Author Norman F. Dacey made powerful enemies. He turned the cozy estate-planning industry upside-down after publishing How to Avoid Probate in 1965. The book sold 2 million copies as Dacey barnstormed [.pdf] the country advising Americans how to structure their estates to avoid the costs, delays, and publicity of probate by setting up trusts. Dacey engaged in fierce battles with various bar associations who tried to shut down publication of the book by claiming he was practicing law without a license. The tenacious Dacey returned fire, filing scores of libel and First Amendment lawsuits.
Newly declassified U.S. State Department documents reveal a lesser-known but equally intense battle fought by Dacey. The chairman of the American Palestine Committee and close confidant of “Rabbi Outcast” Elmer Berger nearly succeeded in having American Israel Public Affairs (AIPAC) Director Morris Amitay prosecuted for trafficking classified national defense information in the mid-1970s.
In 1975, the Ford administration attempted to sell improved Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Jordan and duly sent notification containing classified Department of Defense data to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee. AIPAC Director Morris Amitay reviewed the classified document after being informed of its existence “secretly by aides of Senator Clifford P. Case, Republican of New Jersey, and Representative Jonathan B. Bingham, Democrat of New York” according to the New York Times. Amitay and AIPAC quickly mounted a massive campaign in opposition to the missile sale, telling constituent public pressure groups that the weapons were capable of “providing cover for offensive operations against Israel.” After delays, Jordan considered acquiring a similar system from the Soviet Union.
Dacey was outraged. He dashed off a March 30, 1976, letter to Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Adolph Dubs inquiring, “Did you initiate action to discover the identity of the individual(s) responsible for the violation and to institute appropriate action to punish the violator?” On April 29, the State Department forwarded Dacey’s letter to the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, but attempted to downplay the affair by claiming that “A notice of sale is normally not considered by the Department of Defense to require classification and protection…. I would appreciate any comments you could offer on the issues presented by the letter….” On May 19, the State Department seemed to try to extricate itself from the scandal, telling Dacey “we consulted with the Justice Department informally after receipt of your first letter and, at their request, transmitted it to them for further consideration. The matter is still under review in the Justice Department, which expects to provide you with a direct response in the near future.”
While the Department of Justice may now have earned a reputation as the place where warranted prosecutions of AIPAC go to die, there is little evidence Israel’s lobby has similarly captured the pool of D.C. Appeals Court judges. The ghost of Norman Dacey — bane of American bar associations nationwide — may yet prevail.
