I have just finished The Burglary. It's a much more ambitious book than I expected, more about putting Media into a roughly 60 year historical context than about the planning, execution and distribution phases of the operation itself.

The book is admirably meticulous. My only major criticism is the formatting of citations. The book relies heavily on interviews of seven individuals over a 20 year period. Medsger's narrative is a synthesis, and it's not always clear who contributes what and when. Medsger acknowledges the individual narratives were not completely consistent with each other, and that they shifted over time. I would be suspicious of the scholarship if this didn't occur. Still, I think numerical citations in the text would have allowed readers follow the competing narratives more clearly, and that the book would have been better for it. Instead, the numerical citations at the end of the book reference chapters and brief phrases at the beginning of selected paragraphs. You can't easily reference this as you read. Frankly, I've never seen anything quite like this, maybe it's more common than I think, but I don't think it's a good approach.

The above is a fairly minor point. I think The Burglary is an important piece of historical scholarship which will have a lasting impact.

One lasting impact should be a formal exorcism of J. Edgar Hoover from the FBI. He was and out and out fraud and scoundrel. A pathological bigot. Take his name off the buildings. Keep in the pantheon, but only senses of the FBI's version of Satan. Take any pictures of him off the wall. Change the HQ logo to New FBI. There's a New Scotland Yard!

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/10/30/article-2225197-0EDA2B9100000578-441_468x314.jpg

As a summarize of a strict oversight process, I suggest a flip board with numbers, like those old safety citations in factories (see Simpsons) "208 days without infractions of American Civil Liberties."

Still want to go with this? :D

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7371/9411076165_cae9631d59.jpg

You may think that the persecution of Left Wing groups is more serious..

Just as those on the Right think that persecution of Right Wing groups is more serious...

From where I sit, they both are perfect examples of Government Persecution to further a political agenda...

Michale

Bull...

MANY were denied..

The vast majority took YEARS to get their status when comparable Left Wing groups got their's in months...

Yeah, um, those two are completely the same. NOT.

At their base, they are the same. Persecution from the government for political reasons..

In THAT regard, they are identical...

You might argue that the LEVEL of persecution is different.. I would probably agree..

But when ya take away all the chafe, BOTH are cases of government persecution to serve a political agenda..

That's just my personal opinion, though. Others might put Hoover higher on that list.

Still others might take "Drug War" off the list completely.. :D

Michale

Good point on tradecraft. What impressed me most was their dedication to NEVER contact each other after the action. They stayed apart, by design. This likely saved them from ever being caught later, when 200 FBI agents were dedicating their every moment to catching them.

The scenes in the movie about the block party to piss off the FBI were amazing -- these were also some of the most astonishing in the book, too.

Read "The Burglary". It's an amazing book. It was an amazing act of civil disobedience, and it changed this country forever. Did you note in the documentary the fact that the Washington Post had to grapple, for the first time ever, with the question of whether to publish secret leaked government files? That was before the Pentagon Papers, before Watergate, before Snowden, and they had to make up the journalistic rules as they went along.

This story should really be as well-known as the Pentagon Papers, and I'm amazed it isn't, personally.

-CW

I heartily agree. On FOIA, on their effectiveness, pretty much on everything you said.

You should really get a copy (even at a library) of "The Burglary" as it tells the full details of the story, which are both amusing and fascinating. And eye-opening.

Michale [3] -

Except for the fact that what got conservative panties in a twist was a letter from the IRS questioning their tax-exempt status (none of the conservative groups ever even had their status denied). That was the sum total of the "retaliation" the government took against them.

What the liberal 1960s groups got was government agents infiltrating them, being spied upon constantly by illegal wiretaps and everything else Hoover could throw at them, and an ABSURD amount of the FBI's time devoted to them (seriously, 40%?). Also, being called communist, anti-American, and a threat to American society. By the head of the FBI, no less. Also, faked letters in the mail urging you to commit suicide. I could go on and on, in fact.

Yeah, um, those two are completely the same. NOT.

Do yourself a favor, and do a web search on "COINTELPRO" to see what I'm talking about. And then just picture what Righties would say about such government persecution, were it ever to be aimed at them. Just for one tiny minute.

Picture what the outrage on Fox would be if it was revealed that "40% of the FBI's time was taken up by infiltrating and investigating Tea Party groups." Just for one tiny second picture the Righty outrage if that were actually true... as it was, for Lefties, back in the 60's.

BashiBazouk [7] -

As for "proper channels," the Media burglars sent their stolen files to two members of Congress and three media organizations. Both members of Congress and two of the media organizations IMMEDIATELY picked up the phone and informed the FBI, and turned over all the files (although the LA Times was smart enough to save a copy of them).

Only the Washington Post published anything. Ben Bradlee is the true First Amendment hero in this story, along with Katherine Graham.

TheStig [9] -

I rather like "Stasi-Lite" as it is the closest to an accurate description of Hoover's FBI I've ever heard. As I recommended to Bashi, read "The Burglary" to discover the detailed story, you will be amazed.

As far as I'm concerned, the three biggest embarrassments for the United States government EVER are:

(1) condoning slavery for so long.
(2) the incredibly un-American concept of the "House Un-American Activites Committee."
(3) J. Edgar Hoover.

Close behind would be the Drug War and the Alien and Sedition Acts.

That's just my personal opinion, though. Others might put Hoover higher on that list. When I wrote the original articles about "The Burglary" I also used the word "fiefdom" to describe Hoover's FBI, since it seems like the only proper term for what went on.

-CW

Hoover's FBI had implemented a Stasi-Lite police state during the 50's, 60's 70's. I can't think of a better short description, and there's no other way to assign ownership. Hoover ran the FBI as a personal fiefdom. He understood the US political class, and he had a thick dossier on every member. I'm convinced that was the primary secret to his success. Hoover traded in corruption. Crime fighting was incidental - it paid the rent. Politicians exchanged favors to live above their means and Hoover did the exactly the same...he was a jet setter on a government salary before there were jets. All I can say on that is "look it up." The difference was that Hoover knew the forest, the politicians just knew the trees. That translated into raw, unchecked, unconstitutional, Hoover Power for 50 yrs. Not of few of the powerful liked it that way and were willing to look over their shoulder and play nice with J.Edgar.

Given their amateur status, the Media Conspirators demonstrated astonishingly good "tradecraft." Their ultimate objective was realistic, but highly uncertain - find vital evidence documenting illegal FBI operations and get it to at least one very brave news organization or politician. They kept things small and simple. They sought out FBI soft spots, and cased their target adequately. They trained, they anticipated contingencies, and they also got very lucky a few times. That said, you tilt own odds.

This wasn't classical civil disobedience...i.e. break the law and go to jail serving a higher purpose. The Media Burglars broke the law and they got away with it, so far as legal punishment is concerned. They did suffer many years of psychological stress, but ultimately seem to have led personally satisfying and conventionally useful lives. Unlike Hoover and his political enablers, they reaped no monetary or in-kind rewards for their illegal behavior.

I personally consider the Media Burglars heroic, but that's a matter of taste. I don't think a good soldier must be a kamikaze or die trying for his/her country. I wish the Media Burglars well and salute their service.

There is some good that can be pointed to in Snowden's actions..

But there is also very bad things as well. Snowden's actions have hurt this country immeasurably. And I am not at all convinced of his altruism... The simple fact that he ran to China and then to Russia belays any claim of patriotism...

But I am with you on the pride in the NSA...

Michale

I am also a bit proud of the NSA. With all the stories about Russian and Chinese hackers breaking in to this and that, it's nice to know we are still the best by a long shot...

Also an ideal act of disobedience. Non-violent. Smart. Effective. And they got away with it. Beautiful.

What's yer thoughts on Snowden??

Michale

Courtesy of the Democrat Party..... :^/

Michale

Wake up! It's 1984.

Yea, so???

Oh wait.. Wrong reaction.. THAT was the reaction of Democrats when being told that the Obama Administration targeted conservative groups..

Oh my god!! That's horrible!!!

There... That's the appropriate reaction...

With apologies, I really can't get excited over the Left's attitudes on domestic surveillance...

By and large, the totality of the Left (including the vast majority of Weigantians) gave up ANY moral foundation to be cast aspersions on the US's domestic surveillance programs..

About the only Lefty who has any moral right to be outraged is Glenn Greenwald...

Practically everyone else on the Left has absolutely NO MORAL STANDING whatsoever to complain..

Michale

Thanks for the suggestion. A very interesting piece. It really shows what a great and powerful law the Freedom of Information Act truly is. A law that should be protected as strongly as the first amendment. I think it maybe time to expand it to cover Congress...

Also an ideal act of disobedience. Non-violent. Smart. Effective. And they got away with it. Beautiful.

Well, Ms Medsger, I believe it is critically important for you to stick to the facts and truth of this matter.