# Claim 129

White House Counsel John Dean's August 16, 1971 memo described how the Nixon administration could use the machinery of the federal government against people it considered political enemies.

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

- Statement: White House Counsel John Dean's August 16, 1971 memo described how the Nixon administration could use the machinery of the federal government against people it considered political enemies.
- Field: stated_justification
- Value: Dean memo purpose
- About: [incident 1971-us-nixon-enemies-list](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1971-us-nixon-enemies-list)
- Source: Nixon's Enemies List. https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/watergate/nixon-s-enemies-list
- Publisher: University of North Carolina Library, A Southern View of Watergate exhibit
- Method: outlet report
- Checked: 2026-09-22
- Confidence: medium
- Status: current

## Quotation from the source

> how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/129. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.