This has been going on since at least the 1580s, when Queen Elizabeth I used her version of the CIA to entrap Anthony Babington in a trumped up treason plot. Babington and his “co-conspirators” were publicly executed in a horrifically gruesome manner (think “Braveheart,” except they were dragged through the streets by horses on the way to the gallows) while the people who actually plotted the events walked away free men. Well, as free as one could be in those times. Since Babington was a friend and admirer of Mary Queen of Scots, the Babington Plot led directly to Mary’s execution.