Jack Goldsmith: On Jimmy Hoffa, labor unions, and the rise and fall of the mob

Conversations with Bill Kristol

News, Society & Culture, Government, Politics

4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2020

⏱️ 59 minutes

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Summary

Jack Goldsmith is a professor of law at Harvard, an expert on national security, terrorism, and cybersecurity—and a regular guest on Conversations. As he reveals in a fascinating new book, In Hoffa’s Shadow, from the age of 12 in 1975 he was personally wrapped up in one of the most contentious episodes in American history—the disappearance of the powerful Teamsters Union boss Jimmy Hoffa. In this Conversation, Goldsmith recounts how his stepfather, Chuckie O’Brien, became the prime suspect in Hoffa’s disappearance, and how this affected their relationship over the next decades. Goldsmith then shares his own research into the Hoffa case and what he learned along the way about his stepfather, the life and career of Jimmy Hoffa, the history of labor unions in the United States, and the rise and fall of the mob. This is a deeply personal, moving Conversation that has much to teach us about the complexities of family, law, and politics.

Transcript

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0:00.0	And the Hi, welcome to conversations. I'm Bill Crystal and I'm joined by my friend Jack Goldsmith,
0:20.0	Professor of Law at Harvard, former Senior Justice Department official in the
0:24.4	Jerusalem Bush administration, author of many books, articles, many important
0:29.4	contributions to constitutional law and thinking about the executive branch.
0:33.0	We've discussed some of that on, in our previous conversations,
0:36.0	to discuss cybersecurity, which you've become an expert on and are worried about.
0:41.0	You're still worried just in our previous conversation?
0:43.0	Oh, great.
0:44.0	We've been having another conversation about that soon.
0:46.8	But today I wanted to discuss this terrific book, or at least begin from this terrific book you published a couple of months ago, I guess in the fall of 2019,
0:56.4	in Hoffa's Shadow, a stepfather, a disappearance in Detroit, and my search for the truth.
1:00.8	I would not have associated you with Jimmy Hoffa but I mean so tell me what's
1:06.4	that about? So when I was 12 years old I was living in West Memphis Arkansas and my mom married a man who had actually been, she
1:16.0	had been dating for six months.
1:18.0	His name was Charles Chucki O'Brien and this was my third father, my second stepfather.
1:23.5	And he was a wonderful stepfather.
1:26.2	And I didn't know much about him.
1:27.8	He just kind of came from nowhere.
1:29.6	Six weeks after my mom married him.
1:31.7	When is this now where I was...
1:33.0	This is June of 19...
1:34.0	They got married June 16th, 1975.
	...

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