User:Dessertboy1959/sandbox
Typology of Cover-ups[edit]
The following list is considered to be a typology[1] since those who engage in cover-ups tend to use many of the same methods of hiding the truth and defending themselves. This list was compiled from famous cover-ups such as Watergate Scandal, Iran-Contra Affair, My Lai Massacre, Pentagon Papers, the cover-up of corruption in New York City under Boss Tweed (William M. Tweed and Tammany Hall) in the late 1800s[2], and the tobacco industry coverup of the health hazards of smoking.[3] The methods in actual cover-ups tend to follow the general order of the list below.
Initial Response to Allegation
- Flat Denial
- Convince the Media to Bury the Story
- Preemptively Distribute False Information
- Claim That the “Problem” is Minimal
- Claim Faulty Memory
- Claim the Accusations are Half Truths
- Claim the Critic Has No Proof
- Attack the Critic’s Motive
- Attack the Critic’s Character
Withhold or Tamper with Evidence
- Prevent the Discovery of Evidence
- Destroy or Alter the Evidence
- Make Discovery of Evidence Difficult
- Create Misleading Names of Individuals and Companies to Hide Funding
- Commit Perjury
- Block or Delay Investigations
- Issue Restraining Orders
- Claim Executive Privilege
Delayed Response to Allegation
- Deny a Restricted Definition of Wrongdoing (e.g. torture)
- Limited Hang Out (i.e., Confess to Minor Charges)
- Use Biased Evidence as a Defense
- Claim That the Critic’s Evidence is Biased.
- Select a Biased Blue Ribbon Commission or “Independent” Inquiry
Intimidate Participants, Witnesses or Whistleblowers[4]
- Bribe or Buy Out the Critic
- Generally Intimidate the Critic By Following Him/Her, Killing Pets, etc.
- Blackmail: Hire Private Investigators and Threaten to Reveal Past Wrongdoing ("Dirt')
- Death Threats of the Critic or His Family
- Threaten the Critic with Loss of Job or Future Employment in Industry
- Transfer the Critic to an Inferior Job or Location
- Intimidate the the Critic with Lawsuits or SLAPP suits[5]
- Murder; Assassination
Publicity Management
- Bribe the Press
- Secretly Plant Stories in the Press
- Retaliate Against Hostile Media
- Threaten the Press With Loss of Access
- Attack the Motives of the Press
- Place Defensive Advertisements
- Buy Out the News Source.
Damage Control
- Claim No Knowledge of Wrongdoing
- Scapegoats: Blame an Underling for Unauthorized Action
- Fire the Person(s) in Charge
Win Court Cases
- Hire the Best Lawyers
- Hire Scientists and Expert Witnesses Who Will Support Your Story
- Delay with Legal Maneuvers
- Influence or Control the Judges
Reward Cover-up Participants
- Hush Money
- Little or No Punishment
- Pardon or Commute Sentences
- Promote Employees as a Reward for Cover-up
- Reemploy the Employee After Dust Clears
- ^ The systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. See http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/typology
- ^ Ackerman, K. D. (2005). Boss Tweed: The rise and fall of the corrupt pol who conceived the soul of modern New York. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0786714352.
- ^ See biography of the whistleblower (Jeffrey Wigand)
- ^ See also List of Whistleblowers.
- ^ Strategic lawsuit against public participation