There is a lot going on, isn’t there? The President of the United States visited a town that used to be spelled “Kiev.” A call presumably was made to notify Russia that any interference with the visit would constitute an act of war on their part, and maybe justify a nuclear response.
Several of us are still squirming with old reflexive response to the idea of the use of WMD. Then an old article surfaced while looking for something else. Something recent, not the scandal before this one, which was investigated for more than four years. That was about “Russian Collusion.” This one is about the FBI’s director of Counter-intelligence Operations in New York City who apparently augmented his retirement by colluding with Russian Oligarchs.
The individual in question is the recently-arrested Mr. Charlie McGonigal. With his arrest came some revelatory information about how he was in the fiscal pocket of a Russian oligarch. It was presented as a highly unusual aspect of corruption in the world’s Premier Law Enforcement Agency. That is what brought up an old story from far away.
The date on the old story is what was startling. It was titled “The Bureau,” and was about a former Deputy Director of the Bureau who served as the anonymous source for the spectacular revelations of “Deep Throat” back in Watergate days. That information drove the headlines in the Washington Post, which used to be a “newspaper” published here. The version we saw was based on available information as of: “01 June 2005.”
(Insert Disclaimer: Socotra House did not author the opinions of independent contracts whose views are their own. Our direct employees fervently support all personnel specifically mentioned in the UCMJ and mean no disrespect to anyone in particular).
Man, looking at the story made old far away memories flood back. At the time, Mr. Felt was still alive. His family was saying that they let the cat out of the bag on his role in bringing down a President because their patriarch is a hero. The man who was described by Ace Reporters Woodward and Bernstein as a source skulking around the parking garage chain-smoking Pell Mell cigarettes was unmasked by his own hand. Or dementia, as the case may be. He was 91 back then, after all.
It is surprising that not much more echoed over the last seventeen years. A lot of this story has been out there and quite visible for decades. We like to frame it the way it was written back then:
“Everyone of a certain age remembers J. Edgar Hoover and his long-time companion Clyde Tolsen at the apex of the FBI. They kept files on all of us, the kids who had doubts about Vietnam, the Members of Congress and their sons and daughters and everyone of any importance anywhere.”
Director Hoover’s passing is only vaguely remembered now by the public at large. It was real to some of us then, since his resting place, close by that of close friend Mr. Tolson, is in funky old Congressional Cemetery on the banks of the muddy Anacostia River. It was quiet and peaceful, and the graves were green.
His grave became a frequent stop on daily fitness runs from the office over on New York Avenue. We would sometimes sit on the iron bench in front of the wrought-iron railing around his plot, the low stone wall to the water behind us. The bench and the fence had been donated as a symbol of loyalty by the Association of Former Special Agents, which accounts for the dignified setting.
When the Watergate dust settled, nineteen White House and Re-election Committee officials spent time in the slammer. It was quite a parade, courtesy of Federal District Judge “Maximum John” Sirica. Remember the names? “Senator Sam Ervin?” “Special Agent G. Gordon Liddy?” “Chuck Colson?” What fun that was!
The spectacle went on for years, and the Nixon Administration came down, rank by rank, because someone inside was leaking material to the Post. That turned out to be Deputy Director Felt. He kept the secret through his retirement and the honors from the government for a career well-served. He kept it through the publication of his memoirs, and apparently intended to keep the secret to his grave. But he spilled the beans to his daughter, Joan, and grandson, Nick. They considered him not only a national hero, but also a possible source to pay off some college bills.
Then silence for a couple decades, although the somewhat lurid details of Hoover’s relationship with Tolson It was the deliberate act of treason alleged against Charlie McGonigal that brought Mr. Felt, and Director Hoover briefly back to mention a couple weeks ago. We have not seen it mentioned since, apparently because the coverage might reveal misinformation that was actually just ‘fact.’ That would be the clear indication that there are some really deep problems with the way we have permitted our permanent government to operate.
We have great respect for those who do their jobs here in The Swamp, no disclaimer required. But we do consider that there is an indication that some real problems have been going on for ‘a while.’ More than a century, in fact, since Mr. Hoover took over in 1921. We won’t even bring up Mr. Comey and the second-to-latest leadership crew who may have done so again not long ago. What is surprising is that this has now been under discussion for most of our lives, and until Charlie McGonigal, not a single thing has been done about it.
Mr. Comey and his crew all got either campaign contributions or book deals. Weird, you know?
Copyright 2005/2023 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com