A decade before Watergate taught us to add “gate” to every scandal under the sun, President John Kennedy and his brother Robert, who served as US attorney-general, were up to some dubious antics of their own. Apart from monitoring White House officials and guests by means of a secret taping system, the Kennedys conducted extensive electronic surveillance against political opponents, critical journalists and even their own staff. After the details became public, Ben Bradlee, the Washington Post editor and friend of the Kennedys who helped uncover Watergate, exclaimed: “My God, they wiretapped practically everybody . . . in this town.”
“水门事件”(Watergate)教会我们给太阳底下的每桩丑闻都加上“门”这个字，而比那还要早10年，美国总统约翰•肯尼迪(John Kennedy)和他弟弟、美国司法部长罗伯特•肯尼迪(Robert Kennedy)就已经有一些可疑举动。除了利用一个秘密窃听系统监视白宫官员和访客，肯尼迪兄弟还对政治对手、批评自己的记者、甚至自己的幕僚，进行了广泛的电子监视。相关细节公之于众后，帮助揭露了“水门事件”的《华盛顿邮报》(Washington Post)总编辑、肯尼迪兄弟的朋友本•布拉德利(Ben Bradlee)惊呼道:“我的上帝，他们几乎窃听了这座城市的……每个人。”