Operation POROK: Henry "Scoop" Jackson Gay?

The KGB loved to accuse American politicians of being Zionists, gay, or both. It did not matter if they were Republicans or Democrats. All that mattered was their anti-soviet stance. In the late 60s, after a failed attempt to subsidize Hubert Humphrey's presidential campaign to prevent Richard Nixon from being elected, the KGB moved on to Henry "Scoop" Jackson. Fearing Jackson's stance on the Soviet Union and believing he would be the Democratic nominee, the KGB launched active measures to discredit him as a Zionist and homosexual. First, Service A forged an FBI document claiming that Jackson was gay. Copies were sent to the Chicago Tribune, The L.A. Times, the Topeka Capital and Jimmy Carter's campaign HQs. Then, in April 1976, after Jackson stated on television that "homosexuality leads to the destruction of the family", The KGB sent said statement and forged documents alleging Jackson was a member of a gay sex club to various people and entities including: Senator Edward Kennedy, columnist Jack Anderson, and the Playboy and Penthouse magazines. The KGB continued POROK despite Jackson failed to obtain the Democratic nomination in 1977 one of POROK's goals was to have the gay press attack Jackson as a hypocritical, closet homosexual. A forged document was sent to a California magazine called "Gay Times." The entire operation, however, was largely a failure and had no clear effect on Jackson's career.

To read more, see The Sword and the shield by Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, Political Warfare, pages: 239 -241.