Which notable figures were on the enemies list and how did it affect their careers?
Executive summary
Nixon’s “Enemies List” began as a 20-name memo in September 1971 and was later expanded into a master “Opponents” roster of roughly 200–220 people and organizations; its stated aim was to “use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies” [1] [2]. Official attempts to weaponize the IRS and other federal levers were proposed, but the IRS commissioner refused wide audits of the named twenty, and most people on the shorter list were not directly audited — though others associated with opponents did face audits in 1973 [1] [3].
1. How the list was made and who wrote it
The core enemies list originated as a memorandum assembled by Charles Colson’s office and written by George T. Bell, then sent to White House counsel John Dean on September 9, 1971; that memo named twenty principal targets and framed the project as a broader “Political Enemies Project” or “Opponents List” that later ballooned into a much larger roster [1] [2].
2. Notable figures named and the mix of targets
The initial twenty combined politicians, business leaders, journalists and entertainers — a cross-section of public figures deemed politically hostile to the Nixon administration [1] [4]. The expanded master list included roughly 220 names grouped by categories such as “Senators,” “12 Black Congressmen,” and “Media,” showing the White House viewed institutional critics as a wide-ranging political problem [2].
3. What the Nixon team intended to do to those on the list
John Dean’s memo made explicit the strategies: use “grant availability, federal contracts, litigation, prosecution, [and] the IRS” to harass and disadvantage opponents — in short, to exploit incumbency and federal machinery for political ends [3] [1]. The plan was thus not symbolic: it recommended concrete administrative and law-enforcement levers.
4. What actually happened to people named
Federal action against the named twenty was limited. The IRS commissioner at the time, Donald C. Alexander, refused to launch audits of the people on the short list; while none of the twenty were audited as a direct result, other opponents and major donors to George McGovern did later face audits in 1973 — illustrating both restraint and spillover effects of the campaign [1] [3].
5. Harassment beyond the list and disputed claims
Not all harassment fit neat categories. Some critics and celebrities (for example, John Lennon is often discussed in this era) faced FBI or federal scrutiny without necessarily appearing on the published list, and some individuals later claimed to have been on Nixon’s list when they were not — a dynamic that has muddied public memory and produced contested assertions [5].
6. Career effects: immediate, symbolic, and downstream consequences
For most named figures the list was more of a reputational and political cudgel than an automatic career-ender. Journalists like Dan Schorr reported harassment; yet the available reporting shows Nixon did not need the memo to target critics and that direct career-ending federal prosecutions of main list members did not materialize as a pattern [5] [1]. Still, the revelation of the list during congressional testimony deepened the Watergate scandal, contributed to bipartisan outrage, and helped erode Nixon’s political standing — a consequence that indirectly shaped many careers and the public landscape [3] [6].
7. Competing perspectives in the record
Historians and primary documents present two competing frames: one emphasizes the list as evidence of illegal weaponization attempts and administrative abuse (Dean’s memo and contemporaneous reporting), while other sources caution that the list’s practical power was uneven — the short list’s members were largely spared direct audits thanks to internal resistance at the IRS [3] [1]. Some historians and archivists underline that a much larger “opponents” roster existed, which broadens the potential circle of those affected [2] [4].
8. Why the story endures and the modern parallels
The enemies list resonates because it demonstrates how executive tools can be repurposed against political foes; commentators link the episode to later debates about politicized investigations and the ethical limits of incumbency. The list’s disclosure in Watergate hearings intensified public distrust in the Nixon White House and became shorthand for political retribution [3] [6].
Limitations: available sources here list the origins, aims, and some outcomes but do not provide exhaustive, name-by-name case studies demonstrating career terminations tied directly to being on the list; for individual biographies and legal outcomes, more targeted archival or biographical sources would be required (not found in current reporting).