The enemies list and the IRS

OPEN THE RECORD

Sources & limits.

Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.

1. UNC Library: John Dean memorandum, “Dealing with our Political Enemies”, 16 August 1971 ↗

   Full text of the memo, from the Rufus Edmisten papers. A proposal, with an approve/disapprove line; not proof that it was carried out.

2. John Dean’s cover memorandum for the enemies list, September 14, 1971 ↗

   A contemporary cover memo establishing an effort to select political enemies. It does not establish that each intended retaliation occurred.

3. Greenville News in USA Today: “Former IRS chief recalls defying Nixon”, 26 May 2013 ↗

   Interview with former IRS commissioner Johnnie Walters, who says he refused to act on the enemies list Dean gave him. His recollection, with comment from former Nixon Library director Tim Naftali.

4. Connecticut Public Radio: “John Dean Says Nixon’s Enemies List Was Never Used to ‘Screw’ Anyone”, 1 May 2014 ↗

   Dean’s own later account of the memo and the list. A participant’s recollection decades later, which conflicts with Walters’s account on one point.

5. House Judiciary Committee: adopted articles of impeachment, July 1974 — transcript ↗

   Text adopted by the House Judiciary Committee, reproduced by UCSB. The proposed resolution says “is impeached,” but it never passed the full House.

6. U.S. Senate — Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities ↗

   Institutional Senate history of the investigation, its origin and results. A concise synthesis rather than the complete hearing transcript.