Sid Davidoff: I was on Nixon's 'enemies list' in 1973. Trump's targets won't be as lucky as I was.

[Eugene]

Source: MSNBC

I was on Nixon’s ‘enemies list’ in 1973. Trump’s targets won’t be as lucky as I was.

Dec. 25, 2024, 12:00 PM EST
By Sid Davidoff, founding partner, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP

With talk of President-elect Donald Trump and his pick for FBI director Kash Patel reportedly assembling an “enemies list” of people to target in their incoming administration, I can’t help reflecting on my own experience being named and targeted in a similar scenario, back in the 1970s.

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Keep in mind, I am 32 years old at the time, the son of a candy store owner from Queens. And here I am on the enemies list of the president of the United States. It was surreal.

At first, we had a blast with it. That Saturday night we hosted an “enemies’ ball” on the downstairs floor of the restaurant that included those of us who opposed the president. But after some time, it all began to take a turn. Suddenly, the IRS starts investigating me, claiming I owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes in FICA for employee fees. Tack on some late fees and penalties and before you knew it, they were claiming I owed close to a million dollars. The state of New York also came after me. I was accused of embezzling funds by state Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz, who worked closely alongside Republican Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. My friends in the attorney general’s office told me they had no choice. Federal agents showed up at the apartment building of the young woman I was dating at the time. They questioned her doormen and wanted to know about my comings and goings.

Although in many ways it remains my proudest moment, the fallout was difficult to deal with. I became a target of the national government virtually overnight. The force of government coming after an individual like that is not a fun place to be.

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Read more: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/was-nixons-enemies-list-1973-trumps-targets-wont-lucky-was-rcna183609

Alternate link: https://news.yahoo.com/news/opinion-nixon-enemies-list-1973-171744618.html

[bucolic_frolic]

1. America needs boilerplate Maliscious Prosecution suits just like class actions

Trump is setting himself up for a mighty fall with this vindictiveness, not the least because he's telegraphed it so much. Give him 'A' for transparency.