Levison was the star in absentia of a drama at home that was similarly fantastic. In many respects it was an American echo of the Alfred Dreyfus scandal in France, with the crucial distinction that the hysteria played out behind a wall of government secrecy. King was determined to resist President Kennedy’s personal order to banish Levison. Clearly, since he could not fire someone who did not work for him, Kennedy’s demand meant that the Administration laid claim to govern not only King’s hiring practices but also his friendships and contacts—even the advice he could seek and the words he
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