Military Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
in: Articles with incorrect citation syntax, Articles using infobox military person, Articles using infobox person,
and 12 more

John M. Dowd

Sign in to edit
John M. Dowd
Born February 11, 1941(1941-02-11) (age 83)
Brockton, Massachusetts
Nationality American
Alma mater St. Bernard College, A.B.
Emory University School of Law, J.D.
Occupation Lawyer
Known for Dowd Report
Military career
Allegiance Flag of the United States United States
Service/branch Flag of the United States Marine Corps United States Marine Corps
Rank US Marine O3 shoulderboard Captain

John M. Dowd (born February 11, 1941) is an American lawyer, former attorney for the United States Department of Justice, and former Marine. His expertise in the law field focuses on white-collar crime. He took the main role in several baseball investigations with the most notable being the Dowd Report in 1989.

As of June 2017, Dowd is a legal advisor for the Trump administration.

Early life[]

Dowd was born in Brockton, Massachusetts. As a boy, he became fascinated with the writings of lawyer Clarence Darrow.[1] During the summers, Dowd worked at Sankaty Head Golf Club on Nantucket Island where he became acquainted with Edward Bennett Williams.[1] He received his A.B. cum laude from (now defunct) St. Bernard College in 1963 and J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 1965.[2] Dowd joined United States Marine Corps and was promoted to the rank of captain. He was also a judge advocate corp.[2]

Tenure with Department of Justice[]

Working for the Department of Justice, Dowd was a trial attorney for the tax division and later as a chief of an Organized Crime Strike Force from 1974–1978.[1] His early career at the Department of Justice involved working on the tax evasion case of Meyer Lansky, the prosecution of Small Business Administration bribery cases in Virginia, and internal investigations involving financial corruption by FBI officials.[1][3] Dowd helped implement and trained FBI officers and U.S. Attorneys offices the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).[1] The first case that tested the strength of the RICO laws was tried by Dowd.[1]

In 1977 and 1978, Dowd led an investigation of Congressman Daniel J. Flood.[4]:263 Dowd questioned Flood's former aid, Steve Elko, who accused Flood on a number of federal contracts in exchange for cash kickbacks and also mentioned Congressman Joshua Eilberg's law firm handling the contract negotiations for a federal grant to Hahnemann University Hospital.[4]:263 The discovery of evidence involving Congressman Eilberg coincided with the firing of U.S. Attorney, David W. Marston.[4]:263 Dowd was then assigned to investigate Eilberg while the Flood investigation later expanded to include RICO violations.[4]:264[5]

In April 1979, The Wall Street Journal reporter Jim Drinkhall, wrote an article accusing federal prosecutors Dowd and William M. Kramer of developing and implementing an unethical plan to force a convicted felon, Samuel Ray Calabrese, to cooperate with the government against other organized crime figures.[6] Following its publication, the Department of Justice launched an investigation which ultimately cleared Dowd and Kramer of wrongdoing.[7] Drinkhall later published a second article in December 1979 where he accused Dowd and Kramer of investigating him.[8] Dowd and Kramer filed a libel suit against Dow Jones for $5 million and was settled for $800,000 in 1984 before going to trial.[7][9]

Legal career[]

From his departure from the Department of Justice, Dowd joined the law firm Heron, Burchette, Ruckert & Rothwell in their Washington, D.C. office.[10] Dowd left Heron Burchette in 1990 and joined the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld where he later became partner.[2][10] Dowd has set up his own practice, John M. Dowd, in Washington, D.C.

Iran–Contra Affair[]

During the Iran-Contra affair, Dowd represented Robert C. Dutton, a former Air Force officer and an associate to Major General Richard Secord who oversaw the contra air supply effort.[11]

Baseball[]

Main article: Dowd Report

Dowd was the Special Counsel to the Commissioner of Baseball that led to the banning of Major League Baseball player and manager Pete Rose for the Cincinnati Reds. In his role as Special Counsel to the Commissioners, Peter Ueberroth and subsequently A. Bartlett Giamatti, he submitted a 225-page report in May 1989, which detailed Rose's betting on baseball games in the 1980s.[12] The report led to Rose's being placed on baseball's ineligible list in August 1989, even though "no evidence was discovered that Rose bet against the Reds" according to Dowd.[13] Dowd mentioned in a 2002 ESPN interview that he "probably did".[14] Rose later filed a defamation suit against Dowd in July 2016 after comments Dowd made in a radio interview last summer alluding to Rose engaging in statutory rape.[15] A sworn statement was filed in July 2017 in Dowd's defense alleging that Rose had a sexual relationship with a minor.[16]

In additional to investigating Rose, Dowd scrutinized several members of Major League Baseball for betting. Dowd investigated outfielder Lenny Dykstra over allegations of betting on baseball games in 1991. Dykstra was cleared, but admonished for his gambling addiction.[17] Manager Don Zimmer and two umpires, Rich Garcia and Frank Pulli, were given two years probation in 1989 for sports betting. The investigation was kept secret until 2002 when the New York Daily News disclosed it.[18]

At the request of Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent, Dowd was assigned to compile a report on New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner's $40,000 payment to Howard Spira to dig up dirt on outfielder Dave Winfield in 1990.[19] His work led to Vincent banning Steinbrenner's day-to-day operations of the Yankees on July 30, but was later sued by Yankees' minority owners Harold M. Bowman and Daniel R. McCarthy.[20] The suit where Bowman and McCarthy sought $30,000 in damages from Dowd was thrown out in court in early 1991 by District Judge, Robert W. Sweet.[21]

During the Mitchell Report, which looked into the culture of steroid abuse in Major League Baseball, Dowd brought up allegations against former Maine Senator George J. Mitchell about the independence of the probe.[22] It was after the release of the report that Dowd was convinced that Mitchell had done a good job.[23]

John McCain[]

Dowd represented Senator John McCain during the Senate Ethics Investigation known as the Keating Five in the hearings held in 1990 and 1991.[24] John McCain was cleared for impropriety by the Senate committee, but was reprimanded and criticized for his poor judgment.[25]:6

ADM[]

Akin Gump was retained by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) during the lysine price-fixing conspiracy to develop a defense strategy following the FBI raid of ADM's offices in June 1995.[26]:354 Dowd interviewed employee Mark Whitacre for four hours who at the time was an informant for the FBI.[27] Whitacre told Dowd his role as an informant and Dowd immediately informed ADM's management, who in retaliation, accused Whitacre of embezzlement.[26]:355 The film The Informant!, which is based on the lysine price-fixing conspiracy, Dowd was portrayed by stand-up comedian Bob Zany.[28]

Fife Symington[]

Arizona governor Fife Symington retained Dowd as an adviser when he faced questioning from United States House Committee on Financial Services over the Savings and loan crisis in the late-1980s and early-1990s on using his position improperly to access loans with favorable terms.[29] Dowd represented Symington during the latter's trial for extortion and bank fraud in 1996 and 1997, of which he was convicted for bank fraud. Symington was convicted on 7 of the 21 counts and acquitted on 3, with the other 11 resulting in a hung jury.[30] His conviction was reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2000. Symington was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2001, whom Symington had once saved from a rip tide off of Connecticut.[31]

Monica Goodling[]

Dowd represented Monica Goodling in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys overseen by Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales.[32] Goodling was advised by Dowd to invoke the fifth and avoid testifying to Congress about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.[33] Dowd said that the investigation was "hostile".[32]

Raj Rajaratnam[]

Dowd defended hedge fund manager founder of the Galleon Group, Raj Rajaratnam in his insider trading case. Dowd created tension against the press by flipping off a photographer in May 2011 following Rajaratnam's guilty conviction.[34]

Donald Trump[]

Since June 2017, Dowd has been a part of President Donald Trump's personal legal team that is charged with advising the President while there is an investigation into possible collusion with members from his 2016 campaign and the Russian government.[35] Dowd recommended to President Trump that attorney Ty Cobb be added to his legal team.[36]

In August 2017, Dowd "forwarded an email to conservative journalists, government officials and friends that echoed secessionist Civil War propaganda and declared that the group Black Lives Matter 'has been totally infiltrated by terrorist groups.'"[37] The email claimed that Robert E. Lee "is no different from Washington" and "there literally is no difference between the two men."[37] The email was written by Jerome Almon, who writes various conspiracy theory websites; Almon said that he had sent the email as a follow-up to a telephone conversation with Dowd the previous week, and that he was hoping that Dowd would circulate his email to Trump.[37]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Grimaldi, James V. (January 12, 2004). "Pete Rose's Accuser Opens Up". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2004/01/12/pete-roses-accuser-opens-up/e160a923-556f-4e7a-9fa8-38f08bddf029/. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "John M. Dowd". thedowdreport.com. http://www.thedowdreport.com/johndowd.html. Retrieved June 16, 2017. 
  3. ↑ Babcock, Charles R. (March 1, 1978). "U.S. Lawyer in Marston Case Eyed for Va. Post". https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/03/01/us-lawyer-in-marston-case-eyed-for-va-post/27957de8-e3bb-42b9-919e-3cb25fa1a730/. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Kashatus, William C. (2010). Dapper Dan Flood: The Controversial Life of a Congressional Power Broker. University Park, Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press. ISBN 978-0-271-03618-2. 
  5. ↑ Babcock, Charles R. (March 2, 1978). "Dash Rules Out U.S. Attorney's Post". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/03/02/dash-rules-out-us-attorneys-post/c6e07e27-4dbb-407f-837d-214babac0d42/. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  6. ↑ Drinkhall, Jim (April 11, 1979). "Ordeal at McNeil: Federal Lawmen Plan an Unpleasant Future for Sam Ray Calabrese". 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Friendly, Jonathan (June 9, 1984). "Journal Settles Libel Suit For $800,000". https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/09/us/journal-settles-libel-suit-for-800000.html. Retrieved June 19, 2017. 
  8. ↑ Drinkhall, Jim (December 12, 1979). "A Reporter's Tale: Aftermath of Article on U.S. Prosecutors". 
  9. ↑ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". 1984. http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/589/1206/1870051/. Retrieved June 18, 2017. "Presently pending before the Court, and decided herein, are defendants' motions for summary judgment with respect to each of the five claims in the Kramer-Dowd suit..." 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Skrzycki, Cindy (January 23, 1990). "Firm of Heron Burchette Loses Lawyers to Akin Gump". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/01/23/firm-of-heron-burchette-loses-lawyers-to-akin-gump/11cb784e-99b9-4d84-8642-d298d18a21ba/. Retrieved August 17, 2017. 
  11. ↑ Marcus, Ruth (April 20, 1987). "Iran Affair is a Boon to Lawyers". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/04/20/iran-affair-is-a-boon-to-lawyers/b8a992da-edb3-458b-9b8e-2de0355dcdf6/. Retrieved June 21, 2017. 
  12. ↑ Dowd, John M. (May 9, 1989). "Dowd Report". http://www.thedowdreport.com/report.pdf. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  13. ↑ Grant, Alison (June 22, 1989). "'Substantial' evidence Rose bet on baseball, lawyer says". http://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/06/22/Substantial-evidence-Rose-bet-on-baseball-lawyer-says/2855614491200/. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  14. ↑ "ESPN.com: Dowd: Rose 'probably' bet against Reds while manager". ESPN. December 12, 2002. http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/1212/1475769.html. Retrieved June 16, 2010. 
  15. ↑ "Pete Rose files federal defamation lawsuit against John Dowd". ESPN. July 6, 2016. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/16831410/pete-rose-files-defamation-lawsuit-john-dowd. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  16. ↑ Weinbaum, William (July 31, 2017). "Court document alleges that Pete Rose committed statutory rape in the 1970s". ESPN. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20208447/woman-accuses-pete-rose-statutory-rape. Retrieved August 17, 2017. 
  17. ↑ Saraceno, Jon (April 27, 2005). "Keeping Score". https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/saraceno/2005-04-27-saraceno-dykstra_x.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  18. ↑ Wong, Edward; Chass, Murray (March 9, 2002). "BASEBALL; Zimmer and Umpires Say an Old Debt Has Been Paid". https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/09/sports/baseball-zimmer-and-umpires-say-an-old-debt-has-been-paid.html. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  19. ↑ Smith, Claire (June 27, 1990). "Steinbrenner Report to Stay Private". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/27/sports/steinbrenner-report-to-stay-private.html. Retrieved June 17, 2017. 
  20. ↑ "Suit Filed to Stymie Vincent : Steinbrenner case: Injunction is sought by two minority owners of Yankees, including owner's lawyer.". Associated Press. August 17, 1990. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-17/sports/sp-704_1_minority-owners. Retrieved June 17, 2017. 
  21. ↑ Smith, Claire (December 11, 1991). "BASEBALL; Yank-Related Suit vs. Vincent Dropped". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/11/sports/baseball-yank-related-suit-vs-vincent-dropped.html. Retrieved June 17, 2017. 
  22. ↑ Dodd, Mike (March 31, 2006). "Is George Mitchell independent enough?". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2006-03-30-mitchell-role_x.htm. Retrieved June 17, 2017. 
  23. ↑ Walker, Childs (December 11, 2007). "Some question Mitchell as report draws near". 
  24. ↑ Granelli, James S. (September 21, 1991). "Sen. McCain May Testify at Keating Trial". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-09-21/business/fi-2520_1_john-mccain. Retrieved June 17, 2017. 
  25. ↑ Regens, James L.; Gaddie, Ronald Keith (2005). The Economic Realities of Political Reform: Elections and the US Senate. New York City: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02351-1. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Connor, John M. (2013). Global Price Fixing: Our Customers are the Enemy. Volume 24 of Studies in Industrial Organization. Norwell, Massachusetts: Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4613-0293-3. 
  27. ↑ Henkoff, Ronald (February 3, 1997). "I Thought I Was Going to Be a Hero". Fortune. http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1997/02/03/221539/index.htm. Retrieved June 21, 2017. 
  28. ↑ "The Informant!" (in English). United States: Soderbergh, Steven. September 18, 2009. ASIN B0031OCY2E. 
  29. ↑ Labaton, Stephen (February 20, 1992). "Governor in the S.& L. Spotlight". https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/20/business/governor-in-the-s-l-spotlight.html. Retrieved June 21, 2017. 
  30. ↑ "Arizona Gov. Symington Guilty". CNN. September 3, 1997. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/09/03/symington.verdict/. Retrieved September 29, 2009. 
  31. ↑ Rudin, Ken (January 26, 2001). "I Beg Your Pardon". https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/junkie/archive/junkie012601.htm. Retrieved September 29, 2009. 
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Cooperman, Alan (March 30, 2007). "Bush Loyalist Rose Quickly at Justice". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/29/AR2007032901964.html. Retrieved January 28, 2009. 
  33. ↑ (2007 Congressional Record, Vol. 153, Page S3791 ) March 27, 2007. Retrieved 2017-06-18.
  34. ↑ Comstock, Courtney (May 11, 2011). "Rajaratnam Lawyer John Dowd Flips Everyone Off, And Says "Look At The Scoreboard! We're Winning!"". Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/john-dowd-middle-finger-flips-off-scoreboard-2011. Retrieved June 17, 2017. 
  35. ↑ Dawsey, Josh (June 16, 2017). "Trump hires another high-profile lawyer as special counsel probe heats up". http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/16/trump-new-lawyer-john-dowd-fbi-investigation-239651. Retrieved June 16, 2017. 
  36. ↑ Johnson, Kevin; Jackson, David (July 17, 2017). "Ty Cobb, Donald Trump's newest Russia lawyer, adds legal muscle as investigations widen". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/18/ty-cobb-donald-trumps-newest-russia-lawyer-adds-legal-muscle-investigations-widen/487811001/. Retrieved August 17, 2017. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Apuzzo, Matt; Schmidt, Michael S. (August 16, 2017). "Trump Lawyer Forwards Email Echoing Secessionist Rhetoric". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/16/us/politics/trump-lawyer-email-race-charlottesville.html. Retrieved August 16, 2017. 

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at John M. Dowd and the edit history here.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement

Fan Feed