American History Tellers - J. Edgar Hoover's FBI - Black Bag Job | 5

Episode Date: May 8, 2019

Between 1956 and 1971, the FBI carried out more than 2,000 top secret spying operations aimed at American citizens. Their target? The so-called Fifth Column, a network of undercover Soviet agents allegedly working to destroy the American government from within. The agency even had an internal code name for these operations: COINTELPRO. In the name of this mission, Hoover directed agents to infiltrate, penetrate, disorganize and disrupt their targets. But the FBI’s actions weren’t just aimed at taking down suspected Communists. They also targeted activists working across a broad spectrum of progressive causes, including civil rights, feminism, gay rights, abortion rights, and drug policy reforms.But no target would draw more of the FBI’s scrutiny — or malice — than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's 2 p.m. on March 8, 1956. You're walking through the halls of the White House towards the presidential West Wing. President Eisenhower has summoned you and the rest of the National Security Council for a closed-door meeting. You've worked at the White House for two years, long enough to know that something's awry. You walk into the cabinet room and close the door. The president is sitting at the head of the table, looking concerned.

Please, everyone, have a seat. We have received intelligence about a coordinated attack by the Soviets on the U.S. I have asked FBI Director Hoover to brief us on the nature of this threat and outline what the Bureau intends to do to stop it. Hoover sits a little straighter in his seat. In your two years in Washington, you've rarely seen him in person, much less up close. He is smaller than you expected in real life, but he still exudes power and confidence. Gentlemen, there are enemies in our midst, communists. For years they've been living among us, but now we have reason to believe that they

are infiltrating our cultural and industrial institutions. And why? Well, the writing is on the wall. You mean the fifth column? Yes, Mr. President, precisely. The fifth column. The fifth column. For years you've heard the term, but you always assumed it was a more cautionary tale than plausible reality. An enemy working to destroy the American government from within. Mr. Hoover, our main concern is the potential for an attack on American soil. Do you think Moscow has the power to coordinate and execute an attack through the fifth column here in the U.S.? Mr. President, please excuse my frankness, but I cannot overstate this threat. The Soviets want to spread their communist system to every country in the

world, but nowhere more so than our United States. They'll use trickery if possible, but force if necessary. With the aid of the fifth column and countries around the world, the Soviets have the ability to bring one-third of the world's population and one-fourth of the Earth's surface under their tyrannical control. So how do you propose to stop the organized communists, this fifth column, from being successful in the U.S.? To date, our focus has been on the collection of information and monitoring of communist activities. We have, within the limits of presidential authorization and law, continually gathered and compiled information on communists in

the U.S. for more than 30 years. Unlike most Americans, the veteran Washington insiders around the table know the FBI has a secret domestic spying operation. It's understood as the source of Hoover's power and longevity. You've sometimes even wondered, what might he know about me? Mr. President, the FBI has a plan, a method based on our information gathering to date to penetrate the communist movement, placing informants inside communist influence organizations, and then to actively disrupt their activities. We propose an all-out counterintelligence program, including infiltration and covert actions. Could you explain the counterintelligence techniques you plan to use to disrupt these groups? It is essential, given the

stakes involved, that the FBI use every means available to secure information and intelligence. We've cracked safes, intercepted mail, wiretapped, planted microphones, inspected trash, infiltrated organizations. On occasion, when necessary for the sake of national security, we make surreptitious entry to photograph secret communist records. Then, based on that intelligence, we infiltrate, penetrate, disorganize, and disrupt those organizations. Hoover takes a drink of water.

At this point, Mr. President, I would like to ask if there are any questions. But there is silence around the table. Then Eisenhower extends a hand to Hoover. Thank you, Director Hoover. It's all very good. And just like that, the meeting's adjourned. But you're trying to make sense of everything you just heard. Did the FBI director just propose moving from domestic spying to waging a covert war against dissent among American citizens? You're a true believer in the communist threat,

yet you wonder whether what Hoover has proposed is even legal. But if any of your colleagues share your trepidation, they've kept it to themselves. Now streaming. Welcome to Buy It Now. your colleagues share your trepidation. They've kept it to themselves. Anthony Anderson, Tabitha Brown, Tony Hawk. Oh my God. Buy it now. Stream free on Freebie and Prime Video. Kill List is a true story of how I ended up in a race against time to warn those whose lives were in danger. Follow Kill List wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Kill List and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid

early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this on American citizens by the nation's top law enforcement agency. The FBI gave its war on dissent an internal codename that has since become an indelible stain on Hoover's legacy, COINTELPRO. Between 1956 and 1971, the FBI carried out more than 2,000 top-secret COINTELPRO spying operations aimed at American citizens. The goal of COINTELPRO was not as narrowly constrained as

Hoover suggested to the National Security Council in 1956. The council and President Eisenhower understood Hoover's plan in the context of disrupting violent communists who were bent on harming American citizens. But Hoover implemented a broad campaign of infiltration and harassment against the entire American political left. COINTELPRO targets did include the Communist Party and other clearly subversive organizations. Other targets, though, included groups legally advocating for change in society, not for the overthrow of government. Groups like the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, and the so-called New Left, a social movement that included civil rights,

but also feminism, gay rights, abortion rights, and drug policy reforms. COINTELPRO agents joined activist groups, informed on members, fomented dissent, and even organized illegal acts to discredit the movements. No one in these groups was safe from scrutiny, and the more high-profile the activist, the more Hoover's FBI paid attention. And in this period, no one the more high-profile the activist, the more Hoover's FBI paid attention. And in this period, no one was more high-profile than Martin Luther King Jr. This is Episode 5, Black Bag Job. No one but J. Edgar Hoover could have gotten away with such a sweeping effort to undermine dissent in America.

By 1956, Hoover had outlasted more than a dozen attorneys general and four presidents. The director and the bureau were icons, universally known and almost universally admired. More than three decades into his tenure as director, Hoover was essentially untouchable. Cointelpro was the result of Hoover's lofty status combined with Eisenhower's fear of communist violence. But the truth was, the communist movement in America had faded significantly by the late 50s. The Communist Party had about 85,000 members at its peak in the 1930s, but by 1952, membership had dipped to just over 30,000, according to FBI estimates, out of more than 150 million Americans. And the downward trend continued. By 1959, a typical American was 100 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to bump into a Communist Party member. Yet Hoover argued that

Communists had merely gone into hiding inside other political and activist movements, and even inside the news media. In 1958, Hoover published a book on communism called Masters of Deceit. A New York Times review of the book accused Hoover of overstating the communist threat. The reviewer, John B. Oaks, noted that there were more than 150 million anti-communists in the U.S. and they, with the help of the FBI, could probably handle the handful ofcommunists in the U.S. and they, with the help of the FBI, could probably handle the handful of communists in the country. He continued, It is quite possible that the high crime rate, juvenile delinquency, bad health and housing conditions, and infringement or denial of civil rights may be more of an internal menace to our institutions and our security than the Communist Party of the United States. Hoover mobilized his public relations machine to respond to the review.

A crime records section agent wrote a letter to conservative columnist George Sokolski, saying, This review, of course, proves a point that the director has always made, that starry-eyed liberals can be as much a menace as the communists themselves. The agent encouraged Sokolski to respond to the review in his nationally syndicated column and broadcast, the week of March 17, 1958. He did. I wonder how Oakes can possibly know what 170 million Americans accept, but apart from that, of what importance is such a statement except to belittle J. Edgar Hoover? Sokolski's response trivialized Oakes' point and demonstrated

how closely Hoover's friends in the media identified with the director. Any criticism of Hoover's judgment or actions would be viewed as a personal attack on Hoover and his allies. Imagine it's October 19th, 1958, and you have just been called into Director Hoover's office. As Assistant Director to the FBI, it's your job to oversee the many covert operations of COINTELPRO. In fact, COINTELPRO was your idea. Normally, the Director would invite you into his inner office, a comfortable space with comfortable chairs. Today, though, Hoover's secretary has seated you in the formal outer office, which can only mean one thing. It will not be a friendly chat.

Hoover enters, holding up a copy of The Nation magazine. Have you seen this? Yes, sir. The magazine features a 58-page article by journalist Fred J. Cook that systematically dismantles the Bureau's public image. It formally challenges the Bureau's authorized history, the FBI story, published just two years ago. In his article, Cook describes an out-of-control Bureau obsessed with policing dissent and controlling the media.

And every word of it is true. This is an outrage. I can't understand, with all our alleged contacts and informants, how we had no inkling of this hatchet job. I want you to tell me how this could have happened. I don't think we should worry too much about it, sir. Cook's a lone wolf. He's a copy editor for the New York Telegram and Sun.

Not even a member of the reporting staff. You think this just bloomed out of nowhere? It is a planned literary garbage barrage against the FBI by a dedicated communist apologist. It is a coordinated smear. Yes, sir. And I take full responsibility. Hoover opens up the magazine and begins to read. FBI infallibility is a carefully cultivated myth. J. Edgar Hoover and the agency with which his name is inseparably linked, because in effect he is the agency, has been placed by public sentiment upon a pedestal

and made the center of a cult of hero worship. Hoover's face is red, his eyes wide, his jowls are shaking. Tell me, Sullivan, what are you prepared to do about it? I'll have agents look into Cook now. We'll pull his bank records and tax returns, comb our files. We'll have agents watching him. If need be, we'll bug his home. If he's a communist, we will find out. I'll create a memo covering our plans for Cook. Hoover snatches your notepad, scrawls a note at the bottom, and hands it back. Hoover's note in blue ink reads, press every angle. This is exactly the kind of thing that we should be aware of before it appears in print. Don't we have contacts with the nation's printer? Yes, sir. We work with their printer to get proofs before every issue is published,

but that only gives us a few days' lead on them. Then we should know when someone like Cook is asking questions about the Bureau. Once we had a proof, we did an analysis of the article. Then we compiled more than 400 pages of facts to counter Cook's thesis. Hoover stands and throws the article down on his desk. But what good does that do us now? We need to know about these kind of articles before they are published. Well, sir, we are in touch with our special service contacts in the news media.

If there is more like this coming, we will know. Of course there will be more. You saw what that parlor pink vermin Cyrus Eaton said. He called us propagandists. Eaton, a wealthy industrialist, was on TV earlier this month and referred to the FBI as an American Gestapo. I did see that. We are working with our friends in the media to counter Eaton's comments. No doubt this is coordinated by the Kremlin.

Sullivan, I want you and your staff to investigate whether subversive factors in the personal lives of prominent journalists might be behind all this. Yes, sir. There is far too much communist news content that is discrediting our American way of life. We need to neutralize these scum. I agree, sir. We'll get right on it. Sullivan. Yes, sir. Press every angle. As you leave, you mentally prepare a list of other journalists you will need to begin investigating. You don't want to repeat this meeting. Assistant Director William Sullivan did as ordered. He and his investigators produced an 87-page dossier titled Moulders of Public Opinion. The document was made up of individual memoranda detailing the alleged communist ties of 39 prominent American journalists,

including famed CBS broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, New York Times columnist Murray Kempton, and syndicated columnist Walter Lippman. The information the dossier contained was heavy on innuendo and light on verifiable facts. The conclusions drawn were a compilation of the FBI's presumptions and biases. Assumptions stood in for analysis, and rumors for facts. The conclusions drawn were a compilation of the FBI's presumptions and biases. Assumptions stood in for analysis and rumors for facts. The Mulder's document was a collection of what the Bureau referred to as blind memoranda, documents that failed to identify the FBI as the sole source of the information they contained. Blind memoranda were intended to be individually shared with friendly journalists and members of Congress. That way, the FBI could get damaging information out to the public anonymously, with plausible deniability.

Blind memoranda were shared, for example, with friendly journalists to guide their published takedowns of FBI critics, without giving away the Bureau's role in the transaction. These journalists supported the FBI's mission, but they believed they were reporting on verified information, not insinuation and speculation. Sullivan included a detailed and scholarly introduction to the molders of public opinion memos. He wrote, Looking at the following representative segment of those molding public opinion today, we can raise the question as to whether or not many have made themselves worthy of American ideals so that they may be entrusted with carrying forward human progress and dignity.

But there was nothing dignified about the contents of the memos. Famed syndicated columnist Joseph Alsop was outed as a homosexual, something he did not deny. Yet his sexual orientation was clearly evidence of subversion in the FBI's view. Cartoonist Al Capp's character Schmoo from his Lil Abner comic strip was, in the FBI's view. Cartoonist Al Capp's character, Schmoo, from his Lil Abner comic strip was, in the Bureau's opinion, a cartoon communist, subversively influencing readers by lampooning big business. Because Dorothy Day,

publisher of the Catholic Worker newspaper, was a pacifist, she was also a communist, according to the Bureau. And Lippmann, one of the most famous American intellectuals of the 20th century, was likely a communist because he was once friends with an American author who was, according to the Blind Memorandum, buried in the Kremlin. The Mulders of Public Opinion Memorandum, along with hundreds of investigative files on individual journalists, guided FBI relationships with the news media. Critical journalists would

find themselves discredited by other reporters, sometimes in print, but sometimes through professional gossip and industry rumor. Hoover's attempts to isolate and neutralize his enemies in the media were successful. So by the early 1960s, he was turning his sights to yet another group he viewed as a threat in the war on communism, the Civil Rights Movement. Dracula, the ancient vampire who terrorizes Victorian London. Blood and garlic, bats and crucifixes, even if you haven't read the book, you think you know the story. One of the incredible things about Dracula is that not only is it this wonderful snapshot of the 19th century, but it also has so much resonance today. The vampire

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or Spotify. Imagine it's August 23rd, 1964. You're an FBI agent assigned to infiltrate and monitor civil rights activists. You're meeting with your boss, FBI Assistant Director Deke DeLoach, in a room at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. The hotel's adjacent to Boardwalk Hall, site of this year's Democratic National Convention. DeLoach looks at his notepad. Let's see. You're working on the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Congress of Racial Equality, and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Yes, sir. Plus Martin Luther King and Bayard

Rustin. What's the status of the electronic surveillance? We have devices placed in all hotel rooms and meeting rooms that those groups will use during the convention. The only holdup is the King and Rustin rooms. We aren't sure yet where they're staying. The president and director are counting on us. We cannot have any surprises. Deloach is the number three official in the Bureau. He's leading the COINTELPRO operation at the convention.

You know he's ambitious and views himself as Hoover's heir apparent, along with just about everyone else in the Bureau. And this operation was commissioned by President Johnson himself, so you wonder if Deloach is maneuvering to have LBJ appoint him to replace the director sooner rather than later. We are prepared, sir. Once we know where King and Rustin will be, we'll install microphones and get wiretaps. We'll be doing black bag jobs nightly on all the rooms, looking for documents, drugs, and another contraband. The director is especially interested in Dr. King. As you know, we have been monitoring his hotel rooms for months.

Yes, sir, I supervise one of those installations. Then you know he has been involved in several liaisons with women, late-night parties and things. Yes, those sorts of details should be included in a separate report for the director's eyes only. They should not be shared with anyone from the White House. We cannot stress that enough. Understood, sir. King's room should be monitored by a trusted agent, too. His notes and the tapes should be brought directly to me.

Do not hand them over to a clerk for transcription. Yes, sir. I will be updating the White House and Director Hoover in real time, so reports should be filed in a timely manner. Absolutely, sir. And they're very interested to know of any demonstrations, picketing, press conference, other public events ahead of time. Okay. What about disruption? We have informants in all of those groups? Yes, and we have someone in every strategy meeting. They have orders to create disagreements, disruptions, complicate the discussions.

You page through your notes. We've arranged for NBC press credentials for 14 agents. One of our reporter agents has gained the confidence of several leaders in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Good. Have they obtained any insights? You'd be surprised how ready people are to open up to reporters. We've had several off-the-record conversations with leaders of the target groups already. Excellent. I can't stress enough how much is riding on that. The president is really putting pressure on the director. Your orders in this monitoring operation have come directly from President Lyndon Johnson. The president believes his re-election depends on the success of your work.

If civil rights becomes the focus of media coverage, he could lose white votes in the South. You shut your notebook and shove it into your bag. Your first task is to check your informants to see what room the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will occupy. That room will need bugs and wiretaps. FBI Assistant Director Deke DeLoach later claimed in his memoirs that the civil rights monitoring

operation was legal under a law that allowed the FBI to contribute to presidential security. But security was not the goal of the 1964 Democratic National Convention operation. And most of the tactics—placing microphones, tapping phone lines without a court order, and break-ins—what the Bureau referred to as black bag jobs—were simply illegal. Hoover and Johnson had a personal connection. For years, when Johnson was majority leader of the Senate, the two men were neighbors in northwest Washington, D.C. They also shared the bond of strident anti-communism.

Johnson's views on communism were shaped by his observations of how President Harry S. Truman was damaged politically after the 1949 revolution in China that installed a communist regime. Truman's critics said he lost China, and he paid a substantial political price. Johnson was determined not to lose any nations to communism. You're my brother, Johnson told Hoover in a phone conversation the week after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. You have been for 25, 30 years. I've got more confidence in

you than anybody in town. Hoover would likely have had an operation at the convention already, but it was unusual for him to share his findings in real time with anyone outside of the FBI. So when Johnson asked Hoover to monitor the Democratic National Convention for him, Hoover had personal reasons to comply. But there was another factor driving the director's obedience. Hoover was approaching the mandatory retirement age for federal employees. On January 1, 1965, he would turn 70. But Johnson had recently signed an executive order waiving mandatory retirement for Hoover. He announced the move in a Rose Garden ceremony.

Edgar, the law says that you must retire next January when you reach your 70th birthday. And knowing you as I do, Edgar, I know you won't break the law. But the nation cannot afford to lose you, and therefore, by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in the President of the United States, I have just now signed an executive order exempting you from compulsory retirement for an indefinite period of time.

And again, Edgar, congratulations and accept the gratitude of a grateful nation. for an indefinite period of time. And again, Edgar, congratulations, and accept the gratitude of a grateful nation. The key phrase in Johnson's announcement was, for an indefinite period of time. In other words, while mandatory retirement was waived, Johnson could rescind the order and call for Hoover's retirement at any time. Therefore, Hoover intended to remain indispensable in Johnson's eyes.

Meanwhile, Assistant Director DeLoach was waiting in the wings. DeLoach was known within the Bureau for his Southern charm and driving ambition. His official position put him in charge of the crime records section, among other things, but he also served as the FBI's liaison to the Johnson White House. Over time, DeLoach also developed a close relationship with Johnson. Had Johnson not decided to bow out of the 1968 election, it was widely expected that Hoover would be forced out in favor of DeLoach. In 1964, though, DeLoach had his hands full simply trying to control Hoover's hatred of Martin

Luther King. The director believed that the Civil Rights Movement in general was a communist front, and he believed that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in specific was a communist agent. Because King was the most charismatic and important leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Hoover and the FBI focused much of their investigative intention on him. In addition to bugging King's rooms at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, the FBI had, on Hoover's orders, monitored King in hotel rooms as he traveled around the country. Those bugs sometimes captured parties or the sounds of King's liaisons with women other than his wife. On the bottom of one memorandum reporting those findings, Hoover scrawled a blue ink note in his distinctive handwriting and colorful language,

King is a tomcat with degenerate sexual urges. But DeLoach's job was complicated in late 1964 when his boss's anger at King boiled over in public. On November 18, 1964, Hoover held a press conference with 18 members of the Women's National Press Club. Hoover rarely met with the press in any uncontrolled format. From time to time, though, he would meet with friendly reporters in carefully scripted and controlled meetings typically held at the director's office. DeLoach was surprised then when Hoover agreed to meet with the women reporters. DeLoach's staff spent days before the meeting generating dozens of pages of briefing materials for Hoover.

The materials included updated crime statistics, information about the current most wanted criminals, and other FBI boilerplate. It was DeLoach's attempt to keep Hoover on message, but this was typically difficult given the director's mercurial nature and self-righteousness. DeLoach would later write in his memoirs, We knew briefing session meant a monologue by the director in which he would give them a history of the agency and highlights of current policy. DeLoach was only partially right.

Hoover kicked off the press briefing with a long speech, covering highlights of FBI history beginning with his early days as director. As eyes began to glaze over, Hoover sensed he was losing the audience and apparently decided to give them something more newsworthy, launching into a blistering takedown of King. Concerned about the political fallout of such a tirade, Deloach passed Hoover notes three times, urging him to take the briefing off the record. Hoover ignored the notes and continued his attack. He knocked King for his claim that the FBI wasn't interested

in protecting civil rights offenses in the South. And Hoover concluded his rant with the line that would lead news stories that afternoon and the next morning. He said, In my opinion, Dr. Martin Luther King is the most notorious liar in the country. As Hoover concluded, the reporters dashed from the room notorious liar in the country. As Hoover concluded, the reporters dashed from the room to call in their stories. The next day, New York Times editors published an editorial headlined, Time to Retire, questioning Johnson's decision to waive

Hoover's mandatory retirement. But even in the wake of widespread criticism, Hoover redoubled his efforts to undermine King. Hoover ordered DeLoach to meet with Newsweek editor Ben Bradley in November 1964, offering copies of the FBI's microphone surveillance transcripts of King's hotel rooms. DeLoach was told to push hard, since Hoover saw the transcripts as compelling evidence supporting his criticism of King. The transcripts, of course, included King's liaisons with various women. The same information was offered to Los Angeles Times Washington bureau chief David Kraslow, with a further transcript describing an alleged orgy in King's room.

Chicago Daily News reporter James McCartney was shown FBI photos of King leaving a motel with a white woman, implying that he had a rendezvous with her, too. None of the reporters accepted the material, but they also failed to report that the FBI was shopping around derogatory stories about King. When these efforts to entice the press failed, Hoover attempted to blackmail King directly. When he learned in 1964 that King would accept the Nobel Peace Prize that December, Hoover and the FBI Assistant Director William Sullivan crossed yet another ethical line. In late November, Hoover and Sullivan wrote an anonymous letter

and mailed it to King's wife, Coretta Scott King. Enclosed with the letter was a graphic audio tape of King committing adultery, along with a transcript of the tape. There was no indication that the FBI was the source of the letter, tape, or transcript. The letter itself referred to King as a colossal fraud and an evil, vicious one at that, adding, like all frauds, your end is approaching. It closed with a blackmail threat. The tape would be released to the press if King did not take

action. The letter went on to imply that the action King should take was to commit suicide. The letter read, The American public, the church organizations that have been helping, will know you for who you are, an evil, abnormal beast. So will others who have backed you. You are done. King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is. You are done. There is but one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal, fraudulent self is bared to the nation. King ignored the letter. He would continue his civil rights work for another three years until his assassination in Memphis, and Hoover survived the fracas surrounding his press conference characterization of King. COINTELPRO continued and expanded in the mid-60s. The Bureau still had one more

secret weapon waiting to be deployed in the battle against the so-called Fifth Column. In November 1991, media tycoon Robert Maxwell mysteriously vanished from his luxury yacht in the Canary Islands. But it wasn't just his body that would come to the surface in the days that followed. It soon emerged that Robert's business was on the brink of collapse, and behind his facade of wealth and success was a litany of bad investments, mounting debt, and multi-million dollar fraud. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show Business Movers. We tell the true stories of business leaders who risked it all,

the critical moments that define their journey and the ideas that transform the way we live our lives. In our latest series, a young refugee fleeing the Nazis arrives in Britain determined to make something of his life. Taking the name Robert Maxwell, he builds a publishing and newspaper empire that spans the globe.

But ambition eventually curdles into desperation, and Robert's determination to succeed turns into a willingness to do anything to get ahead. Follow Business Movers wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10

that would still avert it. It just happens to all of them. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse

and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. In 1958, ACLU co-founder Morris Ernst had urged J. Edgar Hoover to consider a Bureau-authorized television series. Ernst was not the only one pushing for such a program. Between 1955 and 1965, various entertainment executives tried more than 600 times to entice Hoover into helping make a primetime TV show. Ernst and those executives understood the appeal of stories about the FBI. They could point to the success of Don Whitehead's best-selling authorized FBI history in 1956

as evidence of the public's thirst for FBI stories, as well as the 1959 hit motion picture The FBI Story, based on Whitehead's book and starring Jimmy Stewart. Hoover was a television junkie himself. Every night he was known to park himself in front of the TV at his home in northwest Washington, D.C. He was especially fond of westerns like Bonanza and considered himself something of an expert in the potential of televised drama. In response to one request from a media company in 1953, Hoover scrawled a note on a memorandum noting that, "...there are being done now some excellent TV crime series, such as Dragnet and Treasurymen, in action." But it was Warner Brothers founder and entertainment industry

pioneer Jack Warner who finally convinced Hoover to collaborate on a television series. As with most FBI media collaborations, however, Hoover demanded total control over all aspects of the program. The FBI would write some scripts, but approve all of them. The Bureau would have an agent on set to ensure that FBI policies were not violated by any action in the series. The Bureau would investigate and approve all actors, directors, writers, and crew members who worked on the series. And the FBI would even have final say over what companies advertised during the program. The FBI premiered on the American Broadcasting Company on Sunday night, December 12, 1965. The FBI.

A QM Production. The FBI spent thousands of man hours investigating everyone involved in the production, and the crime records section was responsible for providing abstracted cases, editing and rewriting scripts, supervising the team at Quinn Martin Productions, who was hired to create the series, and above all, maintaining control. Imagine it's August 15th, 1965. You're an FBI agent assigned to work with Quinn Martin, the producer hired by Warner Brothers to create the FBI television series. The two of you are meeting in a bungalow on the Warner Brothers studio lot in Burbank.

And what have you brought for me today? You pull out a.38 caliber revolver from your pocket and set it on Martin's desk. What's this? It's an FBI service revolver. Our laboratory disabled it. When the director viewed the dailies, he didn't think the prop gun you were using looked realistic. Oh, well, wonderful. Thank you. But, um, may I ask about the script review?

Yeah, the director won't sign off on the scripts. Too many killings. He does not want a sensational show. Oh. All right. I'll ask the writers to minimize violence. But do we have any clearances for the actors we discussed? You hand over documents from a folder in your lap. Martin shuffles through them. We approve Robert Duvall, Tom Bosley, and Sharon Tate. We do not approve Betty Davis or Nancy Sinatra. May I ask why? You may ask. For Sinatra, her father's organized crime affiliations and philandering are a problem. And as you know, with Davis, there were allegations she murdered her husband. But unproven in both cases. Nevertheless, we cannot approve them. Helen

Hayes? Approved, despite her past membership in the National Council for American-Soviet Friendship. Hmm. What's this about Robert Blake? We haven't attempted to contract with him. We are preemptively banning Blake because he was quoted in a news story sympathizing with criminals, so he cannot ever appear in the series. Hmm. Okay. Anything else? Yes, we have a list of acceptable sponsors, but we will provide that to Warner Brothers and ABC. Anything I should be aware of? Colgate-Palmolive is out. Mr. Hoover objects to ads about toilet items and mouthwash. No alcohol or tobacco either, of course. Ford is acceptable. Alcoa is acceptable. I understand. And one more thing. Mr. Hoover would like Ephraim Zimbalist Jr. to come to Washington next week. Our schedule's pretty

tight. He's the lead actor. Mr. Hoover picked him. Yes, Mr. Hoover thinks it's important that Mr. Zimbalist understand the Bureau from the inside. Mr. Hoover referred to it as indoctrination into the Bureau's approach. Well, I'll see what I can do. Have his agent contact my office for instructions. You stand and shake Mr. Martin's hand. He gives you a tight smile. You can tell he's frustrated, but he's smart enough to keep it in check.

There's no profit in pitching a fit. And, well, you're used to people complying with your requests. After 30 years, your boss has managed to make his agency the focus of public fascination. You'd be lying if you said you didn't revel in the power. The FBI show was a hit, garnering top ratings throughout its 241-episode run on ABC. With so much money involved, though, relations between Martin and Hoover deteriorated badly over time. Martin was an experienced producer with hits like The Fugitive and 12 O'Clock High on his resume. Hoover was an American icon, accustomed to getting his way. Tensions started when the Bureau's intrusive investigation of actors, directors, and crew

members made news in late 1965. Jack Gould, the New York Times entertainment critic, reported that the Screen Actors Guild was raising concerns about the FBI blacklisting actors from the show. Hoover wrote to his crime records chief, We most certainly will check out any person connected with the show, irrespective of Gould's peevishness or Screen Actors Guild's sensitivity. Hoover directed his crime records division to plant an article with a friendly journalist countering the Gould piece. Within a few weeks, the New York Daily News ran a piece quoting the star of the FBI, Ephraim Zimbalist Jr. Zimbalist told the paper that,

It seems perfectly logical that the FBI, one of whose duties is to be involved with subversives and the activities of communists, would not want to be portrayed by one. Most of the difficulties surrounding the series, though, involve disagreements about the amount of violence in scripts. Just ten episodes into the series, Hoover wrote a memorandum to his crime record section staff requesting information on violence in the series. Tell me how many have been killed in the first ten scripts.

Crime records agent Milton Jones reported that there were 10 killings in the first 10 scripts, five by FBI agents and five by criminals. There are entirely too many killings in our TV scripts, associate director Tolson wrote to his agent on set. Please see that this kind of violence for violence sake is corrected. And by 1968, Hoover and Tolson weren't the only ones concerned by on-screen violence. On June 17th of that year, a New York Times article highlighted a group of Hollywood producers, directors, and actors who pledged to stop participating in violent television productions

in reaction to a growing grassroots movement against violence on television. Hoover may have agreed with the sentiments of the movement, but he saw jeopardy for the Bureau if there was a public pushback against shows like The FBI. Within weeks, Hoover wrote to Warner Brothers and ABC pledging to end the FBI's cooperation with the program if violence was not curtailed. The November 10, 1969 episode entitled Blood Tie included the last three killings to appear on the show,

which continued airing through 1974. The end of violence did not end the controversy, though. Reporters began questioning whether it was appropriate for the FBI to use taxpayer dollars to support a for-profit television series. Responding to a reporter's question about that, Hoover simply lied, saying, We do not have any FBI personnel who are assigned solely to assist in the production of the series. But throughout the nine-year run, two agents were assigned to the production full-time, and dozens of other agents contributed thousands of man-hours of support, reviewing, editing, and even writing scripts for the show.

The financial agreement behind the production also became the source of controversy. Warner Brothers paid $75,000 for the rights to Hoover's ghostwritten book, Masters of Deceit, and $500 for each episode produced. That money was deposited by something called the FBI Recreation Association. It was later discovered that the account was little more than a slush fund under the control of Hoover and his associate director Clyde Tolson. The FBI television series was the ultimate expression of Hoover's more than three decades of public relations campaigns. Millions of Americans were treated to a weekly display of FBI efficiency and innovation in crime

fighting. The programs dealt with old-fashioned crimes like theft, bank robbery, and embezzlement. The Bureau's other focus, co-intel pro and domestic spying on Americans, was never mentioned. By the late 1960s, though, Hoover's total control over the FBI's public image began to falter. His health began to fail, which loosened his grip on the agency's operations, and he became increasingly paranoid, forcing out his most capable lieutenants like DeLoach and Sullivan. Meanwhile, the Bureau's critics grew in number and became more vocal. As American culture shifted and a post-World War II generation came of age, the elderly Hoover and his unchanging agency did not adapt its message.

The decline of the FBI had begun, ironically, at the same time of the rise of its greatest public relations triumph, the television series. The next seven years of Hoover's life would be the most tumultuous years in FBI history. Next time on American History Tellers, revelations about the FBI's illegal COINTELPRO operations spark some of the harshest criticism of the Bureau yet, and Hoover's nearly 50-year reign as director comes to a sudden end. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free

on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. From Wondery, this is American History Tellers. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening on a smartphone, tap or swipe over the cover art of this podcast. You'll find the episode notes, including some details you may have missed. You can also find us and me on Twitter and Facebook. Follow the show at A.H. Tellers, and I'm at Lindsey A. Graham. And thank you. American History Tellers is hosted,

edited, and produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Sound design by Derek Behrens. This episode is written by Matthew Cecil, edited by Audrey Dilling, edited and produced by Jenny Lauer Beckman. Our executive producer is Marshall Louis, created by Hernán Ló Lopez for Wondery. the inexplicable things that happened in my childhood bedroom. When I tried to find out more, I discovered that someone who slept in my room after me, someone I'd never met, was visited by the ghost of a faceless woman. So I started digging into the murder in my wife's family, and I unearthed family secrets nobody could have imagined. Ghost Story won Best Documentary Podcast at the 2024 Ambees and is a Best True Crime nominee at the British Podcast Awards 2024. Ghost Story is now the first ever Apple Podcast Series Essential. Each month, Apple Podcast editors spotlight one series that has captivated listeners with masterful storytelling,

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