Nixon's Enemies List - Purpose

Purpose

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nixon's Enemies List

The official purpose, as described by the White House Counsel's Office, was to "screw" Nixon's political enemies, by means of tax audits from the Internal Revenue Service, and by manipulating "grant availability, federal contracts, litigation, prosecution, etc." In a memorandum from John Dean to Lawrence Higby (August 16, 1971), Dean explained the purpose of the list:

This memorandum addresses the matter of how we can maximize the fact of our incumbency in dealing with persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration; stated a bit more bluntly—how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.

Read more about this topic:  Nixon's Enemies List

Famous quotes containing the word purpose:

    ... the word “education” has an evil sound in politics; there is a pretense of education,
    when the real purpose is coercion without the use of force.
    Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)

    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
    A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
    Bible: Hebrew Ecclesiastes (l. III, 1–2)

    I want that glib and oily art
    To speak and purpose not, since what I well intend,
    I’ll do’t before I speak.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)