Hoover's FBI The Inside Story by Hoover's Trusted Lieutenant CdrihR "Doke" Odoach Regnery Publishing, Inc. Washington, D.C. Hoover's FBI • S /as on the line. I didn't like the sound of it. "Let me check with the director and get back to you," I said. about his per- First—as always—I went to Tolson. He passed me along to he convention. Hoover without comment. Those were dangerous waters, and Tol- .tential threats? son wasn't about to wet his big toe, much less dive in head first. rat there ar;rt'l When I told Hoover what Jenkins wanted, he blinked, then wagged his head in disapproval. as possible, as "Lyndon is way out of line," he grunted. .s just an after- "Should I just tell him we can't do it, that it's beyond the limits )resident's safe- of our mission?" m, and I knew Hoover sat for a moment, brooding. A master bureaucrat, he had often been able to circumvent what had been his biggest ost exclusively headache over the years—politicians who wanted to turn the FBI rvice. We have into their personal political goon squad. That was exactly what the .ntify potential department had been on its way to becoming when Hoover had ration of JFK a been appointed to reform it decades before. But the same bureau- of even been a cratic instincts also told him when he was trapped. Jenkins had . Only with the been careful to phrase the request under the cover of a legal and charge of that imperative duty: to protect the president. Only a few months before, Hoover's beloved agency had been bitterly criticized for fail- t change audio- ing to stop Lee Harvey Oswald, a man whose bizarre history the -esident, though bureau had in its files, from assassinating JFK. If Hoover did not r, the FBI is an cooperate now, and, heaven forbid, anything happened, the bureau not a national could be destroyed in the crossfire. Certainly it would be the end of utside our char- Hoover's career. LBJ wasn't a bad bureaucratic infighter himself. itable for guard "No, I guess not," Hoover replied. "Tell Walter we'll give him n most cases, to whatever help he wants." our volume of We selected a team of seasoned agents who could handle an assignment involving masses of people, agents level-headed enough ited. He wanted to remain calm in a crowd, whatever the provocation. The hours emonstrators on would be long and pressure-packed. Most of the agents—based in ights protestors, Washington, Newark, and Atlantic City—were familiar with the porters and per- dissident groups most likely to cause trouble and were trained to falling apart. In detect hot spots before a fire broke out. ibert Humphrey Because the White House had called for our involvement at the vanted us to pre- last minute, we had to work day and night to plan our strategy, leaving many heavy case loads in abeyance. First, we compiled all Hoover's FBI • 15 ment's abuses had been the smallish Bureau of Investigation—start- ttention to her." ed in 1908, but not yet called the FBI. Stone complained that the tge the subject and bureau had an "exceedingly bad odor" and within a month forced as never quite sure its chief, William J. Burns, to resign. The GID was part of the was certainly effec- bureau, and many believed that Hoover virtually ran the bureau for gs I'd done.wrong, Burns. ring out of the lime- Stone, however, did not toss Hoover out with Burns. Hoover had id detailed. When I earned a number of recommendations that were forwarded to the I, after his first con- new attorney general, including the support of then-Commerce Sec- .ovingly. retary Herbert Hoover (no relation—the future president had an presidents with fad- assistant who was a friend of J. Edgar's). Stone wanted to reform the ion," no posed shots bureau—which had been a dumping ground for political hacks who is. Hoover 'h'ad seen used their patronage jobs as investigators to harass and intimidate rst secrets. The dos- political enemies—and he came to see in Hoover a man of like mind. how was the procla- "There is always the possibility that a secret police may become landatory retirement a menace to free governments and free institutions because it car- !ctor after he turned ries with it the possibility of abuses of power that are not always ig in the conference quickly apprehended or understood," Stone announced on the day srait space inside the he ousted Burns. The Bureau of Investigation is "a necessary instru- 'hose picture hung in ment of law enforcement. But it is important that its activities be attorney general, had strictly limited to the performance of those functions for which it Hoover owed Stone, was created and that its agents themselves be not above the law or beyond its reach." Stone concluded that the "Bureau of Investiga- pril of 1924, it could tion is not concerned with political or other opinions of individu- er's career. A Justice als. It is concerned only with their conduct and then only with such been appointed head conduct as is forbidden by the laws of the United States. When a ion (GID) when it was police system passes beyond these limits, it is dangerous to the Mitchell Palmer. The proper administration of justice and to human liberty, which it r's Justice Department should be our first concern to cherish." s, had been justified in Hoover assured Stone that he shared the new attorney general's nprehensive files—list- worries, and that he would only take the job—an interim appoint- -that had been corn- ment to replace Burns—if he could professionalize the outfit, get rid verely criticized for the of the hacks, and grant promotions only on the basis of "proven ndups had violated the ability." Hoover moved quickly to carry out the detailed instruc- if people. And Harlan tions Stone gave him to reorder the bureau. He fired the political iv/ School—was one of hacks, known as "dollar-a-year men,"an action later referred to in if many of the depart- the bureau as the "great purge." Hoover's quick action convinced 18 • HOOVER'S FBI The FBI's jurisdiction is limited to federal crimes. As I noted above, given the audio one of the great ironies of the Kennedy assassination was that Lee because of the hin Harvey Oswald broke no federal law when he killed the president of kidnapping grew the United States. For this reason, a good deal of confusion sur- local authorities— rounded the investigation of Kennedy's death; and some of the sub- Kidnapping rer sequent conspiracy theories grew out of that confusion. For example, red against the t. Dallas County Coroner Earl Rose was acting properly when he investigate. As I- refused to surrender Kennedy's body to the presidential party. The Wayne Gacy and purview of the Fl crime had been committed in his jurisdiction. It was his responsibili- quently on cases ty to gather forensic evidence. He was prevented from doing so property. And ou through enormous political pressure. As a direct consequence, more cants for posirior than thirty years later critics are still raising questions about the The bureau is nature of the president's wounds and the number of bullets fired. whatever pops i At the time, the FBI had no legal authority to interject itself into single agent wor that particular murder investigation, no matter that the victim was the United States the highest official in the federal government. But we were ordered in a sense, the F to do so by President Johnson, and since we were-on the scene, we the attorney ger took over the investigation and began gathering evidence. Still, we narily the directs had to fight the Dallas Police Department every step of the way, and and demeaning. they had the law on their side. Today, it's a federal crime to kill the general wants tc president of the United States; and should such a tragedy ever recur ered to do so. the FBI will have primary jurisdiction. Although ass; Most crimes committed in the United States are violations of that forge the pu state law rather than federal law. Ordinarily, robbery, rape, murder, sibility of the Fl and other such acts aren't covered under federal statutes but fall agents come km under state penal codes and are tried in state courts. There are information ratl exceptions, of course. For example, if any of these crimes is com- milted a federa mitted on federal property, or if other federal crimes are involved, then the FBI can immediately move into the case. than he hauled Most people believe that the bureau has jurisdiction over all kid- agents track do, nappings. This is not so. The FBI becomes involved only if the kid- Because the form many fun. napper transports the victim across state lines. For this reason, the tional police fo bureau waits twenty-four hours before entering many kidnapping liberals dernanc cases. When this period has elapsed, the courts presume that the demonstrators I kidnapper and victim have had time to leave the state, and the FBI rives insisted tl enters the picture with all its resources, since transporting a kidnap them in the dar victim across state lines is a federal offense. Much as the FBI was The Secret Files That Weren't • 2 n more extravagant hadn't even been discovered when the Calomaris family claimed to files, Summers spins have witnessed this titillating scene; it is absurd to suggest that large object across J.