i i0 ry (at lard By JEREMIAH O'LEARY SG. Stat Weatar . Edgar Hoover that wiretap- . oiartin Luther Kinz’s telepsone was proposed by then Atty. Gen. Robert F. | Kennedy ta FBI officia’s in By ay tee rare and eanigd out with + wee, it - Larry weet hye the gees ee awe d Ricancdy imutlated the idea for fe tap in a conversation with tney Evans, then assistant etror of ie PBI und Nalson iy buen the acescy and ms Yastice Departraent, Hoover nad The NY wal today, ~ " + Memorandum Cited Hoover said the FBI has a memorandum in its files from Evans to Hoover, dated in June, 1983. Evans reported that Ken- reey said he was concerned ebeut allegations that King was a stucent and bellever in Mars- ism. Kennedy, according to the Evans memorandum, expressed concern that Marxism might in- filtrate the race issue in the United Stares becutse of King’s leadership of Negroes through his Southern Christian Leeder- Shin Conference, Evans reported in the memo to the FBI director, Hoover said, that the attarney general as alarmed by alleged assaci- ations belween King and a New York er with Marxist connec: K .- 2 Lond vas tle tw ire N ey oot “” eo * € Goer Ys om a1 62 woe pe tant pt ats rea OT FD! Js 4 es eee ne rs wes ~ nm oe, in man ald | Rerre dy jin instatling such “devices in the ‘ease of the Negro leader be- ‘cause he was a man who was ‘ali. st constancy trave: Heever told The Star that ‘th FRI < wlan tety Renny de at “te ‘time ik ‘ advisabiity of un vertaki ng the ‘electronic cwyeLance eee se Gf pocsive: Putical repercus- ‘sions. . wht _ DeLoach ° Mohr Bishop Casper Callahon —-————S—>" Conrad Felt Gale Rosen Sullivan Tavel Trotter Tele. Room Holmes Gandy a) JERS ea Meattaed y a’ ON ey Ty AL! i x The Washington Post Times Herald The Washington Daily News The Evening Star (Washington) Ac The Sunday Star (Washington) Daily News (New York) Sunday News (New York) New York Post Tre New York Tires The The The New Leader Ww Tre wet eae Sun /Balumore) Warner weet Pootr os. Vee Not oma ef oma © ners VEL eae oe aos Peupie’s Wid - Date 2 7" GF i ae bee HW S5057 Docld: 32985551 Page 236 : - ~
tte "AR | On October 7, 193, however, ‘fallow. ng subsequent_ciscussions Nu E@er said” he sent. a memo- ¥ antert ole aio Ry General Sy iy whieh he reper ted that it.was ble to apply Bow tv whic ally 10d | telenkene ire “taps te King’s / J EAE BS GE SOLA! decd EU LCES, Meal, Ga and “al” “al tine, LSE York om : SS re This was, in efect, a , vo rceest for authorization fo pro- [ seed, the ditector said. -.., pated October, 1963 {That Ioover memorandum bears the signature of “Robert FB, Kennady” in the lower left- Phar corner over the hand. ee oo ayes Hoover “made the “bombshell disclosure todey as the climax io a long series of charges and reounter-charses involving Jus- itice Devartment ofticiels, the Rp BI and Star columnist Carl Pa n over the manner in ye 4 the conversations of King [dere intercepted and tgped by jsoe Bureau. | Rowen charged in a column ‘Sunday that the FBI had no authority to wiretap or bug Dr, Tine's conversations and quoted former Attorney General Ram- ‘sey Clank as soning “the ims iplieation that peonte thought Dr, -King wes a security threat is outraccous.’ | The folowing day, Associafe FBI Vireetor Cisde A. Toisoa fisrote a letter to Rowan in fohieh he stated that the cieial ie ‘iretanuing on Kink had the ad- "vance approval of Kanssne. comeremacamernert, WW 55097 Docld: 32389551 Page 237 > ~ Uy AW i a8 owe 4 : ‘ wot, ner, if r we ag . ~ 75, “8 . s , eet roy ys te Ae on awe s SEN. ROBERT F. KENNEDY Ge te mene mena 948% e € vtvinatontuienl “ ~ é x Ye Ah A Solent wa MO rong } : ; * . ‘ i . . 2 3 > * bom ee ha bova ed cA . J. EDGAR HOOVER . h ¥ i 2 . ‘ Poot. i . i i ‘ 3 i a 2 ea aa Le an * MARTIN PUaTCR KING
' (Copyright 1969 by The Evening Star Nessspaper Co.) By JEREMIAMI O'LEARY Stor Staff Writer Wiretepring of Dr. Martin Lu- ther King dr.’s telephone was proposed to the FBI by then AG torney General Robert F. Ken- nedy in June, 193, and auther- ized by him in writing later that year, FBI Director J. Edgar :|Hoover told The Star teday. ‘| Hoover revealed the contents of two memorandums in one of which Kennedy expressed con- Jeern about ressible infiltration of the race issue by Marxists and spoke of aegations that the ciated with Marxist ideas and > followers. That memorandum to Hoover, dated June, 1253, was written by [Courtney Evans, then assistant Girector of the FBI and liaison man with the Justice Depart- ment. It reported the substance of a conversation Evans had just had with Kennedy in which the Attorney General asked about the feasibility cf installing elec- tronic Gevices on King’s tele- phones, Eing headed the South- etn Cirislien Leadership Con- ference. * (NW S50S7 ~Docld: 3g989551 * Page 230s, ‘ v SN" “a , ce) ~ A. > =I SVR WON FA Ll CD CAN Y Gah He a WY SS 1s ste, * ” . -|Negro leader was.closely asso-_ sigh hac Ap PATAW OTAGO wrbanensomnennigeomaiaaunaaah qt eaters Sone A TWNUTON RE RET#NNT . oF : “ > 5 x s * 2 ae oa Speteln eee ens ee 4 ¥ fee pe lg MLN OLDDINENNULY ARIAL EL MEY WV NDENN LE s « Sea coon b zi a? -_ ‘ . ~ ° : ‘ a “ elapealsdeidany ited Wibst te etsih cater snS rate hadith ordain 04 MARTIN LLTHER KING The Evening Star Washington, D.C. . June 19, 1969 Page 1 ote 2 ag . ‘ VU gether ma a mengnemeg 4 wee ree? xy sy Me ey a ee a = - x ‘ oh 4 ‘ . ‘ 2 | Ver aD eer ere Or a J. EDGAR
NW 55097 —Docld: 32489551 | - Kemnedy, according ta the * ans nemo, wes concer: 2 reports that King was a .*ggme of Marxism, that he was . ciating with ‘a New York attor- ney with known Communist counectious, but that he did not openiy cspouse Marxism be- cause of his religious beliefs., The Evans memorandum indi-} eated Kennedy wanted to know. {if it was technically feasible to use electronic devices to prove! or- disprove these allegations, i The Ievans memo said Evans replied to Kennedy that King was a man who traveled ¢ almost constantly and that it was ex- tremely difficult to use wiretaps effectively in such cases. Hoover told The Star that FEI officials also informed Kennedy at that time that they doubted the advisability of undertating electronie surveillance of Dr, King because of possible polit- ical repercussicns. However, the second memo- randum cited by Hoover shows that on October 7, 1963, the FBI chief reported to Kennedy that it was then technically feasible to apply Wiretaps to King’s pele- phones al two places, one of the at an unnamed location in New York, That memorandum constituted the FBI's request for authority See WIRETAP, Pago A-6 : King Wire che. REI Fis. ‘Idea, rioover Says . Continued From Page’ aap Friends -of Robert Kennedz to proceed with the wiretap pro-}had suggested in recent days posed by Kennedy four months |that, during 1934, in the period before. The document bears in|after the assassination of Presi- the lower left-hand corner the|dent John I. Kennedy, the at- signature, “Robert F. Kenne-|forney general’s interest in dy,” and under the name the}/Some of his official affairs had date 10-10-63.” flagged.- However, the assassi- Hoover did not indicate to The [nation came nearly six weeks Star when the surveillance was|@fter Robert Kennedy signed the started but said the taps were authorization for the King wire- discontinued on April 30, 1965. At} '@P. that time Nicholas Kaizenbach|, Hoover and Kénnedy, after the|- was serving as Attorney Gener-| latter became a New York sena- . tor, accused each other of being al. 5 Asked about the results of the| Crophones in investigations. electronic surveillance today, Evans figured in that contro- Ay 3 oOo Hoover declined comment, versy when Kennedy made pub- see FBI director told Theliic a February, 1985, letter to Star: “I have never authorized] him from Evans which made the installation of technical electron- peint that the use of hidden mi- th devices Without written aU-/ crophones was not Kennedy's re- ie of the Attorney Gener-| sponsibility but suggested he a may have directly approv ed the} Today’s disclosures climaxed'use of wiretaps on phones. That! a long smoldering controversy etter said the FBI sent na “onal over the role of the FBI, a sub-|security wiretap requests to, ordinate bureau of the ‘Justice Kennedy for eporoval. Department, in using wiretaps! It is reliebly reported that or other electronic devices in!Keunedy was reminded by th investigative matters. The mat-’ FBI that it still had in its fil ter came to a head Sunday when‘ the avtlorizations sign ned py him! Carl Rowan, a columnist for Tha'as Attorney General for teie-: Star, charged that the Fpi had phonic wiretaps. However, Hs no authority to wiretap Dr.:ver dct not cisclose at that im King’s coaversation 13. He quoted any names of persons und former Altierney Gezeral ‘Rem- wiretap surveiliance with Ken- sey Clark, who. succeeded Kat-, nedy's approval. zenbach, as Saying “the imapiica-t At that siage, Kennedy and: tion that people thouzht Dr.:Hoover broke ‘off the public ex-! King was a security threat is'change of charges as if by mu- outrageous.” itual consent. This was regarded { The Rowan charges promoted partly as due te Kennedy's reali- Associate FBI Director Ciyde A. zation that his signed authoriza- Tolson to write to Rewan eariv tions were still in FLI files, this week defending legality of partly to the FBI's desire not to’ the King wiretaps. jhave special attention crawn to; “For your information,” Tol-.its investigative techniques nor son said in his letter, ‘the wire-‘to encage in a hate vith the tap on Martin Luther King Jr. Kenney forces that could Thave| was specifically approved in ead- poltucal overtones. vance in wrding by the late at The Justice Department on: torney general of the Un.ted Tuesday declined a direct an- States, Mr. Robert FL F< y. | Tolson added that the monter-; - ing device was ‘strictly in the field of internal security aad, therefore was within the ‘provi! sion laid down by the President of the United States.” Evans, now a Washington law- yer, was en route to Puerto Rico today and could not be reached; for comment. However, Tresday night Evans said he had no rec- oliection of whether a wiretap authorization directed at King had ever been invelved in his Ciscussion vith Kennedy, Aides to Sen. Edward M. Ken- nedy, D-Mass., said today he would have no comment on Hooyver’s disclosure, Les ge Loa oad 9 & rs oO ~ ee Page 209 sy | nF Sept ttarereyperer nae BE rerriete darker ane renenmenebwanssancontanak