In 1993, Award-Winning Journalist Mary A. Fischer Exposed DOJ’s Decades-Long "War" Against Prominent Black Politicians; Very Few Whites Cared About It
- Donald V. Watkins
- Jan 17, 2025
- 2 min read
By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on January 17, 2025
An Editorial Opinion
Long before Donald Trump and his MAGA Movement emerged as a dominant force on America’s political scene, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) declared a war against prominent black politicians that spanned three decades -- the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
Award-winning GQ investigative reporter Mary A. Fischer chronicled this warfare in a feature article titled, “The Witch-Hunt: The Feds’ War Against Black Pols,” which was published in the December 1993 edition of GQ magazine.
Fischer’s article described two of the three major DOJ warfare operations against prominent black politicians – COINTELPRO and Frühmenschen. Both of these warfare operations are now well-documented in Congressional reports. The third warfare initiative – The Good Ol’ Boys Roundup – was not exposed until July 11, 1995.
Contrary to popular belief, Donald Trump did not originate the term “witch-hunt” to describe DOJ's warfare against prominent American politicians. Mary Fischer did.
Likewise, Trump was not among the first well-known white voices in American to call out DOJ warfare against black public officials and political figures. Fischer was.
Very few white politicians and voters in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s cared about DOJ’s “war" against black politicians, as described in Fischer's article. Most black politicians and voters did.
Today, MAGA politicians and voters across America are outraged over what they view as DOJ’s warfare against Donald Trump. This outrage propelled Trump to victory in the 2024 race for the White House.
Today, most black politicians pose no real or perceived threat to the established political order. Since the U.S. Supreme Court 2010 case in Citizens United v. FEC, major corporations and political action committees have been able to buy the silence of nearly all black elected and appointed officials on matters of critical importance to black communities across America. These communities have suffered, accordingly.
Because of Donald Trump’s personal experience as a defendant in the federal criminal justice system, it will be interesting to see if he ends DOJ's warfare against all targeted political groups. No prior U.S. president has done so.