Official and Confidential_ The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover - Anthony Summers [251]
10. Discussed in the chapter that follows.
11. See Chapter 8. Gordon Novel, quoted in Chapter 23 as saying he was shown compromising photographs of Hoover by a senior CIA official, also claimed to have had a conversation on the subject years later with Marcello. According to Novel – who, as reported, is a highly controversial figure – Marcello said he too had been shown such a picture – in the course of contacts with those involved in the joint CIAMafia plots to kill Fidel Castro in the early sixties. Marcello said other top Mafia bosses had long since had access to the smear material, and had used it to keep Hoover’s FBI at bay. (Int. Gordon Novel, 1992.)
Chapter 30
1. There were subplots to the Jenkins affair. President Johnson was principally concerned that it would lead to the discovery of his affair with the wife of one of his aides, who regularly joined him at social occasions with a homosexual companion as ‘beard.’ In 1964, several Washington officials received copies of what purported to be a compromising letter from Edgar to Jenkins. Edgar responded by having Senator Bourke Hickenlooper denounce the letter as part of a ‘Communist smear campaign.’ Agents who investigated the letter dubbed their probe REPULSE – for ‘Russian Efforts to Publish Unsavory Love Secrets of Edgar.’ (Evans to Belmont, Oct. 17, DeLoach to Mohr, Oct. 30, 1964, FBI 94–4–3830, int. Robert Baker, 1990, [Hickenlooper] H/Hickenlooper corr., Jan. 1966, Hickenlooper Papers, HHL, CR, Jan. 17, 1966, p. 367, NYT, Jan. 15, 1966, [dubbed] Trenton, NJ, Times, Mar. 13, 1980.)
Chapter 31
1. While he reacted viscerally against those who promoted racial equality, Hoover did not seek to promote the interests of white supremacists. On the contrary, the Bureau clamped down effectively on the Ku Klux Klan early in his career and – most notably – in the mid-sixties. (P, pp. 140ff, 373ff, 407ff, Athan Theoharis, Secret Files, p. 129, int. Neil Welch, 1988.)
2. See Chapter 28. In fact, Robert Kennedy granted wiretap permission only subject to review within thirty days. There was no review until 1965, because the assassination of President Kennedy, on November 22, 1963, put Robert virtually out of action for months. Hoover quietly ignored the condition Kennedy had set, and the King wiretapping went on and on. (Athan Theoharis, Secret Files, p. 99.)
3. FBI records show that Dr King once discussed Rustin’s homosexuality with a colleague, in a warning way. The original FBI surveillance material remained sealed at the National Archives until 2027, and only then will historians learn what it reveals about King’s sex life. (Parting the Waters, by Taylor Branch, NY, Simon & Schuster, 1988, p. 861.)
4. Joseph Woods, the former agent named by Royko, said in 1968 that the reporter might be ‘mixed up.’ As a serving agent, Woods had been one of those who supplied Hoover with sex information on politicians. (Int. Woods, 1988, and see Chapter 19.)
5. Although Sullivan’s attempt to minimize his role was selfserving, former Assistant Directors Courtney Evans and Charles Bates totally rejected the notion that he might have sent the tape without Hoover’s approval. Sullivan’s longtime secretary, Ann Barniker, said the entire anti-King operation was ‘Mr Hoover’s thing.’ (Ints. Evans, Bates, Lish Whitsun, Nate Ferris, Ray Wannall, John McGrail, Larry Cohen, Bill Brown, Nicholas Horrock, 1988, Ann Barniker, 1990, S, p. 142, SRIA, p. 160, GF, p. 161, and David Garrow notes of Charles Brennan int.)
6. While Ray’s claims received little credence, students of the case have cited leads indicating that Ray had contacts