The Church Committee Report by Matthew Guariglia

The Church Committee Report

Revelations From the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State

Matthew Guariglia, Brian Hochman

WW Norton · Print & ebook · January 13, 2026

After fifty years, this shocking report—released in a single, readable volume for the first time—is still the most accurate account of US government spying on its own citizens.

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Who it’s for
The Church Committee’s findings detail surveillance, protest disruption, and covert intelligence operations.
Themes
Government surveillance, Intelligence agency abuses, Civil liberties and protest
Genres
Intelligence & Spycraft, Cold War History, 20th-Century America

About this book

After fifty years, this shocking report—released in a single, readable volume for the first time—is still the most accurate account of US government spying on its own citizens. Fifty years ago, a government investigation led by US senator Frank Church uncovered some of the darkest state secrets of the twentieth century.

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The Church Committee confirmed the nation’s worst fears about the unchecked power of its intelligence agencies: at the FBI, surveillance campaigns against civil rights leaders and clandestine attempts to disrupt antiwar protests; at the CIA, assassination plots against foreign heads of state, experiments with toxic substances and illegal drugs, and covert partnerships with the Mafia. The Church Committee’s findings were so explosive that key members found themselves on the watch lists of the very government agencies they were investigating. Three witnesses who cooperated with the inquiry were murdered. Amid the creep of digital surveillance and the upheavals of social protest, this accessible volume, containing the most harrowing revelations of the Church Committee investigation, sheds valuable light on some of today’s most urgent concerns.

Church Committee Findings

The Church Committee’s findings detail surveillance, protest disruption, and covert intelligence operations.

Come here for

  • FBI surveillance of civil rights leaders
  • CIA assassination plots and covert partnerships

Expect

  • Revelations about FBI campaigns against civil rights leaders
  • Accounts of CIA plots, toxic substances, and illegal drugs

Where it sits

Intelligence & Spycraft73%
20th-Century America26%
Cold War History21%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • 20th-Century America
  • Security Studies
  • The Presidency & Executive
Authors
Matthew Guariglia, Brian Hochman
Publisher
WW Norton
Published
January 13, 2026
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Government surveillance · Intelligence agency abuses · Civil liberties and protest
Reading lane
20th-Century America