Johnnie McKeiver Walters (December 20, 1919 – June 24, 2014) was an

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lawyer and civil servant who served as a

United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...

from 1969 to 1971 and the

Commissioner of Internal Revenue The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury. The office of Commissioner was created by Congress as part of the Revenue Act of 1862. Section ...

from August 6, 1971, to April 30, 1973.

Early life and education

He was born in

Lydia, South Carolina Lydia Plantation house Lydia (formerly Mount Elon) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 642. It is the location ...

and initially lived in a house without electricity or running water. He enrolled in Furman University in 1938, where he majored in economics and graduated in 1942. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, mustering out as a First Lieutenant. He then entered the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

, graduating in 1948.

Career

He worked for five years in the office of the chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service. He then worked for

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in New York City before moving to Greenville, South Carolina, where he established a private practice as a tax attorney. In 1969 he was appointed an Assistant Attorney General in the

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

administration. In 1971 Nixon appointed him as Internal Revenue Commissioner, to replace Randolph W. Thrower, who had been fired for resisting attempts by the administration to order tax audits or obtain tax records on Nixon's political opponents. In 1972, three months after the Watergate break-in, Nixon's

White House Counsel The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

gave Walters a list of "enemies" and told him to order IRS investigations on them. Instead, Walters put the list in an envelope, sealed it, and locked in his safe, after obtaining permission to do nothing from his superior,

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

George Shultz. Walters later commented, "By refusing to implement the request we preserved our tax system and also kept me out of jail." A few months later, after knowledge of the list became public, he turned the still-sealed envelope over to the executive director of the Congressional Joint Tax Committee. After resigning as IRS Commissioner in 1973, Walters practiced law in Washington, D.C. for five years, then returned to Greenville and joined a law firm there. He retired from law practice at age 77 but continued to do financial consulting until he was 85. In 2011 he published his memoirs, ''Our Journey''.

Personal life

He married Donna Hall, whom he met on his first day at the University of Michigan. They were married for 66 years and had four children. He died in Greenville at age 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Johnnie Mac 1919 births 2014 deaths Commissioners of Internal Revenue United States Assistant Attorneys General United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II University of Michigan Law School alumni Furman University alumni