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Brian Hochman

@brianhochman.bsky.social

Professor @Georgetown // Author, The Listeners: A History of Wiretapping in the United States. Cleeeeeeeeeeeevelaaaaaaaaaaaand. This is for you.

343 Followers  |  212 Following  |  87 Posts  |  Joined: 05.10.2023
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Posts by Brian Hochman (@brianhochman.bsky.social)

Lawfare Daily: Unearthing and Reckoning with the Intelligence Excesses of the Cold War
YouTube video by Lawfare Lawfare Daily: Unearthing and Reckoning with the Intelligence Excesses of the Cold War

The great @mguariglia.bsky.social and I talked with @lawfaremedia.org about the Church Committee Report and its legacy. A terrific conversation.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgi3...

04.02.2026 22:38 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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On Lawfare Daily, @michael-feinberg.bsky.social sat down with @brianhochman.bsky.social and @mguariglia.bsky.social to discuss their new book, β€œThe Church Committee Report,” on law enforcement and intelligence community’s Cold War excesses and what we can learn from that era. youtu.be/Fgi3SaHA-Xw

04.02.2026 14:31 β€” πŸ‘ 24    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

πŸ”«πŸ”«

24.01.2026 04:17 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

FRIDAY!

21.01.2026 12:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State

Campaigns to disrupt progressive social movements. Government agencies violating the constitution. Unaccountable actions in Latin America.

The Church Committee warned us fifty years ago. Our publication day is today.

bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

13.01.2026 13:43 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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13 new paperbacks to read this month Mysteries and thrillers by Chris Bohjalian, Amity Gaige and William Boyle are among new releases

The Washington Post has decreed: The Church Committee Report is a book you must read this month!!

17.01.2026 22:01 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Happy Publication day to the Church Committee Report!

Published for the first time in an abridged format and by a major press for it's depressingly relevant 50th anniversary.

13.01.2026 13:39 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 27    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State

Campaigns to disrupt progressive social movements. Government agencies violating the constitution. Unaccountable actions in Latin America.

The Church Committee warned us fifty years ago. Our publication day is today.

bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

13.01.2026 13:43 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

PUBLICATION DAY IS TOMORROW!

Get a copy and read about how the CIA and the Mafia were basically entwined to in order to infiltrate Cuba and assassinate Castro with an exploding cigar. How the FBI tried to bully MLK into committing suicide. How the IRS was deputized to spy on Black Panthers.

13.01.2026 02:07 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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2013: After NSA revelations, I ran a Twitter account posting quotes from the Church Commitee Report that were still relevant.

2022: I meet @brianhochman.bsky.social after he published his history of wire tapping The Listeners.

2026: Our abridged version hits stands for it’s 50th anniversary.

09.01.2026 19:40 β€” πŸ‘ 42    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1

If you've ever been curious about how the Mafia helped the CIA in Cuba, how the US government planned to smuggled sea urchin toxin in a dart gun to kill elected African leaders, the real playbook by which the US government tried to tear apart the Civil Rights and anti-war movements--this is for you.

16.12.2025 17:32 β€” πŸ‘ 191    πŸ” 75    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 4
The Church Committee Report book cover with a photo of Frank Church holding a CIA dark gone done in 1970s style orange. Edited and introduced by Matthew Guariglia and Brian Hochman with a foreward by Beverly Gage.

The Church Committee Report book cover with a photo of Frank Church holding a CIA dark gone done in 1970s style orange. Edited and introduced by Matthew Guariglia and Brian Hochman with a foreward by Beverly Gage.

One month until the release of the Church Committee Report!

For it's 50th anniversary, published by a major press for the first time and abridged to its most jaw-dropping findings and recommendations the report chronicles the abuses of the FBI, CIA, and Military from the 1950s to the 1970s.

16.12.2025 16:24 β€” πŸ‘ 100    πŸ” 29    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 7
a poster for an event "executive power and the fate of democracy: lessons from the Church Committee at 50" to be held at Georgetown on January 23, 2026 at 4pm.

a poster for an event "executive power and the fate of democracy: lessons from the Church Committee at 50" to be held at Georgetown on January 23, 2026 at 4pm.

DC area: For the upcoming release of The Church Committee Report from @wwnorton.com, @brianhochman.bsky.social and I are hosting an event on the past/future of civil liberties & unaccountable government with a panel of heavy hitters, Pulitzer prize winners, and a staffer of the Church Committee.

11.12.2025 15:55 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 3
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The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation into the National Security State Amazon.com: The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation into the National Security State: 9781324089377: Guariglia, Matthew, Hochman, Brian, Gage, Beverly: Books

Book is available for pre-order:

www.amazon.com/Church-Commi...

11.12.2025 15:53 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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People of DC and beyond: we have a Dream Team lined up for the launch of the Church Committee Report at Georgetown on 1/23. Mark your calendars! @mguariglia.bsky.social @wwnorton.com

11.12.2025 15:50 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
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Just when you thought the academic job market couldn't get more dystopian: an ad for an opening at . . . ICE.

27.09.2025 14:18 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€œDefend the District” protest and Go-Go concert against Trump’s takeover at 14th and U St:

21.08.2025 23:53 β€” πŸ‘ 5718    πŸ” 1631    πŸ’¬ 86    πŸ“Œ 144

The Church Committee Report is, to date, the most detailed articulation of the government's playbook for disrupting, surveilling, and crushing political movements. It was written in 1975 but could not be more relevant or useful in 2025.

16.06.2025 17:42 β€” πŸ‘ 292    πŸ” 74    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 1
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The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation into the National Security State Amazon.com: The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation into the National Security State: 9781324089377: Guariglia, Matthew, Hochman, Brian, Gage, Beverly: Books

Oh and you can even pre-order now!

www.amazon.com/Church-Commi...

16.06.2025 18:42 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Our edition of The Church Committee Report has a cover. Coming Jan '26. @mguariglia.bsky.social and I both hope its relevance diminishes between now and then.

16.06.2025 18:42 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I don't know, I'm no expert. But now is probably the time for universities in so-called Red States (and also maybe, um, Catholic and Jesuit schools too) to start standing the fuck up.

27.05.2025 19:43 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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At the pitch meeting with studio execs...

30.04.2025 16:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Once again, I hope this whets your appetite, because @brianhochman.bsky.social and I’s 50th anniversary edition of the Church Committee Report on unlawful and political activity of the CIA/FBI/NSA will published by Norton early next year.

28.03.2025 17:03 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Bro we know who this is and she teaches at the "University of Austin."

21.03.2025 21:24 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This is gutting news. Sterne was a once-in-a-generation mind. How many careers did his *footnotes* launch, much less books like Audible Past and MP3?

21.03.2025 14:55 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Trump is seeking to deport another academic who is legally in the country, lawsuit says - POLITICO Badar Khan Suri, a fellow at Georgetown, says he is being punished because of the suspected views of his wife, a U.S. citizen with Palestinian heritage.

they’ve detained a postdoc here at georgetown
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/19/trump-deportation-georgetown-graduate-student-00239754

20.03.2025 00:24 β€” πŸ‘ 54    πŸ” 48    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

Amid a nationwide push to denigrate and erase Black contributions to US history, it makes perfect sense that the unrepentant racists would end up right back here.

20.03.2025 02:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It was 1983, and Helms wanted to make sure that MLK Day wouldn’t become a national holiday. The recordings were his β€œproof” that King’s image was fraudulent.

20.03.2025 02:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Justice Department Moves to Unseal MLK Jr.’s FBI Surveillance Records The request, which comes on the heels of an executive order by President Trump, represents a sharp reversal for the F.B.I. and the department.

Jesse Helms was the last politician to push for the release of the King recordings, which tells you all you need to know about what this is about.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u...

20.03.2025 02:35 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The CR's effect on DC is a five alarm fire.

By treating the DC as a federal agency & compelling the city to return to 2024 spending,

Congress is mandating that DC cut its budget--*its own tax dollars*--by almost 20%.

None of this $ will be refunded to the fed gov; it was never theirs.

12.03.2025 13:16 β€” πŸ‘ 189    πŸ” 87    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 14