The Government Says They Stopped Listening. The Documents Say Otherwise.
What if I told you that every text you send to someone might as well be in a group chat with the government? What if I told you that the U.S. government has a documented history of tapping phones and monitoring online conversations of its own citizens?
It sounds shocking, but it’s 100 percent true. And it’s all declassified and publicly available.
The CIA Admitted It
Let’s start with a very real story. In a statement to a presidential commission in the mid-1970s, later released in 2024, the CIA openly admitted the following:
Yes, the CIA publicly admitted to tapping the phones of American citizens. They also claimed that after 1965, they stopped.
The MLK Contradiction
Here’s where it gets weird.
In a document released to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2021, it’s confirmed that the government tapped Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s phone for over four consecutive years.
So despite claiming that phone tapping ended in 1965, the government also admits to monitoring Dr. King’s phone until his death in April of 1968.
Weird, right?
Project Mockingbird and the Media
And if that’s not enough, let me introduce you to a more well-known declassified operation called Project Mockingbird.
As shown in the declassified materials, the CIA tapped the phones of two journalists who were suspected of leaking classified information. Important detail here: neither of these newsmen was ever found guilty of any crime, and no charges were ever brought against them.
Yet their phones were still tapped.
So Which Is It?
According to the CIA’s own statements, they tapped a few phones in the United States between 1951 and 1965, and supposedly none after that.
But the documents themselves tell a different story.
The Part That Should Actually Scare You
The wildest part of all of this is that these actions took place over 50 years ago. With how much technology has evolved since then, it’s impossible not to wonder what might be declassified 50 years from now.
So the next time you send a text to a friend, just remember: you might be part of history without even knowing it.
Dig Into The Vault
If you want to dig into the original reports, we’ve attached them below.
CIA “Family Jewels”: Internal Report of Past Problematic Activities
This is the primary CIA declassified document admitting to past espionage activities.
🔗 The Family Jewels (entire collection), official CIA Reading Room
Senate Judiciary Committee Report: Context on FBI Wiretap Tapes
This government resolution references the FBI’s wiretaps on MLK and the placement of additional recording devices.
🔗 SJR 7, California Senate Judiciary Committee (PDF)
Declassified CIA Historical Report Listing Phone Taps of U.S. Residents
🔗 Read Page 108
CIA FOIA Record: “CIA Tapes and Transcripts of Tapes”
Official declassified CIA document released under the Freedom of Information Act and hosted in the CIA Electronic Reading Room.
🔗 Read The Full Report
SJR 7 (Bradford):Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: FBI Surveillance Tapes
Type: California Senate Joint Resolution (2021–2022 Regular Session)
Official PDF from the California Senate Judiciary Committee:
🔗 Read The PDF
