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In politics, '''dirty tricks''' refers to unethical, duplicitous, [[slander]]ous, and sometimes illegal tactics employed by politicians (or their underlings) to win elections and/or destroy opponents.  

In politics, '''dirty tricks''' refers to unethical, duplicitous, [[slander]]ous, and sometimes illegal tactics employed by politicians (or their underlings) to win elections and/or destroy opponents.  

==Watergate and dirty tricks==  

==Watergate and dirty tricks==

The [[Watergate affair]] "dirty tricks" occurred before legislatition regarding the management of Campaign finance funds, usage, and reporting.  The Nixon Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP), a private non-governmental entity, had used funds from its coffers to pay for, and later coverup, "dirty tricks".  As a result of later legislation, such activities are strictly regulated, though other private entities still may practice what has become commonly referred to as questionable or unethical "dirty tricks".

The [[Watergate affair]] "dirty tricks" occurred before legislatition regarding the management of Campaign finance funds, usage, and reporting.  The Nixon Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP), a private non-governmental entity, had used funds from its coffers to pay for, and later coverup, "dirty tricks".  As a result of later legislation, such activities are strictly regulated, though other private entities still may practice what has become commonly referred to as questionable or unethical "dirty tricks".

==Filegate==

==Filegate==

The '''Filegate''' matter during [[President Bill Clinton]]'s first term matter revolves around one unanswered question, ''Who hired Craig Livingstone?''<ref> director of the White House's Office of Personnel Security </ref><ref>http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,6984,00.html </ref>

The '''Filegate''' matter during [[President Bill Clinton]]'s first term matter revolves around one unanswered question, ''Who hired Craig Livingstone?''<ref>director of the White House's Office of Personnel Security</ref><ref>http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,6984,00.html</ref>

Livingston was a bar bouncer who worked on the Clinton's [[United States presidential election, 1992|1992 presidential campaign]] dressed as a chicken to stalk [[President George H.W. Bush]] and calling him names. After victory Livingstone headed up the White House Office of Personnel Security. Livingstone illegally requested and received from the [[FBI]] background files on former [[Reagan]] and Bush Sr. staffers.  

Livingston was a bar bouncer who worked on the Clinton's [[United States presidential election, 1992|1992 presidential campaign]] dressed as a chicken to stalk [[President George H.W. Bush]] and calling him names. After victory Livingstone headed up the White House Office of Personnel Security. Livingstone illegally requested and received from the [[FBI]] background files on former [[Reagan]] and Bush Sr. staffers.  

Livingstone was the perfect [http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,6984,00.html patsy] for what happened next. Big, stupid, partisan, willing to make a fool of himself and loyal to the end, Livingstone was nearly the embodiment of the perfect Clinton surrogate.

Livingstone was the perfect [http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,6984,00.html patsy] for what happened next. Big, stupid, partisan, willing to make a fool of himself and loyal to the end, Livingstone was nearly the embodiment of the perfect Clinton surrogate.

   

   

That the files were illegally procured there is no doubt. That a [[DNC]] operative illegally downloaded copies to a flashdrive there is no question. That the files contained half-truths and innuendos, similar to the abuse the country suffered only two years earlier in the [[Clarence_Thomas#Appointment_to_the_United_States_Supreme_Court|Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill]] hearings there is a near certainty;  that innocent lives and careers were affected for the coming decades is unquestionable. It was intended as the political equivalent of the [[Katyn massacre]]-a decapitation of the future leadership of the Republican party. Any White House staffers who served Presidents Reagan and Papa Bush who may think of running for Congress one day had to brace themselves for whatever lies and innuendo may be thrown at them publicly out of an FBI background check.<ref>http://fas.org/irp/congress/1996_rpt/fbirep.htm </ref>

That the files were illegally procured there is no doubt. That a [[DNC]] operative illegally downloaded copies to a flashdrive there is no question. That the files contained half-truths and innuendos, similar to the abuse the country suffered only two years earlier in the [[Clarence Thomas#Appointment to the United States Supreme Court|Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill]] hearings there is a near certainty;  that innocent lives and careers were affected for the coming decades is unquestionable. It was intended as the political equivalent of the [[Katyn massacre]]-a decapitation of the future leadership of the Republican party. Any White House staffers who served Presidents Reagan and Papa Bush who may think of running for Congress one day had to brace themselves for whatever lies and innuendo may be thrown at them publicly out of an FBI background check.<ref>http://fas.org/irp/congress/1996_rpt/fbirep.htm</ref>

In the end of coarse, no one was ever held accountable for the abuse and lives destroyed. But all fingers inside the White House and outside pointed at the new First Lady [[Hillary Clinton]] who was rapidly getting a national reputation for the use of [[dirty tricks]]ters, private investigators, and outright thugs to harass, discredit, intimidate, and blackmail her perceived political enemies or those who stood in the way of her raw ambition for power.

In the end of coarse, no one was ever held accountable for the abuse and lives destroyed. But all fingers inside the White House and outside pointed at the new First Lady [[Hillary Clinton]] who was rapidly getting a national reputation for the use of dirty tricksters, private investigators, and outright thugs to harass, discredit, intimidate, and blackmail her perceived political enemies or those who stood in the way of her raw ambition for power.

==The [[Valerie Plame]] scandal==  

==The [[Valerie Plame]] scandal==

John Dean, referred to as the "master manipulator of the cover up" of the [[Watergate scandal]] by the [[FBI]], who received [[immunity]] from [[prosecution]] in exchange for his testimony, was quoted on Salon.com [http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2003/10/03/dean/index_np.html 3 October 2003]: as saying,  

John Dean, referred to as the "master manipulator of the cover up" of the [[Watergate scandal]] by the [[FBI]], who received [[immunity]] from [[prosecution]] in exchange for his testimony, was quoted on Salon.com [http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2003/10/03/dean/index_np.html 3 October 2003]: as saying,  

:''"I thought I had seen political dirty tricks as foul as they could get, but I was wrong. In blowing the cover of CIA agent Valerie Plame to take political revenge on her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, for telling the truth, Bush's people have out-Nixoned Nixon's people.  And my former colleagues were not amateurs by any means."'',

:''"I thought I had seen political dirty tricks as foul as they could get, but I was wrong. In blowing the cover of CIA agent Valerie Plame to take political revenge on her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, for telling the truth, Bush's people have out-Nixoned Nixon's people.  And my former colleagues were not amateurs by any means."'',

*[[Larry Flynt]]

*[[Larry Flynt]]

==External Links==

 

==External links==

*[http://foia.fbi.gov/watergat/watergat2.pdf FBI Watergate file, pg. 11] (pg 13 in PDF format)

*[http://foia.fbi.gov/watergat/watergat2.pdf FBI Watergate file, pg. 11] (pg 13 in PDF format)