A decade before Watergate taught us to add “gate” to every scandal under the sun, President John Kennedy and his brother Robert, who served as US attorney-general, were up to some dubious antics of their own. Apart from monitoring White House officials and guests by means of a secret taping system, the Kennedys conducted extensive electronic surveillance against political opponents, critical journalists and even their own staff. After the details became public, Ben Bradlee, the Washington Post editor and friend of the Kennedys who helped uncover Watergate, exclaimed: “My God, they wiretapped practically everybody . . . in this town.”
「水門案」(Watergate)教會我們給太陽底下的每樁醜聞都加上「門」這個字，而比那還要早10年，美國總統約翰•甘迺迪(John Kennedy)和他弟弟、美國司法部長羅伯特•甘迺迪(Robert Kennedy)就已經有一些可疑舉動。除了利用一個祕密竊聽系統監視白宮官員和訪客，甘迺迪兄弟還對政治對手、批評自己的記者、甚至自己的幕僚，進行了廣泛的電子監視。相關細節公之於衆後，幫助揭露了「水門案」的《華盛頓郵報》(Washington Post)總編輯、甘迺迪兄弟的朋友本•布拉德利(Ben Bradlee)驚呼道:「我的上帝，他們幾乎竊聽了這座城市的……每個人。」