The hypocrisy of Bill Moyers, patron saint of the Roanoke Times
Remember Roanoke Times' editorial page editor Tommy Denton saying how Bill Moyers was one of his journalistic heroes? This would be a sad tale if not for Moyers' moralistic, self-righteous denunciations of the "abuse of power" by the Bush administration.
From The Wall Street Journal.
BY LAURENCE H. SILBERMAN
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Only a few weeks before the 1964 election, a powerful presidential assistant, Walter Jenkins, was arrested in a men's room in Washington. Evidently, [President Johnson] was concerned that Barry Goldwater would use that against him in the election. Another assistant, Bill Moyers, was tasked to direct Hoover to do an investigation of Goldwater's staff to find similar evidence of homosexual activity. Mr. Moyers' memo to the FBI was in one of the files [I reviewed for the House Judiciary Committee].
When the press reported this, I received a call in my office from Mr. Moyers. Several of my assistants were with me. He was outraged; he claimed that this was another example of the Bureau salting its files with phony CIA memos. I was taken aback. I offered to conduct an investigation, which if his contention was correct, would lead me to publicly exonerate him. There was a pause on the line and then he said, "I was very young. How will I explain this to my children?" And then he rang off. I thought to myself that a number of the Watergate figures, some of whom the department was prosecuting, were very young, too...
I have always thought that the most heinous act in which a democratic government can engage is to use its law enforcement machinery for political ends.
(h/t to The Ombudsgod.)
From The Wall Street Journal.
BY LAURENCE H. SILBERMAN
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Only a few weeks before the 1964 election, a powerful presidential assistant, Walter Jenkins, was arrested in a men's room in Washington. Evidently, [President Johnson] was concerned that Barry Goldwater would use that against him in the election. Another assistant, Bill Moyers, was tasked to direct Hoover to do an investigation of Goldwater's staff to find similar evidence of homosexual activity. Mr. Moyers' memo to the FBI was in one of the files [I reviewed for the House Judiciary Committee].
When the press reported this, I received a call in my office from Mr. Moyers. Several of my assistants were with me. He was outraged; he claimed that this was another example of the Bureau salting its files with phony CIA memos. I was taken aback. I offered to conduct an investigation, which if his contention was correct, would lead me to publicly exonerate him. There was a pause on the line and then he said, "I was very young. How will I explain this to my children?" And then he rang off. I thought to myself that a number of the Watergate figures, some of whom the department was prosecuting, were very young, too...
I have always thought that the most heinous act in which a democratic government can engage is to use its law enforcement machinery for political ends.
(h/t to The Ombudsgod.)
posted by Salt Lick at 7/28/2005 06:01:00 AM
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