Nixon White House Counsel John Dean gives IRS Commissioner Walters a list of 576 political enemies and orders audits

White House Counsel John Dean delivered a list of 576 supporters and staffers of Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern to IRS Commissioner Johnnie Walters on September 11, 1972, demanding the IRS open tax audits on each name. Walters refused, placed the list in a sealed envelope in his safe after obtaining authorization from Treasury Secretary George Shultz to do nothing. The episode became central to Watergate investigations, revealing that Nixon had told aides he wanted an IRS commissioner who would "go after our enemies and not go after our friends."