Martha Beall Mitchell was the wife of John N. Mitchell

John N. Mitchell

John Newton Mitchell was the Attorney General of the United States from 1969 to 1972 under President Richard Nixon...

, United States Attorney General

United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...

 under President Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

. Martha Mitchell gained notoriety in the press during the Nixon administration for her frequent phone calls to reporters and colorful comments on the state of the nation. She became a household name, appearing on several high-profile magazine covers, and a controversial figure in her own right. Her battles with alcoholism and her eccentric behavior led to a divorce from John Mitchell in 1973.