Philip Willkie (PJW)

Philip Willkie (December 7, 1919 - June 16, 1971) served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard Nixon from 1965 to 1971.

The only son of former presidential candidate and business Wendell Willkie, Philip Willkie was a lawyer and member of the Indiana House of Representatives. He befriended Nixon during the 1960 presidential election. Willkie represented the interests of small towns in Middle America, which is why he was briefly considered to be Nixon's running mate in the 1964 presidential election. The selection instead went to Barry Goldwater, but upon Nixon's late victory, Willkie was appointed as Secretary of the Treasury.

During the investigations of Vice President Spiro Agnew and Nixon, Willkie, being in charge of the Treasury, came under scrutiny as well. Willkie was part of a conspiracy by Nixon to sell weapons to the fascist regime of France and then use the money to fund the extralegal activities of the Federal Bureau of Racial Affairs as well as the Committee to Re-elect the President. As the FBI closed in, Willkie decided to confess to the FBI. At the end of the press conference where he revealed the government's wrongdoings, Willkie committed suicide.

Numerous conspiracy theories have emerged about Willkie's death. Some conspiracies believe that Willkie chose suicide over the forced disappearance that other government workers had suffered. Others believe that Willkie had been diverging some of those funds into his accounts.