OHD-002. Bill Shipp interviews Griffin Bell about his career and his tenure as U.S. Attorney General (1977-1979). Bell comments on the integration of Georgia schools and the University of Georgia, the Kennedy presidential campaign in Georgia, and Martin Luther King's releases from jail in Georgia. Griffin discusses the abolished county unit system and on the E.F. Hutton and Exxon Valdez cases. Bell recalls his time as an attorney supporting the civil rights movement, his relationship with Charlie Block, and the confirmation of Judge Alex Lawrence. He reflects on the estrangement between President Johnson and Richard B. Russell and his own confirmation as attorney general. Bell discusses his time as attorney general under President Carter, attending the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and his support of President George H.W. Bush. Bell also weighs in on the Iran-Contra affair, his role in the Florida Election Controversy, and the Watergate source Deep Throat.

This video is from the Oral History Documentary Collection at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries.