David Duke Update

Comments on the Federal Government's Political Persecution of Me

by David Duke

Two FBI agents recently visited a supporter of mine. They were clean-cut, European-American racial types who acted like they were his friends who simply wanted to make him aware of how David Duke had misused his support. He just let them speak, for he wanted to hear everything that federal agents were telling people about David Duke. They asked him how he liked his money being used so Duke could "live in a mansion in Mandeville," and showed him pictures of me with a very pretty girl seemingly having a good time, spending his gifts. They then showed him a scurrilous, tabloid-style magazine article depicting me as a very dangerous racist, anti-Semite, and -- for good measure -- immoral person. They intimated that Duke spends all his money on wine, women and gambling. After an hour and a half, they went away.

When the agents told him these things, they did not know that he had visited me a number of times in my "mansion," which of course is nothing more than a modest suburban home where I and two assistants live and work. And of course the agents did not tell him that this entire persecution of me was launched by a corrupt, radical black U.S. Attorney by the name of Eddie Jordan, and that the lead "investigator" was a black Treasury agent. Nor did he tell them, as he did my office, that his only regret that was that he wished he could have given more gifts to me over the years, as "no one has accomplished more in the United States of America for our Cause with less money, than has David Duke."

Many Duke givers have been visited as he was. So, I write these comments for all those who have read biased newspaper accounts, or for anyone who has any questions about this huge and intensive effort of the federal government to silence my voice for European Americans.

For the past three years, the federal government under the direction of a black radical U.S. attorney in New Orleans, Eddie Jordan, has been attempting to fabricate a criminal case against me. The reason why so much time has elapsed without an indictment is simply because their case is weak, and they know it. If they had the evidence, they would have indicted me almost three years ago when this first began. If they indict me now, and I win, it could backfire into the best thing that ever happened to our political movement. Time will tell whether the U.S. attorney, who has yet to be appointed, will continue this persecution, but up to this time it continues.

The reason for this political persecution is simple: I am the best-known and most-successful advocate of the rights and heritage of European Americans in the United States. I have also become the leading spokesman against Jewish supremacism in America and around the world. The feds view me as their greatest political threat, as I scored over 60 percent of the White vote in two major elections, and shortly before this investigation began, I came within percentage points of earning a spot in the runoff for U.S. Congressman. I have demonstrated that White politics is winning politics, and that frightens the feds immensely. Moreover, my book, My Awakening, is the most powerful book in print on the race and Jewish issues.

It is estimated that the federal government has spent millions of dollars and used a small army of FBI, Treasury (tax), ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms), and assistant U.S. attorneys -- in an attempt to manufacture some sort of criminal case against me. They seek to discredit me, imprison me and silence my voice for our people. Why? At the risk of immodesty, I believe the reason is simply that I have been one of the most effective leaders at spreading our message in the United States and around the world. I have certainly been the most well-known political voice in America in opposition to affirmative action, and I have warned of the dire consequences of White people soon becoming a political minority in America. Another reason it all began was because the U.S. attorney who launched it has had a passionate personal hatred for me ever since we opposed each other over the Liberty Monument in New Orleans.

     How the investigation started...

The Clinton appointment of a New Orleans black radical U.S. attorney, Eddie Jordan, triggered the chain of events leading to the current "investigation." Jordan's good friend is black Congressman Bill Jefferson, who has had his sights on becoming Louisiana's governor. In early 1999, it seemed impossible for an extremely left-wing, black Congressman in a racially-polarized, conservative state such as Louisiana to win the governorship. The conservative governor, Mike Foster, had such high popularity ratings that it seemed likely that no serious opposition would arise in his reelection campaign. Jordan, though, as U.S. Attorney, had access to information that I had done more than simply endorse Mike Foster over the liberal Democrat Mary Landrieu in the 1995 race. He knew the politically secret information that Foster had paid a fee for renting my Louisiana political mailing list, and that Foster made a secret agreement with me to issue an executive decree ending affirmative action in the state. Jordan planned a Grand Jury investigation of all this and illegally shared this secret information with his friend, Congressman Jefferson. They hatched a plan that they thought could make Jefferson Governor:

1) Foster seemed certain for reelection as Governor. Therefore, no serious political heavyweights would enter the race. Jefferson then would mount a long, serious campaign for the post and become his only major opponent.

2) Then, during the campaign, when it would be too late for any heavyweight candidates to organize effectively, Jordan would break open the Grand Jury investigation into Mike Foster's secret dealings with David Duke. This could result in indictment of Foster and Duke, or seriously discredit Foster, perhaps causing him to drop out of the race at the last minute. Even if Foster did not drop out, they hoped the scandal would cause him unrecoverable political damage.

3) At that point, Jefferson would emerge as the only major political figure in the race, (a sitting U.S. Congressman) and give him a good chance of winning the Governor's office.

By launching the investigation of Foster and me, not only would Eddie Jordan help a friend possibly win the governorship and set Jordan up for future high office himself, but he would settle a score with an old enemy: me. When Jordan sat on the New Orleans Human Relations Council, he led the effort that tore down the Liberty Monument. With the help of my good friend Dr. Shubert, our forces won, and the monument to Southern heritage was restored.

Jordan assigned one of his brethren to do a legal hatchet job on Gov. Foster and me. He appointed, as a lead investigator in the case, a black crony U.S. Treasury agent who specialized in drug cases and money laundering. Obviously, they were hoping to find money-laundering in the Duke-Foster relations. One can imagine how eager these two were to get us. But during the course of a long and intensive investigation, it became clear that Foster had not broken any laws except perhaps for a minor Louisiana campaign infraction, and that I had done nothing wrong at all in this matter. To the chagrin of Jordan and Jefferson, the news that Foster had a secret association with Duke in 1995 only bolstered Foster's popularity. Jordan then turned his sights on David Duke, but always left open the possibility of going after Governor Foster again as well.

     Going after David Duke...

The intensive investigation caused me immediately to have my accountant recheck my old tax returns to make sure there were no errors. My heart dropped when I discovered that my accountant had failed to report some of the list-rental payments. On learning this, I took responsibility for the problem and incurred an increased tax payment of $25,000. I was really lucky to have an honest and courageous accountant, for he admitted in sworn testimony before the Grand Jury that the error was solely his. He revealed that when he prepared my returns he was in extreme distress because his wife was seriously ill with cancer. As for a possible money-laundering charge against Duke or Foster, that became impossible as Foster's and Woody Jenkins' list fees were deposited by check directly into my bank account, complete with my name and social security number. At that point it became obvious that the government had an extremely weak case against me for any tax charges. At that point they had nothing to show for all their political posturing and investigative work.

     Any means necessary to get Duke...

Jordan's plan to help Jefferson to become governor failed, but Jordan knew that he could insure his political future in the Black community by going full-bore after David Duke, the man always referred to in the media as "former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke." But Jordan knew that if they made a tax charge against me, it would be a relatively minor charge for which I had a very winnable defense. Jordan needed to manufacture something else to "get Duke." They came up with the idea of challenging the taxable and legal nature of the personal gifts I have received over the years. They also argued that I did not have the right to use the personal gifts as I wished.

Over my past twenty-five years of activism, I have received personal gifts from my supporters in appreciation of my efforts for our cause. Such gifts are not reportable and not taxable. They have enabled me to pay legal bills, finance activities, and work full-time for our cause. I hope that you recall the unrelenting efforts I have made for our cause. Over the years, I have run for office in over a dozen grueling campaigns. I was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, and waged subsequent, hard-fought campaigns for U.S. Senator (twice) and Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, and even for the office of President of the United States. Three of those campaigns endured for almost a year each. Those years consisted of working 16-to-20-hour days under tremendous mental and physical stress. Politics in America is designed for the independently wealthy. Few can take a year out of their lives for a state-wide campaign and have no income during the period. Campaign law states that a candidate cannot even receive living expenses from campaign funds. Without personal gifts over the years, it would have been impossible for me to spend such great a amount of time in advancing our cause.

I have traveled over three million miles, speaking in every state and two dozen countries. I completed thousands of radio and television interviews, and thousands of newspaper and magazine interviews. I have organized demonstrations for our rights and heritage, held meetings across the world. Under my direction one of the most important state-of-the-art websites has been created that continues to reach millions of people with our ideas. I have written and spoken millions of convincing words for our cause and have been continually publishing effective material for our movement for over thirty years. Finally, I have published perhaps the most comprehensive, well-written, documented, and effective book ever written for our cause: My Awakening: a book that took tens of thousands of hours of painstaking research and writing!

Perhaps it is unseemly to recount my achievements and victories for our cause and for our people. But when allegations are made against someone, it is important that people recall all the hardships and sacrifices I have gone through in our fight for our heritage. I have suffered physical attacks and repeated serious threats to my life, home and family. Because I have stood up for our ideas, I have endured relentless untrue attacks on my character of the most mean-spirited nature. This was especially true in my political campaigns when our traditional enemies went all out against me. I recall one leftist journalist who even alleged that, as a child, I was a "mother hater" who "tried to set his mother on fire." I have had to simply endure these kinds of vicious attacks because as a public figure I am not fully protected by libel and slander laws.

     Years of relentless government persecution...

Since the 1970s I have been tax-audited regularly, and not just a checkbook type of audit: the every-scrap, every-receipt, and every-minor-record kind of audit. When I ran and won the seat in the House of Representatives in Louisiana, almost the entire political establishment opposed me; even the president of the United States came out against me. After I was elected, the vice president commented that "We have our ways to get David Duke.' From the moment of that incredible election victory, government persecution against me intensified to a frenzy.

Then, when I was elected, I first faced an intensive legal effort to deny me my rightfully won seat in the House of Representatives. Shortly after the election began years of intensive, government audits and investigations of every sort on his campaigns, business, personal taxes, you name it! At one time, seven different government investigations and audits were going on simultaneously. Can you imagine the burden of such harassment? The government hoped to find the slightest error that they could construe as a criminal charge and remove me from my seat. After I left office, they became determined to destroy me financially and perhaps find some charge to prevent a future political threat to the establishment from David Duke.

During the middle 1990s I had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to tax attorneys and CPAs. But with the government going all-out to get me, I had no choice but to get expert tax and legal advice. Legal work also had to be done when the federal government launched investigations of my campaigns for U.S. Senate. Investigations of my state campaigns were also launched. By the way, none of these intensive investigations indicated even the slightest financial wrongdoing or personal gain on my part. I even faced a serious lawsuit filed against me personally from the time of my U.S. Senate campaign. I faced a time-consuming, nerve-racking, never-ending battle for the truth. Many friends have asked me how I put up with so much for all these years and still kept fighting. In fact, the efforts against me have always only intensified my efforts. During these difficult periods I am proud to say that I have accomplished much work, including the writing and promotion of My Awakening! And I am working on completing two more books even as I write these lines.

Yes, the feds have wanted to destroy me and my work for years. They have spent millions trying, and for what reason? What is my great crime? Have I been a drug runner, a child molester, a mobster? There has never been an allegation that as an elected official I ever took a bribe, used improper influence or engaged in any corruption. My great crime is that I have dared to stand up publicly for the rights and heritage of European Americans, and more important, that I have been very effective at it. That is my terrible crime, an unforgivable sin in the eyes of those who want to rule us. Ironically, America presents itself to the world as a place where everyone is politically free to advocate and promote any viewpoint, but the government efforts against me show that your political viewpoints do matter.

     Trying to undermine my support...

Jordan and his colleague, the black Treasury agent, finally settled on a strategy to try to discredit me publicly, destroy my base of financial support, and then hopefully jail and silence me for good. It is similar to an enemy's propaganda effort in a war. When a country is at war with another, it will try to sow seeds of dissent in its enemy's home base. The Viet Nam War was perfect example of that. Our traditional enemies worked hard to erode the support our servicemen had from their own government and their own people, and they succeeded.

In the same way, the government now seeks to erode my base of support because without your support, my work is crippled. Without having had any complaints from any of my supporters, a virtual army of FBI, Treasury, and Justice Department people descended on hundreds of my friends all across the country, making all kinds of nasty allegations. Of course, they show the people only one side of their allegations, and just a visit by the agents is enough to intimidate some people into never supporting me again. After all, most people don't want to help someone if it means they might be visited by the FBI.

Of course, the agents cleverly pose as sincere friends who just want to make sure that Duke supporter's personal gifts go to the European-American cause! Sure! What they really want to do is stop Duke's work and still his voice. The agents try to insinuate that David Duke has received their personal gifts and spent them on mansions, women, and gambling. They show pictures with a pretty girlfriend and suggest I am just a playboy who collects money! They never talk about my tedious, unrelenting, years of tireless work, such as went into the research and writing of My Awakening.

The truth is that most people are amazed by what I have accomplished with so little money. I never talk about how much money we get in, because it is so small that many people will think our cause is hopeless. In fact, use of personal gift money has helped finance my newsletter, book, travels, speeches, meetings, press conferences, interviews, internet, as well as my own living and that of at least two workers. Gifts averaged less than a total of $100,000 a year! Some additional monies also came from subscriptions to the Duke Report, book and merchandise sales, and contributions to the Duke Report.

Think about it. Would you not agree that it is a very tiny amount of money for the national presence and impact that we have made? A supporter who was interviewed by the FBI said this to one of my staff,

"Even if David Duke had personally made a salary of $100,000 a year for his efforts for us to use all for himself and his family, it would be a great deal for us. His worth to our Cause, and his reaching of millions with the truth is inestimable. The truth is that even if David Duke spent some his personal gift money on mansions, gambling, or art works, threw it in the ocean, or whatever, it would be his right, and I would say to him 'Right on, do what you want with your money, just continue the wonderful work you have done for us.' And really, how much value can one place on the danger to his life and family he has faced over the years. Even police and firemen get hazardous duty pay. That's why people have loved him enough to give him personal gifts over the years and will continue to do so, and that's why are determined to help him even more now!"

The truth is that I didnšt even personally average as much as $100,000 a year in personal gifts, and, from that total amount came many expenditures associated directly with my work: portions of unrelenting legal and other expenses associated with Government audits; tax fees and persecutions over the years; house and office payments; utility bills; postage, printing, traveling expenses; office equipment and the living expenses of at least two other people in my office; and the publishing and promoting My Awakening. It is about the same amount as the average salary of one executive of a single small company in America. Actually, I am quite proud of what I have accomplished with so little money. In fact, the fact that we have always struggled from lack of sufficient funds led me to try some unorthodox methods to try to solve this perennial movement problem. And these efforts are main thing the government is trying to use to discredit me.

     The gambling smear...

I have always believed that if we were to build a movement that could change the world, we had to find a way to bring some real money into the cause. I was willing to try any legal avenue, even if it seemed unusual. About fifteen years ago, a friend in the cause who was an expert in the complex science of factor analysis devised a system that seemed to give one a good mathematical chance to beat the casinos. I became fascinated by the idea. After working with computer experts, we developed a complex computer program and ran it successfully. Convinced that the system had promise, I used it with a limited degree of success for a period of time, always trying to make it better. A number of associates in the cause, including my staff members, were fully aware of the project.

I may have been like Edgar Allen Poe's knight who searched in vain for the fabled treasure of El Dorado. I was always searching for ways to bring in the large sums of money that our cause needed, and although beating the odds at the casinos seemed unorthodox, even a bit foolish, it seemed to work. I hoped that I could perfect the system and find a way to permanently finance our activities. If even a consistent small return could be garnered from such a system, it could bring millions into the movement. In fact, the system did well enough that I reported winnings on tax returns for a number of years in a row. The problem of course, is that many people oppose any sort of gambling, and rightfully so, as it is a very destructive force to society. But, what poetic justice I thought it would be to beat the casino owners at their own game and turn the money to our cause!

The agents cleverly use a giver's personal opposition to gambling to try to turn them against me. When the feds go and visit people, they usually don't bring black activist Eddie Jordan or the black lead Treasury agent or even speak about Eddie Jordan's role in all this. They say different things to different people, but many people have reported that the feds have alleged that Duke lives in a mansion in Mandeville, and they show pictures of a pretty girlfriend and suggest David Duke has spent lavish money on her, and then they show selected records at casinos, showing large transactions and large losses. They donšt however show the winnings, and I will prove in court, if necessary, that although there were ups and downs, overall, I won rather than lost. I will produce evidence of that from both witnesses and official records. And I also have records of significant additional expenditures in cash on movement projects that could have only come from winnings the government doesn't talk about.

In retrospect, I must admit it was poor judgment on my part ever to try this unorthodox system, but at the time I used the system I was deeply frustrated by the lack of overall success of the movement and the continuing losses of the European American. I knew that unless the tide of immigration was stemmed quickly, we would be outnumbered and outvoted in our own country! I was desperately searching for way to bring in the funds we needed. In short, we needed a miracle, and I tried to create one. I also was keenly aware that all I had needed for victory in the U.S. Senate races or the Governor's race were funds simply equal to the other candidates (I was always enormously outspent). I dreamed that if I could develop a workable casino system that brought a small percentage of positive return, I could bring in unlimited funds to our cause, both for our political work and organizational needs. The system that I employed at the casinos was a sincere effort to find a way to raise funds for the cause, not a "lavish spending spree."

The feds try to depict me as a big-spending playboy, which my close friends think is incredibly funny. Because they know that in reality I am very frugal. In My Awakening I describe my family's spending habits as "Scottish." As everyone who knows me can attest, when I travel, I get the super-discounted fares, never fly first class or business class, stay at inexpensive motels, eat modest meals in modest restaurants, do not drink except for a beer once in a while. I always go out of the way to get good prices on office equipment, printing and supplies for the Duke Report and the European Rights Organization, and I searched long and hard to get an excellent buy on my home and office. I have even bought my cars from friends in the automobile business at wholesale prices and sold them usually for a profit a year or so later, meaning that it has cost almost nothing for me to drive over the years. I have made the dollar go tremendously far for both my work and in my personal life. I have also made some wise investments. At the same time, I believe many will back me up in saying that I have been generous to friends who needed my help and have even financially aided Movement families and individuals who were in financial distress.

Still, I came to realize that using the system in casinos could, among some people, reflect poorly on my newly released life's work: My Awakening. Also, after trying to perfect the system for a long time, it never seemed to work well enough to employ on a huge scale. So, at the end of 1998 I gave up this quixotic quest and never gambled or used the system again. I have not been back to casinos since and will never go back. (This was long before the beginning of the Federal investigation into the Duke-Foster dealings.)

     Making "personal gift" not a gift...

For the Feds to create a case, the first thing they must do is classify the money I received as not truly personal gifts. Yet, donors designated clearly on all the checks in their letters that they were in fact specifically: "personal gifts." After the investigation started, I also wrote all the givers and asked them to clarify if the gifts were truly personal gifts that David Duke "could use any way he wished." Practically everyone responded by writing back that the gifts were 'truly personal gifts that Duke could spend anyway he deemed fit." Out of thousands of returns which are now safely stored, only two wrote back that they thought their remittance was not a personal gift.

For the government to manufacture a case against me, they also must find aggrieved parties, and the agents have been working hard at trying to create some, visiting hundreds of people. My office has heard from most of them. At least two agents show up, usually without the black lead agent, and begin reciting lurid rumors and stories about Duke. Of course, for many people, just having the FBI come talk to them makes a big impression, as many people are in awe of them. The agents, of course, give only their side of the story and try to make the givers angry at Duke. Some who have made steady gifts over years are sometimes falsely promised the whole amount will be returned to them if they cooperate, and for a few people, that could be a substantial amount and considerable enticement.

Yet, the massive government effort to create "victims" has spectacularly failed. Out of hundreds of interviews with people who gave me personal gifts, agents have only persuaded a handful to go along with them. Even more important, hundreds of my supporters have contacted my attorneys. They are eager to testify truthfully that it was clear to them from my letters and statements that these were truly personal gifts to use as I saw fit. Dozens who were visited by federal agents are also anxious to talk about the enticements, misstatements, and smear campaign against me the agents have used to try to induce them to testify on the federal government's side. Some even said that the agents made veiled threats against them on unrelated matters; that unless they would cooperate they might endure their own tax problems, or that they might be treated favorably on their own current tax problems if they went along with the federal government against me. If this case goes to trial, when supporters relate the agents' false claims such as Duke's "mansion" and agents' lurid stories about Duke's girlfriend, it will severely discredit the government in court. The jury will see how these untruths told by Federal agents could have biased and improperly influenced witnesses against Duke to create victims and a crime where none existed.

One can understand why people might cooperate with the agents. They were not given all the facts and were manipulated by skilled interrogators. Once someone cooperates, it becomes difficult for him to back down and admit he made a mistake. But on the witness stand, it is likely some will admit they have been very pleased with my efforts, and that whether or not they approve of everything I have ever done, they certainly must acknowledge that have worked wonders with the relatively small amount of funds I have received over the years. One thing is certain; I can certainly prove that I have indeed spent very large sums of money on legal defense and many other aspects of his work for our cause, as well as my personal life. I can also prove that I have worked tirelessly for the cause and will refute the playboy, character-assassination image invented by the government.

Even if the Federals could win the argument that the gifts weren't gifts, I will have expert financial and accounting professionals who will show that accounting principles prove there were no illegal financial dealings on my part. For instance, even if it is argued that John Doe's funds are not in the form of personal gifts, but for specific purposes, say to help with legal expenses or with publishing my book, if John Doe already paid legal or publishing expenses from borrowed or other funds in that amount, and then uses the new funds for other things, or if John Doe uses the new funds for other things first, and then pays the legal or publishing expenses from his own pocket, there is nothing illegal and improper.

This accepted legal and accounting principle is called the "common pot." Perhaps the easiest way to explain it is this way. Say a person gives a child a dollar for an ice cream cone. The child puts the dollar in his wallet where he has his own money. He takes out one of his own dollars and buys and ice cream and uses the specific dollar given to him for a sling shot. Obviously the child has used the money for the specific purpose for which it was given, but technically it wasn't the same dollar that was given him. Even if the government was able to argue that my personal gifts were not of a completely free nature, but for a specific purpose, I can easily show how the legal and other expenses associated with the ongoing promotion of our cause were actually greater than the amount of personal gifts that could be construed as received for a specific purpose.

For instance, I certainly would have every legal right to have used my personal gift money to pay the many legal, traveling, organizing and other expenses that I actually paid from my own publishing account; the Duke Report. If personal gift money would have been used directly used to pay those bills instead of Duke Report money, the Duke Report would have had a much larger amount of money. And of course, I have every right to freely use funds from my own publishing business for whatever purpose I desire. So, even if the feds construe the gifts not as free personal gifts, but as for specific purposes in the cause, it can be shown that the entire dollar amount of gift money was not sufficient even to cover my expenditures for those purposes.

Therefore, by any possible standard, I have done nothing illegal, nor violated anyone's trust.

The essence of the case is clearly as one attorney described it to a friend of mine, "a political assassination."

     Trying to silence David Duke...

The government, which would seek to load up a possible indictment, would also love to manufacture a money-laundering charge. Money laundering is an offense created as a weapon used in the drug war, and as someone said correctly, unfortunately in a war there are no constitutional or civil rights for the enemy. It is the allegation that someone tried to hide criminal revenue. Its purpose is simply to tack on many years to an already lengthy sentence. Often it carries a more severe penalty than the crimes themselves. But, to convict for money laundering, an underlying crime (there is none) must be proven and convicted, and then it must be proven that the person tried to criminally hide it. The government put out to the media that I laundered money when my longtime former girlfriend (whom I planned to marry) opened an account in her name in which I deposited checks. However, the Feds conveniently failed to reveal to the press the fact that I had also put my own Social Security number on the account and endorsed the checks. And I continued to use the account in my own name after we parted. In fact, I still today use this account. That is certainly not attempting to hide anything! And of course, there is no underlying crime anyway!

It must be remembered that I had been repeatedly audited by the IRS and gone through an extensive, four-year audit costing upwards of a hundred thousand dollars in legal fees and federal costs. I knew I was likely to be audited every year. It should be obvious to anyone that I had no intention to do anything illegal or hide anything, as I knew I was one of the most-watched men in America. I also knew that the IRS and government had complete access to all my financial dealings and records through my Social Security number which was on all my credit cards, bank accounts, loans, etc. Anytime I received money from credit cards or paid money to credit cards, the credit card with my social security number would have complete records of it. For years the feds audited and investigated me thoroughly, having access to the same information they now have, and in fact, IRS examiners were fully aware of my non-taxable personal gifts, the IRS code clearly states that gifts are non-taxable, and I had extensive legal advice from attorneys that personal gifts were indeed not taxable. So, over the years the government was completely aware that I was given many personal gifts, and never was their propriety questioned, only now under the initiation of Eddie Jordan seeking some way to "get David Duke" have these things become "illegal."

Under the tenure of Eddie Jordan, right after I came within a percentage point of winning a runoff for U.S. Congress, and after the release of my groundbreaking book, My Awakening, came this attempt of the federal government to manufacture a case against me that reaches all the way back to 1995.

To show U.S. attorney Eddie Jordan's political corruption, I can quote one of my biggest media enemies, Tyler Bridges. In his new book about Edwin Edwards, Bridges talks about Eddie Jordan's decision not to indict black senator Cleo Fields, even after Cleo was caught red-handed on video tape taking illegal money from Edwin Edwards. Even Tyler Bridges, obviously no friend of mine, admits Jordan's corruption. Here is a quote from Bridges new book, which was quoted in the New Orleans' Times-Picayune on June 6, 2001.

During this same period, Jordan was putting himself at odds with his law enforcement associates on another highly sensitive matter: whether to indict Cleo Fields, who had lost the 1995 governor's race to Mike Foster while in Congress and was now back in the Louisiana state Senate. Along with New Orleans congressman William Jefferson, Fields was considered one of Louisiana's two most powerful black politicians. Most of the federal officials working the Edwards case considered Fields to be corrupt.

On March 24, 1997, the video camera above the desk in Edwards' law office had captured Fields stuffing his pocket with a thick wad of $100 bills -- $20,000 total -- that the former governor had just handed him. The tape prompted the Clinton administration to withdraw a top White House job that Fields already had accepted. Cleveland, Santini, Irwin and the other federal officials working the case theorized that Edwards had given Fields the cash to pay off a member of the gambling board to help secure the 15th and final riverboat license for his friend Eddie DeBartolo, the real estate baron and owner of the San Francisco Forty-Niners football team. They argued that Fields should be indicted.

With a lawyer at his side, Fields met with two FBI agents in an attempt to head them off, but clammed up after only a few minutes of questioning. He and his lawyer then went straight to Jordan, who was more receptive.

After the meeting, Jordan told his assistant prosecutors that he didn't think they had grounds to indict Fields. Practically all of them disagreed. When Fields appeared before a federal grand jury, he bolstered their suspicions by taking the Fifth Amendment, refusing to testify on grounds that he might incriminate himself.

In a later meeting, Cleveland repeatedly pressed Jordan to change his mind, arguing that if they didn't indict Fields, they wouldn't convince a jury to convict state Sen. Greg Tarver of Shreveport, who was also under investigation for allegedly helping Edwards improperly influence the gambling board. Because the case against Tarver hinged on the argument that Edwards had passed money to him through Fields, not indicting Fields would leave a missing link.

"Cleo's the guy on tape who got the money," Cleveland told Jordan. Besides, he added, "if we don't indict this guy now, we'll be working him for the next 20 years."

Less diplomatic, Steve Irwin blew a gasket in a separate meeting, screaming at his boss that they had to indict Fields. Jordan was unmoved; within three weeks he had removed Irwin from the case.

Jim DeSarno, who preceded Mathews as head of the FBI's Louisiana office, would later say of the decision not to indict Fields, "I think Eddie Jordan let him off the hook."

Privately, Irwin assumed that Fields had a political patron who kept Jordan from indicting him. Later, after Fields' brush with indictment became public, critics would say that Jordan was protecting Fields' political career.

So, over the objections of almost all his assistants, U.S. attorney Eddie Jordan let the most powerful black political leader in Louisiana off the hook, and in the process he purposely sabotaged the case against Sen. Tarver (the two leading black politicians involved in the Edwards case) causing them to be set free. The truth is that Eddie Jordan should be indicted for "obstruction of Justice." The question naturally arises, "If Jordan refuses to prosecute, for political reasons, black political leaders who are obviously guilty, would he be likely to prosecute a White 'racist,' personal enemy, who is innocent?"

The answer to that question also answers the question of why I face unrelenting political persecution. I am the most politically incorrect public figure in America. As you can see by my letter, if I am indicted by the federal government, I will have an excellent chance of winning the case and really exposing the use of the legal system to suppress political opposition.

If there were no politics involved in this case, it would have never even begun, because its origin is political from its start. But, this case also poses big political problems for Republicans. If the Democrats would have proceeded with this weak case under the Clinton administration and lost, the media would simply say, "They tried." If the Republicans don't proceed on this weak case handed to them by Eddie Jordan and the liberal Democrats, it dies quietly with time as the Fields case. But, if the Republican administration proceeds with this poorly constructed, Democrat-initiated case, it would then become a big problem for Republicans, for if they lose it the Democrats and the media will allege that Republicans muffed Jordan's case against Duke, or even worse, that they secretly sympathized with Duke and didn't sincerely try to convict him.

They also must deal with the Cleo Fields case. All the people of Louisiana viewed the video tape showing black Sen. Cleo Fields taking a wad of $100 bills from Edward Edwards that was so big that he couldn't even stuff it in his pocket. In fact, the Video was used as one of the key pieces of evidence in the conviction of Edward Edwards of public malfeasance. Everybody wants to know why this clearly guilty individual, who was caught red-handed, was not indicted. He won't be. But think about the contrast in everyone's mind if the U.S. attorney which will not indict black Senator Cleo Fields, indicts me on this groundless case. No matter what spin the feds put on it, I guarantee the public will see the hypocrisy.

Also, it should be remembered that I have on two occasions received over sixty percent of the White vote in Louisiana, this after intensive smear campaigns by the media and my opponents. I have a loyal following, and any representative jury pool would very likely include sympathizers.

Of course, I have no wish for an indictment, but a trial would put me back on the front pages for a long time, and cause the sale of tens of thousands of copies of My Awakening. If I am found innocent, which I think would occur, it would enhance my persona. An indictment and ultimate vindication may well propel me back into Louisiana politics; perhaps even make me the next U.S. Senator from the state of Louisiana. Actually, I really don't want to get back in Louisiana politics, for I am enjoying the writing, traveling and speaking I am doing around the world for our cause, and I think that the deeper and more enduring work I am now doing will bring big dividends in the future for our cause. However, a trial and vindication could create an opportunity that could pull me back into Louisiana politics.

Still, this is the most serious threat to my life and freedom that I have ever faced. I have had to spend much time and effort and money preparing for the possibility of indictment. In next few years I plan to do much vital work for our cause. My new books should be published in the next few months. It would be a shame if I become locked away in the federal gulags. Yet, even there I wouldn't be silent, I could still write and the power of my words would go far beyond my prison cell. To many young patriots I would become a martyr, spurring them on. But please, I certainly have no desire to become a martyr, so I do need your support now more than ever.

This persecution from the previous liberal administration has already succeeded in some ways in hurting me. It has cost me thousands of dollars in legal and accounting expenses. It has taken much of my valuable time and exacted its toll in the pressure and worry placed upon me. In the face of the federal government's unlimited funds and servants, as one man, I have withstood the onslaught and continued the struggle for our rights and heritage. A supporter told me that a weaker man would long ago have given up and moved on to other careers which offer more personal reward. Well, I really don't believe that I am all that strong, but I can tell you that I am so passionately dedicated to our people and this cause that I will continue to do whatever is necessary for the future of our people.

It is said that persecution is the water that feeds the growth of ideas. This was so for the Christian Church as well as many historical movements for freedom. By trying to inflict such hurt upon me, perhaps the federal government, in the end will only make me and, indeed, all of us in the movement, stronger! I have certainly not always made the right decisions in every aspect of my life. I am a man with many flaws, maybe even more than most, but perhaps the very best proof of my effectiveness for us is the unrelenting efforts of our enemies against me.

I would never have endured the attacks, frustrations, tedious and unending work, dangers and relentless persecutions for money. No amount of money is worth that. I hope this letter will help acquaint you with a deeper understanding of the forces at work against me, and I pray that you will continue your support with even more resolve . . . for my life has been about one thing: the deep and abiding love I have for our people that makes me fight for them . . . no matter what the cost.

DAVID DUKE

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