EnemiesList.info

The complete, annotated Nixon's Enemies List

EnemiesList.info

Nixon Enemies List entry for
Fred Viehe:

List and position:	Second, #537
Name as originally listed:	Fred Viehe
1972 location:	Portland, OR

Comments

Name/Date:	Fred VieheDec 7, 2009 2:36pm
Comment:	I was on Nixon's Enemies List most likely because I was one of the main organizers of the 1969 Moratorium in Portland, OR. Later, I became involved in the campaign to register 18 to 21 year olds in the greater Portland area, and finally in 1972, I was Co-Director of Wayne Morse's Senate campaign. My full name is Frederick William Viehe III. I was born on July 21, 1944 in Phoenix, AZ, but we moved to LA in 1946. At present, I am a Professor of History at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Education: PhD -- 1983 -- University of California, Santa Barbara MA -- 1975 -- University of California, Santa Barbara BA -- 1971 -- Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR
Name/Date:	Fred VieheNov 3, 2012 12:41pm
Comment:	It has been claimed by the IRS that the Enemies List was never used to audit anyone's taxes, but my 1972 Income tax was audited in 1973. At the time I was a graduate student at UCSB who had recently moved to Santa Barbara for that purpose. When I received the audit notice I gathered together my handwritten copy of my 1040 statement as well as other supporting materials and arrived at the IRS office for the meeting. The auditor was not a pleasant fellow. The best I can describe him is he seemed like the psychiatrist in the film, "No Time for Sergeants," but not so comical. I took all this very like-heartedly and though it would be a slam-dunk. I hadn't made much money and I had only a few at best deductions. One I remember was the Wall St. Journal, and the auditor insisted I had to prove how that had helped me make money. I told him bluntly I didn't know but I read it because it was a national newspaper known for good reporting. That did not satisfy him and he suggested that the WSJ deduction might not be allowed. Throughout the meeting we discussed several other matters and it took longer than I ever supposed. The auditor was very detailed. Finally when it was nearly over, we added everything up, and guess what. I had paid too much. I cracked up, laughing, "Ha Ha, you owe me money!" Needless to say, the auditor remained very glum. He didn't think my humorous comment was at all funny. As I said, he was dead serious, but in my opinion, not too bright. In the end, I neither received a refund nor an additional demand for more taxes. Evidently, the WSJ deduction was allowed. At the time, I did not think much of this experience since I did not know that I was on the Enemies List. Later, when I was so informed, it all made much sense. Finally, let me just say that this was not a typical "office audit." I had one of those several years later which in comparison was very pleasant but still a joke. Again, I took in all my materials, 1040 and deductions, etc. I just passed them to an extraordinarily pleasant auditor who checked them off a list. He never examined a single document. I could have handed him a blank piece of paper and told him it was a deductible item and he would have accepted it. I didn't, of course, but this audit in comparison to the previous one, confirmed my view that the first audit was not only more serious but stemmed from a sincere attempt to find something if not anything wrong with my income tax statement. Fred Viehe

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