PEJ News - C. L. Cook - Reminiscent of the darkest days of the Nixon administration, anonymous White House staffers confirm George W. Bush has an "enemies" list Tricky Dick would envy.
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Bush's Enemies List Sees Daylight
C. L. Cook
PEJ News
November 12, 2005
Beyond the botched break-in of the Democrat's election HQ by Nixon's so-called "plumbers," one of the most troubling facts to come out of the subsequent 'Watergate' investigations was the existence of an "official enemies list" compiled by the administration with the aid of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. Now, the Beltway broadsheet, Capitol Hill Blue is reporting the Bush administration too has an enemies list, one dwarfing Tricky Dick's, and again the FBI is implicated.
According to the paper, Bush's list contains the names and incriminating details on more than 10,000 subjects deemed hostile to the administration, and even those believed critical of Bush during his tenure as governor of Texas. More worrisome than the existence of such a list is the misuse by Bush insiders of the so-called "Patriot Act" to investigate those disagreeing with administration policies.
The list includes information on members of Congress, local, state and federal officials and many media figures and ordinary citizens who have had the temerity to question Bush's reign. Some notables said to appear prominently on the list are filmmaker, Michael Moore, outspoken Senator, Barbara Boxer, and news bloggers behind the sites, Daily Kos and Wonkette.
Describing the methods behind the Bush team philosophy, an unnamed White House aide says: "If you want to know who’s sleeping with whom, who drinks too much or has a fondness for nose candy, this is the place to find it. Karl (Rove) operates under the rule that if you fuck with us, we’ll f*ck you over."
Karl Rove, Bush's chief political operative, is said to have begun the list while working on George W. Bush's gubernatorial run in Texas and was dramatically expanded following the passage of the Patriot Act in 2001. Rove allegedly made use of the FBI's "national security letters" to garner private information on perceived foes. The letters allow the FBI to intercept phone, financial, and internet records without the subjects knowledge, or judicial oversight. The letters are routinely sent to employers, banks, and other sources deemed likely to possess personal data. Those contacted are forbidden, on pain of prosecution, from informing individuals targeted.
Commenting on the list, a White House staffer said: "We’re talking about Big Brother at its most extreme. We know things about people that their spouses don’t know and, if it becomes politically expedient, we will make sure the rest of the world knows."
The White House has so far refused comment on the list.
Chris Cook is a contributing editor to PEJ News and hosts Gorilla Radio, a weekly public affairs program that is no friend of the Bush administration. You can check out the GR Blog here.
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