True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics The Importance of Being Ernest | Historical
Feb 10, 2026
Thomas Maier, investigative journalist and author of The Invisible Spy, digs into Ernest Cuneo, a shadowy White House fixer tied to British intelligence. He recounts Times Square intrigue, Bermuda mail interceptions, covert operations from Rockefeller Center, media manipulation with fake polls and broadcasts, and Cuneo’s quiet influence on wartime intelligence and policy.
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British Shadow War In Manhattan
- Britain ran a major covert influence and counterespionage operation in New York to sway US policy before Pearl Harbor.
- The BSC's intelligence directly led to arrests of nearly 20 Nazi spies in the US.
Cuneo: The Invisible White House Fixer
- Ernest Cuneo operated as Roosevelt's inside man at Room 3603, quietly enabling British espionage on US soil.
- He blended roles as lawyer, media fixer and White House advance man to shield the BSC's activities.
Manufacturing Public Consent
- The BSC manufactured fake polls and planted stories to normalise US entry into WWII.
- Fabricated public opinion became a strategic tool to erode isolationism across parties.
