The More Things Change: The Fine Old Tradition of Spying on Congress—Theodore Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet” Secret Service Surveillance of Congress

When Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) released a statement in July 31, 2014 that the United States Inspector General confirmed charges she made on the Senate floor in March—that the CIA had hacked the Senate Intelligence Committee computers—was true, it is unclear whether she knew that the CIA was participating in a tradition of spying on Congress that started by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908.

After Congress rejected Theodore Roosevelt's proposal to allow Secret Servicemen to operate outside the Treasury Department the President—who could never gracefully accept not getting his way—publicly lashed out at Congress. On December 8, 1908, in his last Annual Message to Congress as President, Roosevelt proclaimed the reason his proposal was rejected was that certain Congressmen “did not themselves wish to be investigated by Secret Service men,” and that they were promoting the interests of the of the criminal classes (a class, by implication, to which these certain Congressmen belonged) by restricting Secret Service operations to the Treasury Department.

For its part Congress had been receiving information for years that that the Secret Service agents were engaged in activities that had nothing to do with their mission. However, reports of abuse like the account of Secret Service agents collecting information about a Naval officer to use by his wife in a divorce case, were not as disturbing to them as the “the Black Cabinet”—as the press had taken to describing the the Secret Service Bureau—acting as henchmen for Roosevelt’s particular brand of political retaliation. Senators and Congressmen were also the target of Secret Service surveillance. One Senator reported to journalist Irwin Norwood that the “President had pursued to his district with Secret Service men during the campaign last fall and had aided materially in reducing his former majority by eight thousand,” and suggested that his experience was just the tip of the iceberg.

After Roosevelt’s declaration in such a public venue as the Annual Message, a furious and unusually bi-partisan spirit moved Congress to threaten to denounce the President's for his indiscriminate and malicious remarks. Roosevelt retaliated by threatening to reveal secrets he had on Senators and Congressmen if they dared do such a thing. At the top of his hit list was Senator “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman of South Carolina—a staunch supporter of placing restrictions on the Secret Service—whom he accused of being chief among those who had nefarious deeds he wished to hide from the Secret Service.

On January 8, 1909, “For the second time in government’s history,” wrote the Hopkinsville Kentuckian, “the House of [R]epresentatives has laid upon the table a message from the President of the United States. The first President to thus be rebuked was Andrew Jackson; the second is Theodore Roosevelt.” The bi-partisan vote of 212 for to 34 against taking the step had the effect of rejecting the offensive section of Roosevelt’s message. In the Senate where, according to the Washington D.C National Tribune, members “hated [Roosevelt] as cordially as in the House," began a sweeping investigating the Secret Service Bureau…

For his part, Senator Tillman experienced the oblique reach of Roosevelt’s wrath. On January 9, he had papers stolen from his desk and the culprit were believed to have been “a government detective who was shadowing him.” The purloined papers were part of Tillman’s response to Roosevelt’s charge that he, Tillman, was involved in an illegal land swap. Roosevelt used other arms of the his administration to harass Tillman. Washington D.C. Postmaster Barnes accused of abusing his franking privileges to mail a typewriter to his home. Barnes had the Post Office impounded the typewriter until Tillman paid the postage. In a letter sent to Tillman, Barnes wrote, "Inasmuch as matter of this character is not entitled to transmission through the malls under the frank provision, it is being held for the postage. The box weighs 50 pounds and as It is sealed, it is chargeable with postage at the first class rate which amount, to $16. Kindly remit the amount due and have the package removed at your earliest convenience."

Tillman replied that the Postmaster better collect the postage from the owner of the typewriter, the United States government. The typewriter, Tillman argued, was to be used in preparation of his speech on the Senate floor that denounced Roosevelt’s accusations as malicious, and as the typewriter owned by the Senate and he was undertaking work as a Senator, he did not cheat the Post Office out of its $16 postage. The newspapers did not report on the dispute was settled. Senator Tillman's typewriter might still be in some dusty Post Office impound warehouse… postage due.

The more things change, the more they remain the same…