Monkee Micky Dolenz Is Suing the FBI

Dolenz wants to see what files the Bureau has on the band and its members
By Mike L. Ford,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2022 6:01 PM CDT
Monkee Micky Dolenz Is Suing the FBI
Micky Dolenz, of The Monkees, waves during a performance Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Rosemont Theatre in Rosemont, Ill.   (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP)

The last of the Monkees, Micky Dolenz, has filed a lawsuit against the FBI to "obtain any records" the bureau has on the band, according to the Hill. The lawsuit states that Dolenz, 77, "exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies," having submitted a FOIA request back in June. By law, the agency had 20 days to respond to the request, but Dolenz hasn’t heard a peep. There is no question such a file exists, because heavily redacted portions were released in 2011, per Rolling Stone, including a report from an informant who claimed the band delivered "subliminal messages" constituting "left-wing intervention of a political nature" during its 1967 tour.

As Rolling Stone points out, the Monkees weren’t exactly known for controversial behavior, but they were among the most popular groups in America in the late ’60s. As such, they were subject to J. Edgar Hoover’s obsessive scrutiny over "counterculture." Dolenz is represented by Mark Zaid, a FOIA expert who represented the government whistleblower who opened the door for then-President Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment. Zaid is also a lifelong Monkees fan who insists "it’s not just a fishing expedition … I mean, we’re still fishing, but we know there’s fish in the water." He says he has no idea what they’ll find in the file. "It could be almost nothing. But we’ll see soon enough," Zaid says.

Dolenz continues to tour and sing the "can’t not do" songs like "I’m a Believer," per CBS News, which interviewed him earlier this month. He didn’t mention the FBI in that interview, but he did pay tribute to his bandmates, including Davy Jones—who died in 2012—and Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork, both of whom passed away more recently. Dolenz says he keeps their memory alive by playing clips from home movies on stage, and he still finds joy in performing the classic songs for devoted audiences. "We get old, but the songs don’t," he said. (More Monkees stories.)

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