Houston plan

The Huston plan was an American domestic spying program which originated in the Nixon administration. The plan, named for Nixon advisor Tom Huston who drafted it [ [http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture30.html America Sinking through a Watergate] ] , specifically ordered American intelligence agencies to spy on American civilians - in particular, Anti-Vietnam War activities and civil rights activists.

"J. Edgar Hoover had been doing that stuff for years without any express order. And he didn't want an express order, and he certainly didn't want a document floating around with his signature on it saying that he was pledging to do it. But Huston had persuaded Nixon to insist upon this because Nixon felt that the intelligence agencies were dragging their feet. Well, the document was staffed around, and Hoover wrote all these disclaimers, and footnotes which he attached to it, and so did the Army. The Army said, "We can't do this sort of thing. We have no security. We're all over the newspapers." And they were, because my agents were coming out about once every two weeks with a news story. All around the country Army intelligence agents were telling what they knew to TV stations, to print reporters in Chicago sometimes, various newspapers, and the Army was leaking like a sieve. Very embarrassing." [ [http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/noplacetohide/pyle.html Interview with Army whistleblower Chris Pyle] , American Public Media]

See also

* USA PATRIOT Act

References