August 22, 2025 • 59 mins
Uncover the sinister web of blackmail, surveillance, and power that made J. Edgar Hoover America's most feared man. This explosive episode rips open the hidden vault of the FBI's first director, exposing decades of illegal operations and devastating secrets that held presidents, celebrities, and civil rights leaders hostage to his will. Through declassified documents and insider testimonies, we reveal Hoover's notorious "Personal Files" - a weapon he wielded to maintain his iron grip on power for nearly 50 years. From cross-dressing allegations to mafia connections, discover the real reason why no president dared to fire him. We expose his war against civil rights leaders, his obsession with surveillance, and the shocking truth about how his death triggered a desperate race to secure files that could have brought down the government.
🌀 Thanks for listening to WTF Conspiracy? Operation: Disclosure – uncovering the secrets they don’t want you to know.
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🌀 Thanks for listening to WTF Conspiracy? Operation: Disclosure – uncovering the secrets they don’t want you to know.
📲 Stay connected: Facebook Mk-Ultra CAST | X @MkUltracast
💬 Share your theories, discoveries, and hidden truths with us online.
🎙️ Because every mystery deserves disclosure.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Here's my plan to dismantle the deep state and reclaim
our democracy from Washington corruption.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Within five years, we're going to see four hundred and
fifteen thousand low orbit satellite.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
This is a special satellite.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
We'll be able to look at every square into the
planet twenty four hours day.
Speaker 5 (00:25):
Do you believe in a deep state.
Speaker 6 (00:28):
Must succeed in Iraq? Like George Bush for example, really
a puppet?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
It turns out we were all wrong.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
Men pulling the strings from within the shadows.
Speaker 7 (00:38):
Fifty Americans continue to be held captive, and he ran installed.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
The release of hostages in Iran in order to get
another president elected in.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
A few days.
Speaker 5 (00:46):
Hi, Ronald Reagan unelected, manipulative, powerful.
Speaker 8 (00:53):
Well, I'm not a cup I shall resign the presidency.
Affective that newman.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
An absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
Or perhaps it's just a conspiracy.
Speaker 9 (01:02):
Intelligence is nothing really other than information and knowledge?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Is it really a cover shadow government that runs America?
Speaker 7 (01:11):
And no time as the CIA engage in any political activity.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
But they killed Robert Kennedy, they killed Martin Luther King,
Bobby dan If I know why there are here is
government accountable to.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
The people, unlike the old television sets. History is rarely
so black and white. Look again, closer patterns begin to
emerge that hints there's something bigger at play, because, after all,
it is possible for a single man to hold so
much power. That man may just be j Edgar Hoover.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
UTI six, You're all done.
Speaker 7 (01:46):
Edgar Holmer.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
He was director of the FBI for forty eight years.
He single handedly shaped the bureau into what it is.
Speaker 6 (01:53):
Today, destroyed the enemy's plan.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
But Hoover played by his own rules. Secrets were his weapon.
But just how important was he?
Speaker 7 (02:04):
The president?
Speaker 10 (02:07):
Well, jo, what are you doing? Okay?
Speaker 7 (02:13):
Nis? But who wrong?
Speaker 11 (02:14):
Thank you?
Speaker 9 (02:15):
Well, I'm what.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
You just heard was President Lyndon B. Johnson attempting to
get through to j Edgar Hoover. However, Saturday was a
day for the races. For Hoover, no one was to
disturb him, not even the President L. B. J. Can wait.
Perhaps this gives you an idea on how important Hoover was.
(02:38):
After all, Lyndon was just another one of eight different presidents.
He would serve. One by one, they would come and go.
Speaker 7 (02:48):
Big stretch one A number two is not all the
winder entry number three timely rewards.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Repertoire is number four. Dan Brook meets Sables.
Speaker 7 (03:00):
Bold number five Worth choice of the fans counterpoint is
number six and seven. As Headland Stables alerted, that's the lineup,
and here they go.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
There's this moment in the sixties where Hoover's dirty work
really kicks up a gear. JFK has just been assassinated.
The US is in a state of shock, but one
man remains very calm.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
The assassin's aim is deadly.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
After the initial FBI investigation tampas with evidence, Hoover writes
in a memo, the public must be satisfied that Oswald
was the assassin. He did not have confederates, who are
still at large. He then helps Lyndon B. Johnson assemble
the Warren Commission, the official investigation into the assassination.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
The Warrant Commission identified the gunman, the rifle, and the bullet.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
The final Warren report contained staggering inaccuracies on how JFK died,
but we'll get to that soon. A year later, Martin
Luther King receives an anonymous letter in the Post. The
letter tells King, like all Flauds, your end is approaching.
Your dirt filth evil. There is only one thing left
(04:25):
for you to do. You know what it is. The
letter was sent from the FBI. As we all know,
King was later assassinated new The.
Speaker 12 (04:34):
RAS arrest came first from the FBI Chief Edgar Hoover
in Washington.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
But why did Hoover continue to go to such lengths
to smear King? He even protested against making his name
a national holiday. Where did all this hatred come from? Well,
the answer is likely the same as to why he
helped cover up key evidence in the JFK assassination. Let's
start from the beginning.
Speaker 11 (05:03):
All right, let's see here. I think I'm gonna have
a shorter answer. Jedgrew Vober was born in eighteen ninety
five in Washington, d C. So he was basically born
right near the government. He was heavily influenced by his upbringing.
He was upset about the fact that his father suffered
(05:25):
from mental health illnesses and died young, so he had
to take care of his mother, who he lived with
for many, many years. He was obsessed with the Communists,
and he was obsessed with trying to Sorry, I mean,
I might need to redo this one. I'm trying to
think of what I want to say he did make
(05:46):
some improvements to the FBI, but ultimately he was one
of the most racist and bigoted Americans who did great damage.
He aggressively went after all of his opponents, many of
whom were innocent.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Jay Edgar Hoover was the definition of a Washington insider.
He was born, raised, and died in DC, just to
drive away from Capitol Hill. He lived with his mother
until she died, then he lived alone. He never left
the United States or married. His life was woven into
the fabric of Washington, so.
Speaker 11 (06:21):
He grew up literally just miles away from the US government.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
In nineteen sixteen, Hoover obtained his Bachelor of Laws from
George Washington University.
Speaker 11 (06:31):
He was a strong student, but he had a stutterer
from a young age, and he made up for it
by trying to talk really, really quickly. He engaged in debates,
and early on we learned about his viewpoints. He actually
notoriously debated that women shouldn't have the right to vote,
and his views were largely shaped by the fact that
he felt there was a growing communist threat in the US.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
Then the following year, American soldiers were shipped to Europe,
As World War One raged on, Hoover was of service age,
but he was hired by the Justice Department to work
in the War Emergency Division. As a result, he was
exempt from the draft.
Speaker 7 (07:08):
Their decks alive with during men.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
As an ambitious young lawyer with strong views, he quickly
becomes head of the division's Alien Enemy Bureau. Authorized by
President Woodrow Wilson. His role to track down and arrest
allegedly disloyal foreigners without trial.
Speaker 13 (07:27):
We have not pictured of even one enemy alien on
his way back from Ellyx Islands.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
It's during this time that Hoover collects files on thousands
of people. These files turn out very useful for Hoover,
but not quite yet. The year is nineteen eighteen. World
War One has just finished. American troops return home.
Speaker 7 (07:49):
Triumphant troops borrated up New York Spift Avenuel.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
But the underbelly of political unrest starts to boil. America
was in a state of limbo, thousands of soldiers disheartened,
economic uncertainty, race riots and strikes. And to add fuel
to the growing fire, Russia had just faced a revolution.
Now the American establishment was really on edge. They feared anarchy.
(08:15):
That anarchy became relevant to Hoover when a radical blew
up his boss's house in Washington, d C. His boss,
A Mitchell Palmer, survived, but his leniency towards socialists didn't.
This was good news for Hoover as he was about
to secure a promotion. Palmer made Hoover the head of
(08:35):
the Radical Division, and Hoover's first assignment was to capture
and arrest all socialists, anarchists, and communists otherwise known as
the Palmer Raids.
Speaker 14 (08:46):
Victim of the Palmer Raid.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Hoover was now in charge of not just knowing who
the enemy may be, he now needed to find them.
He conducted raids in late nineteen nineteen and early nineteen twenty.
He gathered up ten thousand suspects across thirty five cities.
Agents broke into their homes and removed them from their beds.
Speaker 15 (09:07):
Thousand foreign barn arrested, denied lawyers held out jargons.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
For three months as details unraveled to the press that
some innocent people were detained without lawyers. This didn't go
down well with the public.
Speaker 6 (09:20):
With or Over's federal detective would be destruction.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
Almost fantastically plad This may have looked like the end
of the road for Hoover. However, the Palmer raids were
in his boss's name, A Mitchell Palmer, so Hoover quietly
watched from the sidelines as Palmer would take the four Instead,
Hoover's new boss would promote him to director of the
Bureau of Investigation.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Remember how as a spy on the Sabatuo Harry Nobre.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
Now remember those political files Hoover had collected a few
years ago. He was ordered to destroy them, but instead
he transferred them into his new direct to position, and
they would become the foundation of secrets Hoover would build upon.
This certainly wasn't the end of the road for Hoover.
This was only the beginning.
Speaker 11 (10:16):
JEdgar Hoover joined the Bureau of Investigation as it was
called at the time in the nineteen twenties, and by
nineteen twenty four he was named acting director.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Was highly publicized.
Speaker 8 (10:27):
Artigure in this time is the nation's number one g
Manjay Edgar Hoover.
Speaker 11 (10:32):
He made huge changes to it, and some of these
were needed changes because the Bureau was known for being
incredibly corrupt. He wanted to implement a policy of bringing
in those that had expertise. He wanted to ensure that
there was a merit based recruitment process. He wanted to
provide better training and stricter hiring, promotion and demotion procedures.
Speaker 7 (10:57):
Founded six years ago by Director to indoctrinate the Nations
Police with all new ideas and law enforcement.
Speaker 11 (11:06):
He also decided to invest in the largest fingerprint file
in the world in one of the most advanced crime labs.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Hoover really put his own mark on the Bureau, shaping
it into what he deemed the perfect police force. This
included firing agents that didn't fit his strict criteria.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
Though Hoover purported himself outwardly to be only using merit
to decide who would fill which positions and who would
receive promotions and so forth, he was a man who
was deeply suspicious of many different types of people. Anyone
who believed to be Communists, anyone who believed or he
thought might be homosexual, anyone who was not from the
(11:44):
right ethnic background.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
He would also go on to fire all female agents,
banning them from being hired in the future.
Speaker 11 (11:51):
He really targeted those that didn't fit the mainstream.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
The Bureau still had a poor reputation At this time,
they had limited jurisdiction and were pretty underfunded, so Hoover
still had a lot of work to do. But luckily
for Hoover, something was about to happen that would change
the FBI forever.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
The greatest headlines of a century.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Date line Well, New Jersey, March first, nineteen thirty two.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
In a moment the story a little boy was kidnapped
from his second floor ben.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
It's nineteen thirty two in a remote town in New Jersey.
A parent's worst nightmare is about to f That parent
was Charles Lindbergh. He was practically American royalty, the first
to fly solo across the Atlantic, a groundbreaking aviation achievement. However,
on the evening of March the First, Mister Lindbergh's baby
(13:16):
son was kidnapped from his cot. A ransom note demanding
fifty thousand dollars was left behind.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Took three thousand dollars for the return of the child.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
The media coined the kidnapping the crime of the century, but.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
The famous Plans Atlantic Fire appealed to keep out the work.
On a call in pleek Wach for his nineteen thirty
two the little boy was.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Kidnapped by his second quarter.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
It was a crime that shocked beastly, making people all
over the floor.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
However, amongst the tragedy, j Edgar Hoover senses an opportunity.
He assembles the Lindbergh Task Force just hours after the
baby disappears. But when Hoover contacts Lindburgh, Lindburg refuses to
meet with him, understandably as the Bureau was still seen
as an obscure amateur wing of the police force at
(14:12):
this time. Lindburg sticks with the police and private detectives,
who view Hoover and the Bureau as glory hunters as
for Charles Lindbergh. Unfortunately, the investigation did not go well.
After two long months of a media consuming crisis, the
baby was found dead, but Hoover didn't give up. He
(14:36):
was determined to find the kidnapper. Through handwritten analysis and
ransom money tracing and.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Writing analysis proved Halflan wrote the Ranthom Knock.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
There was eventually an arrest and it was Hoover's Lindburg
Task Force that basked in the glory. For Hoover, this
was the moment when the tide began to turn. He
would become a household name and his bureau of Force
to be reckoned with. Hoover would capitalize on this new
found fame with the success in the Lindbergh case, the
(15:15):
government began to trust Hoover with more jurisdiction, and conveniently,
America was currently facing a problem that Hoover appeared tailor
made to resolve.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
We of the FBI feel that we're a part of
a team to make America a great and decent place
in which to live.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
We're on that team, many people claim. The nineteen thirties
was the decade of action and heroism for the FBI.
Meet John Dillinger, a gun toting, prison escaping all American gangster.
Speaker 11 (15:47):
So in the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties, the mob
was wrecking havoc, in particular in the Midwest, especially small towns.
They just had greater firepower than the police did and
had faster getaway car.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
High profile criminals such as Dillinger enjoyed a lot of
public support in the thirties. Why well, average Americans were
going through an economic depression, living in poverty against the
backdrop of established institutions from insurance companies to the government.
So in the public's mind. Dillinger wasn't robbing banks, he
(16:23):
was sticking it to the man, and Hollywood reflected this.
James Cagney plays the protagonist gangster in Public Enemy Number One,
released in nineteen thirty one. The film was based off
John Dillinger and America loved it. Dillinger was just one
of many criminals and gangsters sticking it to the man,
(16:44):
and with the right resources, they could be captured. So
it was Hoover's special agents put up to the task.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Criminal get Away a minute.
Speaker 11 (16:52):
That's where jed Gar Hoover came in, and he was
pretty aggressive and going after them like John Dilger.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
As their jurisdiction expands, Uber receives more funding, more independent authority.
They can now make arrests, they can now carry guns,
and eventually they're renamed to the FBI. In nineteen thirty five,
Hoover was.
Speaker 11 (17:12):
Able to take the Bureau to the federal level by
centralizing all the different agencies, and by doing so, the
name change from the Bureau to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
The word federal is added to better represent their expanding
national significance. But it's during this time the FBI faced
many dramatic showdowns with mobsters and criminals across the country,
and Hollywood wanted in on the action. James Cagney went
(17:59):
from playing anti hero gangster to hero FBI agent within
the span of just four years. The biggest action film
of the year suitably named G Men. This time, Cagney
was sticking it to the bad guys. Hoover was thrilled.
G Men was just one of many valiant films made
(18:21):
about the FBI that year, in part due to the
government banning censored movies except ones that esteemed the law enforcement.
Considering that violent films made money, Hollywood were happy to oblige.
The G Men were essentially the modern marmin. Eventually, the
press approached Hoover. They wanted to paint him as the
(18:43):
ultimate crime fighter who led his team of g Men
in the battle against domestic criminals. He would soon begin
to believe his own legend. For him, he couldn't possibly
do wrong, But for now, Hoover was living up to
his heroic reputation. By the middle of the decade, most
of those big name criminals were either behind bars or dead.
(19:06):
He was riding an incredible wave of acclaim.
Speaker 11 (19:10):
And the FBI was able to make many different notable
arrests to take down these very.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Famous gaysters, regarded as a national hero.
Speaker 11 (19:21):
Because of this, the FBI was gaining a positive reputation
in the US, really popular in American culture, and they
were noted as g Man g Man.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Hoover, taking his new found success and combining it with
his Washington insider relationships, Hoover approached a Senate subcommittee to
ask for a doubling of the FBI budget. But Hoover
was about to face his first major obstacles meet Kenneth mckeller,
(19:53):
the senator in charge of the committee. He had previously
asked Hoover to hire more FBI agents from his home state, Tennessee,
but Hoover ignored his request. He wanted his FBI to
fit the clean cut professional image, not a playground for
political Southerners. As a result, Hoover had crossed mckeller and
(20:15):
this was about to come back to bite him. Mckeller
really gives it to him at this committee in front
of everyone. He claims the FBI is out of control.
He claims they don't need guns and they were just
glorified men in suits. Hoover manages to remain calm and professional.
But then mckeller asks him a question that would spiral
(20:36):
Hoover's ego. With a smirk of confidence, he says, how.
Speaker 9 (20:41):
Many are read?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Have you actually made?
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Two?
Speaker 8 (20:44):
Three, four?
Speaker 5 (20:47):
Although Hoover's job was not to arrest, but to manage,
he answers truthfully none.
Speaker 9 (20:53):
Ever, So you're the head of the FBI and you've
never made an arid what are your qualify?
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Mckeller goes off. He lays it thick on to Hoover.
He claims he's out of his death to be asking
for a budget increase. Mckella had hit Hoover where it hurts.
He felt insulted, embarrassed, and Hoover took it very personally.
Hoover left that committee about as angry as he's ever been.
(21:20):
He realized it was time to make an arrest. Luckily
for Hoover, there was still one big name criminal on
the loose, Alvin Carpis. Carpis was on the run for kidnapping, robbery,
(21:55):
and murder. He was made Public Enemy number one, another
publicity stunt pulled by Hoover. He was found within days
in Louisiana, and Hoover made it very clear to his
agents that he must be the one to arrest him.
He flew out to Louisiana to make the arrest, and
the newsreels flocked to the story the big hero versus
(22:17):
the big villain. However, it was revealed many years later
that Hoover actually hid behind his agents until the crime
scene was safe. He didn't actually make the arrest himself,
but that didn't matter. It was Hoover's narrative that made
the newsreels, and his g men dared not question it.
(22:39):
As a result, Hoover would never be challenged again by
the likes of Senator mckella. His credentials were public and
the biggest mobsters in America had been shattered. However, with
all this new power Hoover had obtained, it's here we
start to see that he wasn't quite the crime fighting
hero the media had portrayed him. Hoover had many secrets
(23:03):
of his own, and the mob would later use this
to keep Hoover in their pocket.
Speaker 11 (23:07):
But suddenly, in nineteen fifties, there was an abrupt shift
in the way that Hoover was approaching the mafia. In fact,
when he was question about whether or the mafia actually exists.
He said, no, this is Boloni, And there were suspicions
that the reason why he made such a shift in
his policy towards the Mob was because the mafia had
evidence that he was engaging in homosexual activities.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
It was like trying to hide an elephant in the
Oval office that Washington knew, but no one mentioned the
trunk in the room. Hoover was very close with his
right hand man, Clyde Tulsen. They wore the same pinstriped suit.
They ate lunch together, they would take vacations together. They
were rarely seen apart. He was also speculated to be
(23:58):
a transvestite behind indoors, but these were just rumors. But
what weren't rumors was the concerning growing power Hoover possessed.
From his success in finding the Lindbergh kidnapper to his
g men taking down the Mob within the span of
just four years, he had cast a large shadow over Washington.
(24:19):
But with power comes paranoia.
Speaker 11 (24:22):
Jobrah Hoover was obsessed with the private lives of notable citizens.
He had private files on Charlie Chaplin, on Albert Einstein,
on Colonel Sanders, and had private files on pretty much
every member of the Senate and member of the House.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
We mentioned earlier that Hoover had secretly kept files on
hundreds of people. Well, those files only grew. They were
his ultimate bargaining chip that would allow him to assert
his influence across Washington.
Speaker 11 (24:54):
Hundreds and hundreds of secret files, mostly just for his
own delight.
Speaker 5 (25:03):
All those files and secrets would be the key to
keeping Hoover in power until his last breath.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Eightline, Chicago, July twenty second, nineteen thirty four.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
In a moment, the.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
Story with the mob now under reasonable control and Hoover
establishing himself as a prominent figure within the intelligence community.
The following decades were much of the same for Hoover.
As the US plunged into World War II, there were
whispers that Hoover had information about the Pearl Harbor attack
(25:40):
before it even happened, but with his influence, he managed
to yet again retreat to the sidelines, avoiding accountability. At
one point, Hoover was even challenged by President Harry S. Truman,
who feared the FBI were turning into secret police, operating
in similar ways to the Gestapo. But as we see
(26:00):
time and time again, Hoover always had an ace up
his sleeve that allowed him to get his own way.
Speaker 9 (26:07):
Every report I get from the field tells me how
nonm as the problem is. We're doing all we can
by working with the local agencies.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
History is littered with fear. The most effective way for
the ruling class to maintain its control is to establish
an enemy. That way, you keep the people against each
other instead of against those in power. It's a tactic
that spans from ancient Greece to modern day. For the
second half of the twentieth century, that enemy of the
(26:38):
free world were the Communists. The Cold War is behind
us now, but many historians look back on this moment
of history as just one big scare, a red scare.
Speaker 11 (26:49):
Hoover was a staunch anti communist, very fearful of Communist infiltration,
particularly in Congress.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
In reality, communism wasn't such a high level threat, but
on the other side of the world, communism was developing.
In the late forties, Stalin had figured out the nuke
and blocks East Berlin, Mao establishes his Communist party, and
North Korea were about to invade their neighbours. President Truman
(27:18):
had no choice but to increase surveillance at Homecautions.
Speaker 15 (27:22):
Are tightened along the semeboard.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
From Key West to the Canadian Bronzier, and the warning
to all enemy agent is watch out for the NBI.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
Other saboteurs made prior to come to our shorts.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
They must be stopped. We ask every citizen to.
Speaker 10 (27:38):
Immediately report any information regarding spinage, sabotage for Unamerican activities
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
The FBI builds the federal government's Loyal Security program. Its
purpose was to politically test new employees within the government.
It was then copied throughout civil society, from school districts
to movie studios. The scrutiny and fear was everywhere. With
the FBI under his wing, Hoover presented himself as the
(28:10):
reasonable and professional defense against communism.
Speaker 10 (28:13):
D Man Wilbur warns, Remember how the spy, the Sabotuon
or the destroyer Harris Norbert, he hide behind a hundred fronts.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
He prepens pinotus.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
He liked to rob elbows.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
With patriotic men because he can thus seek to break
down morale and to preach unpreparedness and undermine honor it.
Speaker 5 (28:38):
But Hoover's perception of those who he considered enemies, was
far from restrained.
Speaker 11 (28:43):
He was very fearful of Communist infiltration, particularly in the government,
and he relentlessly pursued those that were suspicious of communist leanings.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
In nineteen fifty six, a Supreme Court ruling prevented Hoover
from prosecuting people based on their political opinions. He now
needed proof of criminal activity. Hoover was furious. His response
a meticulous co intel program to combat communism that wasn't
exactly legal. It turned the FBI into a diluted version
(29:17):
of the Gestapo that Harry Truman had feared. The question
was who would be Hoover's next enemy.
Speaker 15 (29:34):
I have a dream and one day on the Red
Hills for George funds of farmers slaves and the sons
of farmer slave on will they be able to sit down.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Together at the table of brotherhood.
Speaker 16 (29:51):
I have a.
Speaker 15 (29:52):
Dream one day even the state of Mississippi, of state swell,
faltering with the heathough injustice, weltering with the heat of oppression.
He transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Speaker 7 (30:13):
I have a.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
Dream the power of words to move and inspire a nation.
August nineteen sixty three Martin Luther King's speech had stirred
the hearts and minds of countless multitudes, but the FBI
were also listening. Hoover's office was just around the corner.
(30:37):
When Hoover listened to the world's most famous speech, he
was not inspired with hope, but fear. Based off that speech,
the FBI coined MLK as the most dangerous man in America.
They wanted him gone. They feared King would inspire a
radical change that the government nor the FBI could control.
(31:00):
MLK had a dream, but Hoover had a nightmare. Hoover
was about to embark on a journey that had a
monumental impact on history. But to truly understand how, we
must first look at his relationship with the now new
President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.
Speaker 15 (31:21):
Gerald Kennedy, who Solomon's way and I will faithfully execute
the artist a president of the United States, So help
me God.
Speaker 5 (31:30):
Hoover had approached his boss, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and
brother of the President JFK. He wanted approval to wire
tap and bug King's home and offices. Hoover theorized that
Martin Luther King's advisers were whispering ideas of communism in
his ear, and if the most influential man in America
(31:52):
started preaching communist ideologies, then who knew what the government
may have been in for. Hoover wasn't going to rest
until he had convinced the whole of Washington that M.
LKA was a communist.
Speaker 6 (32:06):
Saboteurs made try to come to.
Speaker 11 (32:09):
One of the targets of Jagar Hoover was Martin Luther
King Jr. Hoover was deeply suspicious that King was being
controlled by communists.
Speaker 5 (32:19):
What j Edgar Hoover didn't realize, or more likely didn't
care about, was that the Communist Party USA has shrunken substantially.
By the sixties, there were less than five thousand members
and estimated fifteen hundred of which were undercover agents. Communism
in America just wasn't a major threat anymore, and if
(32:41):
there were any criminal plots, it would have been easy
to uncover. When JFK had won the nineteen sixties election,
there was a wave of hope within America and the
civil rights movement started to really pick up speed. Out
of all the presidential transitions Hoover had served under, this
(33:01):
one was by far the hardest pill to swallow. JFK's
presidency threatened many of the privileges Hoover had enjoyed before JFK.
Hoover had direct access to the president, but by JFK
appointing his younger brother Robert as Attorney General, this would
break the link. Hoover knew the Kennedys was serious about change,
(33:25):
so before JFK was even sworn into office, he made
sure he had his own insurances against the new president.
Hoover may not have had much of a sex life
of his own, but he certainly had a deep interest
in others.
Speaker 11 (33:40):
JFK was having numerous affairs, but one of the most
notable ones was the affair that he had with a
German woman named Ellen Ramesh. She was possibly a Soviet spy,
and this really compromised Kennedy.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
Hoover knew JFK's relationship with this German mistress could be
a problem, as she had been a guest of Hitler's
at the nineteen thirty six Olympics and had other Nazi ties.
Not many people knew this, but Hoover did. JFK knew
that Hoover was aware of his past, so he kept
(34:15):
him on side to avoid bad blood.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
Basically, JFK had to agree to two things, one that
he would never fire JEdgar Hoover, and two that JEdgar
Hoover could continue his relentless investigation of Martin Luther King Junior,
including the surveillance and wiretapping.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
He told the press he intended to keep Hoover on
as director because, in his own words, you don't fire God. However,
from the moment Robert Kennedy had taken up his new
role as Attorney General, himself and Hoover had butted heads.
(34:55):
RFK was thirty five years old compared to Hoover's sixty six,
and he wanted to shift the FBI's priorities from domestic
threats to organized crimes such as the Mob. As you
can imagine, this was unwelcome news to Hoover. Given the
dirt about Hoover's sexuality that the Mob supposedly had on Hoover,
(35:16):
he had no interest in pursuing the Mob. Hoover resisted.
He wasn't about to be subverted by a much younger man,
so he flexed his resources. He constantly reminded Bobby that
he had the power to destroy the Kennedy's careers. He
sent Bobby monthly updates about the gossip he had gathered
on the President's affairs and.
Speaker 11 (35:38):
How did Hoover find out about JFK's affair. Well, he
had actually wired top the President himself.
Speaker 5 (35:43):
Although the Kennedy brothers knew Hoover had dirt on them,
they underestimated just how invested Hoover was in taken down
any one against his policy goals. Hoover needed a way
to keep the FBI's focus on communism, not the mafia,
and this placed Martin Luther King directly in Hoover's line
(36:04):
of fire.
Speaker 14 (36:05):
Not the texture of his hair or the color of
his skin.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
The FBI would ramp up surveillance on King.
Speaker 14 (36:11):
We received as many as thirty and forty threatening calls a.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Day, going as far as conducting twenty known break ins
on King's offices and affiliations. But during this time King
was becoming ever closer to the president. King had the
access that Hoover lacked. This would further infuriate Hoover. He
could feel his control slipping, so he continued to feed
(36:38):
the Kennedy brothers information about mlk's ties to communism.
Speaker 14 (36:42):
I do plan disturb trouble.
Speaker 5 (36:44):
But as expected, there was never any evidence found linking
MLK to communism lay.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Mister King and the other leaders under God of the
White Heart.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
But Hoover's relationship with the Kennedy brothers was about to
hit a stalemate.
Speaker 12 (36:57):
Because of widespread looking non violence, Pusher Voting Rights Bill.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
And is the right of project Right.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
As the civil rights movement hit an all time high,
police brutality was becoming a front page disaster. R FK
pressured Hoover to send agents to the South. The government
needed to squash the violence.
Speaker 16 (37:23):
The raid had always been bloody, but if there had
been one guide.
Speaker 5 (37:28):
But Hoover's response was unrelenting. He pushed back against the
Kennedy's administration for Civil Rights, still pushing this idea that
the unrest stemmed from a larger communist conspiracy.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Never before was a greater need of a unity.
Speaker 5 (37:42):
This was terrible for JFK as his re election was
fast approaching. Hoover had crossed the line big time and
the president wanted him out. They began to secretly plan
Hoover's retirement to use the authority. However, what everyone failed
to anticipate was that JFK's legacy would come crashing down
much sooner.
Speaker 6 (38:06):
At one twenty five, the monarcade moves into the downtown area.
Death is six minutes away in a warehouse, a cniper
with a rifle poisoned.
Speaker 5 (38:14):
When JFK was assassinated, America was shocked, angry, and confused.
The nation expected answers, who was Lee Harvey Oswald? And
(38:38):
why had he done it? Naturally, it was the FBI
chosen to answer those questions, which meant Hoover had full
control over the investigation. With a murder of this magnitude,
(38:59):
you would expect a lot and thorough investigation. However, almost
immediately j Edgar Hoover had reached his conclusion. He decided
Lee Harvey Oswald was guilty and acted alone. He concluded
that Oswald was a Communist insurgent who had indulged in
a sudden and unprovoked rampage, and there was little room
(39:21):
within the bureau to challenge his position. There were clear
inaccuracies with Hoover's conclusion, especially with Oswald's motive, and the
FBI knew about this. Oswald had visited the FBI's Dallas
office a few weeks prior to the assassination, he requested
that the Bureau stop investigating him due to old Communist ties.
(39:44):
He threatened the Bureau to take action if they didn't stop.
There were further speculations around the handling of physical evidence,
such as bullet fragments, autopsy materials, and witness testimonies. As
Assistant Director of the FBI William Sullivan later reflected, the
initial investigation was rushed, chaotic, and shallow, but Hoover's investigation
(40:12):
report was private, and the American people wanted answers. Newly
appointed President Lyndon B. Johnson came up with a solution
that would put everyone at peace. The solution was to
assemble an independent investigation into JFK's murder, called the Warren Commission.
(40:32):
But right from the start, the outcome of this investigation
was already determined. Hoover tried to guide the Commission to
the conclusion he had already come up with, and luckily
for Hoover, the Warren Commission had been denied its own
independent investigators, meaning the new investigation had to work off
(40:52):
the evidence already tampered with by the FBI.
Speaker 13 (40:57):
Evidence of a sudden upsurge of interest in the fact
surrounding his assassination.
Speaker 5 (41:02):
Two of the seven commission members didn't exactly have the
investigation's best interest at heart. Alan Dulles, former director of
the CIA, who was recommended to LBJ by Hoover himself
had previously been fired by JFK over the failed invasion
of Cuba, and Republican future President Gerald Ford was leaking
(41:25):
information on the Warren Commission's progress to the FBI the
entire time. The other members of the commission expressed serious
concern that the FBI were hiding something from them, but
under time constraint, pressure, and without their own investigators, they
had no choice but to conclude their investigation with what
(41:46):
Hoover had insisted all along.
Speaker 6 (41:47):
The Warrant Commission identified gunman, the rifle, and the bullet.
Speaker 13 (41:54):
The Warrant Commission said one assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald fired
three times, miss one which blew off the top of
the President's head, and one which not only gave the
President two wounds but hit Governor John Connolly as well.
Lane calls the Warrant commissioned version of that shot their
magic bullet theory.
Speaker 17 (42:15):
And then Oswald fires the per shot and the bullet
hits the President in the back of the neck, leaving
behind a hole in his jacket six inches below his shoulder,
leaving behind a hole in his shirt six inches poet form,
leaving behind a hold of his back six inches of shop.
Speaker 6 (42:33):
Meanwhile, the President and the rushed were nearby hospital, where
light lingered as a winging world great alp Hourly he
was dead.
Speaker 13 (42:41):
Lane and many others say that the direction of the
white material from the President's head the second shot, since
the first is obscured on the film, proves he was
shot from the front.
Speaker 5 (42:54):
So what does all this mean? It's clear that there's
more that meets the eye with JFK assassination. Even subsequent
President Lyndon B. Johnson agreed so himself, and it's clear
that j Edgar Hoover was hiding something. But that still
leaves us with two questions. One why was Hoover so
(43:16):
determined to cover up the truth? And two, where does
Martin Luther King fit into all this? Well, looking back
on history, the answers to those questions may be pretty clear,
and we will certainly answer those questions. But first, let's
return to Martin Luther King to finish the story with JFK.
(43:39):
Out of the picture. Hoover continued to illegally spy on
Martin Luther King throughout the sixties. He was determined to
find anything that could link King to communism. If they
could paint King as a communist, it would massively undermine
his credibility and perhaps put an end to the civil
rights movement. Did find any clear evidence on King's supposed
(44:03):
far left views, but what they did find may have
been worse. Looking at these declassified FBI documents, we see
the summaries of what these FBI agents claim they found
whilst wire tapping King. What these documents tell us was
that King was supposedly a womanizer or this is a
(44:23):
problem that.
Speaker 14 (44:24):
We face, and this is a problem that we are
forced to deal with.
Speaker 5 (44:28):
The memos claim that King would get excessively drunk, use
the vileist language imaginable, and commit sexual acts of degeneracy
and depravity, many of which committed in a communal atmosphere.
Speaker 8 (44:44):
Yes, sir, I have been threatened men in minute.
Speaker 5 (44:48):
High running naked drunk white prostitutes up and down the
halls of the hotel was just one of the many
sentences you'd find within this document. This infidelity wasn't exactly
a good look for King and the movement he was leading.
But it's important to read between the lines when addressing
(45:09):
these documents. Usually declassified documents from the FBI would be
clear evidence. The issue is we know too much about
Hoover's determination to take down King. The FBI during the
sixties was riddled with racism and corruption, and at the
head of the table is a man who we know
(45:29):
was willing to tamper with intelligence to shape his personal goals.
But at this very moment in the sixties, this was
enough for Hoover to attack. So in nineteen sixty four,
when Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,
Hoover writes a letter to his assistant director, claiming now
(45:52):
is the time to act. His exposure is long overdue.
Four days later, the FBI send a package to King's
house containing black male sex tapes and a letter insinuating
to King it was time for him to end his
own life. The black mail didn't work. King didn't stop.
(46:13):
If anything, he rallied even harder. As he continued to
lead a variety of social justices. His list of enemies grew.
King now represented all walks of society. With more momentum
than ever, King planned to lead a march on Washington,
this one even bigger than the last. But unbeknownst to America,
(46:36):
King's days were numbered.
Speaker 14 (46:39):
And I think this march will go down as one
of the greatest, if not the greatest, demonstrations for freedom
and human dignity ever held in the United States.
Speaker 5 (46:54):
About a month before the big march on Washington, King
found himself in Memphis, Tennessee. He was supporting a strike
of mostly black trash collectors and their lack of pay
and safety standards. And it was here Martin Luther King
would give his last speech.
Speaker 3 (47:12):
Like anybody, I would like to live.
Speaker 15 (47:15):
A long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not
concerned about that now.
Speaker 5 (47:24):
King's speeches always had the passion and emotion to inspire people,
But in this speech, it was as if he knew
he was counting his hours.
Speaker 15 (47:32):
And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.
Speaker 14 (47:36):
LAD looked over.
Speaker 8 (47:39):
And I see.
Speaker 3 (47:41):
The Promised Land.
Speaker 18 (47:44):
I may not get there with you, but I want
you to Northern night, and we have a people.
Speaker 3 (47:52):
We'll get to the Promise.
Speaker 18 (47:53):
Land some night. I'm not worried about anything.
Speaker 15 (48:03):
I'm not fearing in a there might not must have
seen the glory not women.
Speaker 5 (48:13):
That night, he returned back to his hotel, and at
six oh one pm April fourth, nineteen sixty eight, whilst
he was standing on his balcony, King was murdered.
Speaker 9 (48:25):
The death of Martinuth King his great tragedy, not any
April of the United States, but for all of us
throughout the world. I couldn't foretell what the result would be,
but we have lost a very wise puncilor.
Speaker 6 (48:37):
He was a symbol of nonviolence, and I hope and
pray that his end would in some way bring people
together so that we could solve the many serious problems
of human relations that face us in this country of
ours today in a non violent manner.
Speaker 5 (48:57):
The FBI launched an investigation, and that led them to
James Earl Ray. Ray had allegedly shot King from a
room across the street with his rifle. Ray then fled
the country, but was apprehended in England and sent back
to the States, where he was arrested.
Speaker 12 (49:14):
News of Ray's arrest came first from the FBI Chief
Edgar Hoover in Washington. He said that Ray was carrying
two Canadian passports and a fully loaded pistol. When he
landed at London from Lisbon.
Speaker 5 (49:26):
Three days after pleading guilty, Ray announced that he didn't
kill m l K. He claimed he was set up
and was part of a larger conspiracy to assassinate King.
There were many plot holes in the investigation, destroyed evidence,
time lines that don't match, and numerous rabbit holes that
make it hard to accept that a fugitive could pull
(49:48):
off a sophisticated assassination alone. Sound familiar. The investigations carried
out on m l K's death concluded that Ray was
the killer, but those investigations also stated it was likely
a conspiracy, but there was no conclusive evidence linking the
FBI or the government's involvement. So what's going on here?
(50:15):
When looking at both Kennedy's and King's assassinations, it's easy
to understand why so many people to day believe that
there were higher powers involved. The truth is, we don't
know the full extent of how involved the FBI and
Hoover may have been. Speculation and conspiracy theories are popular
(50:36):
because they serve as a form of passive resistance against
those in authority, But one explanation for Hoover's involvement in
these deaths suggests a man who perhaps foresaw these tragedies
but took no action to prevent them. J f K
and m l K posed major threats to Hoover. Thus,
(50:58):
if Hoover, the most informed individual in the nation, learned
of a malevolent scheme that would conveniently resolve his problems,
why intervene. A narrative of a lone communist assassin would
suit Hoover perfectly, enabling him to retain his position while
validating his pursuit for communists. But one thing we know
(51:23):
for certain is that Hoover and his FBI abused the
power given to him by the American people to pull
and twist the strings of history in order to keep
himself on top.
Speaker 7 (51:34):
We were aware of the critical nature of the forces
that were gainst us.
Speaker 5 (51:39):
Martin Luther King was a non violent black man who
was trying to level the playing field for his people,
but all Hoover saw was a threat, so behind closed doors,
he blackmailed him and endorsed a sense of fear in
his image.
Speaker 11 (51:54):
Hoover hated King so much that when King was awarded
the Normal Peace Prize, He was livid, and when King
was assassinated, he fought extra hard to prevent his birthday
from being a national holiday.
Speaker 5 (52:09):
The FBI should have been protecting King, but instead they
painted him as dangerous, which would breed enemies all around him.
In a way, they did kill him, and in the
word of.
Speaker 3 (52:22):
The odigit read lad make bottomneyer.
Speaker 5 (52:46):
In the wake of mlk's assassination, the shadowy figure of
j Edgar Hoover loomed larger than ever. Washington were fully
aware of j Edgar Hoover, and they were especially aware
of the secrets and power he possessed. But if there
was one man who was more paranoid of Hoover than
anyone else, it was the now new president, Richard Nixon.
(53:11):
Nixon was so paranoid he secretly recorded almost four thousand
hours of his conversations, a move that would later define
his downfall.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
You don't think we should I just say anything.
Speaker 16 (53:26):
I don't think you should say anything.
Speaker 7 (53:27):
I just let it cool.
Speaker 3 (53:29):
Let the papers come out and let him reflect on However.
Speaker 16 (53:31):
They reflect what they want to print. They don't reflect
upon you. You had nothing to do with all of this.
Speaker 3 (53:35):
I had nothing that nothing of us about that immediately.
Speaker 16 (53:40):
It Now, it's the very thing that the enemies of
the ministration want to do is to devote the attack
upon you, and not upon Kennedy and not upon John.
Speaker 5 (53:51):
Here we can hear the President asking Hoover for advice.
The conversation seems they were friendly enough with each other,
but in reality Nixon felt very different.
Speaker 11 (54:02):
Publicly, Nixon was telling a very different story. He said
that in his eulogy that Hoover was one of the giants,
he was a patriot, he was a great American. In private,
of course, Nixon loathed him.
Speaker 5 (54:16):
Nixon wanted to remove j Edgar Hoover, but he feared
that Hoover knew too much about Nixon's shady dealings. So
how do you remove a man such as j Edgar Hoover.
The answer is simple. You need a power much greater
than the President of the United States.
Speaker 8 (54:38):
And the world be said evening, j Edgar Hoover has
died at the age of seventy seven.
Speaker 3 (54:45):
Because given as high blood.
Speaker 8 (54:46):
Pressure, it is with a profound sense of personal loss
that I learned of the death of JEdgar Hoover, and
every American, in my opinion, OHS. Hoover a great debt
for building the FBI into the finest law enforcement organization
(55:08):
in the entire world.
Speaker 6 (55:10):
So when j.
Speaker 11 (55:11):
Edgar Hoover finally died, he had served eight presidents, eighteen
attorney generals, had been in his position for forty eight years.
Speaker 5 (55:20):
Hoover's death was met with mixed reactions from the public.
Some appreciated what the director had built, whilst others scowled
him for his abuse of power. But for most Americans,
they wouldn't have remembered a time when Hoover wasn't director
of the FBI. It was certainly the end of an era,
but for President Richard Nixon, there was no time to mourn.
(55:44):
When Hoover passed away, he left behind a large assortment
of files that he had collected over the forty eight
years of his reign as director, the files that held
many of Washington's secrets, the files that had the power
to ruin lives.
Speaker 11 (55:59):
And Nixon it was paranoid that there was some sort
of file that would reveal something negative about him, and
he searched for these files but never found them.
Speaker 5 (56:08):
Nixon ordered Hoover's office to be sealed so he could
retrieve these files. But before Hoover had died, he gave
his secretary, Helen Gandhi different instructions. She was to destroy
these personal files. Forty eight years of secrets gone. She
spent weeks working in Hoover's basement sorting and shredding. Nixon
(56:31):
or no one else would ever get their hands on
these files.
Speaker 9 (56:34):
Each other special agents are the Federal Bureau of Investigation
must be ready and capable to meet any challenge.
Speaker 5 (56:43):
It's been over fifty years since Hoover's legacy came to
an end, but what lives on from Hoover is not
just an institution, but a methodology. Hoover didn't just establish
the FBI, he crafted a blueprint for maintaining power through deceit, manipulation,
(57:04):
and secrecy.
Speaker 11 (57:07):
Jagger Hoover was a staunch anti communist. He did make
some improvements to the FBI, but ultimately Jegger Hoover was
a racist, and he aggressively went after all of his opponents,
many of whom were innocent.
Speaker 5 (57:24):
The FBI began as a seed planted with the intention
of safeguarding American lives, yet over time that seed grew
unchecked morphing into an invasive weed. That choked the landscape
of American power. Today, the USA has eighteen agencies in
(57:46):
the intelligence community, and in this realm of intelligence, where
information is power, the few people that hold this information
will maintain that power.
Speaker 1 (57:56):
It is time for a check and that's a present
and I'm starting a barn.
Speaker 5 (58:02):
It's reached the point that when a new president arrives
into the White House vowing to maintain these weeds of intelligence,
he quickly discovers he can't. Instead, he must sit and
watch helplessly as these weeds continue to grow beneath his feet.
Speaker 14 (58:21):
And FBI Director Muller and made it clear he will
have every single resource that he needs to investigate this
heinous crime.
Speaker 4 (58:29):
At the end of the day posits the question is
do we really have a democracy in our country?
Speaker 12 (58:33):
Once again, the Hawks back in the ascendency.
Speaker 6 (58:36):
The tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free.
Speaker 4 (58:40):
Well because we don't have the facts.
Speaker 6 (58:41):
And our hostages were seize and Tereterran, well, I'm not
a crop dismantled.
Speaker 3 (58:45):
The deep stated, we claim our democracy.
Speaker 4 (58:47):
The FBI gave what they wanted to do the Orran Commission,
and they had a hell of a lot of more documentation.
Speaker 13 (58:55):
The case of the death of John F. Kennedy is
going to be officially reopen.
Speaker 4 (59:00):
To go back into this thing and reinterpret it, because
I don't think the history was written correctly.
Speaker 5 (59:06):
So, whether you believe in a deep state or not,
there is one thing you can't deny. Those at the
top who hold the power will continue to do so because,
as j Edgar Hoover puts it, there is something addictive
about secrets.
Here's my plan to dismantle the deep state and reclaim
our democracy from Washington corruption.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Within five years, we're going to see four hundred and
fifteen thousand low orbit satellite.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
This is a special satellite.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
We'll be able to look at every square into the
planet twenty four hours day.
Speaker 5 (00:25):
Do you believe in a deep state.
Speaker 6 (00:28):
Must succeed in Iraq? Like George Bush for example, really
a puppet?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
It turns out we were all wrong.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
Men pulling the strings from within the shadows.
Speaker 7 (00:38):
Fifty Americans continue to be held captive, and he ran installed.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
The release of hostages in Iran in order to get
another president elected in.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
A few days.
Speaker 5 (00:46):
Hi, Ronald Reagan unelected, manipulative, powerful.
Speaker 8 (00:53):
Well, I'm not a cup I shall resign the presidency.
Affective that newman.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
An absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
Or perhaps it's just a conspiracy.
Speaker 9 (01:02):
Intelligence is nothing really other than information and knowledge?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Is it really a cover shadow government that runs America?
Speaker 7 (01:11):
And no time as the CIA engage in any political activity.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
But they killed Robert Kennedy, they killed Martin Luther King,
Bobby dan If I know why there are here is
government accountable to.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
The people, unlike the old television sets. History is rarely
so black and white. Look again, closer patterns begin to
emerge that hints there's something bigger at play, because, after all,
it is possible for a single man to hold so
much power. That man may just be j Edgar Hoover.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
UTI six, You're all done.
Speaker 7 (01:46):
Edgar Holmer.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
He was director of the FBI for forty eight years.
He single handedly shaped the bureau into what it is.
Speaker 6 (01:53):
Today, destroyed the enemy's plan.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
But Hoover played by his own rules. Secrets were his weapon.
But just how important was he?
Speaker 7 (02:04):
The president?
Speaker 10 (02:07):
Well, jo, what are you doing? Okay?
Speaker 7 (02:13):
Nis? But who wrong?
Speaker 11 (02:14):
Thank you?
Speaker 9 (02:15):
Well, I'm what.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
You just heard was President Lyndon B. Johnson attempting to
get through to j Edgar Hoover. However, Saturday was a
day for the races. For Hoover, no one was to
disturb him, not even the President L. B. J. Can wait.
Perhaps this gives you an idea on how important Hoover was.
(02:38):
After all, Lyndon was just another one of eight different presidents.
He would serve. One by one, they would come and go.
Speaker 7 (02:48):
Big stretch one A number two is not all the
winder entry number three timely rewards.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Repertoire is number four. Dan Brook meets Sables.
Speaker 7 (03:00):
Bold number five Worth choice of the fans counterpoint is
number six and seven. As Headland Stables alerted, that's the lineup,
and here they go.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
There's this moment in the sixties where Hoover's dirty work
really kicks up a gear. JFK has just been assassinated.
The US is in a state of shock, but one
man remains very calm.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
The assassin's aim is deadly.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
After the initial FBI investigation tampas with evidence, Hoover writes
in a memo, the public must be satisfied that Oswald
was the assassin. He did not have confederates, who are
still at large. He then helps Lyndon B. Johnson assemble
the Warren Commission, the official investigation into the assassination.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
The Warrant Commission identified the gunman, the rifle, and the bullet.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
The final Warren report contained staggering inaccuracies on how JFK died,
but we'll get to that soon. A year later, Martin
Luther King receives an anonymous letter in the Post. The
letter tells King, like all Flauds, your end is approaching.
Your dirt filth evil. There is only one thing left
(04:25):
for you to do. You know what it is. The
letter was sent from the FBI. As we all know,
King was later assassinated new The.
Speaker 12 (04:34):
RAS arrest came first from the FBI Chief Edgar Hoover
in Washington.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
But why did Hoover continue to go to such lengths
to smear King? He even protested against making his name
a national holiday. Where did all this hatred come from? Well,
the answer is likely the same as to why he
helped cover up key evidence in the JFK assassination. Let's
start from the beginning.
Speaker 11 (05:03):
All right, let's see here. I think I'm gonna have
a shorter answer. Jedgrew Vober was born in eighteen ninety
five in Washington, d C. So he was basically born
right near the government. He was heavily influenced by his upbringing.
He was upset about the fact that his father suffered
(05:25):
from mental health illnesses and died young, so he had
to take care of his mother, who he lived with
for many, many years. He was obsessed with the Communists,
and he was obsessed with trying to Sorry, I mean,
I might need to redo this one. I'm trying to
think of what I want to say he did make
(05:46):
some improvements to the FBI, but ultimately he was one
of the most racist and bigoted Americans who did great damage.
He aggressively went after all of his opponents, many of
whom were innocent.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Jay Edgar Hoover was the definition of a Washington insider.
He was born, raised, and died in DC, just to
drive away from Capitol Hill. He lived with his mother
until she died, then he lived alone. He never left
the United States or married. His life was woven into
the fabric of Washington, so.
Speaker 11 (06:21):
He grew up literally just miles away from the US government.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
In nineteen sixteen, Hoover obtained his Bachelor of Laws from
George Washington University.
Speaker 11 (06:31):
He was a strong student, but he had a stutterer
from a young age, and he made up for it
by trying to talk really, really quickly. He engaged in debates,
and early on we learned about his viewpoints. He actually
notoriously debated that women shouldn't have the right to vote,
and his views were largely shaped by the fact that
he felt there was a growing communist threat in the US.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
Then the following year, American soldiers were shipped to Europe,
As World War One raged on, Hoover was of service age,
but he was hired by the Justice Department to work
in the War Emergency Division. As a result, he was
exempt from the draft.
Speaker 7 (07:08):
Their decks alive with during men.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
As an ambitious young lawyer with strong views, he quickly
becomes head of the division's Alien Enemy Bureau. Authorized by
President Woodrow Wilson. His role to track down and arrest
allegedly disloyal foreigners without trial.
Speaker 13 (07:27):
We have not pictured of even one enemy alien on
his way back from Ellyx Islands.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
It's during this time that Hoover collects files on thousands
of people. These files turn out very useful for Hoover,
but not quite yet. The year is nineteen eighteen. World
War One has just finished. American troops return home.
Speaker 7 (07:49):
Triumphant troops borrated up New York Spift Avenuel.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
But the underbelly of political unrest starts to boil. America
was in a state of limbo, thousands of soldiers disheartened,
economic uncertainty, race riots and strikes. And to add fuel
to the growing fire, Russia had just faced a revolution.
Now the American establishment was really on edge. They feared anarchy.
(08:15):
That anarchy became relevant to Hoover when a radical blew
up his boss's house in Washington, d C. His boss,
A Mitchell Palmer, survived, but his leniency towards socialists didn't.
This was good news for Hoover as he was about
to secure a promotion. Palmer made Hoover the head of
(08:35):
the Radical Division, and Hoover's first assignment was to capture
and arrest all socialists, anarchists, and communists otherwise known as
the Palmer Raids.
Speaker 14 (08:46):
Victim of the Palmer Raid.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Hoover was now in charge of not just knowing who
the enemy may be, he now needed to find them.
He conducted raids in late nineteen nineteen and early nineteen twenty.
He gathered up ten thousand suspects across thirty five cities.
Agents broke into their homes and removed them from their beds.
Speaker 15 (09:07):
Thousand foreign barn arrested, denied lawyers held out jargons.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
For three months as details unraveled to the press that
some innocent people were detained without lawyers. This didn't go
down well with the public.
Speaker 6 (09:20):
With or Over's federal detective would be destruction.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
Almost fantastically plad This may have looked like the end
of the road for Hoover. However, the Palmer raids were
in his boss's name, A Mitchell Palmer, so Hoover quietly
watched from the sidelines as Palmer would take the four Instead,
Hoover's new boss would promote him to director of the
Bureau of Investigation.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Remember how as a spy on the Sabatuo Harry Nobre.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
Now remember those political files Hoover had collected a few
years ago. He was ordered to destroy them, but instead
he transferred them into his new direct to position, and
they would become the foundation of secrets Hoover would build upon.
This certainly wasn't the end of the road for Hoover.
This was only the beginning.
Speaker 11 (10:16):
JEdgar Hoover joined the Bureau of Investigation as it was
called at the time in the nineteen twenties, and by
nineteen twenty four he was named acting director.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Was highly publicized.
Speaker 8 (10:27):
Artigure in this time is the nation's number one g
Manjay Edgar Hoover.
Speaker 11 (10:32):
He made huge changes to it, and some of these
were needed changes because the Bureau was known for being
incredibly corrupt. He wanted to implement a policy of bringing
in those that had expertise. He wanted to ensure that
there was a merit based recruitment process. He wanted to
provide better training and stricter hiring, promotion and demotion procedures.
Speaker 7 (10:57):
Founded six years ago by Director to indoctrinate the Nations
Police with all new ideas and law enforcement.
Speaker 11 (11:06):
He also decided to invest in the largest fingerprint file
in the world in one of the most advanced crime labs.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Hoover really put his own mark on the Bureau, shaping
it into what he deemed the perfect police force. This
included firing agents that didn't fit his strict criteria.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
Though Hoover purported himself outwardly to be only using merit
to decide who would fill which positions and who would
receive promotions and so forth, he was a man who
was deeply suspicious of many different types of people. Anyone
who believed to be Communists, anyone who believed or he
thought might be homosexual, anyone who was not from the
(11:44):
right ethnic background.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
He would also go on to fire all female agents,
banning them from being hired in the future.
Speaker 11 (11:51):
He really targeted those that didn't fit the mainstream.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
The Bureau still had a poor reputation At this time,
they had limited jurisdiction and were pretty underfunded, so Hoover
still had a lot of work to do. But luckily
for Hoover, something was about to happen that would change
the FBI forever.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
The greatest headlines of a century.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Date line Well, New Jersey, March first, nineteen thirty two.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
In a moment the story a little boy was kidnapped
from his second floor ben.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
It's nineteen thirty two in a remote town in New Jersey.
A parent's worst nightmare is about to f That parent
was Charles Lindbergh. He was practically American royalty, the first
to fly solo across the Atlantic, a groundbreaking aviation achievement. However,
on the evening of March the First, Mister Lindbergh's baby
(13:16):
son was kidnapped from his cot. A ransom note demanding
fifty thousand dollars was left behind.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Took three thousand dollars for the return of the child.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
The media coined the kidnapping the crime of the century, but.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
The famous Plans Atlantic Fire appealed to keep out the work.
On a call in pleek Wach for his nineteen thirty
two the little boy was.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Kidnapped by his second quarter.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
It was a crime that shocked beastly, making people all
over the floor.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
However, amongst the tragedy, j Edgar Hoover senses an opportunity.
He assembles the Lindbergh Task Force just hours after the
baby disappears. But when Hoover contacts Lindburgh, Lindburg refuses to
meet with him, understandably as the Bureau was still seen
as an obscure amateur wing of the police force at
(14:12):
this time. Lindburg sticks with the police and private detectives,
who view Hoover and the Bureau as glory hunters as
for Charles Lindbergh. Unfortunately, the investigation did not go well.
After two long months of a media consuming crisis, the
baby was found dead, but Hoover didn't give up. He
(14:36):
was determined to find the kidnapper. Through handwritten analysis and
ransom money tracing and.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Writing analysis proved Halflan wrote the Ranthom Knock.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
There was eventually an arrest and it was Hoover's Lindburg
Task Force that basked in the glory. For Hoover, this
was the moment when the tide began to turn. He
would become a household name and his bureau of Force
to be reckoned with. Hoover would capitalize on this new
found fame with the success in the Lindbergh case, the
(15:15):
government began to trust Hoover with more jurisdiction, and conveniently,
America was currently facing a problem that Hoover appeared tailor
made to resolve.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
We of the FBI feel that we're a part of
a team to make America a great and decent place
in which to live.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
We're on that team, many people claim. The nineteen thirties
was the decade of action and heroism for the FBI.
Meet John Dillinger, a gun toting, prison escaping all American gangster.
Speaker 11 (15:47):
So in the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties, the mob
was wrecking havoc, in particular in the Midwest, especially small towns.
They just had greater firepower than the police did and
had faster getaway car.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
High profile criminals such as Dillinger enjoyed a lot of
public support in the thirties. Why well, average Americans were
going through an economic depression, living in poverty against the
backdrop of established institutions from insurance companies to the government.
So in the public's mind. Dillinger wasn't robbing banks, he
(16:23):
was sticking it to the man, and Hollywood reflected this.
James Cagney plays the protagonist gangster in Public Enemy Number One,
released in nineteen thirty one. The film was based off
John Dillinger and America loved it. Dillinger was just one
of many criminals and gangsters sticking it to the man,
(16:44):
and with the right resources, they could be captured. So
it was Hoover's special agents put up to the task.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Criminal get Away a minute.
Speaker 11 (16:52):
That's where jed Gar Hoover came in, and he was
pretty aggressive and going after them like John Dilger.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
As their jurisdiction expands, Uber receives more funding, more independent authority.
They can now make arrests, they can now carry guns,
and eventually they're renamed to the FBI. In nineteen thirty five,
Hoover was.
Speaker 11 (17:12):
Able to take the Bureau to the federal level by
centralizing all the different agencies, and by doing so, the
name change from the Bureau to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
The word federal is added to better represent their expanding
national significance. But it's during this time the FBI faced
many dramatic showdowns with mobsters and criminals across the country,
and Hollywood wanted in on the action. James Cagney went
(17:59):
from playing anti hero gangster to hero FBI agent within
the span of just four years. The biggest action film
of the year suitably named G Men. This time, Cagney
was sticking it to the bad guys. Hoover was thrilled.
G Men was just one of many valiant films made
(18:21):
about the FBI that year, in part due to the
government banning censored movies except ones that esteemed the law enforcement.
Considering that violent films made money, Hollywood were happy to oblige.
The G Men were essentially the modern marmin. Eventually, the
press approached Hoover. They wanted to paint him as the
(18:43):
ultimate crime fighter who led his team of g Men
in the battle against domestic criminals. He would soon begin
to believe his own legend. For him, he couldn't possibly
do wrong, But for now, Hoover was living up to
his heroic reputation. By the middle of the decade, most
of those big name criminals were either behind bars or dead.
(19:06):
He was riding an incredible wave of acclaim.
Speaker 11 (19:10):
And the FBI was able to make many different notable
arrests to take down these very.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Famous gaysters, regarded as a national hero.
Speaker 11 (19:21):
Because of this, the FBI was gaining a positive reputation
in the US, really popular in American culture, and they
were noted as g Man g Man.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Hoover, taking his new found success and combining it with
his Washington insider relationships, Hoover approached a Senate subcommittee to
ask for a doubling of the FBI budget. But Hoover
was about to face his first major obstacles meet Kenneth mckeller,
(19:53):
the senator in charge of the committee. He had previously
asked Hoover to hire more FBI agents from his home state, Tennessee,
but Hoover ignored his request. He wanted his FBI to
fit the clean cut professional image, not a playground for
political Southerners. As a result, Hoover had crossed mckeller and
(20:15):
this was about to come back to bite him. Mckeller
really gives it to him at this committee in front
of everyone. He claims the FBI is out of control.
He claims they don't need guns and they were just
glorified men in suits. Hoover manages to remain calm and professional.
But then mckeller asks him a question that would spiral
(20:36):
Hoover's ego. With a smirk of confidence, he says, how.
Speaker 9 (20:41):
Many are read?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Have you actually made?
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Two?
Speaker 8 (20:44):
Three, four?
Speaker 5 (20:47):
Although Hoover's job was not to arrest, but to manage,
he answers truthfully none.
Speaker 9 (20:53):
Ever, So you're the head of the FBI and you've
never made an arid what are your qualify?
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Mckeller goes off. He lays it thick on to Hoover.
He claims he's out of his death to be asking
for a budget increase. Mckella had hit Hoover where it hurts.
He felt insulted, embarrassed, and Hoover took it very personally.
Hoover left that committee about as angry as he's ever been.
(21:20):
He realized it was time to make an arrest. Luckily
for Hoover, there was still one big name criminal on
the loose, Alvin Carpis. Carpis was on the run for kidnapping, robbery,
(21:55):
and murder. He was made Public Enemy number one, another
publicity stunt pulled by Hoover. He was found within days
in Louisiana, and Hoover made it very clear to his
agents that he must be the one to arrest him.
He flew out to Louisiana to make the arrest, and
the newsreels flocked to the story the big hero versus
(22:17):
the big villain. However, it was revealed many years later
that Hoover actually hid behind his agents until the crime
scene was safe. He didn't actually make the arrest himself,
but that didn't matter. It was Hoover's narrative that made
the newsreels, and his g men dared not question it.
(22:39):
As a result, Hoover would never be challenged again by
the likes of Senator mckella. His credentials were public and
the biggest mobsters in America had been shattered. However, with
all this new power Hoover had obtained, it's here we
start to see that he wasn't quite the crime fighting
hero the media had portrayed him. Hoover had many secrets
(23:03):
of his own, and the mob would later use this
to keep Hoover in their pocket.
Speaker 11 (23:07):
But suddenly, in nineteen fifties, there was an abrupt shift
in the way that Hoover was approaching the mafia. In fact,
when he was question about whether or the mafia actually exists.
He said, no, this is Boloni, And there were suspicions
that the reason why he made such a shift in
his policy towards the Mob was because the mafia had
evidence that he was engaging in homosexual activities.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
It was like trying to hide an elephant in the
Oval office that Washington knew, but no one mentioned the
trunk in the room. Hoover was very close with his
right hand man, Clyde Tulsen. They wore the same pinstriped suit.
They ate lunch together, they would take vacations together. They
were rarely seen apart. He was also speculated to be
(23:58):
a transvestite behind indoors, but these were just rumors. But
what weren't rumors was the concerning growing power Hoover possessed.
From his success in finding the Lindbergh kidnapper to his
g men taking down the Mob within the span of
just four years, he had cast a large shadow over Washington.
(24:19):
But with power comes paranoia.
Speaker 11 (24:22):
Jobrah Hoover was obsessed with the private lives of notable citizens.
He had private files on Charlie Chaplin, on Albert Einstein,
on Colonel Sanders, and had private files on pretty much
every member of the Senate and member of the House.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
We mentioned earlier that Hoover had secretly kept files on
hundreds of people. Well, those files only grew. They were
his ultimate bargaining chip that would allow him to assert
his influence across Washington.
Speaker 11 (24:54):
Hundreds and hundreds of secret files, mostly just for his
own delight.
Speaker 5 (25:03):
All those files and secrets would be the key to
keeping Hoover in power until his last breath.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Eightline, Chicago, July twenty second, nineteen thirty four.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
In a moment, the.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
Story with the mob now under reasonable control and Hoover
establishing himself as a prominent figure within the intelligence community.
The following decades were much of the same for Hoover.
As the US plunged into World War II, there were
whispers that Hoover had information about the Pearl Harbor attack
(25:40):
before it even happened, but with his influence, he managed
to yet again retreat to the sidelines, avoiding accountability. At
one point, Hoover was even challenged by President Harry S. Truman,
who feared the FBI were turning into secret police, operating
in similar ways to the Gestapo. But as we see
(26:00):
time and time again, Hoover always had an ace up
his sleeve that allowed him to get his own way.
Speaker 9 (26:07):
Every report I get from the field tells me how
nonm as the problem is. We're doing all we can
by working with the local agencies.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
History is littered with fear. The most effective way for
the ruling class to maintain its control is to establish
an enemy. That way, you keep the people against each
other instead of against those in power. It's a tactic
that spans from ancient Greece to modern day. For the
second half of the twentieth century, that enemy of the
(26:38):
free world were the Communists. The Cold War is behind
us now, but many historians look back on this moment
of history as just one big scare, a red scare.
Speaker 11 (26:49):
Hoover was a staunch anti communist, very fearful of Communist infiltration,
particularly in Congress.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
In reality, communism wasn't such a high level threat, but
on the other side of the world, communism was developing.
In the late forties, Stalin had figured out the nuke
and blocks East Berlin, Mao establishes his Communist party, and
North Korea were about to invade their neighbours. President Truman
(27:18):
had no choice but to increase surveillance at Homecautions.
Speaker 15 (27:22):
Are tightened along the semeboard.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
From Key West to the Canadian Bronzier, and the warning
to all enemy agent is watch out for the NBI.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
Other saboteurs made prior to come to our shorts.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
They must be stopped. We ask every citizen to.
Speaker 10 (27:38):
Immediately report any information regarding spinage, sabotage for Unamerican activities
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
The FBI builds the federal government's Loyal Security program. Its
purpose was to politically test new employees within the government.
It was then copied throughout civil society, from school districts
to movie studios. The scrutiny and fear was everywhere. With
the FBI under his wing, Hoover presented himself as the
(28:10):
reasonable and professional defense against communism.
Speaker 10 (28:13):
D Man Wilbur warns, Remember how the spy, the Sabotuon
or the destroyer Harris Norbert, he hide behind a hundred fronts.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
He prepens pinotus.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
He liked to rob elbows.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
With patriotic men because he can thus seek to break
down morale and to preach unpreparedness and undermine honor it.
Speaker 5 (28:38):
But Hoover's perception of those who he considered enemies, was
far from restrained.
Speaker 11 (28:43):
He was very fearful of Communist infiltration, particularly in the government,
and he relentlessly pursued those that were suspicious of communist leanings.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
In nineteen fifty six, a Supreme Court ruling prevented Hoover
from prosecuting people based on their political opinions. He now
needed proof of criminal activity. Hoover was furious. His response
a meticulous co intel program to combat communism that wasn't
exactly legal. It turned the FBI into a diluted version
(29:17):
of the Gestapo that Harry Truman had feared. The question
was who would be Hoover's next enemy.
Speaker 15 (29:34):
I have a dream and one day on the Red
Hills for George funds of farmers slaves and the sons
of farmer slave on will they be able to sit down.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Together at the table of brotherhood.
Speaker 16 (29:51):
I have a.
Speaker 15 (29:52):
Dream one day even the state of Mississippi, of state swell,
faltering with the heathough injustice, weltering with the heat of oppression.
He transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Speaker 7 (30:13):
I have a.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
Dream the power of words to move and inspire a nation.
August nineteen sixty three Martin Luther King's speech had stirred
the hearts and minds of countless multitudes, but the FBI
were also listening. Hoover's office was just around the corner.
(30:37):
When Hoover listened to the world's most famous speech, he
was not inspired with hope, but fear. Based off that speech,
the FBI coined MLK as the most dangerous man in America.
They wanted him gone. They feared King would inspire a
radical change that the government nor the FBI could control.
(31:00):
MLK had a dream, but Hoover had a nightmare. Hoover
was about to embark on a journey that had a
monumental impact on history. But to truly understand how, we
must first look at his relationship with the now new
President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.
Speaker 15 (31:21):
Gerald Kennedy, who Solomon's way and I will faithfully execute
the artist a president of the United States, So help
me God.
Speaker 5 (31:30):
Hoover had approached his boss, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and
brother of the President JFK. He wanted approval to wire
tap and bug King's home and offices. Hoover theorized that
Martin Luther King's advisers were whispering ideas of communism in
his ear, and if the most influential man in America
(31:52):
started preaching communist ideologies, then who knew what the government
may have been in for. Hoover wasn't going to rest
until he had convinced the whole of Washington that M.
LKA was a communist.
Speaker 6 (32:06):
Saboteurs made try to come to.
Speaker 11 (32:09):
One of the targets of Jagar Hoover was Martin Luther
King Jr. Hoover was deeply suspicious that King was being
controlled by communists.
Speaker 5 (32:19):
What j Edgar Hoover didn't realize, or more likely didn't
care about, was that the Communist Party USA has shrunken substantially.
By the sixties, there were less than five thousand members
and estimated fifteen hundred of which were undercover agents. Communism
in America just wasn't a major threat anymore, and if
(32:41):
there were any criminal plots, it would have been easy
to uncover. When JFK had won the nineteen sixties election,
there was a wave of hope within America and the
civil rights movement started to really pick up speed. Out
of all the presidential transitions Hoover had served under, this
(33:01):
one was by far the hardest pill to swallow. JFK's
presidency threatened many of the privileges Hoover had enjoyed before JFK.
Hoover had direct access to the president, but by JFK
appointing his younger brother Robert as Attorney General, this would
break the link. Hoover knew the Kennedys was serious about change,
(33:25):
so before JFK was even sworn into office, he made
sure he had his own insurances against the new president.
Hoover may not have had much of a sex life
of his own, but he certainly had a deep interest
in others.
Speaker 11 (33:40):
JFK was having numerous affairs, but one of the most
notable ones was the affair that he had with a
German woman named Ellen Ramesh. She was possibly a Soviet spy,
and this really compromised Kennedy.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
Hoover knew JFK's relationship with this German mistress could be
a problem, as she had been a guest of Hitler's
at the nineteen thirty six Olympics and had other Nazi ties.
Not many people knew this, but Hoover did. JFK knew
that Hoover was aware of his past, so he kept
(34:15):
him on side to avoid bad blood.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
Basically, JFK had to agree to two things, one that
he would never fire JEdgar Hoover, and two that JEdgar
Hoover could continue his relentless investigation of Martin Luther King Junior,
including the surveillance and wiretapping.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
He told the press he intended to keep Hoover on
as director because, in his own words, you don't fire God. However,
from the moment Robert Kennedy had taken up his new
role as Attorney General, himself and Hoover had butted heads.
(34:55):
RFK was thirty five years old compared to Hoover's sixty six,
and he wanted to shift the FBI's priorities from domestic
threats to organized crimes such as the Mob. As you
can imagine, this was unwelcome news to Hoover. Given the
dirt about Hoover's sexuality that the Mob supposedly had on Hoover,
(35:16):
he had no interest in pursuing the Mob. Hoover resisted.
He wasn't about to be subverted by a much younger man,
so he flexed his resources. He constantly reminded Bobby that
he had the power to destroy the Kennedy's careers. He
sent Bobby monthly updates about the gossip he had gathered
on the President's affairs and.
Speaker 11 (35:38):
How did Hoover find out about JFK's affair. Well, he
had actually wired top the President himself.
Speaker 5 (35:43):
Although the Kennedy brothers knew Hoover had dirt on them,
they underestimated just how invested Hoover was in taken down
any one against his policy goals. Hoover needed a way
to keep the FBI's focus on communism, not the mafia,
and this placed Martin Luther King directly in Hoover's line
(36:04):
of fire.
Speaker 14 (36:05):
Not the texture of his hair or the color of
his skin.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
The FBI would ramp up surveillance on King.
Speaker 14 (36:11):
We received as many as thirty and forty threatening calls a.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Day, going as far as conducting twenty known break ins
on King's offices and affiliations. But during this time King
was becoming ever closer to the president. King had the
access that Hoover lacked. This would further infuriate Hoover. He
could feel his control slipping, so he continued to feed
(36:38):
the Kennedy brothers information about mlk's ties to communism.
Speaker 14 (36:42):
I do plan disturb trouble.
Speaker 5 (36:44):
But as expected, there was never any evidence found linking
MLK to communism lay.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Mister King and the other leaders under God of the
White Heart.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
But Hoover's relationship with the Kennedy brothers was about to
hit a stalemate.
Speaker 12 (36:57):
Because of widespread looking non violence, Pusher Voting Rights Bill.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
And is the right of project Right.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
As the civil rights movement hit an all time high,
police brutality was becoming a front page disaster. R FK
pressured Hoover to send agents to the South. The government
needed to squash the violence.
Speaker 16 (37:23):
The raid had always been bloody, but if there had
been one guide.
Speaker 5 (37:28):
But Hoover's response was unrelenting. He pushed back against the
Kennedy's administration for Civil Rights, still pushing this idea that
the unrest stemmed from a larger communist conspiracy.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Never before was a greater need of a unity.
Speaker 5 (37:42):
This was terrible for JFK as his re election was
fast approaching. Hoover had crossed the line big time and
the president wanted him out. They began to secretly plan
Hoover's retirement to use the authority. However, what everyone failed
to anticipate was that JFK's legacy would come crashing down
much sooner.
Speaker 6 (38:06):
At one twenty five, the monarcade moves into the downtown area.
Death is six minutes away in a warehouse, a cniper
with a rifle poisoned.
Speaker 5 (38:14):
When JFK was assassinated, America was shocked, angry, and confused.
The nation expected answers, who was Lee Harvey Oswald? And
(38:38):
why had he done it? Naturally, it was the FBI
chosen to answer those questions, which meant Hoover had full
control over the investigation. With a murder of this magnitude,
(38:59):
you would expect a lot and thorough investigation. However, almost
immediately j Edgar Hoover had reached his conclusion. He decided
Lee Harvey Oswald was guilty and acted alone. He concluded
that Oswald was a Communist insurgent who had indulged in
a sudden and unprovoked rampage, and there was little room
(39:21):
within the bureau to challenge his position. There were clear
inaccuracies with Hoover's conclusion, especially with Oswald's motive, and the
FBI knew about this. Oswald had visited the FBI's Dallas
office a few weeks prior to the assassination, he requested
that the Bureau stop investigating him due to old Communist ties.
(39:44):
He threatened the Bureau to take action if they didn't stop.
There were further speculations around the handling of physical evidence,
such as bullet fragments, autopsy materials, and witness testimonies. As
Assistant Director of the FBI William Sullivan later reflected, the
initial investigation was rushed, chaotic, and shallow, but Hoover's investigation
(40:12):
report was private, and the American people wanted answers. Newly
appointed President Lyndon B. Johnson came up with a solution
that would put everyone at peace. The solution was to
assemble an independent investigation into JFK's murder, called the Warren Commission.
(40:32):
But right from the start, the outcome of this investigation
was already determined. Hoover tried to guide the Commission to
the conclusion he had already come up with, and luckily
for Hoover, the Warren Commission had been denied its own
independent investigators, meaning the new investigation had to work off
(40:52):
the evidence already tampered with by the FBI.
Speaker 13 (40:57):
Evidence of a sudden upsurge of interest in the fact
surrounding his assassination.
Speaker 5 (41:02):
Two of the seven commission members didn't exactly have the
investigation's best interest at heart. Alan Dulles, former director of
the CIA, who was recommended to LBJ by Hoover himself
had previously been fired by JFK over the failed invasion
of Cuba, and Republican future President Gerald Ford was leaking
(41:25):
information on the Warren Commission's progress to the FBI the
entire time. The other members of the commission expressed serious
concern that the FBI were hiding something from them, but
under time constraint, pressure, and without their own investigators, they
had no choice but to conclude their investigation with what
(41:46):
Hoover had insisted all along.
Speaker 6 (41:47):
The Warrant Commission identified gunman, the rifle, and the bullet.
Speaker 13 (41:54):
The Warrant Commission said one assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald fired
three times, miss one which blew off the top of
the President's head, and one which not only gave the
President two wounds but hit Governor John Connolly as well.
Lane calls the Warrant commissioned version of that shot their
magic bullet theory.
Speaker 17 (42:15):
And then Oswald fires the per shot and the bullet
hits the President in the back of the neck, leaving
behind a hole in his jacket six inches below his shoulder,
leaving behind a hole in his shirt six inches poet form,
leaving behind a hold of his back six inches of shop.
Speaker 6 (42:33):
Meanwhile, the President and the rushed were nearby hospital, where
light lingered as a winging world great alp Hourly he
was dead.
Speaker 13 (42:41):
Lane and many others say that the direction of the
white material from the President's head the second shot, since
the first is obscured on the film, proves he was
shot from the front.
Speaker 5 (42:54):
So what does all this mean? It's clear that there's
more that meets the eye with JFK assassination. Even subsequent
President Lyndon B. Johnson agreed so himself, and it's clear
that j Edgar Hoover was hiding something. But that still
leaves us with two questions. One why was Hoover so
(43:16):
determined to cover up the truth? And two, where does
Martin Luther King fit into all this? Well, looking back
on history, the answers to those questions may be pretty clear,
and we will certainly answer those questions. But first, let's
return to Martin Luther King to finish the story with JFK.
(43:39):
Out of the picture. Hoover continued to illegally spy on
Martin Luther King throughout the sixties. He was determined to
find anything that could link King to communism. If they
could paint King as a communist, it would massively undermine
his credibility and perhaps put an end to the civil
rights movement. Did find any clear evidence on King's supposed
(44:03):
far left views, but what they did find may have
been worse. Looking at these declassified FBI documents, we see
the summaries of what these FBI agents claim they found
whilst wire tapping King. What these documents tell us was
that King was supposedly a womanizer or this is a
(44:23):
problem that.
Speaker 14 (44:24):
We face, and this is a problem that we are
forced to deal with.
Speaker 5 (44:28):
The memos claim that King would get excessively drunk, use
the vileist language imaginable, and commit sexual acts of degeneracy
and depravity, many of which committed in a communal atmosphere.
Speaker 8 (44:44):
Yes, sir, I have been threatened men in minute.
Speaker 5 (44:48):
High running naked drunk white prostitutes up and down the
halls of the hotel was just one of the many
sentences you'd find within this document. This infidelity wasn't exactly
a good look for King and the movement he was leading.
But it's important to read between the lines when addressing
(45:09):
these documents. Usually declassified documents from the FBI would be
clear evidence. The issue is we know too much about
Hoover's determination to take down King. The FBI during the
sixties was riddled with racism and corruption, and at the
head of the table is a man who we know
(45:29):
was willing to tamper with intelligence to shape his personal goals.
But at this very moment in the sixties, this was
enough for Hoover to attack. So in nineteen sixty four,
when Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,
Hoover writes a letter to his assistant director, claiming now
(45:52):
is the time to act. His exposure is long overdue.
Four days later, the FBI send a package to King's
house containing black male sex tapes and a letter insinuating
to King it was time for him to end his
own life. The black mail didn't work. King didn't stop.
(46:13):
If anything, he rallied even harder. As he continued to
lead a variety of social justices. His list of enemies grew.
King now represented all walks of society. With more momentum
than ever, King planned to lead a march on Washington,
this one even bigger than the last. But unbeknownst to America,
(46:36):
King's days were numbered.
Speaker 14 (46:39):
And I think this march will go down as one
of the greatest, if not the greatest, demonstrations for freedom
and human dignity ever held in the United States.
Speaker 5 (46:54):
About a month before the big march on Washington, King
found himself in Memphis, Tennessee. He was supporting a strike
of mostly black trash collectors and their lack of pay
and safety standards. And it was here Martin Luther King
would give his last speech.
Speaker 3 (47:12):
Like anybody, I would like to live.
Speaker 15 (47:15):
A long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not
concerned about that now.
Speaker 5 (47:24):
King's speeches always had the passion and emotion to inspire people,
But in this speech, it was as if he knew
he was counting his hours.
Speaker 15 (47:32):
And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.
Speaker 14 (47:36):
LAD looked over.
Speaker 8 (47:39):
And I see.
Speaker 3 (47:41):
The Promised Land.
Speaker 18 (47:44):
I may not get there with you, but I want
you to Northern night, and we have a people.
Speaker 3 (47:52):
We'll get to the Promise.
Speaker 18 (47:53):
Land some night. I'm not worried about anything.
Speaker 15 (48:03):
I'm not fearing in a there might not must have
seen the glory not women.
Speaker 5 (48:13):
That night, he returned back to his hotel, and at
six oh one pm April fourth, nineteen sixty eight, whilst
he was standing on his balcony, King was murdered.
Speaker 9 (48:25):
The death of Martinuth King his great tragedy, not any
April of the United States, but for all of us
throughout the world. I couldn't foretell what the result would be,
but we have lost a very wise puncilor.
Speaker 6 (48:37):
He was a symbol of nonviolence, and I hope and
pray that his end would in some way bring people
together so that we could solve the many serious problems
of human relations that face us in this country of
ours today in a non violent manner.
Speaker 5 (48:57):
The FBI launched an investigation, and that led them to
James Earl Ray. Ray had allegedly shot King from a
room across the street with his rifle. Ray then fled
the country, but was apprehended in England and sent back
to the States, where he was arrested.
Speaker 12 (49:14):
News of Ray's arrest came first from the FBI Chief
Edgar Hoover in Washington. He said that Ray was carrying
two Canadian passports and a fully loaded pistol. When he
landed at London from Lisbon.
Speaker 5 (49:26):
Three days after pleading guilty, Ray announced that he didn't
kill m l K. He claimed he was set up
and was part of a larger conspiracy to assassinate King.
There were many plot holes in the investigation, destroyed evidence,
time lines that don't match, and numerous rabbit holes that
make it hard to accept that a fugitive could pull
(49:48):
off a sophisticated assassination alone. Sound familiar. The investigations carried
out on m l K's death concluded that Ray was
the killer, but those investigations also stated it was likely
a conspiracy, but there was no conclusive evidence linking the
FBI or the government's involvement. So what's going on here?
(50:15):
When looking at both Kennedy's and King's assassinations, it's easy
to understand why so many people to day believe that
there were higher powers involved. The truth is, we don't
know the full extent of how involved the FBI and
Hoover may have been. Speculation and conspiracy theories are popular
(50:36):
because they serve as a form of passive resistance against
those in authority, But one explanation for Hoover's involvement in
these deaths suggests a man who perhaps foresaw these tragedies
but took no action to prevent them. J f K
and m l K posed major threats to Hoover. Thus,
(50:58):
if Hoover, the most informed individual in the nation, learned
of a malevolent scheme that would conveniently resolve his problems,
why intervene. A narrative of a lone communist assassin would
suit Hoover perfectly, enabling him to retain his position while
validating his pursuit for communists. But one thing we know
(51:23):
for certain is that Hoover and his FBI abused the
power given to him by the American people to pull
and twist the strings of history in order to keep
himself on top.
Speaker 7 (51:34):
We were aware of the critical nature of the forces
that were gainst us.
Speaker 5 (51:39):
Martin Luther King was a non violent black man who
was trying to level the playing field for his people,
but all Hoover saw was a threat, so behind closed doors,
he blackmailed him and endorsed a sense of fear in
his image.
Speaker 11 (51:54):
Hoover hated King so much that when King was awarded
the Normal Peace Prize, He was livid, and when King
was assassinated, he fought extra hard to prevent his birthday
from being a national holiday.
Speaker 5 (52:09):
The FBI should have been protecting King, but instead they
painted him as dangerous, which would breed enemies all around him.
In a way, they did kill him, and in the
word of.
Speaker 3 (52:22):
The odigit read lad make bottomneyer.
Speaker 5 (52:46):
In the wake of mlk's assassination, the shadowy figure of
j Edgar Hoover loomed larger than ever. Washington were fully
aware of j Edgar Hoover, and they were especially aware
of the secrets and power he possessed. But if there
was one man who was more paranoid of Hoover than
anyone else, it was the now new president, Richard Nixon.
(53:11):
Nixon was so paranoid he secretly recorded almost four thousand
hours of his conversations, a move that would later define
his downfall.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
You don't think we should I just say anything.
Speaker 16 (53:26):
I don't think you should say anything.
Speaker 7 (53:27):
I just let it cool.
Speaker 3 (53:29):
Let the papers come out and let him reflect on However.
Speaker 16 (53:31):
They reflect what they want to print. They don't reflect
upon you. You had nothing to do with all of this.
Speaker 3 (53:35):
I had nothing that nothing of us about that immediately.
Speaker 16 (53:40):
It Now, it's the very thing that the enemies of
the ministration want to do is to devote the attack
upon you, and not upon Kennedy and not upon John.
Speaker 5 (53:51):
Here we can hear the President asking Hoover for advice.
The conversation seems they were friendly enough with each other,
but in reality Nixon felt very different.
Speaker 11 (54:02):
Publicly, Nixon was telling a very different story. He said
that in his eulogy that Hoover was one of the giants,
he was a patriot, he was a great American. In private,
of course, Nixon loathed him.
Speaker 5 (54:16):
Nixon wanted to remove j Edgar Hoover, but he feared
that Hoover knew too much about Nixon's shady dealings. So
how do you remove a man such as j Edgar Hoover.
The answer is simple. You need a power much greater
than the President of the United States.
Speaker 8 (54:38):
And the world be said evening, j Edgar Hoover has
died at the age of seventy seven.
Speaker 3 (54:45):
Because given as high blood.
Speaker 8 (54:46):
Pressure, it is with a profound sense of personal loss
that I learned of the death of JEdgar Hoover, and
every American, in my opinion, OHS. Hoover a great debt
for building the FBI into the finest law enforcement organization
(55:08):
in the entire world.
Speaker 6 (55:10):
So when j.
Speaker 11 (55:11):
Edgar Hoover finally died, he had served eight presidents, eighteen
attorney generals, had been in his position for forty eight years.
Speaker 5 (55:20):
Hoover's death was met with mixed reactions from the public.
Some appreciated what the director had built, whilst others scowled
him for his abuse of power. But for most Americans,
they wouldn't have remembered a time when Hoover wasn't director
of the FBI. It was certainly the end of an era,
but for President Richard Nixon, there was no time to mourn.
(55:44):
When Hoover passed away, he left behind a large assortment
of files that he had collected over the forty eight
years of his reign as director, the files that held
many of Washington's secrets, the files that had the power
to ruin lives.
Speaker 11 (55:59):
And Nixon it was paranoid that there was some sort
of file that would reveal something negative about him, and
he searched for these files but never found them.
Speaker 5 (56:08):
Nixon ordered Hoover's office to be sealed so he could
retrieve these files. But before Hoover had died, he gave
his secretary, Helen Gandhi different instructions. She was to destroy
these personal files. Forty eight years of secrets gone. She
spent weeks working in Hoover's basement sorting and shredding. Nixon
(56:31):
or no one else would ever get their hands on
these files.
Speaker 9 (56:34):
Each other special agents are the Federal Bureau of Investigation
must be ready and capable to meet any challenge.
Speaker 5 (56:43):
It's been over fifty years since Hoover's legacy came to
an end, but what lives on from Hoover is not
just an institution, but a methodology. Hoover didn't just establish
the FBI, he crafted a blueprint for maintaining power through deceit, manipulation,
(57:04):
and secrecy.
Speaker 11 (57:07):
Jagger Hoover was a staunch anti communist. He did make
some improvements to the FBI, but ultimately Jegger Hoover was
a racist, and he aggressively went after all of his opponents,
many of whom were innocent.
Speaker 5 (57:24):
The FBI began as a seed planted with the intention
of safeguarding American lives, yet over time that seed grew
unchecked morphing into an invasive weed. That choked the landscape
of American power. Today, the USA has eighteen agencies in
(57:46):
the intelligence community, and in this realm of intelligence, where
information is power, the few people that hold this information
will maintain that power.
Speaker 1 (57:56):
It is time for a check and that's a present
and I'm starting a barn.
Speaker 5 (58:02):
It's reached the point that when a new president arrives
into the White House vowing to maintain these weeds of intelligence,
he quickly discovers he can't. Instead, he must sit and
watch helplessly as these weeds continue to grow beneath his feet.
Speaker 14 (58:21):
And FBI Director Muller and made it clear he will
have every single resource that he needs to investigate this
heinous crime.
Speaker 4 (58:29):
At the end of the day posits the question is
do we really have a democracy in our country?
Speaker 12 (58:33):
Once again, the Hawks back in the ascendency.
Speaker 6 (58:36):
The tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free.
Speaker 4 (58:40):
Well because we don't have the facts.
Speaker 6 (58:41):
And our hostages were seize and Tereterran, well, I'm not
a crop dismantled.
Speaker 3 (58:45):
The deep stated, we claim our democracy.
Speaker 4 (58:47):
The FBI gave what they wanted to do the Orran Commission,
and they had a hell of a lot of more documentation.
Speaker 13 (58:55):
The case of the death of John F. Kennedy is
going to be officially reopen.
Speaker 4 (59:00):
To go back into this thing and reinterpret it, because
I don't think the history was written correctly.
Speaker 5 (59:06):
So, whether you believe in a deep state or not,
there is one thing you can't deny. Those at the
top who hold the power will continue to do so because,
as j Edgar Hoover puts it, there is something addictive
about secrets.
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