I just finished reading a very interesting new book, The Investigator - Fifty Years of Uncovering the Truth by Terry Lenzner.  I don't remember ever hearing Mr. Lenzer's name before reading this book, even though he has been around the Washington political world for 50 years.  Mr. Lenzner is currently Chairman of Investigative Group International, a Washington, DC based private investigation and corporate intelligence firm that he founded.  Mr. Lenzer began his career as a government lawyer working for the Department of Justice.

Mr. Lenzer gives his account of his role in many extremely interesting legal and investigative projects during his career, which included the civil rights movement, the Watergate hearings, the relationship between the Nixon family and Howard Hughes, the construction of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, US government experiments with LSD, the United Way scandal, the Clinton- Lewinsky scandal, and more.  The book is easy to read and provides new insights on many of the headline grabbing events of the past 50 years.

Some of the most interesting aspects of the book are Mr. Lenzer's comments in the final chapter in which he assesses the lack of integrity in much of the information that is presented as fact in today's internet/media world.  Mr. Lenzer states "There are no legal standards of conduct for political campaigns, no legal consequences for false assertions, and few press outlets or institutions voters can trust for an honest examination of facts."  I completely agree with Mr. Lenzer on this points.  There are many people that don't care about the facts.  They only care about advocating for their personal or organization's gain or political philosophy.  Mr. Lenzer closes his book with the following comment. "It's increasingly difficult to establish the reliable factual information that is essential to drive sound personal, corporate, government, and political decisions. Internet sites are filled with errors, distortions, and outright falsehoods.  And media outlets profit from oversimplification, rumor, and diatribes."

Each of us may agree or disagree with Mr. Lenzer concerning his conclusions regarding some of the projects he worked on during his long career.  However, I don't see how anyone can disagree with his assessment of the spin, lies and lack of factual integrity that is prevalent in the world we live in today.  It is left to each of us to sort through all the information and misinformation and determine how we should proceed with our lives.

TPM