What has become of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover created? (For those of you who know a little about history, this is an attempt at humor!) Hoover was appointed head of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924, which was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935.
Along the way, Hoover created an agency which became a trusted name in American politics. He wanted the agency to be manned (it took awhile to have women agents) by square-jawed, heroic looking figures in his bureau. Hoover insisted that all his agents be fearless, incorruptible, fighting crime in America. Under his watch, the FBI became the premier law enforcement entity in the country.
The FBI was the beneficiary of great public relations. In the 1930s, the Bureau was given the job of fighting the lawless elements in the nation. Well publicized takedowns of people like John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Ma Barker and her family caught the public’s attention and admiration. Hoover also coined the term, “Most Wanted,” and had the infamous “Ten Most Wanted List”. Many of us remember the mug shots of these as we used the Post Offices where they were posted.
Hoover fostered this image by his skillful use of the media. In 1935, Jimmy Cagney starred in the movie, G-Men, glorifying the FBI. Among other cinema praise of the Bureau was the 1952 flick, North East on Beacon, with George Murphy chasing communist spies in Boston. In 1959, Jimmy Stewart led the cast of The FBI Story, another movie which depicted the agents as “fearless and incorruptible”, with the Bureau, like the Canadian Mounties, “always getting their man”. In each of these and other media portrayals of the minions for Hoover’s agency, J. Edgar made sure the script did not waver from the heroic picture he wanted for the FBI.
Television brought more accolades for the Bureau. A takeoff on the 1959 movie was also titled The FBI Story, a 1960s series starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Many of us of a certain age would not miss an episode of this fact-based series. Later, The FBI Files ran from 1998-2005, again with the theme of the brave men and women of the Bureau catching criminals and putting them behind bars. A long running TV show, Criminal Minds, still is in production and has been since 2005.
Other books and movies and TV shows have had the same theme of praising the work and sacrifices of the FBI’s agents. The public’s continuing high regard for the Bureau is, in large part, due to this constant portrayal of the agents who are part of the FBI.
Lately, after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, some in the media have been unhappy with those who have criticized the FBI’s actions surrounding that horrific event. How dare anyone smear such good people with charges and innuendos of less than heroic efforts to guard the public’s safety, they say.
By far, most of the 35,000 FBI agents are honest, trustworthy, hardworking individuals who do their job well, and many times without the thanks of the public they serve. Yet — too many times over the history of the Bureau this reputation has been tarnished by those who have not upheld the high standards set for it, the standards we expect it to meet.
Hoover himself was looked upon as not quite the paragon of virtue he liked to claim to be. He was the top man at the FBI (and its predecessor) for 48 years, and amassed an amazing amount of files, which many believe he used to blackmail his political enemies. It is known that he kept files on notables like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Presidents were loath to fire him because of what he knew about them. Beginning with Harry Truman, who said that “all congressmen and senators were afraid of him” to his last boss, Richard Nixon, who claimed he would like to fire Hoover but was afraid of reprisals against him, Hoover was seen as above the law.
In 1979, a Congressional committee claimed that Hoover and the FBI did not do its usual good job of investigating the Kennedy assassination, supposedly not wanting to uncover any kind of conspiracy. To get a better look at Hoover’s Bureau, the book The FBI Nobody Knows, by Fred Cook, is an eye-opener. Written in 1965, it details the uses and abuses of the FBI under Hoover, who was still alive when it was published. He was not happy with it, to put it mildly. (If you are so inclined, a new paperback edition only costs $199.95 from Amazon!)
Aside from its legendary leader, the FBI has been embroiled in some very unsavory episodes in its more recent history. One of the most infamous was the Ruby Ridge, Idaho, standoff in late August of 1992. Federal agents, mostly from the FBI, were involved in a dispute with Randy Weaver, a survivalist and attendee at Aryan Nations meetings, over firearms possession. Ignoring a warrant, the agents surrounded the Weaver homestead, finally opening fire in an attempt to bring Weaver to justice. Weaver’s 14-year old son, Sammy, was killed and Vikki Weaver, Randy’s wife was slain by an FBI sniper. A federal agent was also killed in the firefight. In the aftermath, none involved were convicted of the deaths, but the Weavers received over three million dollars in damages, awarded by a civilian court. This was a black eye for the Bureau.
Just eight months later, the FBI was involved in another standoff, this one near Waco, Texas, and involved a religious cult known as the Branch Davidians. Again, the issue was the acquiring of weapons prohibited by law. David Koresh, the leader of the compound, refused to consent to the demands of the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) and a siege was instituted. Fighting broke out, with four federal agents killed. Finally, on April 19, 1993, the FBI, which had led in the negotiations, ran out of patience and led a raid to breach the compound. (Then President Bill Clinton had advised against immediate action, wanting more negotiations to take place, but Attorney General Janet Reno, claiming the FBI insisted on force, did not take his advice.)
The ensuing action ended when the Branch Davidians set fire to the compound, killing about 80 of the members of the cult, including many children. Once again, the FBI and the ATF did not come out with their reputation enhanced.
Later in that decade came the FBI’s bungling of the investigation of the bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. A bomb exploded on July 27, killing a 44-year-old woman, Alice Hawthorne. One of the first on the scene was a security guard, Richard Jewell. His actions were rewarded by the FBI by becoming the chief suspect in the bombing, although no forensic evidence was found tying him to the act. But, he fit the “profile” and was investigated relentlessly. Only when the actual perpetrator was discovered was Jewell dropped from the FBI radar. (That man, Eric Rudolph, caught after a long manhunt, pleaded guilty to the murder.) But Jewell’s life was in tatters, his reputation gone. He sued for damages from several news organizations, won damages, and eventually got an acknowledgment from the Bureau of his innocence.
Another blow to the FBI’s squeaky clean image came in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Anthrax, a deadly poison, was sent through the mail just a week later, on the 18th, and caused several deaths. Quickly the FBI zeroed in on Stephen Hatfill, a scientist with a good reputation, as the one who had done the evil deed. Doing its usual “thorough” investigation, the FBI dug into Hatfill’s past, and he lost his job and reputation, all before the actual killer was identified. Before the episode was put to rest, Hatfill received over five million dollars from the FBI for their “malicious” pursuit of an innocent man. Even with exoneration and a hit to their reputation again, the FBI would not publicly admit to doing a poor job in pursuit of Hatfill; the FBI director, Robert Mueller, would not acknowledge any wrongdoing by the Bureau. (Yes, the same Mueller who is now investigating Russian “collusion” with the Trump campaign during the 2016 election — gives you a great deal of confidence in his competence.)
Much more recently, the FBI has been criticized for its role in the investigation into the supposed Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s campaign in the 2016 election. They have been on the job since July 2016, and have come up with no evidence of such meddling. And this is our top, elite crime solving organization? Add to that the refusal by the Bureau to supply Congressional oversight committees with documents relating to the problems with the election and we see that perhaps the leadership of the FBI is not so righteous. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, is looking into the Russian connection, and his team has included Bureau members who were so nakedly (oops! a slip of the computer — two of them were actually lovers!) biased they had to be removed from the team Mueller had assembled.
Now we come to the occasion which has many on the left so upset. On February 14, seventeen students were killed in a high school in Parkland, Florida. What has been unearthed is that the FBI failed to follow-up on two occasions to intervene before that shooter began his deadly mission. In September, they were alerted to a You Tube video which indicated that a person was considering such an act, with his name attached — and no follow-up was done. On January 5, six weeks before the rampage, a tip about this young man was received by the FBI, again being specific as to the person and threat, included were a number of internet sites to see what the young man was actually saying — yet again, no following through on this.
As usual, gun control activists are going bonkers over another school shooting and demanding we limit the ownership of guns, with many wanting to confiscate the ones now in private hands in America. Yet their outrage is misplaced. Nothing would have happened on Valentine’s Day if the FBI had done the job we Americans have long felt they were capable of doing. It is not unpatriotic to criticize an institution which believes they are an elite group, and which actively promotes that view in the nation, when it fails. We should demand accountability for the failures of the “system”, which would include not only pinpointing where the system failed, but also the firing of those who did not do their job.
None of us are perfect, least of all your humble writer here. But for the vast majority of imperfect Americans, our failures only affect ourselves and those with whom we interact. But failure by the Federal Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the loss of people’s reputations and, sadly, in the loss of lives. Forget the NRA in the Parkland shootings — hold those who are really responsible to account!