---
born: 1925-11-15
category: Intelligence & Government
died: 2014-06-26
location: Huntsville, Tennessee
summary: Baker was on the MCA board from January 4, 1985, to March 2, 1987, when he
  resigned to accept the position of chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan.
tags:
- Person
- Politician
---

[Howard Baker](/people/howard-baker/) was a former U.S. Senator and a member of the Board of Directors of [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/) Corporation. He later served as [Ronald Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/)'s chief of staff.[^1]

Baker was on the [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/) board from January 4, 1985, to March 2, 1987, when he resigned to accept the position of chief of staff to President [Ronald Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/). He returned to [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/)'s board of directors in March 1989, just months after the [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) wiretaps on [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/) had been shut down (Fall 1988).[^1]

[Edwin Meese](/people/edwin-meese/), [William F. Weld](/people/william-f-weld/), and [Arnold Burns](/people/arnold-burns/) complained to Baker about Meese's conduct. Weld stated that his superiors often asked if he could not close pending investigations of Meese's friends. Baker urged Weld and Burns to remain on staff, but they, along with four top aides, resigned from the [Justice Department](/organizations/department-of-justice/) on March 30, 1988, in an unprecedented mass exit.[^1]

---

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.