompson, who was the minority counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. Wills was lauded as the hero who alerted police of the break-in; Givner was credited with having stopped the McCord group from getting into the building to do their dirty work “on time.” Had it not been for Givner thwarting the burglar’s plans to enter the building for so many hours, Fink confided to Givner, the Nixon scandal may never had erupted .

Career

Bruce Givner, tax attorney, was admitted to the State Bar of California in December, 1976 and began practicing law in Encino, California. Givner currently practices tax law in Los Angeles, California.

References

Sharon, W. (n.d.). In Words and Guise, Lewinsky's Attorney Tries the Fatherly Approach. Retrieved December 05, 2017, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/ginsburg012598.htm

Adkisson, J. (2017, May 16). No, There Is No Important Public Policy Exception To Recognizing A Sister-State Judgment. Retrieved December 05, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jayadkisson/2017/05/16/no-there-is-no-important-public-policy-exception-to-recognizing-a-sister-state-judgment/#4d0bcb8839ce

Stern, S. (1974, November 10). A Watergate footnote*; *The selling of Frank Wills Frank Wills ‘After all the applause is over, Wills must go back to the same neighborhood to wait for the next appearance and to reflect that what he is being feted for is nothing but the result of blind chance.’. Retrieved December 05, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/10/archives/a-watergate-footnote-the-selling-of-frank-wills-frank-wills-after-a.html

Bernstein, C., & Woodward, B. (2014). All the Presidents men. New York: Simon & Schuster

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2011/09/keeping-control-of-irrevocable-trusts.html

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-ocurt-of-appeal/1841865.htmlfotnote 22