SSC LETTER 11«7~75 ITEM 2 cud. HW 55083 Docld:32989540 Page 6
Do FOE Soy ares euinun ——- . — a Tq ( _ = ~-35A GEN. REG. NO. 27 « E" Tos UNITED STATES GC NMENT d ‘Memorand#n : ® s \Jro : Mr, Belmont DATE: oa ~ £, « ASL INFORMATION courts PRP : a ee “EROM : C, A. Evans HEREIN IS CLASSIFIED mt ok c Hblnes : DATE ) 2 BY SP ) EUR Shear “pe SUBJECT: DR. MARTIN LUTEER KING, JR. Gi ibe one INFORMATION CONCERNING : a Reference is made to Mr. DeLoach's memorandum of 2-5-64 ae in which he reported a conversation he had had with Ed Guthman of > “the Department concerning letters to members of Congress dealing * With Martin Luther King, In this connection the Director has inquired as to my activities with regard to clearance of such ? communications, The only letter which I had anything to do with clear- ing was one from the Attorney General to Senator Richard B. Russell dated 11-1-63, The circumstances Surrounding this are as follows: Shortiy after noon on 11-1-63 Assistant Attorney General (ij4G) Marshall furnished to me the Department's file of correspondence with Senator Russell concerning the association of King with Hunter Pitts O'Dell. A proposed letter to Senator Russell for the Attorney General's (AG) signature dated 11-1-63 was attached. Marshall said he and the AG had discussed the proposed letter with the President. Marshall asked us to con- Sider the language in the proposed letter to Senator Russell to determine if it would jeopardize our informant or otherwise interfere with our investigation of communist matters. ow s. WALEDIN 4 Pe. YG - Tay Verte neenntrenenennete cure SONALI AERIS AED seclentmmmantatemytintdmmnneennreeasiit 5 hemmiRs “inmtateteietne tte hod Pe tee AOMORI T HSE ETE tet pce whiney (mun = OUT m BLU TPE  SENETINTUY SUITS COT IRIN PIER AAT Soe IPOM RET: EROTIC STERNER API AT Res cr TN Since time was of the essence I took the proposed letter > to Mr. Belmont's office and discussed it with him, We concluded o that there were definite objections to the letter as it was written as it specifically referred to sensitive sources available to the ¢ FBI. A memorandum was prepared recommending changes in the letter. (This memorandum is attached,) f i f \ After the Director's approval had been secured, Marshall was.recontacted and the undesirable language discussed with hin, He Said he could see our point but since the letter had been dis- cusséd-with the President he thought we should go up together to Ene. oom 2 a way. went, Mohr we stg. / Stn oA mee : yas T - Mr. DeLoach a De L- Mr, w. C. Sullivan —_ @ MAR 31984 sop Se, 5 } a ° ‘ . Tae - RTT bbe “HEC COPY t'4 oo, | ) Gab:taar 14 Perea i cenrenmengs ac peacameied oe — i y, al 4 ew 24 ‘2 é . be at ZA 7 , ap ONY “engl MA ble Foes MAP R5 Ehis-tlo u entis prepared in respons 83.8 agoR Splat and is not of a oe rate ovtgite Yor rm Cominé! ‘tee, De peerte C~ LED GIGEGES reeditas by _. vew Conmilre oil the conter se fot t be discll vole 46d PCrSoil-~ ; “ad without the ‘express coproval of thé FBI. HW 55083 Docld:32969540 Page * ‘
| Memorandum to Mr. Belimont RE: DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. See the AG about it. We did this. After the AG read the letter as changed he said he was not certain it would accomplish its purpose. He called the President and told him what had happened. Marshall and the AG tried to redraft a letter which would be in line with our observations, #ach draft after written was dis- cussed with the Fresident telephonically by the AG and none of the drafts were satisfactory to the Fresident. He thereafter decided that an innocuous letter saying nothing of substance Should be sent to Senator Russell which letter should be delivered by AAG Marshall and me. At the time the letter was delivered the Senator was to be furnished orally by Marshall with detailed information as to Martin Luther King's activities. I was merely to assure the Senator as to the sensitive position of our informant and tne fact that information from this informant of a continuing {mature was vital to tre country's welfare. After the 4G had left the city Deputy AG Katzenbach was substituted for Burke Marshall as Matzenbach knew tue Senator, an appointment to see the Senator was made for 5:00 p.m., 11-1-63. At this meeting Katzenbach furnished the Senator with information concerning King and his communist connections, It was unnecessary for me to say anything at this conference other than to confirm Katzenbach's statement about the sensitiveness of our source. The Senator indicated satisfaction with the explanation given to him by Katzenbach and Said that he did not intend to make any speech on the floor of the Senate about this. On my return to the Bureau that afternoon I prepared a memorandum on this contact which is attached, WW 55083 Docld:32969540 Page @ .
., a _ os ur. Tolson ==, e Soe oo ; . — Y ate Benton . . yy @ © f- Mohr ww . ‘ , ‘ ‘ Ath. as per gh February 5, 1964 Mr. co _— MR. MOHR: Aine {be Del 7 tb 4 CO gn" oY | ys ETS uO : DR, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ie cae arom 60 abhaene, tm Te Division had written in to tip off the Bureau that Cleghorn might be in : contact with INFORMATION CONCERNING ; ts : pos - ; at $ The Atlanta Division has received information indicating Me Trotter i that a reporter by the name of Cleghorn, who writes for the Atlanta Tele. Room ; Journal and also is a free-lancer for the Saturday Evening Post, ‘Miss Holmes is doing an article for the Saturday Evening Post on Dr. Martin ‘Miss Gandy — } Luther “King, A memorandum, from Mr. Sullivan to Mr. Belmont 2 eS i dated February 4, 1964, reflected this fact inasmuch as the Atlanta!) Zef'Pna-v | H FBI Headquarters. Cleghorn apparently-has information concerning King's association not only with Hunter Pitts," Dell but additionally wT Stanley tA: ‘\ con ATE swe ate a Guthman came over to see me February 4, 1964, at 4 PM. ‘He stated E he had been tipped off by Schanke (phonetic) of the Saturday Evening Post he i ada » aes hee “ry that Cleghorn was preparing an article on Dr. Martin Luther King and that the, article would expose King's connections with the Commaunist Party. Guthman stated he was quite concerned inasmuch as it appeared there had been a leak from.the FBI in , roy) - opts connection with this matter. He told me that the Attorney General ‘had been ‘most “a hopeful that there would be no "leaks" concerning King. Guthman quickly added that her. . and the Attorney General, of course, knew that King was no good and that King actually did have communistic connections as well as the fact that King was morally bad. In a very apologetic tone of voice, Guthman added that the Attorney General's record concerning King was perfectly clean and that no exposure of King could have any reaction whatsoever against the Attorney General. a CORY FLED I told Guthman he had raised several points that should be straightened A. ;{ out. I mentioned that there had been no leaks from the FBI concerning Dr. Martin : Luther King, however, Congressmen had made speeches concerning King's background ¢ and there had been a number of articles in newspapers. I mentioned that the Attorney General's connections with King were none of our business, however, I could understands: why Guthman might be somewhat perturbed inasmuch as the Attorney General had made i ¢ CAD public statements before the Congress which indicated King had no communisti¢ av. sooo? connections, » ; “v ANe REC. 53" ENCLOSURE |. i Ube “he | i Guthman stated that he Wanted to repeat once again > that-an an éxposure '. ye i jot Kins would not hurt the Attorney General in any way. He stated his only interést, i tand the Attorney General's only interest, in keeping information.concerning Kins out E the newspapers, was because both he and the Attorney General felt that FBI sourees mictht be unduly exposed, I made no comment to this, however, certainly did not 1 jjoelieve Guthman, a ; _. 1- Mr. Belmont 1l- Mr. Sullivan Peng a2 *? area oF we * - PS ihee ty bell wee > apie 1- Mr. Evans 1- Mr. M. A. Jones , 1.0 - e CDD:eir (6 Ths floeuz apse sip prone he NON 36 Pin iy Ct test and ia a a arene ©] ) ee yi OManitilee, I's use és Pay ited ta aff? erat Wire) ‘£78 ote OMY “ alg tHe ¢ Oy gor “f ie A ee ve be a. “isclosed to Un trewliebs IE g L eT EN of . 22 EM DTES ap av. o ive FBI. ™ Ww 55083 _Docta: soonest sinert the ugress apsiou.l of the F3 3
: “> ~ f é A Ee 7 Informal Memo to Mr. Mohr i Re: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Guthman told me he had no proof whatsoever t e FBI had furnished } ° information to the newspapers concerning King. He statedthat obyiously the Department had not leaked any information inasmuch as(only four Andividuals in the Department, the Attorney General, Katzenbach, Assict torney General Miller and Guthman, were the only ones who knew of King's connections with Stanley Levinson. I told Guthman that Burke Marshall undoubtedly knew of such connections inasmuch as I believe he had talked to King. Guthman admitted this was true. two thoughtSin mind without actually stating such thoughts. These thoughts were (1) that the Attorney General is most anxious that information concerning King not be released; and (2) that the Attorney General's connections with King, and his defensive statements concerning King to the Congress in Civil Rights hearings, could certainly injure the Attorney General's political chances for the future. 7 net Ree ER Ms tn hn al dat sae a | From the tone of Guthman's entire remarks, it would appear he had epee I made it a point to tell Guthman before he left that the Department was, of course, very close to the Saturday Evening Post, particularly in view of the deliberate leaks of information to the Saturday Evening Post on the Cassini and Valachi matters. Itold Guth man that if the Saturday Evening Post had obtained ‘(information concerning King, it would appear that they might have received such information from the same sources where they had gotten their previous facts. Guthman reacted to this quite anxiously and stated all this may be true, however, under no circumstances would they give any publication the facts concerning King. In a very hurt tone of voice, he told me once again the Attorney General was not worried .tabout what an exposure of King could doto him. He stated he and the Attorney General ere ony prying e protect FBI so FBI sources of information. tnd nigh peat Following say oom my conversation with the Director at approximately 10 AM this morning, after the Director had talked with the Attorney General, I called Guthman {and told him he apparently had misquoted my conversation with him of last night. I asked Guthman if he had told the Attorney General, in quoting me, that I] had been "quite concerned about a letter the Attorney General had written in which he defended ; {Martin Luther King." I told Guthman I had not mentioned any letter in my conversation with him. Guthman replied that the Attorney General had gotten all mixed up in nis ‘{conversation with the Director. Guthman admitted I made no reference to any letter. He also admitted I had not indicated that I was "quite concerned" in referring to the Attorney General. Guthman explained the basis of the Attorney General's call to the Director by stating that he and Burke Marshall had gone over to see the Attorney General and while in his office had mentioned the information which apparently has been accumulated by the Atlanta, Georgia, reporter. In explaining to the Attorney General, Guthinan stared he tuid the Attorney Generai he had discussed this matter witn me last night and that from the tone of my remarks, Guthman understood that (1) any exposure of King might possibly jeovardize FBI sources; and (2) any exposure of Xing Fmisht react publicly against the Attorney General inasmuch as the Attorney General ORT TORRONE TT Ne Aft ~Q. WW 55083 Docld:32989540 Page 10 - ane oye we 7 ¢
ES es eo , , . i ry t Informal Memo to Mr. Mohr 2/5/64 Re: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had defended King before the Congress. I told Guthman my remarks to him had not meant to imply any potential embarrassment whatsoever to the Attorney General and that I had brought the Attorney General's name into the conversation only because of the many newspaper articles which had been written quoting the Attorney General and his defense of King. Guthman stated that the Attorney General was very fond of me, and that he and the Attorney General, though they would not be around much longer, felt their relations with my office had Beéh OF fhe Closest nature. He stated the Attorney General did not under any circumstances believe that my remarks had implied possible potential embarrassment but the Attorney General had called the Director merely to keep the record straight. Guthman referred once again to the so-called "letter" the Attorney General had written concerning King. He admitted once again this matter did not come up in our conversation last night. He stated there had been a letter, however, as a result of the Attorney General's appearance before the Magnuson Committee in the Senate. This occurred at the time of the Attorney General's appearance concerning Civil Rights legislation. Senator Monroney had questioned the Attorney General as" to King's communistic connections, according to Guthman. The Attorney General promised to write Senator Monroney a letter. Guthman stated that such a letter had been prepared and had been couched in a very careful language. He mentioned that the letter had been cleared by Assistant Director Evans and had then been delivered to Senator Monroney. He stated that following delivery of this letter, either Katzenbach or Burke Marshal along with Mr. Evans, had orally briefed Senators Russell an Monronex- regarding King's gommunistic connections. mee A Parner FACTS FROM BUFILES: —“ W-0* Ba Naren? Do theperetitin, | Senators Monroney and Magnuson wrote the Director in early July, FA | 1963, inquiring about the current racial agitation and allegations that King and other civil rights leaders had subversive affiliations. The letter from Senator Monroney was referred to the Attorney General on July 17, 1963, with the Senator being so advised on the same date. In the communication to the Attorney General, a summary of the communist association of King was set forth, including the influence which Stanley Levinson, Communist Party member, had with King and Levinson's alleced statement that('King is a whole-hearted Marxist...") On July 18, 1963, the letter | from Senator Magnuson was referred to the Attorne General along with ‘7 ona, 7 ; | letter from Congressman Jeffrey Cohelan. ~ Gin’ ! 4 ain Tel ts a No record was located in bumen files to indicate that the omer! General or anyone in the Department contacted us regarding what information should jbe supplied to the Senators and Congressman relative to King. Mr. Evans has declared jthat he most certainly did not clear any letter written to the Senators or the i | Congressman oun this topic. HW 550835  Docld:32989540 Page 11 .
| Informal Memo to Mr. Mohr Re: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On July 26, 1963, newspapers throughout the country reported that Senator Monroney had released the contents of a letter to him from Attorney General Kennedy stating there is "no evidence" that King or any of the other top leaders of the civil rights groups is a communist or communist controlled. The letter revealed the Attorney General based his statement “on all available information from the FBI ' and other sources." This letter was dated July 23, 1963. A similar letter t apparently also was sent to Senator Magnuson. On July 27, 1963, Senator Russell of Georgia wrote the Director inquiring about much the same matter. This letter also was referred to the Attorney : General under date of July 31, 1963. On November 1, 1963, Assistant Attorney ' General Burke Marshall contacted Mr. Belmont's Office relative to the letter from Senator Russell and a subsequent letter from the Senator to the Attorney General 5 vigorously complaining about not having received an answer to the earlier , communication. A proposed reply to Senator Russell over the Attorney General's signature was provided and Mr. Belmont expressed objections to the wording, particularly since it would jeopardize a most sensitive source. Mr. Evans conferred with the Attorney General and Mr. Marshall later on 11-1-63 and it was determined ; that the draft of the letter to Russell had been approved by the President. The draft i was rephrased three times and each draft wasrejectedby the President who finally instructed that an innocuous communication be sent to the Senator and delivered personally by Mr. Marshall and Mr. Evans with Mr. Marshall to orally brief the Senator. Subsequently on 11-1-63, Deputy Attorney General Katzenbach and Mr. Evans delivered the communication to Senator Russell and Mr. Katzenbach | briefed him about King. Mr. Evans merely verified that a sensitive source was [pete An interesting parallel to the situation occurred on August 1, 1963, when the Attorney General gave Mr. Evans a report submitted by our New York Office on July 22, 1963, on King asking that it be resubmitted to him with a cover memorandum detailing exact evidence to support a statement contained therein to the effect that King had been "described as a confirmed Marxist-Leninist as of June, 1963." He told Mr. Evans that if this report got up fo the Hill at this time he would be impeached. He stated Assistant Attorney General Marshall fad reviewed the entire report and stated there was nothing new concerning King's alléged communist sympathies and that it AW 55083 Docld:32969540 Page 12 % i
a? « . . 7 — ‘ . . .* : \ 7 » & on ‘ re " i 4 ‘ 4 4 » 3 - , ‘oy . w 7 . . t Informal Memo to Mr. Mohr 2/5/64 Re: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the timing of the report and its possible misuse which concerned him. The '4 statement the Attorney General objected to previously had been furnished to him on several occasions including the letter to him on July 17, 1963, forwarding to him the letter from Senator Monroney. The Attorney General was advised by memorandum of August 2, 1963, that "the description of.King. was-made-by-Stanley,Lexvinson.first in 1962 and again in 1963," °° TER tt Sees I RESPECTFULLY, o LO 2 Q ? C. D. DE LOACH 7 SWE 6 BADR ape rman tangents Sree rR ene hea rites ALTAR OR Folfs enberanTEN eR CNN EN eienninianm tena Item ster + * Tok Me ned etMces amd BSN TF Ae Sr a Heowert | HW 55083 DoclTd: 32969540 .Page 135 . - i, . ‘ $j
! “ . “ormnat FORM HO. 10 UNITED STATES CoveRN@nr 6 Memorandum . iigene — TO: Mr. adc DATE: February 7, 1964 Gale eupgat DRIES ualliv a Ana, THFORKATION CONTARHED Oss: . Tavel C. A. Evany IN 1S YNCLASSIBIED pare lal loc BSP aura 20 a “COMMUNIST PARTY, USA, NEGRO QUESTION F al COMMUNIST INFLUENCE IN RACIAL MATTERS /', iE INTERNAL SECURITY - C pe “fe a ie whew (y; Belmont ko Mohr Casper Trotter Tale. Room Holmes Gandy FROM aN SUBJECT: Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall was contacted last ~ evening on his return from the Hill and again informed that the decision as to whether he is to see Martin Luther King again to warn him about communist efforts is one for Marshall to make. I was further pointed out that any detailing of specifics as to meetings might well endanger our confidential sources, but if he felt he had to name one definite meeting he could refer to the one at the airport in New York. Marshall said he recalled this one generally and asked about the specifics. He was told that this was contained in a memorandum sent to the Attorney General, with a copyfor him, dated November 26, 1963. pe 1 i . . Z See a " /- i Ts Fay Marshall said that he still hadn't made up his mind as to whether or not to see Kihg. He noted he had warned him before, which admonition King had obviously ignored, so Marshall didn't know ifany f < further warning would be effective. He said if he decided to see King he / i 83 would, of course, advise us as to the results of the meeting. ai at f Po: hx § DUS BCUORDED COPY . CAE:vap (10) ane {ee a 1 1 - Mr. Mohr 1 - Mr. DeLoach 1 - Mr. Sullivan - et a 1 - Mr. Rosen LL wf 1 - Mr. Baumgardner uy are fd . a ; ; wy : 1 - Mr, Bland REC 34 x : i ermareney BRRaeReD ' = ro FEB 1¢ 1984 )> - Ph ap t — we 3} REE ie Noo ° vi a. » 2 : + a, . kal YAR faay s aieg ree 0 your  ddanesh one bs nag ‘fa is ie raiencdy ™s a Lae ab 1 is preprred 4a Tespor ee ae je Find fe-7 to er ne byte Nk nes OF ta Our Comruinitt ce re. Its not B> a 153105 au to & te Eye pei "OG e and the con fet not with ‘ott “it the express appt HW 55083° Docid: * dha Page 14 ‘oval of the FBI. | ctf mee
ona NO. 10 _f pe we * ” Lf Tejada oe eNirey ‘STATES GOVERI oe r . Aes . itd Fd ‘ Casper - Memorandum — . * . eLoach ae TO : Mr. pein DATE: February 5, 1964 Be ‘s f . 2 liven vo eS ALT; INFORMATION comme’ o a FROM : Cc, A. Eva HEREIN IS UNCLASSIRIED Finer ’} DATE tlal OOay SPJ Amat de resins SUBJECT: COMMUNIST PARTY, USA, NEGRO QUESTION . COMMUNIST INFLUENCE INRACIAL MATTERS ' \\ y ay INTERNAL SECURITY - C . ae Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall of the Civil Rights I Division telephoned. He said he had two matters he wanted to discuss. G The first of these concerns a scheduled visit to the Department of Justice this week of Reese Cleghorn, a free-lance writer who has written one article on Marcin Luther King for the "Saturday Evening Post" and who has been authorized by this magazine to write another article, also on King. Nt Marshall was aware of the fact that Cleghorn allegedly has information con- an cerning King's association with Stanley David Levison, a secret member of N the Communist Party. Marshall indicated that he did not intend to furnish \ Cleghorn with any information about Martin Luther King" s alleged communist . connections but that if he developed anything at all with regard to Cieghorn’s source of information, he would pass this along to us for our information. Ge (According to information developed by our Atlanta Office on February 4, 1964, a ; Cleghorn had in his possession what appeared to be a blind memorandum containing information as to Levison's Communist Party connections. ) aT The second matter which Marshall discussed related to Marshall's previous warning to King to avoid any connection with the communist element and particularly the need to avoid any relationship with Levison. Marshall said King has obviously ignored this admonition. He is currently considering #; whether he should warn King again because of the reports furnished to him by ‘ithe Bureau showing a continued relationship between King and Levison. In 4+ considering this matter, Marshall observed that he had told King once, and ; if King were going to go ahead and make a fool of himself Marshall didn't know that the Department of Justice should try and prevent it. On the other side, he \ pointed out that King is obviously headed for trouble and this could seriously affect the Negro movement directed at securing legitimate civil rights. CORDED COPY 24k Fa Oa u a 1 -Mr. Mohr 1-Mr. Rosen REC a4 a , 1 - Mr. DeLoach 1 - Mr. Baumgardner / Ob ~f/é ‘Lo ard ~ d- ~ Mr. Sullivan , 1- Mr. Bland is — . "Oy 164 ° ’ 3 4 sgt | wn 1 . 2} lg. {0 FEB A ¥ 1964 BS KSB 1 ap "4. feo a hha shail shen he at sopared. ti7- chests yoper~wearne Mes noisier ¢ Re ee ~ LG wath dom u cree Gath nent breranedt tor, It $ L ‘angie nd “FG ae, aaa qygocee. 38 OF ~S Coe es the coment ier ioe be didelvst rized pors0it- - oS HW 55083 poata: shdagha8? pauesg gwparovel of the FB
UNITED STATES GOVER: ENT . Belmont Memorandum oo @ Cocoa Tolson Mohr Conrad DeLoach 4%. Evans ro Mr. dint pare: August 20, 1968 9 Ske 7 Sullivar=% Ta FROM .: C. A. Evans aHrORMATION aN a aie (0) HEREIN 19 CLASS ali Yee\\; SUBJECT: HUNTER PITTS O'DELL pau B INTERNAL SECURITY - C INTERNAL SECURITY ACT OF 1950 (Fo ee ft Today the Attorney General asked if we would continue to | keep him closely informed of information received relative to O'Dell's contact-with Martin Luther King. He had specific reference to our letter of August 2, 1963. It appears that the Attorney General is receiving conflicting advice within the Department proper as to whether there is sufficient evidence of a continuing contact between King and O'Dell to justify some action. The Civil Rights Division has expressed the thought that nothing need be done by the Department. On the other hand, Andrew Oehmann, the Attorney General's Executive Assistant, has counseled him that in his judgment there is ample evidence there is a continuing relationship which Martin Luther King is trying to conceal, ACTION: We have going over to the Attorney General today a memorandum bringing him up to date in this matter. We will continue to prepare such memoranda to the Attorney General as additional information is developed. I LL ; ‘1 -Mr. Mohr Myy te mn Garter -;. 1 -Mr. DeLoach ye wd > ceukacks ‘1 -Mr. Sullivan (° = Badr! an weloon: . CAE:vap RECS Jo /) _ Aw ¢ LG f (. oe (10) Barer 4 ; ie 73 ee nanan > *4 . Ma 4 a- a ATS DY +329 Rata ett re { mama m7 or sort pad ln ont for Meeoméq yo ate ty aa tat DiC6 “OOF shal “ge by Phig Gqermcent ta E> ',? - ens as ot Be Maced 16 wccaksoriged per S0in- wens | i T ye eerie CBr HW 55083 DocId: 32999540 Page 18. . * Lo
ALL THFORNATION couraruen YQE/E No HEREIN TS UNCLASSIDIF DATE A HW 35083 ‘Docld: sgbocid Page 19 roe - , - ~ Tolson - “UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT . ° Memorandun® be @ | Ee ‘TO : Mr. Belmont Lip Rose; DATE: September 20, 1963 Vie Sulliv¥ar Cc =} ¥ iTavel my i Trotter FROM: C. A. Evans ; . ‘ele. Room _ | O - eee of ; Gandy suByEct: HUNTER PITTS O'DELL: go i 7 STANLEY LEVISON; /. pS /). f COMMUNIST INFLUENCEIN C/\™> Oo 2 a THE NEGRO MOVEMENT a ae “ fo ws Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall telephoned and advised that on instructions of the Attorney General he wanted to clear to the Bureau. As a matter of fact, the Attorney General has approve - ‘ 3B The proposed memorandum, a copy of which is attached, ..advise Dr. Martin Luthez“1 King and his immediate associates of thé we communist activities on the part of O'Dell.and Levison. Marshali-states that some time ago it was not felt wise, in view of the position of the FBI ~ -} informant, for Marshall to say that he knew O'Dell to be under communist control. Instead, he informed Dr. King and two of his immediate Jef “associates that O'Dell was believed by many people to have had comm ist . ‘| connections and his association with Dr. King's organization was not in its best interest. ‘_ ~ eye Subsequently, on June 22, 1963, according to Marshall's iv’ proposed memorandum, he brought this matter very explicitly to Dr. King's attention. Later that same date, both the Attorney General and the President, separately, strongly urged Dr. King that there should be no further connection between O'Dell and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Thereafter, the Attorney General and Marshall received copies of a letter dated July 3, 1963, from Dr. King to O'Dell. In this letter King makes reference to a resignation which O'Dell submitted some months ago which was accepted because of the SCLC's firm policy that no communist or communist sympathizer would be on the staff. Dr. King's letter continues by noting an investigation a ’ “ . wr erent r ° ” we ae ° - hee oe _ ae 7% He Eeknetenll ntae ALE M ORO ot Enclosure . ae rods ty seh . 1 -Mr. Rosen “*¥- ee To XEROX f. “e “ euraa ers 1-Mr, Sullivan’ " {7 _. mmm 1-Mr. Bland 15 - = OCs 9 i852 ad 8 a dissent?= . ge A ; , is oF epered ft resp mse to oer eaen oil porn one Bu ‘ $.CFF Ped “ Pe 7 B90 SEE wo) ey a CAE: vay 1 eee bi 4 yaa mG “4 Aatge't ore he Me wd gn a to Lo on eriged a ISPSOR {TD . ? ce Or u a Gib tee £3 “ kas a ee — tape (he 68 Aress anne L of ies ~ * with us the rough draft of a memorandum which he was going to send eli Ae relates to Hunter Pitts O'Nefl and Stanley Levison and action ‘taken to- - fp ay the rough draft contingent upon our approval. bytes a ‘ » wy tn, ED IN AER) * PF, tC ASS aes ‘ a UNRECORDED COPY FIL 4 1’
ae . —E Memorandum to Mr. Belmont 3 y-had been conducted but they were unable to discover any present connections with the Communist Party by O'Dell. King further tells O'Dell that the situation is such that the organization cannot even afford the risk of impressions about communist inspiration and therefore O'Dell's temporary resignation is being miade permanent, , Mr. Marshall's proposed memorandum also advises that he informed Dr. King on June 22, 1963, Stanley Levison was a secret member of the Communist Party. This action was taken on direction of the Attorney General and the President. Marshall had previously warned Dr. King about any association with Levison. This was the first indication given him of firm information Levison was s unger communist control. eft As a matter of background, our early information concerning the communist connections involved here came fr6m one of our, two most highly placed.communist..infonmants.(NY694-S*). To protect this |. | most valuable informant we insisted Levison and O*Déi™not be informed DY King we had positive information of their communist connections. se rm “repre eenmweneireringumnmeen were ceeyrrape  meertunmnmme Seen sary = ai. vw wot Subsequently, with the passage of time so that the risk to the informant was not jeopardized, the Director in a personal conversation with the Attorney General on June 17, 1963, agreed Dr. Martin Luther King could be informed that he should get rid of Levison and O'Dell because they are members of the Communist Party. It was on the basis of this advice from the Director that action was taken by the Attorney General and the President. MPO - ACTION TO BE TAKEN: RR RE eee While Mr. Marshall's proposed memorandum does not spell out the sequence of events here in detail, his summary is nevertheless i accurate and it is therefore believed we should inform Mr. Marshall - that he should feel free, of course, to submit the memorandum as he t, 14 drafted it. If approved, Mr. Marshall willbe so advised telephonically. ae 1 Va Ey A HW 55083 Docld:32969540 Page 20 : o _ _ f “ _ 7?
Form No. & | (Ed, 3.9.61) From 6. ATTORNEY GENERAL Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Alfornecy General. ccccscscccsccscveseveces Solicizor General ener eecer ee enorseeseeeereeer eee eet oe Executive Assistant to the Attorney General ...... ‘Legal Counsel....... Antitrust .ccccecsece Tax cccscccccccccses Civil wc cc ccceerccrces Lands ...cceceescece Criminal....cccceces Internal Security..... Administrative Assistant Attorney General........ Director, FBI... ccc ce wcrc cece cece rece eee cere Director, Bureau of Prisons... ....cccecscceccsce Director, Office of Alien Property.........secsee. Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization... Pardon Attorney ..... ccc cece cscs eccccecccesece Parole Board ......e ec cec cece rec ccenccscecers Board of Immigration Appeals ........eecceceoes Special Assistant for Public Information cc eccee Records Administration Office ..s.ccceccccceoves Burke Marshall For the attention of I think this is fine, but before we send it, I would want it cleared with Courtney. Will you -REMARKS: handle this? ; lite peie Last CONTAINED 7e8DO?SE fo yours reavest ard tg pot for dissemi- to ne lal apace “oe vs by fo Mnhetes pursue pine: ae This daewene: at is pre ret ap oa oe a wid 4 - c oe Oe Rn I we “ent the HW 55063 DBocld:32989540 Page ~BL- -- “NT Os behead oe Lm NEO oe - ten arrimarnet 8
HSS ISTANT ALY GEettas or . s 4 bal foe oN e ae » Gantt . 12 September 1963 MENORANDUM TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Attached is a draft memorandum on Hunter Pitts O'Dell and the most recent documents, It could be expanded in detail but contains the essentials. I did not refer to the warning Harris Wofford gave to Dr. King atour Suggestion in 1961 while Harris was at the White House because ‘ I do not know exactly what was iy TO ee wf ewe f ! yi PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL ——-— AOR FICE OFT) . RECEIVED. FVeOA lh This dorument is preprred in veomorce to nour request and ts not for dissemi- . reriog e's very Comntttee, I'3 uea is aplicd so 0 i gran ocs by : Wel sO Che ayn diteevgeoud ee lb. ? £3 en my - co . w’ ; ae ' nent HW 55083 DoclId:32989540 Page 22_. - —— . - GE ffm rer OOTP Es