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Papantonio: Domestic Spying Hits Home for Congress
In the early 1970’s a series of congressional hearings took place in DC. That became known as the Church committee hearings.
The results of those hearings were remarkable mostly because the conclusion was that America had become a spook state where the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the Pentagon were not only spying on virtually every kind of American but they were using tactics that Joseph Stalin and J. Edgar Hoover had developed to aggressively target personal enemies and most any human being or organization that was mildly "suspect."
That included bishops, priests, and religious activists who spent their time building socially responsible churches. It included social activists ranging from folk singers like Pete Seeger to pot smoking rock 'n roll bands. The J. Edgar Hoover crowd had not only spied on activists like Martin Luther King, Jr. They actually used the material they found on Rev. King to try to push him toward suicide. It was a period when just being black was enough to be targeted by the likes of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.
The results of those hearings were remarkable mostly because the conclusion was that America had become a spook state where the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the Pentagon were not only spying on virtually every kind of American but they were using tactics that Joseph Stalin and J. Edgar Hoover had developed to aggressively target personal enemies and most any human being or organization that was mildly "suspect."
That included bishops, priests, and religious activists who spent their time building socially responsible churches. It included social activists ranging from folk singers like Pete Seeger to pot smoking rock 'n roll bands. The J. Edgar Hoover crowd had not only spied on activists like Martin Luther King, Jr. They actually used the material they found on Rev. King to try to push him toward suicide. It was a period when just being black was enough to be targeted by the likes of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.
Full text at Ring of Fire.
