n retrospect, when he has discussed it, Moyers has said the White House's interest in King was in monitoring his association with alleged Communists who might endanger the civil rights movement. But King had another association even more worrisome to the White House: anti-establishment Democrats. King traveled to the 1964 Democratic Convention in hopes of encouraging a slate of dissident delegates and was greeted by the usual FBI wiretaps. The agent in charge, Cartha DeLoach, kept in contact with Moyers and Walter Jenkins throughout the convention. Afterwards, Moyers sent a thank-you note to DeLoach, who replied:

Thank you for your very thoughtful and generous note concerning our operat...

n retrospect, when he has discussed it, Moyers has said the White House's interest in King was in monitoring his association with alleged Communists who might endanger the civil rights movement. But King had another association even more worrisome to the White House: anti-establishment Democrats. King traveled to the 1964 Democratic Convention in hopes of encouraging a slate of dissident delegates and was greeted by the usual FBI wiretaps. The agent in charge, Cartha DeLoach, kept in contact with Moyers and Walter Jenkins throughout the convention. Afterwards, Moyers sent a thank-you note to DeLoach, who replied:

Thank you for your very thoughtful and generous note concerning our operation in Atlantic City. .  .  . I'm certainly glad that we were able to come through with vital tidbits from time to time which were of assistance to you and Walter. You know you have only to call on us when a similar situation arises.

A few weeks later, when Jenkins was arrested, Moyers took DeLoach up on his offer. Johnson worried that Jenkins might have been set up by Republican operatives. He ordered Moyers to gather information on the sexual histories of staffers for the Republican nominee, Barry Goldwater. Moyers called DeLoach, who came up empty. Thanks to the new Valenti documents, we now know Moyers's curiosity extended beyond King and Republicans to his fellow Democrats as well.

Moyers has disavowed this portion of his past as the "indiscretions" of a callow young man in thrall to a mesmeric president and patron. At the same time, however,
he's happy to take credit for his role in developing the programs of the Great Society, when, presumably, he was just as callow as when he was on the phone to Cartha DeLoach. And of course the indiscretions would be less galling if he hadn't gone on to a career as a public moralist, with a specialty of condemning the indiscretions of his political opponents. Barry Goldwater, for one, had no patience with the hypocrisy. "Every time I s