Former Nixon aide Chuck Colson dies at 80

Charles Colson, former White House aide during the Nixon administration, is pictured on June 29, 1973. / AP Photo

(CBS News) Chuck Colson, a former aide to Richard Nixon, evangelical leader, author and nonprofit founder, died Saturday at the age of 80.

He passed away at a hospital in Northern Virginia, three weeks after surgery to ease intercerebral hemorrhage -- a large pool of clotted blood in his brain.

Colson was Nixon's special counsel and was part of the Watergate scandal which led to Nixon's resignation. He was known as the president's "hatchet man," and also served on Nixon's re-election committee, which plotted and attempted to steal information from the Democratic Party headquarters.

Colson pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and served seven months of a one-to-three year prison sentence.

Prior to the start of his prison sentence, Colson became a born-again Christian. After his release from an Alabama prison, Colson founded Prison Fellowship, a nonprofit organization that conducts outreach to prisoners to "seek the transformation of prisoners... through the power and truth of Jesus Christ."

According to his bio for Prison Fellowship, Colson formed the idea of Prison Fellowship when a fellow inmate told him "there ain't nobody cares about us. Nobody!" Colson started the organization and ran it for 33 years.

Jim Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship, told CBS News that Colson continued to meet with top elected officials and leaders but "would rather be in prison embracing an inmate."

Colson wrote more than 30 books on religion and faith. In 1991 he founded BreakPoint, where he broadcast daily radio commentaries on news and politics "from a Christian perspective."

Colson never left the political scene, consistently advocating on behalf of conservative policies. He opposed abortion and same-sex marriage and supported the Iraq war. In 2008, President George W. Bush gave Colson the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Colson is survived by his wife, Patty, three children and five grandchildren.

[CHICO_KK]

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.


This makes absolutely no sense.

[josephp5]

The trouble I have with Colson is that, unlike his other co-conspirators like John Dean, he never came clean about his role in Watergate. In his book "Born Again" he devoted only two cryptic sentences to the crime for which he was convicted---ordering his two lackeys Liddy and Hunt to break into the psychiatrist office of Nixon enemy Daniel Ellsberg. However, Colson devotes an entire chapter of his book to cover an event when he unexpectedly had to arrange for the President to attend a Kennedy Center concert. There are a multitude of Watergate questions to which he had the answers, but he did not provide them. I am glad for Colson's work in ministering to prisoners and helping to improve their situation. It is too bad that he did not serve the cause of history by refusing to settle issues to which he was a participant.

[GreedyOldPartee]

Look for this white trash to be recycled; there is another lunatic, minion right-winger in the making.

[FormerPrisoner]

Another comment from someone who obviously never knew the man!!! Wow!

[cbsnews_viewer]

I read much of this man's obituary. He seems like an interesting character. How MORAL is the man when he pushed for the Invasion of Iraq. 1) It killed many people. Even if you look at it from just a US position.
2) It meant that many Iraqi Christians had to flee.
So as far as helping Christianity is concerned. He hurt Iraqis who where Christians.
Just on Iraq alone, even though I believe the man was a true believer he used the POWER of the State, and many innocent people suffered. So I don't think if Christ lived he would be "too down" with Colson. Yet, of all the super right wingers he, being a former prisoner was the only one to really DECRY torture that the CIA used in these wars. You can try to be moral and push politics to be about morality but when your having wars and occupying other nations, is it not messy business. And since religion since the start of its record, has been about strengthening the power of the state. Was he not just a tool? Aren't Muslims just a tool of expansion also? I don't know all the answers. He did evil things. Did a ridiculously low amount of 7 months time. He tried to use the power of the government to screw people over. If he had been successful they would of did a hell of a lot more than seven months of time.

[dharry77]

He was a criminal, then a snakeoil salesman. If ther's a hell, he's in it.

[FormerPrisoner]

Yeah and you probably never met him. Sad. Is this is where we are in society today?

[FormerPrisoner]

Go away BishopRomney.

[Ankhorite]

The fact that Dubya gave this crook the Presidential Citizens Medal is a national disgrace.

It is an embarrassment and degradation to all the legitimate recipients of the PCM.

It is yet another disgrace on the record of George W. Bush. He abused every aspect of his office.

[cbsnews_viewer]

Right now, they are giving the president of Israel medals just for being politically connected. For every five good deserving medals, there are political medals which mean less than zero. Come on. Even outside of the US, they give Obama the Nobel Peace prize even before he is in office. It was total Bull. He got it because he was mixed race birth and got elected while they hoped he would do good things. He bombed Libya. No matter what you think about Libya. Innocent people died by default. The Nobel price is bull.

[FormerPrisoner]

A crook would not have donated one million dollars(not many people would)back to help others...which is what Chuck did after being awarded the Templeton prize!!

[ivehadit9]

Chuck Colson was one of those dwindling group of people who served in the long-defunct Nixon Administration. Henry Kissinger, who served as Nixon's National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State, is still around; John Dean, the president's legal counsel and Watergate whistle-blower, is still alive; Dwight Chapin, who served as Nixon's appointments secretary, is still around and is a real estate broker; Alexander Butterfield, the WH aide who revealed the existence of the White House taping system, is still around; Pat Buchanan was a young speechwriter when he worked for Nixon;..........

However, unlike many of Nixon's former aides, Chuck Colson rarely said a word critical of his former boss. He actually relished his time in the WH working for the president (which I understand) and I think Colson forgave Nixon for all his transgressions..

[themooniac]

He can join Breitbart in one of Dantes' circle of hell.....

[FormerPrisoner]

Nope. He's is in Heaven right now praising the Lord. RIP Chuck!!!

[FormerPrisoner]

I love how people who never knew Chuck(let alone even met him)judge him so severely. I personally worked with him for over 8 years and he was one of the most humble and loving people I have ever known. He had a huge passion to see prisoners change through the power of Jesus Christ. He loved to help the children of prisoners through our Angel Tree program and he also donated back to his work one million dollars that he received from the Templeton prize. (along with proceeds from his many great books) He is a great example of what all Christians should be doing...serving the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. God bless you Chuck. See you in Heaven my brother!!!

[meswitzer]

Amen!He was one of my heros of the faith! I will miss him until heaven.

[Molly-Pchr]

Amusing, sort of, how so many who don't believe, i.e., Google Mormonism, invoke God into the discussion. They think this planet and its grand design and DNA are all accidents which, given enough time, just "happened". Bliss.

[antoniof123]

No matter what he did he has paid the final price death; no one escapes it, the great equilizer of us all.

[kainos2]

But death certainly does not nullify what we have done in our lives. Although Chuck did not begin well, he certainly ended well!

[Molly-Pchr]

kainos-and the smallest comment full of hate has ripples.