Read Official and Confidential Online
Authors: Anthony Summers
Chapter 32
Dr Edmund Keeney and Dr Robert Choisser were interviewed on H.'s health, Mark Felt and Jack Danahee on Tolson's. J. Edgar Nichols told of his father's role as Nixon adviser, and H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Pete Pitchess, John Connally, and Kenneth Whittaker described H.'s relations with Pres. Nixon. Former Hong Kong Legat Dan Grove was a key source on Marianna Liu. Ehrlichman, Haldeman, Joe Trento, and Jack Anderson, recalled H.'s attempt to smear Nixon aides as homosexuals, and Charles Krebs, Billy Byars, Jr., the late Skitch Hendrix, Roy Parkin, David Rowell, and detective Don Smith provided information on H.'s alleged behavior with young boys. Documents on alleged bugging of Nixon are in John Dean's testimony, WAC, III, 981, staff memo, Jun. 12, 1973, NP; WHT, Sept. 15, 1972, Feb. 16, Feb. 23, Feb. 27, and the transcript of a Nixon/Dean conversation, Mar. 13, 1973, Submission of Recorded Presidential Conversations to House Cttee. on Judiciary; and cf. (Agnew) IC6, pp. 164, 193ff, 483. Nixon and Liu are the subject of Director to SAC San Francisco, Aug. 18, 1976, FBI file 105â40947â8. The INLET coverage is at IC6, pp. 19, 52, 642ff. The homosexual smear of Nixon aides is in DeLoach to T., Jun. 11, 1969, OC119; H. to RN, Sept. 3, 1969, W. Hse. Staff Files, JDE, NP.
Chapter 33
Kenneth Clawson discussed the FBI and Vietnam protests. Former Asst. Director Charles Bates, SAC Richard Held, Jr., Bill Thomas, Larry Heim, and George Moore filled in the details of the smearing of Jean Seberg. Wesley Swearingen and Lynn Atkinson talked of the FBI and the Black Panthers, and Ray Cline, Noel Gayler, and former CIA Director Richard Helms discussed H.'s attitude to the CIA. H.'s comments on Kent State are in H. to Tolson, May 11, 1970, FBI file 44â45339. Good sources on COINTELPRO are
COINTELPRO
, by Nelson Blackstock, and
The COINTELPRO Papers
, by Ward Churchill
and Jim Vander Wall (see
Bibliography)
. Robert Hardy's testimony is in Hearings, House Select Cttee. on Intelligence, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., Pt. 3, pp. 1050ff, 1133. The FBI and the Black Panthers are extensively covered in IC3 and 6. The smear of Jean Seberg is in FBI files 157â13876, 157â3912, 157â13870, and in
Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story
, by David Richards, NY, Berkley, 1983. The Dick Gregory episode is at
WP
, Mar. 10, 1978; H. to SAC Chicago, May 15, 1968, p. 104 of Ward Churchill's book,
supra.;
and H. to SAC Chicago, Apr. 23, 1968, Black Nationalist files, RR; IC3, p. 189. Prof. Herbert Parmet kindly supplied his Nov. 1988 interview of Richard Nixon. Tom Huston's testimony is in IC2, pp. 3ff. Dean's remark that H. had âlost his guts' is Dean to N, Apr. 30, 1974, submission of Recorded Presidential Conversations to Hse. Cttee. on Judiciary.
Chapter 34
The raid on H.'s garbage was recalled by Charles Elliott and Jack Anderson. Kenneth Clawson described H.'s âjelly fish' comment on former AG Ramsey Clark, and Edmund Muskie and Henry Reuss discussed FBI surveillance. Former Asst. AG Robert Mardian recalled H.'s threat to âtell
all.'
Daniel and Patricia Ellsberg, and John Ehrlichman, were interviewed on the Ellsberg affair. Daniel Selznick's interview of Cartha DeLoach provided information on the aging H.'s schedule. Patrick Buchanan's advice to N. of Feb. 12, 1971 is in
From: The President
,
Richard Nixon's Secret Files
, ed. Bruce Oudes, NY, Harper & Row, 1989, p. 217. H.'s view of Women's Liberation as âsubversive' is at H. to SAC SF, May 7, 1970, FBI file on WL Movement, RR. The assertion that H. proposed the Kissinger taps is in
RN
, I, by Richard Nixon, NY, Grosset & Dunlap, 1978, p. 479, in
Years of Upheaval
, by Henry Kissinger, Boston, Little, Brown, 1982, pp. 120, 1115, and in
White House Years
, by Henry Kissinger, Boston, Little, Brown, 1979, p. 252. Sullivan's assertion that H. was ânot of sound mind' was in
LAT
, stay 15, 1973. While the description of Sullivan's fall was from many sources, an especially useful source for this final phase was the Mardian Papers, HIW.
Chapter 35
Hobert Mardian and John Ehrlichman discussed their Oct. 3, 1971, meeting, and Mardian was most helpful for the chapter as a whole. H. R. Haldeman and former SAC Kenneth Whittaker recalled H. and RN at Key Biscayne. David Young and Gordon Liddy described events prior to Watergate, Larry Cohen passed in Sullivan's comments on H.'s knowledge of Nixonian taping, and Andrew Tully recalled his revealing interview with H. N.'s White House discussion about the transcripts is in WHT, Oct. 3, 1971. The report on H. is Ehrlichman to N., Oct. 23, 1971, WHSF, NP. Nixon's denial of any H. blackmail is in his book,
RN
, II, by Richard Nixon, NY, Grosset & Dunlap, 1978, p. 75, and in a Nixon interview kindly supplied by Prof. Herbert Parmet. Seymour Hersch's book,
The Price of Power
, NY, Summit, 1983, refers to missing transcripts at p. 398, and see Glanzer to Silbert, May 7, 1973, and the statement of Robert Mardian, taken by FBI Inspector Meincke, May 11, 1973, Mardian Papers, HIW. Nixon's fear that H. would âpull down the temple' is at WHT, Oct. 25, 1971, p. 3. Liddy's reported claim that he had killed a man is in
An American Life
, by Jeb Magruder, NY, Atheneum, 1974, p. 175.
Chapter 36
Former reporter Mark Frazier was interviewed about his
Harvard Crimson
report, and forensic toxicologist Dr Michael Slade described thiophosphate. Scott Armstrong, Emily Sheketoff, and Nathaniel Akerman confirmed that Watergate investigators were told of operations against H.'s house, and Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, H. R. Haldeman, and Felipe DeDiego, were interviewed on the subject. Frank Sturgis' comments were kindly obtained by Dan Christensen. Dr Bell's widow Marilyn recalled H.'s plastic surgery, and Cartha DeLoach spoke of H.'s last days. Jack Anderson described his congressional testimony about FBI snooping, and Jay Robert Nash and Hank Messick said their books were found in H.'s house after his death. James Crawford, Dr Robert Choisser, Dr James Luke, and Dr Richard Welton discussed H.'s death, and Neil Gallagher and Egil Krogh were asked about Krogh's alleged later comment. H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Richard
Kleindienst, and Gordon Liddy were interviewed about Administration reactions to the death, and undertaker Wm. Reburn and neighbors Helen and Anthony Calomaris described events at H.'s house. Former FBI clerk Joe Diamond told of the destruction of documents, and congressional investigators Mark Gittenstein and Robert Fink described the inquiry into the fate of H.'s files. Former
Newsweek
reporter Anthony Marro was interviewed about the FBI's reported removal of documents after Tolson's death. Hunt's reported involvement in assassination plots is in Jim Hougan's book,
Secret Agenda
, NY, Morrow, 1978, p. 5, and in
Life
, Mar. 1990. The numerous burglaries suspected to be linked to the Watergate crew are listed in âThe Unsolved Break-Ins,' by Robert Fink, in
Rolling Stone
, Oct. 10, 1974. A document on âpossible burglaries' at H.'s home is in Director FBI to Special Prosecution force, DJ, Nov. 28, 1973, NA. Roy Cohn recalled his last meeting with H. in
Esquire
, Nov. 1972. Jack Anderson's testimony on FBI snooping is in Hearings, Subcttee. of Cttee. on Gov't Operations, 92 Cong., 2nd Sess., May 1, 1972, pp. 2437ff. N.'s reported call to H. on the last night is in notes of a conversation with Helen Gandy by Ladislas Farago, Farago Collection, Mugar Library, Univ. of Boston. H.'s death certificate, no. 72â03405, is at HSF8. Nixon's response to the news was described by John Ehrlichman to the author, but see also, J.
Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets
, by Curt Gentry (see
Bibliography
), p. 28. Haldeman's note on âskeletons,' dated 9:15 A.M., May 2, 1972, is in WHSF, NP. Richard Kleindienst's testimony on action after H.'s death was Dec. 1, 1975 in DES, p. 2, and DES â with the draft staff report obtained by the author â is the principle source. Mark Felt's âdead horse' remark is cited in the DES staff report.
Epilogue
Former Asst. Directors Cartha DeLoach and Mark Felt, Neil Welch, race official Bill Koras, Dr Edward Elson, nephew Fred Robinette, goddaughter Marianita Mattusch, neighbor Anthony Calomaris, cemetery staff Ethel Robertson, Lee Jenney and Audrey Jones discussed H.'s burial and events following his death. Godson J. Edgar Nichols described visits to the grave, and niece Dorothy Davy recalled Annie Hoover's social aspirations.
Psychiatrist Dr Harold Lief and psychologists Dr John Money and Capt. Gaye Humphreys offered opinions on H.'s personality. Documents used included
J. Edgar Hoover Memorial Tributes in the Congress
, Washington, DC, US Govt. Printing Office, 1974, and the Masons'
Tribute of Admiration and Affection
,
Oct. 1
, 1972, Scottish Rite Temple. The Dean-Nixon exchange is in
Blind Ambition
, by John Dean, NY, Simon & Schuster, 1976, p. 265, citing Watergate tapes, Mar. 13, 1973, but (for variant) cf. submission of Recorded Presidential Conversations to Hse. Judiciary Cttee., Mar. 13, 1973, p. 122. Doubt about Tolson's âmental competency' is in a report by investigator Philip Haire, Jul. 9, 1973, WAC, NA. Medical texts used were âSome Aspects of the Development of Authority,'
Journal of Analytic Psychology
, Jul. 1977 and (on Himmler)
The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness
, by Erich Fromm, London, Pelican, 1987, pp. 398ff. H.'s comments on pornography were in
This Week
,
Aug
. 25, 1957 (reprinted for circulation by FBI), H. testimony Hse. Appropriations Subcttee., Jan. 30, 1957, p. 203,
American Legion
magazine, May 1961, and
Inside the FBI
, by Norman Ollestad (see
Bibliography)
, p.
62
. The closing quote by Walter Mondale is from IC6, p. 64.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN NOTES
BI | Bureau of Investigation document |
CP | Cummings Papers |
CR | Congressional Record |
D | The Director , by Ovid Demaris, New York, Harper's Magazine Press, 1975 |
DES | Inquiry into the Destruction of Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's Files and FBI Recordkeeping, Hearings, House Government Information and Individual Rights Subcommittee, 1975 |
DJ | Department of Justice |
EL | Dwight D. Eisenhower Library |
EPUA | Morris Ernst Papers, University of Texas at Austin |
ER | Eleanor Roosevelt |
F | From the Secret Files of I. Edgar Hoover , edited by Athan Theoharis, Chicago, Ivan Dee, 1991 |
FBI | FBI document number |
FDRL | Franklin D. Roosevelt Library |
GC | Bearing the Cross , by David Garrow, New York, William Morrow, 1986 |
GF | The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr ., by David Garrow, New York, Norton, 1981 |
H | J. Edgar Hoover |
HC | Hoover Collection (J. Edgar Hoover Foundation), Temple of the Supreme Council, Thirty-third Degree, Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Washington, D. C. |
HH | Herbert Hoover Papers |
HHL | Herbert Hoover Library |
HIW | Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace |
HSCA | Hearings and Appendices of the House Committee on Assassinations, 1979 |
HSF | Hoover Staff File |
HSTL | Harry S. Truman Library |
HT | Harry Truman |
IC | Hearings before the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities of United States Senate, 94th Congress, 1st Session, 1976 |
INTPERF | Summary Report, The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies, Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities , U.S. Senate, Book V, 1976 |
JFK | John F. Kennedy |
JFKL | John F. Kennedy Library |
LAT | Los Angeles Times |
LBJ | Lyndon Baines Johnson |
LBJL | Lyndon Baines Johnson Library |
LC | Library of Congress |
MLK | Martin Luther King, Jr. |
NA | National Archives |
N | Richard Nixon |
NP | Nixon Papers |
NYP | New York Post |
NYT | The New York Times |
OC | Official and Confidential Files (OC 1, for example, refers to OC vol. 1) |
POF | President's Official Files, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library |
PC | Private Collection (Lou Nichols' papers) |
RFK | Robert F. Kennedy |
RG65NA | Record Group 65, Civil Reference Division of the National Archives (mostly scrapbooks containing Hoover news clippings) |
RR | FBI Reading Room |
SRIA | Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans, Book III, Final Report of Select Committee to Study Governmental Activities, U.S. Senate, 1976 |
T | Clyde Tolson |
TSF | Tolson Staff File |
TWF | Tolson Will File, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Plaintiff Hillory A. Tolson vs. John P. Mohr, Administration No: 868â75 |
WAC | Hearings, Senate Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, 93rd Congress, 1st Session, 1973â74 (Watergate and Related Activities) |
WES | Washington Evening Star |
WH | Washington Herald |
WHSF | White House Special Files, Nixon Papers |
WHT | White House Tape transcripts, Watergate Special Prosecution Force File segment, Record Group 460, National Archives |
WMP | Wayne Morse Papers, University of Oregon |
WP | The Washington Post |
WR | Report volume of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, 1964 (WC + number denotes a Warren Commission Volume of Hearings or Exhibits) |
WS | Washington Star |
WT | The Washington Times |