“We do not target American citizens . . . The nation must to a degree take it on faith that we who lead the CIA are honorable men, devoted to the nation’s service.” (Acid Dreams—The Complete Social History of LSD, 1992)

His statement was proven to be a lie when Seymour Hersh, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, discovered a link in the CIA’s intricate secret deadly chain. Hersh uncovered evidence documenting the CIA’s illegal spying activities on American Citizens which included wiretapping, opening mail, breaking in, and surreptitiously drugging citizens — activities prohibited by U.S. law. Hersh’s front page article in the NY Times under a banner headline was published on December 22, 1974, ignited a firestorm of public outrage shortly after the CIA’s involvement in the Watergate scandal. [We will return to the impact of Hersh’s expose shortly.]