July 13, 2013

Snowden, J. Edgar Hoover and Compromising Secrets

By Michael Bargo, Jr.
J. Edgar Hoover ruled the FBI for forty-eight years, and his power was so great that he also had an influence over government.  Many Beltway politicians, senators, congressional representatives, and even presidents feared J. Edgar Hoover.  This was because Hoover, as FBI director, had the power to spy on them as well as criminals wanted by the federal government. In 1956, Hoover established the so-called COINTELPRO (counter intelligence program).  This program gave him the cover, and authorization, to spy on anyone in the U.S. whom he deemed a threat to national security.  He did not need to put his investigations on public record.  At the time, those who were a threat were called "Bolsheviks," after the Russian Revolution; "communists"; and "socialists."  What these labels did was provide J. Edgar Hoover with the excuse to wiretap suspects, intercept their mail, and interrogate their friends and fellow workers, without warrant.  COINTELPRO also...(Read Full Article)