 Former United States Senator Mike Gravel, who in 2006 began a run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, stated that John Meier had been persecuted by agents of the American government and threatened by criminal elements in the U.S. and that Meier is "The Man Who Knew Too Much About Too Many Bad People".Meier has been connected to the events that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal.Meier told the President's brother, Donald, that he was sure the Democrats would win the election since they had a lot of information on Richard Nixon's illicit dealings with Howard Hughes that had never been released, and that Larry O'Brien had the information.