{"id":2569838,"date":"2026-02-13T17:46:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:49:08","slug":"the-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nixon Library Is Wrong About Nixon And The Deep State"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2569838&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An article from The Federalist discusses the Nixon Library\u2019s exhibits and how they frame Richard Nixon, contrasting an unfavorable, paranoid portrayal with newer ancient context. It notes that displays at the Yorba Linda site accuse Nixon of being psychologically unbalanced and describe the White House as ruled by a \u201cclimate of deep suspicion,\u201d including a section on \u201cConspiracy Thinking.\u201d The piece cites a Febuary New York Times story about a plot within the government to spy on Nixon\u2019s White House, involving Navy Yeoman Charles Radford and documents sent to the Pentagon to shield against presidential meddling, and argues that newly declassified material supports the existence of a \u201cdeep state\u201d and Nixon\u2019s role as both witness to and victim of it. The author connects these events to broader themes in U.S.governance, referencing later testimony by officials such as Alexander Vindman and Fiona Hill that framed present-day concerns about executive overreach and institutional pushback. He argues that Nixon deserves a more nuanced, fair treatment in historical memory.The essay is by Chris Bray, a former Army sergeant and history phd, who also runs a Substack.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-11 col-md-10\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/In%20a%20dark%20suit,%20Richard%20Nixon%20waves%20goodbye%20from%20the%20door%20of%20Air%20Force%20One,%20with%20Patricia%20Nixon%20at%20his%20side.\">CBS News, YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/13\/the-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=The%20Nixon%20Library%20Is%20Wrong%20About%20Nixon%20And%20The%20Deep%20State&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/13\/the-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=The%20Nixon%20Library%20Is%20Wrong%20About%20Nixon%20And%20The%20Deep%20State&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/13\/the-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/13\/the-nixon-library-is-wrong-about-nixon-and-the-deep-state\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=The%20Nixon%20Library%20Is%20Wrong%20About%20Nixon%20And%20The%20Deep%20State&amp;body=The%20new%20revelation%20about%20Nixon%20'bears%20directly%20on%20allegations%20by%20President%20Trump%20and%20his%20supporters%20about%20the%20existence%20of%20what%20was%20once%20called%20the%20permanent%20bureaucracy,%20better%20known%20today%20as%20the%20\" deep state. target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>YORBA LINDA, California &mdash; Fifty yards from Richard Nixon&rsquo;s grave, which sits not quite in the shadow of the modest home where he was born, a series of exhibits at his presidential library describe him as a psychologically unbalanced fool. <\/p>\n<p>The Nixon White House, museum display panels announce, was consumed by &ldquo;a climate of deep suspicion.&rdquo; The infamous Plumbers took action against &ldquo;perceived political opponents within the Federal Government.&rdquo; A video display allows visitors to choose clips on the theme of Nixon&rsquo;s &ldquo;Conspiracy Thinking.&rdquo; Paranoid, the president mindlessly lashed out at enemies that he hallucinated. This is still the official history, in museum exhibits curated by the National Archives and Records Administration.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-613786294\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>On Friday morning, the consistently pro-Nixon docents hadn&rsquo;t heard about the important <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/z8I7u\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Feb. 8 story<\/a> in The New York Times that describes a plot within the government to spy on the Nixon White House, with Navy Yeoman Charles Radford stealing documents and sending them to the Pentagon as insurance against budget and policy meddling from the person serving as the president of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The revelation from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oliver-stone-asks-congress-to-reopen-jfk-assassination-investigation-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Oliver Stone asks Congress to reopen JFK assassination investigation - Washington Examiner\">newly declassified document<\/a>, longtime journalist James Rosen concluded, &ldquo;bears directly on allegations by President Trump and his supporters about the existence of what was once called the permanent bureaucracy, better known today as the &lsquo;deep state.&rsquo; &hellip; Nixon proved to a team of federal prosecutors and grand jurors not only that such a beast existed but also that he, guilty as he was in Watergate, had been its victim.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&rsquo;t Nixon&rsquo;s first encounter with the deep state, since President Dwight Eisenhower&rsquo;s vice president would also have witnessed that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >chief executive&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s battle against a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.dtic.mil\/sti\/tr\/pdf\/ADA289051.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">colonels&rsquo; revolt<\/a>&rdquo; that sought to embarrass the president and undermine post-World War II military policy.<\/p>\n<p>Nixon didn&rsquo;t live long enough to watch the National Security Council officials Alexander Vindman and Fiona Hill testify against President Donald Trump before a congressional committee, charging that he deserved to be impeached because he had improperly interfered with the policy choices of his subordinates &mdash; in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawfaremedia.org\/article\/summary-lt-col-alexander-vindmans-deposition-testimony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vindman&rsquo;s words<\/a>, with the &ldquo;interagency consensus.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Hill similarly <a href=\"https:\/\/d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net\/static\/2019\/11\/2019-11-21-Fiona-Hill-Opening-Statement-FINAL3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warned<\/a> that Trump was an example of someone who &ldquo;impedes or subverts&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-got-it-newsmax-reporter-emerald-robinson-national-security-source-confirms-a-piece-of-hardware-has-been-secured-in-germany\/\" title=\"We Got It! - Newsmax Reporter Emerald Robinson: National Security Source Confirms &quot;A Piece of Hardware Has Been Secured&quot; in Germany\">national security<\/a>, somehow mistakenly thinking that he was in charge of it. The cart has been trying to drive the horse for quite a while, and it hasn&rsquo;t been above taking the occasional shot at the horse.<\/p>\n<p>Nixon deserves better. We&rsquo;ll see if he gets it.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Chris Bray is a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army, and has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pb-30 bdr-btm-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Chris Bray<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/chrisbray\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alexander-vindman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alexander Vindman<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/charles-radford\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Charles Radford<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/colonels-revolt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Colonel&#8217;s Revolt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/deep-state\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Deep State<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/domestic-spying\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">domestic spying<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dwight-eisenhower\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Dwight Eisenhower<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/fiona-hill\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Fiona Hill<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/impeachment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">impeachment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/james-rosen\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">James Rosen<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/moorer-radford-affair\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Moorer-Radford Affair<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/nixon-library\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Nixon Library<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/richard-nixon\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Richard Nixon<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sedition\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">sedition<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/watergate\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Watergate<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearby Nixon\u2019s grave in Yorba Linda, a set of exhibits at his presidential library portrays him as unstable and paranoid, arguing the White House under his watch was ruled by suspicion. The Plumbers supposedly acted against perceived opponents inside the federal government, and a video lets visitors browse clips about Nixon\u2019s \u201cConspiracy Thinking.\u201d This remains the museum\u2019s official narrative, curated by the National Archives.<\/p>\n<p>Some docents, staunchly pro-Nixon, hadn\u2019t heard about a February 8 New York Times piece describing a government plot to spy on the Nixon White House, including Navy Yeoman Charles Radford removing documents and sending them to the Pentagon as a safeguard against presidential meddling.<\/p>\n<p>A newly declassified document, James Rosen notes, touches directly on Trump-era claims about a \u201cdeep state,\u201d arguing Nixon showed such a force existed and, despite Watergate, was its victim. Nixon had faced earlier clashes with powerful interests, including Eisenhower\u2019s vice president witnessing a \u201ccolonels\u2019 revolt\u201d aimed at embarrassing the president and undermining postwar military policy.<\/p>\n<p>Nixon didn\u2019t live to hear Alexander Vindman and Fiona Hill testify against Trump, asserting he deserved impeachment for improperly interfering with subordinates\u2019 policy choices and violating the interagency process. Vindman spoke of the \u201cinteragency consensus,\u201d while Hill warned Trump exemplified someone who impedes or subverts national security, mistakenly thinking he was in charge. The piece suggests a longstanding struggle to redirect the country\u2019s policies, and ends by arguing Nixon deserves fair treatment, with the author wondering if that will ever happen.<\/p>\n<p>Author note: Chris Bray, a former Army infantry sergeant and historian, contributed this piece<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2569839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screen-Shot-2026-02-13-at-1.06.17-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50489,4919,23222,73785,5894],"class_list":["post-2569838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-deep-state-2","tag-history","tag-nixon","tag-nixon-library","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screen-Shot-2026-02-13-at-1.06.17-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569838"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2569842,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569838\/revisions\/2569842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2569838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2569838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2569838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}