Cord Meyer IV (; November 10, 1920 – March 13, 2001) was a

war veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the armed forces. A topic of interest for resea ...

, a

world federalist World federalism or global federalism is a political ideology advocating a democratic, federal world government. A world federation would have authority on issues of global reach, while the members of such a federation would retain authority ove ...

, a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

official and a writer. After serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a Marine officer in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, where he was both injured and decorated, he led the

United World Federalists Citizens for Global Solutions is a grassroots-level membership organization in the United States working towards the establishment of a world government in order to avoid future atomic wars. It has promoted a world federal government, United ...

in the years after the war. Around 1949, he began working for the CIA, where he became a high-level operative, retiring in 1977. After retiring from intelligence work in 1977, Meyer wrote as a columnist and book author. From 1945 to 1958, Meyer was married to Mary Pinchot, who was later romantically linked to President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. Her murder in 1964, eleven months after Kennedy's assassination, remains unresolved.

Early life

Meyer was the son of a wealthy New York family. His father, Cord Meyer III, was a diplomat and real estate developer; his mother, Katherine Blair Thaw, belonged to a Pennsylvania family that earned its wealth in the coal business. His grandfather, Cord Meyer II, was a property developer and a chairman of the

New York State Democratic Committee The New York State Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany, New York, Albany.

. He was educated at St. Paul's School, New Hampshire, and attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he was a member of the

Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a Collegiate secret societies in North America, secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Collegiate secret societies in North America#Yale University, Ya ...

society, and as a senior was awarded the

Alpheus Henry Snow Prize Alpheus Henry Snow (November 8, 1859 – August 19, 1920) was an American lawyer and scholarly investigator in the field of international law. Biography Snow was born in Claremont, New Hampshire, where he was a student at the Stevens High School ...

. After graduating in 1942, he joined the 22nd Marine Regiment and fought in the

; he took part in the

Battle of Eniwetok The Battle of Eniwetok was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 17 to 23 February 1944 on Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The invasion of Eniwetok followed the American success in the Battle of Kwajalein to ...

, and in the Battle of Guam as platoon leader, losing his left eye in a grenade attack. He became a first lieutenant and was awarded the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

. He shared his war experiences, writing for ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

''. Meyer's twin brother, Quentin, was killed at

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

United World Federalists, Inc.

He was an aide of

Harold Stassen Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician, military officer, and attorney who was the List of governors of Minnesota, 25th governor of Minnesota from 193 ...

to the 1945 San Francisco

United Nations Conference on International Organization The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allies of World War II, Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 194 ...

. In 1947, he was elected president of the United World Federalists (UWF), the organization he helped to fund. In year 1948, Cord was invited to attend the meeting of

Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists The Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists (ECAS) was founded by Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd in May, 1946, primarily as a fundraising and policy-making agency. Its aims were to warn the public of the dangers associated with the developmen ...

(ECAS) and he met

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

Leo Szilard Leo Szilard (; ; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-born physicist, biologist and inventor who made numerous important discoveries in nuclear physics and the biological sciences. He conceived the nuclear ...

and many of the other leading

nuclear physicists Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

. It was when

joined UWF and showed his support and also assisted UEF in fundraising on numerous occasions. In 1949, Cord resigned and was succeeded by Alan Cranstone.

CIA career

Around 1949, Meyer started working for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

, joining the organization in 1951 at the invitation of

Allen Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the ea ...

. At first he worked at the

Office of Policy Coordination The Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) was the covert operation wing of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Created as a department of the CIA in 1948, it actually operated independently until October 1950. OPC existed until 1 A ...

under former

OSS OSS or Oss may refer to: Places * Oss, a city and municipality in the Netherlands * Osh Airport, IATA code OSS People with the name * Oss (surname), a surname Arts and entertainment * ''O.S.S.'' (film), a 1946 World War II spy film about ...

man,

Frank Wisner Frank Gardiner Wisner (June 23, 1909 – October 29, 1965) was one of the founding officers of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and played a major role in CIA operations throughout the 1950s. Wisner began his intelligence career in the Of ...

. In 1953, Meyer came under attack by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(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 in her 1979 book ''

Katharine the Great ''Katharine the Great: Katharine Graham and The Washington Post'' is an unauthorized biography of Katharine Graham, owner of ''The Washington Post'', authored by journalist Deborah Davis and initially published in 1979. The book was first publis ...

'', Meyer became the "principal operative" of

Operation Mockingbird Operation Mockingbird is an alleged large-scale program of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that began in the early years of the Cold War and attempted to manipulate domestic American news media organizations for propaganda ...

, an alleged plan to secretly influence domestic and foreign media. Meyer befriended

James Angleton James Jesus Angleton (December 9, 1917 – May 11, 1987) was an American CIA officer who served as chief of the counterintelligence department of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1954 to 1975. According to Director of Central Intelligence Ric ...

, who in 1954 became the CIA's

counter-intelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...

chief. From 1954 until 1962, Meyer led the agency's

International Organizations Division The Directorate of Operations (DO), less formally called the Clandestine Service,Central Intelligence AgencyCareers & Internships Retrieved: July 9, 2015. is a component of the US Central Intelligence Agency. It was known as the ''Directorate ...

. Meyer headed the Covert Action Staff of the Directorate of Plans from 1962. From 1967 to 1973, Meyer was assistant deputy director of plans under

Thomas Karamessines Thomas Hercules Karamessines (July 25, 1917 – September 4, 1978) was the Deputy Director for Operations, Deputy Director for Plans of the United States Central Intelligence Agency from July 31, 1967 until February 27, 1973. Karamessines was acti ...

, and from 1973 to 1976 was

CIA station chief The station chief, also called chief of station (COS), is the top U.S. Central Intelligence Agency official stationed in a foreign country, equivalent to a KGB Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a repr ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Some insiders incorrectly suspected that Cord Meyer was Deep Throat, a key informant in the

Watergate Scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

whose identity was a mystery for more than 30 years.

Alleged involvement in JFK assassination

After the death of former CIA agent and

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

figure E. Howard Hunt in 2007, Saint John Hunt and David Hunt revealed that their father had recorded several claims about himself and others being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy. In the April 5, 2007 issue of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Saint John Hunt detailed a number of individuals implicated by his father including Meyer, as well as

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

David Sánchez Morales David Sánchez Morales (August 26, 1925 – May 8, 1978) was a Central Intelligence Agency operative who worked in Cuba and Chile. Biographical highlights Morales, of Mexican descent, spent his early life in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended scho ...

David Phillips David Phillips may refer to: Arts and entertainment *David Graham Phillips (1867–1911), American writer *David Phillips (cinematographer) (c.1956–2017), American cinematographer *David Phillips (actor) (born 1978), Canadian actor and host *Da ...

Frank Sturgis Frank Anthony Sturgis (December 9, 1924 – December 4, 1993), born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the five Watergate scandal, Watergate burglars whose capture led to the end of the presidency of Richard Nixon. He served in several branches ...

, an assassin, he termed "French gunman grassy knoll" who many presume was Lucien Sarti, and

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...

. The two sons alleged that their father cut the information from his memoirs, ''"American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond"'', to avoid possible perjury charges. According to Hunt's widow and other children, the two sons took advantage of Hunt's loss of lucidity by coaching and exploiting him for financial gain. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said they examined the materials offered by the sons to support the story and found them to be "inconclusive".

Personal life

On April 19, 1945, Meyer married Mary Eno Pinchot, the second daughter of

Amos Pinchot Amos Richards Eno Pinchot (December 6, 1873 – February 18, 1944) was an American lawyer and reformist. He never held public office but managed to exert considerable influence in reformist circles and did much to keep Progressivism, progres ...

and Ruth Pickering Pinchot, in her mother's

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

home in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. On 18 December 1956, Meyer's nine-year-old son, Michael (born 1947), was hit by a car and killed. Meyer had two surviving sons, Quentin, born in November 1945, and Mark, born in 1950. Meyer and his wife

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

divorced in 1958. On 12 October 1964, his former wife Mary was shot dead by an unknown assailant alongside the

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the Grand Old Ditch, operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Patowmack Canal ...

. Her sister and brother-in-law Benjamin C. Bradlee, later the executive editor of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', caught

breaking into Pinchot's residence. Angleton apparently was looking for Mary Meyer's diary that allegedly contained details of her love affair with

, the recently assassinated

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In 1966, Meyer married Starke Patteson Anderson.

Later years

He retired from the CIA in 1977. Following retirement, Meyer became a

syndicated columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essa ...

and wrote several books, including an autobiography.

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).

Death

Meyer died of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

on March 13, 2001.

Viral false claims

A photo of his meeting with

in 1948 has been widely circulated on the internet and social media, with the false claims of Einstein being with his therapist.

References

External links

Meyer as Deep Throat suspect
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Cord Jr. 1920 births 2001 deaths American anti-communist propagandists American spies Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C. Deaths from lymphoma in the United States People of the Central Intelligence Agency People associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy Pinchot family United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II World federalist activists Yale University alumni American activists with disabilities 20th-century American Jews Jewish anti-communists