As the story unfolds of how Hillary Clinton, former FBI director Comey, and the intel community in Washington trashed GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump with what is being seen as a fraudulent dossier, paid for by the Hillary campaign, and presented to the FISA court to gain permission to spy on the Trump team by unmasking NSA information, few know that this is just the most recent chapter in the long story of how the Democratic Party has used the FBI, DOJ, and intel community to attack and discredit political opponents.

In the 1960s, the most powerful new political movement in the United States was the Civil Rights movement.  This movement was led by Rev. Dr. Luther King, Jr., an Atlanta-based preacher who saw the inhumane treatment of black Americans and became a political activist.  His activation of black voters, helped by the 1965 Civil Rights Act, threatened the political power of the Democratic Party. 

According to original FBI documents revealed at the 1975 Senate Church Committee hearing, Dr. King was seen as a threat, and the FBI took an active role in discrediting him.  FBI agents worked with the Democrat A.G., Robert Kennedy, Jr., in a plot strikingly similar to the FISA court-allowed unmasking of Trump presidential campaign associates.  A.G. Kennedy signed an improper and illegal order allowing Dr. King's hotel rooms to be "bugged" and his phone calls to be wiretapped. 

In order to cast some aura of legitimacy, the FBI's COINTEL (counterintelligence) project said Dr. King had some "communist" connections.  Remarkably, the Democrats pulled the communist card out of their pocket and used it against Donald Trump, accusing him of "colluding" with Russians.  The investigation of the Trump campaign is being conducted by Robert Mueller, and most of the staff he chose has donated to Democrats.  This astonishing similarity is not a coincidence.  Other aspects of the attacks on Dr. King are similar to the way Donald Trump was, and still is, attacked.

So both Kennedys were involved in this startling and disturbing tactic.  Since A.G. Kennedy could not provide any evidence that Dr. King was a communist, he could not obtain a warrant to wiretap Dr. King.  He bypassed that legal requirement and simply ordered the FBI to wiretap Dr. King's home and the Atlanta, Ga. Southern Christian Leadership Conference offices.  This was done in October 1963, the month before JFK was assassinated, so JFK knew of this and approved it

This phony label justified the FBI's continued investigation of the SCLC and Dr. King.  J. Edgar Hoover himself stated that the goal of the activities against black "nationalist" groups should be to "prevent the rise of a messiah who could unify and electrify" the movement.  In 1964, Hoover sent a letter to FBI COINTELPRO offices instructing agents to "expose, disrupt, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of black nationalist" groups such as the SCLC (the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Dr. King's organization).

In January of 1964, under Democrat President Lyndon Johnson, the FBI discussed its goal of "discrediting Dr. King and the appointing of a new leader ... and the FBI Director said 'I am glad to see that light, has finally, though dismally delayed, come to the Domestic Intelligence Division.  I struggled for months to get over the fact that the Communists were taking over the racial movement, but our experts here couldn't or wouldn't see it.'"  At that time, the FBI was also pursuing "the discrediting of Dr. King and the appointing of a new leader[.]"  FBI officials felt that if they refused to participate in the "COINTEL Programs of harassment, neutralization, spying and intimidation against Dr. Martin Luther King," they would lose their jobs. 

This is startlingly similar to the false Russian collusion allegations made against Donald Trump and the idea that a small number of high up FBI officials had to work to discredit Pres. Trump, as is now being revealed by investigators.

A memo written by FBI director Hoover revealed at the 1975 Senate Hearings conducted by Senator Church reported that Director Hoover himself said in a memo written January 8, 1964: "We have got to remove King from his pedestal."  Adding, "I want to make it clear at once that I don't propose that the FBI in any way become involved openly as the sponsor of a Negro leader to overshadow Martin Luther King.  If this thing can be set up properly without the Bureau in any way becoming directly involved, I think it would be not only a great help to the FBI, but would be a fine thing for the country at large."  Then Director Hoover added, "I'm glad to see the light has finally come.  I have struggled for months to get over the fact that the communists were taking over the racial movements but our experts here couldn't or wouldn't see it."

This scheme, of portraying the "racial movement" in America as being "taken over" by communists, is exactly, to the word, what Hillary and the FBI and NSA gave as their rationale for investigating Trump's campaign: that he was "colluding with Russia" to overthrow the election and control American government.

Memos written by FBI officials said the same thing about Trump during the campaign.  On March 16, 2016, Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer, stated in a text: "I can't believe Donald Trump is likely to be an actual, serious candidate for president."  And added "[G‑‑ ‑‑‑‑ ‑t], Trump is a loathsome human."  FBI official Strzok replied, "Yet he may win."  In a later text of August 15, 2016, Strzok told Page: "I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office" – an apparent reference to deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe – "that there's no way he gets elected – but I'm afraid we can't take the risk.  It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40[.]"

The fraudulent Russian dossier intended to discredit Trump was paid for by the Clinton campaign.  It was used to obtain a FISA warrant to use the NSA's information to spy on Trump's campaign, just as Robert Kennedy signed an illegal warrant to allow wiretapping of Dr. King.

The smear campaign against Dr. King was a prelude to the tactics used to discredit Trump.  While everyone knows about the assassination of Dr. King, another young black leader, Fred Hampton of Chicago, was assassinated with the assistance of an FBI operative William O'Neal and the Chicago police.

Civil rights lawyer Jeffrey Haas, representing Hampton's family, sued Cook County and the federal government for its involvement in the obstruction of justice and withholding of evidence and won a settlement $1.85 million.

The National Archives has thousands of records relating to the DOJ's treatment of blacks.

Fred Hampton was 21 years old, a brilliant political leader and active in black issues.  He established aid centers to help single mothers and brokered peace among violent black gangs in Chicago.  He was effective, but too effective.  His fatal flaw was that he was not part of Chicago's Democrat Machine.