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Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of

992 (44 USC 2107 Note). Case#:NW

38614 Date: 03-18-2025

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Vol. 14

copys

Ohe United Statra Senate

Report of Proceedings

Hearing held before

Select Conmittee to Study Governmental Operations

With Respect to Intelligence Accivities

INTSLIGENCE SIVESTICATION

ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED

Wednesday.

November 19, 1975

Washington, D. C.

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STATEMENT OF:

Testimony of James B. Adams, Deputy Associate Director

FBI Intelligence Division

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ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED

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INTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATION

Wednesday, November 19, 1975

United States Senate,

Select Comnittee to Study Governmental

Operations with Respect to

ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED

MOR.16

Intelligence Activities,

Washington, D.C.

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 o'clock

a.M., in Room 318, Russell Senate Office Building, the

Honorable Frank Church (Chairman) presiding.

Present:

Senators Church (presiding), Hart (Michigan),

Mondale, Huddleston, Hart (Colo) Baker, Tower, Gold, Mathias and Schweiker.

Also present: Frederick A.0. Schwarz, Jr., Chief Counsal

and Curtis R. Smothers, Minority Counsel.

+ -

The Chairman. The hearing will plaase come to order.

Our witnesses today are Mr. James B. Adams, the Deputy

Associate Diractor of the FBI, and Mr. Raymond Wannall, who

is the Assistant Director in charge of the Intelligence

Division of the FBI.

Before I swear the witnesses, Senator Mondale has asked

if he might make an opening statement. And fos that purpose

the Chair: recognizes the distinguished Senator from Minnesota.

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Senator Mondale. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I have always supported the FBI. It is clearly the finest,

most professional law enforcement agency in the nation.and

probably in the world.: In apprehending robbers, foiling

kidnappers, catching

fugitives, the FBI has an outstanding

record.

This is based on my own experience with the FBI in my

own state where I served as Attorney General. The vast bulk

•Of its work is devoted to law enforcement and legitimate

counter-espionage.

In these fields the FBI deserves fully the admiration

and respect which Americans traditionally held for the Bureau

and its personnel. But in one area, domestic intelligence,

the FBI, in my opinion, has clearly gone astray: It now

appears that there was an underworld within the FBI which

took the tools, techniques and zeal which was so effective

against the real foreign threats and turned. them in upon some

of the American people.

Yesterday this Committee heard some of the most disturbing

tastimony that can be imagined in a free society. We heard

evidence that for decades the institutions designed to enforce

the laws and constitutions of our country itself has been

engaging in conduct that violates the law and the Constitution.

We heard that the FBI, which is a part of the Department of

Justice, took justice into its own hands by seeking to punish

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those with unpopular ideas. We learned that the chief law

enforcement agency in the Federal government decided that it

did not need laws to investigate and suppress the peaceful

and constitutional activities of those whom it disapproved.

We heard testimony that the FBI, to protect the country

against those it believed had totalitarian political views,

employed the tactics of totalitarian societies against

American citizens. We heard that the FBI attempted to destroy

one of our greatest leaders in the field of civil rights, and

then replace him with someone of the FBI's choosing.

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From the evidence the Committee has obtained it is

clear that the FBI for decades has conducted surveillance over

the personal and political activities of millions of ..:

Americans. Evidently, no meeting was too small, no group

too insignificant to escape their attention. It did not

seem to matter whether the politics of these Americans were

legal or radical or whether the participants were well known

or obscure. It did not matter whether the information was

intimate and personal. The FBI created indexes. more

commonly called enemy lists, of thousands of Americans and

targeted many of the Americans on these lists for special

harassment. Hundreds of thousands of Americans were victims

of this surveillance program. Most of this was done in secret.

Much of it was kept from Congress and the Justice Department

and all of it from the American people. Mo ene outside the

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FBI has ever had an opportunity to know and appreciate the

full extent of the domastic surveillance program that was

then being. conducted.

Thus we see that just as in the case of the CIA the

key issue was accountability: How we can assure that the

secret instruments of government are accountable to the

people, the Congress and the law.

It is clear that the FBI's authority for these programs

is essentially non-existent. I am not persuaded that the

secret Presidential orders of. President Roosevelt support the

Domestic Intalligence program, and even if it did, I do

not believe that any President has the authority to order the

FBI or anyone else to

spy on Americans, to burgle their homes,

to wiretap them, to open their mail or to blackmail them.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this affair is

that the FBI never paid very much attention to whether their

activities were authorized or not or whether they were legal

and constitutional. One former senior intelligence officer

has testified that he never once heard a discussion about

legality or constitutionality. Most governments in history

have relied on some form of police power to determine what

views would prevail in their society. However, America was

based on the revolutionary concept that the people should

decide what is right and what is wrong, what is acceptable

and what is not.

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. That is what we maant by a free government, and our

forefathers were convinced that it can exist only through the

greatest tolerance of speech and opinion. They placed their

faith in the people to remain alert to encroachments on their

liberty.

The founders of our country knew that the greatest

danger to freedom comes from the efforts of government to

suppress the opinions of its opponents. They set up a

system which limited the powers of government, bound it in

the

constraints of the law, and prohibited it from infringing

on the rights. of people to free expression. And through

the separation of power, the system. of checks and balances,

they tried to assure that the Executive would be accountabla

to the people through the Congress.

For the 200 years of our existence as a nation the

preservation of liberty has. been a constant struggle.. Whether

it has been the Alien and Sedition Acts during the French

Revolution, the Red Scare and the Palmer Raids of World War

I, or McCarthyism after World War II, or Army. spying during

the Vietnam War, the government has let a fear of unorthodox

opinion lead it into the trap of infringing upon the

Constitution in the name of internal security.

The issues we confront today are a part of a continuing

drama of American democracy. It is proof, if we ever needed

it, that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

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Revelations of abuse of power, do not threaten doméstic

security. These hearings do not weaken the FBI. What weakens

it is its failure to adhere to the proper role of law

enforcement.

Somehow it forgot that this was its job. It

began to usa its energy to spy on Americans whose only

offense was an expressing opinions that some in the FBI did not

like. It confused talk of violence with acts of violence,

and all too often paid more attention to the talk than to

the "act.

• The answer, of course, is that violence justifies

prosecution, not surveillance.. Our security is not improved

by watching those who commit crimes. Security from violence

lies in active and vigorous law enforcement of those who

are committing crimes. Security fram dangerous ideas, if

we need any security, should coma not from the FBI but

from the merit of better ideas, in the good sense of the

American people.

Our liberty is best protected' by scrupulous adherence

to the law and the Constitution by the agencies of government.

No government agency likes to ba. the subject of public

scrutiny.. I know these have been difficult times for the

present leadership of the FBI, many of whom were not involved

in these programs at all. But if they had been spending a lot

of time responding to Congressional investigations, they

could not forget that this is the first zime in 50 years

that

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the FBI had been subjected to public scrutiny.

- As painful as this process. 1s, I hope the FBI itself.

would welcome the opportunity to let in some fresh air and

come

to grips with the problems in candor and not retreat into

past patterns of stirring up public fears to distract our

attention from the necessity of reform.

Mr. Chairman, may I say that yesterday I am told that

following our hearing the FBI responded exactly in the spirit

that I had hoped it would. If they can take this constructive

approach, I have no doubt that the FBI will benefit from

this attention. I want to see a strong FBI, an FBI strong

in law enforcement, in the detection of crime; and in the

gathering of legal evidence for prosecution and conviction,

but an FBI without abuses.

As we proceed. with these hearings today, we. should also

bear in mind the responsibility for the abuses we have

uncovered does not rest on the FBI alone. We in the

Congress have been derelict. It should not have taken until

this date for us to discharge our responsibility for

investigating FBI and other domestic intelligence.

We should also realize that the FBI has. been performing

a function which many Americans, and at times the vast

majority of Americans, have wanted to see undertaken.

When

popular opinion brands a group unAmerican and subversive

merely because of its political views, all too often the FBI

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has reponded to public expectations and from pressure from

a higher authority in government.

While this does not excuse what happened, we should

temper our criticism of the

FBI's excesses by understanding that

in large part it was only the instrument of our own intolerance

Indeed, I believe that is

why our laws and the charter of the

FBI must -be carefully redrawn to protect the FBI's integrity

from political pressures and hysteria.

Finally, it would be a mistake to regard the abuses

of the FBI as those of evil men. The FBI has always been

composed of dedicated and hard-working public servants who

seek to do their jobs as best they can.

The lesson we learn

from this history is that we cannot keep our liberty secure.

by relying alone. on the good faith of men with great power:

As Mr. Justice Brandeis once wrote:

"Experience should teach us to be most on guard to

protect liberty when government's purposes are beneficient.

The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious

encroachment of men of zeal, well-meaning but without

understanding."

It is my hope that the FBI witnesses we will hear today

can enlighten us as to how it can conduct internal security

surveillance programs which do not infringe on our

constitutional liberties.

I hope they can suggest iron-clad

assurances that the abuses of the past will not be repeated.

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We need more protection than promises of self-restraint

by men of good will.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Mondale.

That is

an excellent statement with which I would like to be fully

associated.

Senator Hart of Michigan. I would, Mr. Chairman, also,

except that I want to make clear my family certainly did not

support, encourage, or by its vocal position give any

indication to the Bureau that they could do what they did.

I don't want to go too far in suggesting that what we heard

yesterday was simply responding by the Bureau to the mood

of those years.

In those years if we had known what you were doing,

I lay dough, most families would have said stop it.

Senator Mondale. That is true. I think one of the

points that we might avar to is the Houston Plan and the

tremendous pressure the FBI was placed under to again resume

techniques that it had abandoned in 1966. There is no

question that they were getting private pressure from higher

authority to do things.

In that instance they didn't want

it.

The Chairman.

Well, I was struck with the fact that

the Houston Plan, as illegal as it was, was limited to techniques

far more restrictive than the far-reaching methods that were

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employed by

the FBI during the years that we have reviewed in

yesterday's hearings. They led beyond anything that was

ever contained in any official document requesting from

the President additional authority.

Now I think, Mr. Adams, Mr. Wannall, in addition to

swearing you both, if you are going to have occasion to

ask others who are with you to testify in response to certain

questions, that it would be well at this time to swear them

also.

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So if that is the case, anyone who anticipates that he

may be testifying in this morning's hearing in response to

questions, if you will all stand and take the oath at this

time.

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Do you and each of you solemnly swear that all of the

testimony that you will give in these proceedings will be

the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the

truth, so

help you God?

Mr.:Adams.: I:do:

Mr. Wannall: I'do.:=

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The Chairman. wAfter::yesterday's hearing I asked the

staff

to furnish me with the statutory authority that presently exists

that could be said to relate to the: FEI's intelligence activities,

which was of course: the subject of yesterday's hearings.

And I am furnished in response to that request

Title XVIII, Section 533 of the United States Code, which

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reads as follows:

"The Attorney General may appoint officials:

one,

to detect and prosecute crimes against the United States;

two, to assist; in the protection of the person of the

President; and three, to conduct such other invastigations

regarding official matters under the control of the Department

of Justice and the Department of State as maybe directed by

the Attorney General.

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Now yesterday, Mr. Wannall, we were told about a series

of activities that were undertaken by the FBI, and indeed,

initiated within the FBI, the purpose of which was to harass

and discredit DI. Martin Luther King.

Now I am not referring to the rasults of any FBI

investigative activity, but rather, I am refarring to these

kinds of initiatives that were undertaken for the purpose of

either harassing or embarrassing or otherwise discrediting

Mr. King himself.

My first question is was Dr. King, in his advocacy of

equal rights for black citizens, advocating a course of

action that in the opinion of the FBI constituted a crime?

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- TESTIMONY OF JAMES -B. ADAMS, DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

OE THE FBI; AND. RAYMOND WANNALI, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,

EBI INTELLIGENCE DIVISION

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Mx. Adams.

No, sir.

The Chairman. So he was not then thought to ba engaged

in any criminal activity. In fact, he was preaching, as I

remember those days, non-violence, was he not, as a method

of achieving equal rights. for black citizens?

Mr. Adams. That's right, his advocacy for civil rights.

The Chairman. His advocacy of civil rights was non-

viölent and therefore legal in character.

Mr. Adams. That was not the basis of our investigation

of him.

The Chairman. But as you have said, he was not

engaging in any unlawful activity in connection with his

advocacy of equal rights for black citizens.

Is that corréct?

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir.

The Chairman. Well, is it true that at one time the

FBI undertook to discourage an American college from conferring

an honorary degree on DI. King?

Mx. Adams. Yes, sir.

The Chairman. On what legal basis does the FBI have

a right to interfere, in an effort to discourage a college from

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conferring an honorary degree upon a man like Dr. Martin

Luther King, who was not engaging in or suspected of engaging

in criminal activity?

: Mr. Adams. I know of no basis.

The Chairman. Why did the FBI do it?

Mr. Adams. Well, we have to approach two parts, in

my estimation, senator Church. One, the basis for our

investigation of Martin Iuther Ring, which was to determine

communist influence. on him,.my hands are tied in discussing

that somewhat on the basis that there is certain information

which today, from an ongoing operation is sensitive and

which, of course, we have made known to you and

certain

staff members.

• I would like to say on the basis that from our review

we feel that we initially had a basis for invastigating Martin

Luther King.

Now as far as the activities which you are asking about,

the discrediting, I know of no basis for that and I will

not attempt to justify it.

The Chairman. You never made a finding, did you, that

Martin Luther King was a communist?

Mr. Adams.

No, sir, we did not.

We were investigating

communist influence and the possible effect on him:

never made such a determination.

The Chairman.

Very wella

Then there was no justification

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Mr. Adams. I cannot find any justification for that.

The Chairman. Is it true that the FBI on another occasion

intervened in an attempt to prevent Di. Martin Luther King

from seeing the Pope?

Mr. Adams. I believe that is correct, sir. There were

approximately 25 incidents, I believe, of actions taken in

this regard. I think Mr. Schwarz has those available, that

I would lump basically all. of them into the same situation

of I see no statutory basis or no basis of justification for

the activity.

The Chairman. But what was the motive, there being no

statutory basis or other valid basis? What was the motive

for attempting to prevent Dr. Martin Iuther King from visiting

with the Pope?

Mr. Adams. In looking at absolute motive, I don't think

the files which we have reviewed and made available to the

Committee, give me a clear pictura of what the motive was.

I think that there were, the motive was certainly known to

Mr. Hoover. It was known to one top official who is no longer

with the Bureau and maybe known to others, all of whon have

been interviewed by the Committee. Matters bearing on what

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might have been the real motive or the possible motive,

I

again feel, because of reasons of privacy and delicacy,

are

not a proper subject of discussion at a public hearing.

• I think we know what could have influenced this, but

one, the primary individual, Mr. Hoover, is not with us.

Individuals who were closest to him in this effort are not

with us. And the Committee itself has interviewed him.

So I really am not in a position to discuss this motive

issue.

--

The Chairman. Nevertheless, you would agree that

whatever the motive, it was

a very improper thing to do.

Mr. Adams.

I cannot find any justification, no, sir.

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The Chairman. Is it true that after DI. Martin Luther

King had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, that an

anonymous letter was sent to DI. Martin Luther King and to

Mrs. King, Coretta King, his wife, which was sent 34 days before

he was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?

Mr. Adams. I do not think those dates are correct.

The Chairman. Well, it was sent --

Mr. Adams. It was before: he was to receive it. I think

34 days -- upon reconstruction by one of the members of my

staff, 34 days would have been Christmas Day, and whether that

34 days --

The Chairman. It is hard to believe that such a letter

would be written on Christmas Day.

Mr. Adams. It was not. written on Christmas

Day, but 34

days -- the Nobel Peace Prize I think was on December 10, the

letter + 34 days. from the date.of the. mailing of: the letter

as has been reconstructed, as best as possible, would have been

Christmas Day..

The Chairman.

Was the letter written and sent by the

FBI?

MI.

Adams.

We have no information to that effect. All

we know is that the draft, of original, of what may have been

the letter was found in papers:of the FBI left. after a former

official departed the FBI.

We know that based upon inquiries

that we have conducted

and you have conducted, we know that the

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letter was not - I mean it was in connection with other

material. So I think we can assume --

The Chairman. Other materials which were sent.

Mr. Adams. That's right. So I can assume that the letter

was sent. I have determined nothing from my review of the

files, and neither has your staff, to my knowledge, or has been

reported back to me which would indicate that this action was

duly recorded in any file or was a-part of any authorized

program or anything else. This is a void that I do not think

any of us has been satisfactorily able. to resolve.

The Chairman. We know the letter appeared in the files. We

know that the letter was received. We know it was associated

with other matters that were sent by the FBI to Dr. Martin

Luther King.

Mr. Adams. The letter was never in our files in the sense

that it was entered into the official files of the FBI. It was

among papers --

The Chairman. It was among. papers...

Mr. Adams..Left. by. an. individual.who. had. departed.

The Chairman... That individual being Mr. Sullivan?

Mx.. Adams.

yes,

sir.

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The Chairman. The letter read, "King, there is only one

thing left. for you to. do. You know what it is. You have just

34 days in which to do: it, this exact-number has been selected

for a specific reason. It has definite practical significance.

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You are done.

There is but one way out for you."

Now, if you had received such a letter, how would you have

interpreted it? What would you have thought it meant?

Mr. Adams. I have read that

statement. I have heard the

conclusions of your staff that it was a suicide urging. I can't

find any basis upon which they drew that conclusion. I think

that, approaching it from an objective standpoint, as I read it,

I don't know.what it means.

I think rather than a conclusion it should be a speculation

in a realm of possibilities as to what was intended, but I

cannot -- I don't understand the basis for it. 'It is a

possibility, but I certainly would not reach such a conclusion

from my reading. of that statement...

The Chairman...Now, if.you had.received.a letter.of.this

kind.and. it.had.been directed to you, if.you were in DI. King's

position and you read, "King, there is only one thing left

for you to do. You: know what:it is.. You have just 34 days in

which to do it." Now, that happened. to. correspond to. the time

before which he was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. What

would you think that meant?.

Mr. Adams. I would have to consider what I was being

accused of. I would have to consider what the

facts were.

I

would have to consider what the intent of the

person was writing

such a note, coming just before Christmas.

I don't know if it

means, it is an urging to repent from something this person,

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whoever he was, that had sent it, I have no idea what it meant.

The Chairman. It is certainly no Christmas card, is it?

Mr. Adams. It is certainly no Christmas card.

The Chairman. It reads, "You are done.

There is but one

way out for you."

What does that mean?

Mr. Adams. I don't know. I don't know if it means

confession. I don't know if it means suicide, as has been raised.

I have no idea. You have the statement.. I am not in a position

to say. I haven't interviewed anyone that was with him at the

time he received it.

The Chairman.. Would you disown this statement and say that

any connection the FBI had with it was utterly improper and

grotesque?

Mr. Adams. I certainly would say it was improper, and I

can't justify its being prepared.or sent, yes, sir.

Senator Mondale. Mr. Chairman, if I might just interrupt.

The Chairman. Senator Mondale.

Senator Mondale. What I asked yesterday of the staff was

what Dr. King took it to mean. I have no khowledge of what: those

who framed this letter intended, and those who were with him at

the time he read it, including Congressman Young who was one of

his assistants at the time, said that they took it to mean a

suggestion that he take his own life.

Mr. Adams. I am not in possession of that information.

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am being put in a position, I don't know what the staff determined.

They did not repört back to me on their findings.

The Chairman. The letter will speak for itself. You

personally have disowned it.

Mr. Adams. Absolutely.

The Chairman. As a highly improper thing for the FBI

to be connected with in any way, do you agree with that?

Mr. Adams.

Yes, sir, yes, sir..

The Chairman. Now, without going through the many

different and specific undertakings that were intended to public-

ly discredit. Dr. King, because my time will not permit that

and

others will want to guestion.you on other specific matters, I

have just one further question to.put .to.you:.

Yesterday there was a document of the FBI which suggested

that in the opinion of the Bureau, Dr. King was an unsuitable

leader for the civil rights movement, and that another man

should be looked for, and indeed, another candidate was actually

suggested to Mr. Hoover as one who should be promoted in

various ways so that he might assume the leadership of this

movement.

Now, can you teil me of anything in the law, or any other

justification, given the mission of the FBI, that would entitle

it to decide who should lead political movements in this country

or to undertake to degrade a man who had fought' and won such

leadership and had the support of a great many black people in

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this country, and white people as well, and to substitute in his

place someone of the FBI's selection or someone who stood in

the FBI's favor?

Can you think of any justification for such activity on

the part of a law enforcement agency?

MI. Adams. I can't think of any offhand, no, sir.

The Chairman. Neither can I.

Senator Tower?

-

Senator Tower:

Thank you, Mr: Chairman: "i

What is your understanding, if you have any understanding

of the underlying causes of the feud between Mr. Hoover and

DI. King?

Mr. Adams.

Senator Tower,

I feel if we got into any

discussion of that, I think we would have to take into consider-

ation certain material which I feel should not be disclosed

publicly, and I would respectfully ask that a question of motive

of Mr. Hoover-and the spat with Mr. King should be discussed

in executive session,. if at all.

Senator Tower... All right..

In 1965 Attorney General Katzenbach was informed by Mr.

21

Hoover of the Bureau's surveillance of:DI. King:

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What was the Attorney General's reaction? What was his

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position once he was informed by Mr. Hoover of this surveillance?

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MI. Adams. I don't recall having seen it.

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Senator Tower. In other words, did the Attorney General

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give any direction to the Bureau in the matter that you know of?

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Mr. Adams. Yes, sir. I know that, of course, on the

wiretapping on Martin Luther King, it was approved by the

Attorney General. I know that the President of the United States

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and the Attorney General specifically discussed their concern

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with DI. King over: Communist influence on him. I do know there

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was concern, but I don't tie in this date, 1965.

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Senator Tower. Do you know whether or not Mi. Hoover

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ever sought direct authorization from Mr. Katzenbach for this

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very sensitive surveillance. of DI. King?

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Mr. Adams. I don't know.. Attorney General Kennedy approved

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the actual surveillance that was instituted on DI. King. I

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don't know of any correspondence between Attorney General

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Katzenbach --

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Senator Tower. Or any personal communication between them

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involvement?

that would have indicated the level of the Attorney General's

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Mr. Adams. No.

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If my recollection serves me.correct, as far as Attorney

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General Kennedy was .concerned, he requested.coverage.on DI.

King. The Bureau responded with a request in writing, which

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is our normal procedure. He declined to approve that request,

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and then we came back later, a few months later and requested

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it again, at which time he did approve.

That is my recollection

of that.

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Senator Tower. Why did the Attorney General change his

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mind? Do you have any idea, or is that again a matter of

sensitivity?

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Mr. Adams. I don't know why he actually changed his mind

5

from originally requesting, then declining when it was submitted,

6

and then approving it on the second go round.

7

It may be in the files.

If it is, I would be glad to see

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what I could determine.

9

10

Senator Tower. If you could, we would like to have that.

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir.

11

Senator Tower. MI. Adams, you have been familiar with the

12

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Bureau's domestic intelligence work for many years. How did

the Bureau come to. launch the COINTEL program and what in essence

14

dia COINTELPRO accomplish?

15

Mr. Adams. Well, the program as such, as I can reconstruct

16

from the files, was indicated as concern over conspiratorial

17

efforts of certain groups, and a decision made that perhaps

18

more affirmative.action.should. be.taken to neutralize violence

19'

which was becoming of more concern. to the FBI in that regard.

20

I believe these are some of the basic considerations that went

21

into the launching of the .COINTELPRO..

22

Now, as far as the first one, which was. the Communist

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Party, of course, there was

the concern here to neutralize the

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effectiveness of the Communist Party in the United States. In

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fact, out of all of the COINTELPRO operations that were approved,

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59 percent of them were directed at the Communist Party. The

bulk of the concern initially was with the Communist Party and

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it was a desire to create factionalism within the Communist

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Party and try to neutralize its efforts.

5

The Communist Party, Congress itself: still has a determina-

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tion on the record as to the threat of the Communist Party in a

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statute. The Supreme Court has held that the Communist Party is

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an instrument of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union certainly

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has not relinguished its interest in the United States as a

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target. All of these. considerations.went into should we do

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something not only to. follow. the activities of the Communist

Party, but should we destroy its effectiveness in the United

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States...

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That was the first program, I believe, that was initiated.

15

Senator Tower. Now, did the Bureau ever seek direction and

..

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counsel from the Attorney General on any of its COINTELPRO

•17

efforts or specific programs?

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Mr. Adams. As best as I can reconstruct, Senator, there

was no direct authority. requested.from any Attorney General for

20

the initiation of these programs, and it is only a question, as

21

your staff presented yesterday, that the Attorney Generals,

22

Presidents, Congress, had been made available of certain aspects

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of programs after the fact and those were primarily concerned

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with the Communist Party and, oh, one other organization but

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not the New Left and these other types.

So I cannot find any

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evidence, and I have no reason to believe that there would be

any evidence that the Bureau initiated these programs other than

as an internal decision.

Senator Tower. Well, were reports on these programs made

to the Attorney General? Was he informed of them? Was he kept

informed on a continuing basis?

Mr. Adams. He was kept informed by letters, which again

the staff has alluded to, letters reporting certain developments.

For instance, one of them that went to one Attorney General,

reading of that letter outlined almost in complete detail Klan

activities, activities taken to disrupt the Klan. It used

terms of neutralize, disrupt. There was a clear explanation of

what we were doing against the Klan in that regard.

Senator Tower. How is it that you came to believe that you

had the authority to neutralize or disrupt these organizations

rather than proceed against them frontally through prosecuting

them for law violations?

Mr. Adams. I guess you would have to say, in a position

like this, that it is just like the Smith Act of 1940, which is

designed to prevent revolutionary groups from advocating the

overthrow of the Government, and then subsequent interpretations

as to the constitutionality of.it .leaves.us with a statute

still.on the books .that proscribes.certain actions, but yet the

degree of proof necessary to operate under the few remaining

areas is such that there was no satisfactory way to proceed,

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and it was an area where --

The Chairman. Will the Senator:yield at that point; please?

What you are saying, Mr. Wannall -- Mr. Adams, excuse

me, is that you did not operate within the law because the

law didn't give you sufficient latitude.. Therefore you under-

took direct action to disrupt and otherwise undermine these

organizations.

Senator Tower:. Did you proceed on the assumption that

these organizations would eventually break the law, and therefore

you sought to neutralize and disrupt. them before they did?

Mr. Adams. I can't say that, sir. I think that the investi-

gations of them were based on this belief, that they might

break the law or they were breaking the law. The disruptive

activities, I can't find where we were able to relate to that.

What it boils down to is what we have gotten into a question

before on: in our review.of the situation .we.see men of the

FBI recognizing or having a good faith belief that there was

immediate danger to the United States .--

Senator Tower. All right, but to repair to Senator Church's

question, you don't say that you really had specific legal

authority.

Mr. Adams. No. And this

is the hangup with the whole

program, and which we

are not trying to justify, that there is

some statutory basis.

I would not make that effort whatsoever.

All I'm trying to do is say that at the time it was initiated,

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we had men who felt-that: there was an immediate danger to the

country.

They felt they had a responsibility to act and having

felt this responsibility, did act. And Ithis is the whole problem

we havent the present time, because we do have, one, we can

see good evidence of their belief there was a threat. We had

cities being burned, we had educational institutions being

bombed. We had deaths.occurring from all of these activities.

We had a situation that we didn't know what the end was going

to be. We never can look around the corner in intelligence

operations. We don't know if ultimately this might bring the

destruction of the country.. All we know is we had an extremely

violent time. :So I. don't find any basis in my mind to argue

with their good faith belief they were faced with a danger.

Now, when they move over to the second area of responsi-

bility, here is where we have the problem, and I think it is

the whole purpose.of this Comnittee, the Attorney General,

Mr. Kelley, all of us realizing we can't operate in these areas

where we. feel. responsibility. but.we.don't have a mandate by

Congress:

So in that area; this: feeling.of. responsibility

I. feel. came.from.the.fact.that Presidents, as your staff said

yesterday, Presidents, Congressmen, the Attorney General, no

one really provided direction and guidance or instructions

don't do this.

Do this, don't do that, or what are you doing

and how are you doing it.

For instance, there is some feeling on the part of some

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that our whole domestic intelligence operations were secret.

The COINTELPRO operation was. I mean, I think we all agree that

this was, to be effective, they felt it should be secret. But

back in our - this is printed appropriation testimony which

went to the members of the Committee. It was mailed out to

newspapers, friends, anyone that was interested in it, back

in 1967 talking about Internal Security's operations, the New

Left movement, Young Socialist Alliance, Chicago trial, nationwide

demonstrations, student agitation, anti-war activities, the

Committee of Returned Volunteers, Communist Party, U.S.A.,

Progressive Party, Socialist Party, extremist organizations,

Black Panther Party. All of these items and statements about

extremists, white extremists and hate type groups, the Republic

of New Africa, Minutemen, our coverage of subversive organiza-

tions -- there are several groups, organizations and movements

which I discussed showed. the wide. coverage we must maintain

to follow on their activities. and changing tactics, and in spite

of the proliferation of these organizations, our informant

coverage at.all.levels.has.been.of.great.value and assistance,

enabling us to keep abreast of our investigative responsibilities.

This is the same way through all of our public appropriation

testimony. We have: told: the world we are investigating black

hate groups, New Left groups.

So, I merely mention this to try to put in the frame of

reference of these men feeling, they know we are investigating

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them. They didn't tell them, though, in sufficient detail other

2

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than scantily before the Appropriations Committee what we were

doing to disrupt these activities, and my feeling is that the

4.

men recognized the danger, they pointed out the danger to the

5

world.. They said, we are investigating these organizations and

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they felt then that the comfortable climate of leave it-up to

7

the FBI, we should do something more. And that is what we are

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Looking for guidelines on, the Attorney General, Mr. Kelley,

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you, that give us the guidelines under which we should operate.

Now, there are certain guidelines that we don't need to

be given, we shouldn't do this.

We don't have such activities

12'

today, programs designed to disrupt and neutralize in the

13

domestic intelligence field. But beyond that, we need guidelines

14

on what does the whole of Congress, representative of the people,

15

by passing of legislation say this is the FBI's role in

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domestic intelligence..

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Senator Tower. Mr. Chairman, my time has long since

18

expired.

19

I would like to note

that I saw Mr. Kelley on the Today

20

Show this morning indicating strong support for a response

to

21

Congressional oversight, and that is a healthy attitude.

22

The Chairman. Well, I think it must come because, as

23

you have really conceded, you shouldn't have ever had to have

24

had the guidelines that the Federal Government's chief law

25

enforcement agency ought not to disobey the law, and really,

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"you don't. 'need explicit guidelines to tell you that, or you

shouldn't have.

Wouldn't you agree?

Mr. Adams. I would say that looking at it today, we should

have looked at it that way yesterday, but I do feel, I don't

have any doubt about the good faith of people recognizing the

danger, feeling they had a responsibility, no matter whose fault

it was, ours internally or because we weren't given the super-

vision we should have been given, and taking what they considered

to be appropriate action.

The Chairman. Senator Hart.

Senator Hart of Michigan. I should apologize both to

witnesses and my colleagues on the Committee for scrambling

around loosely, but in explanation to the witnesses, I have not

been able to give attention to the evolution of the files that

are now at hand until the last couple of days, anâ I am not

sure what is in the files for the public record, and what of

the materials I have been shown in the last couple of days since

I got back are still under seal....So just out of memory I am

going to summarize certain activities which have been acknowledged

that the Bureau undertook, but without being specific with: respect

to location and names, and I do it for this reason, It is

right that the Committee and the press be worried about the

treatment of a Nobel Prize winner, Dr. King.

There are an awful lot of people who never got close to a

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Nobel Prize whose names are Jones and Smith, that my review

of the files show had violence done to their First Amendment

3

rights. And Nobel Prize winners will always get protection,

but Joe Potatoes doesn't, and this Committee should focus on

5

him, too.

6

Now, included in this COINTEL were activities like this,

anonymous letters, drafted by Bureau offices in the field, sent

8

9

to headquarters in Washington, approved, and then put. in the

mail, intended to break up marriages, not of DI. King but of

- 10

Mary and John Jones because one or the other was thought to be

• 11

a dissenter, might have dressed strangely or showed up at

meetings in company of others who dressed strangely; anonymous

13

letters to university officials and to the several newspapers

14

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in that city to prevent university facilities from being made

available to a speaker of whom the Bureau disapproved, and it

was not a top flight, big name speaker.. In that case, an

.. 18

anonymous letter was sent to me making protest. Being an

anonymous letter, it never occurred to me that it came from the

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Federal Bureau of Investigation. :

The series of anonymous letters, one with the spelling

very poor, the grammar sloppy, and another more sophisticated,

protesting the employment by a city of a man alleging that he

23

was a Communist or came from a Communist family, and there are

24

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loyal Americans out of work; what are you doing, Mayor. And

to the press, isn't this an outrage. And again: the letter, the

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anonymous letter sent to me saying what are you going to do about

this. There are loyal Democrats in this town who need work. And

in that case I happened to have known the man about whom the

protest was made, and the Bureau's facts were wrong as hell on

that man's loyalty. He was a loyal as you or I.

Now, yes or no, are those actions regarded now by the

Bureau as within bounds?

Mr. Adams. No, sir.

Senator Hart of Michigan.

Why were they regarded as within

bounds when they were approved by the Bureau??

Mr. Adams. Well, I think even under the guidelines of

COINTELPRO, as established, the programs were not designed for

the purpose of harassment of an individual. The memoranda

indicate: they were designed to disrupt the organizations. Some

of the turn downs were turned down on this specific wording.

This is mere harrassment.

The rationale would have been -- and of course, here, I

say some of these you mentioned wouldn't even appear to me to

meet the criteria of the program and should have been disavowed,

even under the existence

of the program. However, in the total

context of the program activities were to be directed towards

the organization itself; but we do not do that at the present

time.

Senator Hart of Michigan. Yes, but everything I have

summarized, rather poorly, was approved by the Bureau at the

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time by headquarters, not by the field office agents.

Mr. Adams. I do think that there were improper actions

taken under the program, even under the program as it existed.

Mr. Kelley has so stated his recognition of that fact. The

Attorney General certainly has. Yet the majority of the actions

taken, even the Department concluded were lawful and legal,

proper investigative activities, but the --

Senator Hart of Michigan. You see, my feeling is it isn't

a question of techniques that are bad. The concept of the

program seems to do violence to the First Amendment because

everything you did sought to silence someone or threaten

somebody to silence, or deny somebody a platform, or create an

atmosphere in which people were in fact afraid to assemble.

Now, sometimes law enforcement, legitimate law enforcement

has what we call this chilling effect, when it is legitimate

law enforcement. Oftentimes that chilling effect is a necessary

though regretable side effect. But what I am talking about,

and what these files are full of are actions the.only purpose

of which is to chill. It isn't in pursuit of any crime at all.

Indeed, when a court of general jurisdiction approved the use

of that university premise.for the use of the speaker. the

Bureau had stirred.so.much.controversy with.its anonymous

letters, when .that judge.wrote.an.order,.after .the sponsoring

group.went to .court, what.was the Bureau's reaction from

headquarters? Investigate the judge.

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Now, that, you know, if --

Mr. Adams:". I'm not familiar with that fact.

Senator Hart of Michigan. Well, neither was I until last

night.

WARD

PAUL

410 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003

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Mr. Adams. The instruction was to investigate the judge?

6

Senator Hart of Michigan. This is the kind of stuff that

I came out of the hospital to find, and it is the sort of thing,

8

as I said yesterday, that my children have been telling me for

9

years you were busy doing, and I simply didn't believe them.

- 10

And they were right and I am wrong.

11

Mr. Adams. Well, there were about 3200 activities, and

• 12

about 2300 I believe or so were approved under the COINTELPRO,

13

and over 59 percent were addressed.to the Communist Party. That

14

leaves 1000. And out of 1000, perhaps, I don't know what the.

• 15

actual figure was of ones..that.just clearly stand out as

.. 16

improprietous under the program, even as it-existed at the

17. time, but I do feel that --well, it is a very difficult area.

•- 18

Senator-Hart of Michigan.. My.time.is.up, too, I an sure,

-- 19

but on this-business .of.the Connunist Party, if.your theory

• - 20

continues. to be that any socially active group of citizens

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who organize, whether Women!s.libbers.or.fight the bomb or

...22

anything else, might be a target for infiltration by the

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Comnunist Party and therefore you can move your agents in, that

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means, almost not as an overstatement, that any and every citizen

activity could be made the target of the kind of business that

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I have just described, because

every individual is apt, during

his lifetime, to engage in violence. If that is justification,

then you are justified in running tails on everybody.

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Mr. Adams. Well, that was not --

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Senator Hart of Michigan. Everybody has got that' privilege,

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and that clearly is a police state concept.

Mr. Adams. That is not our criteria.

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Senator Hart of Michigan. All right, but if the criteria

is three or four of us get together and we have a sort of

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nutty idea, just the kind of thing the Communists would like to

exploit, and therefore you seek to justify shutting off the

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forum for that group or to surveille it, the potential for

13

Communist intrusion, then, if that continues to be your theory,

14.

then I. say you are, you are going to pursue the same wretched

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road that these files show you have been pursuing before. If

that is the predicate, the fact that a Soviet or Marxist or

17

Maoist Hottentot is liable to think there is an idea that we

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can exploit,. then you.people.are.going..to.be spending how many

man hours, how many tax dollars doing the kind of things that

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I summarized so briefly here.:..

-....

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That in my book is the 20thcentury version of what the

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Founding Fathers intended to prevent when they wrote the First

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Amendment.

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What is the position of the Bureau when a Communist

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may participate, associate with

and promote an idea, this

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justifies you trying to figure out if you can bust up a marriage

if two of the people are in the group?

Mr. Adams. It does not, and it is not our criteria, no

sir.

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Senator Hart of Michigan. What does it justify?

. Mr. Adams. It justifies our doing nothing in the way of

COINTELPRO activities. I still feel it has a justification,

that you agree with, to investigate the Communist Party. It is

when you get into the disruptive areas where the program goes

beyond investigation that we have no statutory authority.

Senator Hart of Michigan. Well, we have been emphasizing

COINTEL. Would it justify putting tails on the people?

Mr. Adams. What, just a --

. Senator Hart of Michigan. Or putting an informant into

the group.

Mx. Adams. If it is a Communist group? ..

Senator Hart of Michigan. No, if it's me and somebody

else that thinks we oughtn't to have something that a majority

of people think we should. We organize and you people say,

well, there is something the Communists can take and run with.

Mr. Adams. No, sir.

.-...

Senator Hart of Michigan. Does that justify putting a

tail on them?

Mr. Adams. It does not, and we would not.

Before we

would even open for a preliminary inquiry, we should have an

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indication that the Communist Party has attempted to infiltrate

or is infiltrating, in

other words, where you have some evidence

of a subversive group, participating in the functions of that

organization, and there are grey areas here, in the spectrum

of anything where I am sure we have opened investigations where

we should not because there has been scant evidence of such

infiltration. And this is a supervisory problem. It is a

criteria problem. And it is also an oversight problem which

we are responding to.

Senator Hart of Michigan. My time is up and I haven't gotten

into some of the other material.

The Chairman. Well, Senator, you have not been with us

Senator Hart of Michigan. No, no, I just --

The Chairman. If you want more time, you have'a lot of time

stored up. If you want. to use it now, you go right ahead.

Senator Hart.of Michigan. Well let me ask the justification

for this sort of business.

I have been talking about the things I have seen in the files

that bear on direct, First Amendment denial, and again, this

does not deal with the treatment.of a distinguished American.

Indeed, it involves groups that are generally viewed with very

sharp disapproval. The ground rules

for the treatment should

be precisely the same, whether it is a good guy, a popular

guy, or a dirty and smelly guy.

What was the purpose of the Bureau in trying to stir up

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strife -- perhaps I shoulan't say what was the purpose -- what

possible justification for the Bureau trying to sick the Black

Panthers on that outfit call the US out in California, or between

the Black Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers in Chicago? Was

it with the hope that by fomenting it they would kill each other

off?

-

Mr. Adams. Absolutely not, ana I think the Committee

staff can inform you that during their review of all of these

matters they haven't come up with one instance of violence

resulting from any of these actions, and in that particular

case there was a communication in the same file which I believe

the staff had access to which showed that we did get information

that one of these groups was going to put out a contract on one

of the, others, and we notified the police and the individuals

of the fact that their life was in danger.

None of our programs have. contemplated violence,, and

the instructions prohibited. it, and the record of turndowns of

recommended actions.in some instances specifically say that

we.do not approve this action because if we take it it could

result.in.harm.to.the individual.....

So I think this is one charge --. and the staff did not

make such a charge, I might add, when they presented the picture -

but I think any inference that we were trying to result in

violence is wrong.:

Senator Hart of Michigan.

Let-me explain for the record

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why I reached the conclusion I did..

Mr. Adams. The wording of that memorandum --

Senator Hart of Michigan. And why I continue to hold to

that conclusion.

On January 30th, 1969, the Bureau headquarters in Washington

approved sending an anonymous letter to the leader of the

Blackstone Rangers, Jeff Forky, which indicated that the Black

Panthers had put a contract out on his life as a result of

conflicts between the two organizations. Now, you say that was

to warn him.

I ask, wasn't the principal purpose of the letter to

encourage the Rangers to shoot some or all of the leadership

of the Panthers? Otherwise, what does this quote mean, and I

will read it,. It is from a memorandum from the Chicago office

of the Bureau asking approval to undertake this. Here is the

way it reads: "It is believed that the above" this anonymous

tip that a contract.is.out.on you, "It is believed that the

above may intensify the degree of animosity between the two

groups and occasion Forky to. take retaliatory actions which

could disrupt the_BPP, the Black Panthers, or lead to

reprisals against its leadership.. Consideration has been

given to a similar letter to the. Panthers alleging a Ranger

plot against Panther leadership. However, it is not felt that

this will be productive, principally because the Panthers at

present is not believed as violence prone as the Rangers,

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to whom violent type activity, shooting and the like, is second

nature."

--

Now, how can you reach any conclusion other than a purpose

was to generate the kind of friction that would induce the

killing --

Mr. Adams. Well, if that purpose was for that rather than

generating factionalism, disagreements, disrupting it, it would

be contrary to the communication I referred to in the other

file, the Black Panthers versus Ellis, where we notified the

police of the contract, we notified the individuals of the

contract and took every action at our command to prevent

direct violence, and also the fact that the files showed that

we turned down these situations where violence was involved.

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Senator Hart of Michigan. Well, we have differing

views with respect to motives and the purpose of the Panther

situation in Chicago. I still do not understand why the

Panthers and this US group in California we sought to be set

as they were but finally, and again, I don't know whether it

is in the record, open or not, for what purpose other than to

occasion violence moved the Bureau to approve of

forged

signatures of Communist Party personnel to letters addressed

to Mafia-owned businesses attacking the employment practices

of the Mafia-owned business?

Why would a Bureau, why would the Bureau think there was

any valus to be served in concocting a forged letter?

Let us assume Phil Hart is a local communist in this

• city.. The Bureau forges Phil Hart's name to a racket-owned

business, notorious for using muscle, protesting that fellow's

business practices.

Now certainly it was not intended to improve the

employment practices.

Mr. Adams. I think if the full communication were

available, it did show a purpose unrelated to violence.

don't recall the exact wording now, but I think it was to

create a lack of support or something like that.

This was part of that Hoodwink program, I balieve, that

was one of four actions that were involved in Hoodwink, and

I think there have been some public descriptions of that

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program that indicate that it was not the greatest thing

coming down the pike.

Senator Hart of Michigan.

Well, that is the sort of

thing I found that persuaded me to say very openly that I do

not buy the idea that the American people ultimately are

responsible for that kind of nonsense because I am certain

that virtually every family in the country would have screamed

in protest no much how much they disliked Dr. King or the

Panthers or the Communists.

Mr. Adams. Sir

Senator Hart of Michigan. If they had known that tax

money and Federal personnel were busy, busy, busy around

the country, notwithstanding bank robberies that were going

on 'at the same time, pounding out that kind of correspondence

and inciting that kind of conflict and curbing speech.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The Chairman:

Thank you very much, Senator Hart.

Senator Mondale is next.

Senator Mondale. Mr. Adams, I realize that you ware

not a part of this particular event, but being an old,

experienced FBI hand, I wonder if you could help us understand

the psychology that led to this kind of memorandum.

Mr. Adams. I feel it coming, but go ahead.

Senator Mondale. This is a memorandum to the Diractor.

It has been referred to before, which calls for removing

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King from his pedestal and replacing him by someone else,

dated January sth, 1964, which memo was written a week

following the time that king was named man of the year by

Time magazine:

This memo, as you know, received the following comment

from Mr. Hoover.

"I am glad to see that light, though it

häs been delayed, has come to the Domestic Intelligence

Division," and so on.

I would just quöte part of the language and maybe you

can help us understand the psychology that led to it.

The first part of the memo says: "We have got to remove

King from his pedestal.". Then it says, "the negroes will be

left without a national leader of sufficiently compelling

personality to steer it in a proper direction. This is

what could happen but need not happen if the right kind of

national negro leader could at this time be gradually developed

so as to overthrow Dr. King and be in the position to assume

the role of leadership of the negro people when King has

been completely discredited.

"For

some months I have been thinking about this matter.

One day I had an opportunity to explore this from a philosophical

and sociological standpoint with X' -- the rame of the

leader - "whom I have known for some years. As I previously

reported, he is a very able fellow and one on whom I can

rely. I asked him to give the matter some attention, and if

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he knew any negro of outstanding intelligence or ability, let

me know and we would have a discussion.

"He has submitted to me the name of the above-named

person.- Enclosed with this memorandum is an outline of

X's biography, which is truly remarkable. In scanning, this

biography, it will be seen that X does have all of the

qualifications

of the kind of a negro I have in mind to

advance to positions of national leadership."

And skipping: "I want to make it clear at once that

I don't propose that the FBI in any way become involved

openly as the sponsor of a negro leader to overshadow Martin

Luther King. If this thing can be set up properly without

the Bureau in any way becoming directly involved, I think

it would be not only a great help to the FBI, but would be:

a fine thing for the country at large.

"While I'm not specifying, at this moment, there are

various ways in which the FBI could give this entire matter

the proper direction and development. There are highly placed

contacts at the FBI who it might be very helpful to further

such a step. This can be discussed at a later date when

I have probed more fully into the possibilities and this

recommendation is that approval be given for me to explore

the whole matter as set forth above,". and to that Mr. Hoover

says, "I'm glad to see the light has finally come. I have

struggled for months to gat over the fact that the communists

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were taking over the racial movements but our experts here

couldn't or wouldn't see it."

Now I think you testified earlier that you do not accept

this as proper FBI activity, but can you help us understand

how at one point in American history someone thought it was

propar, apparently including the Director?

Mr. Adams. I would have to say for one thing that this

gets into the real motive of the discrediting of Martin Luther

King, which I don't feel can be fully explored. I think that

the people most directly involved in that are not available.

because I don't know from my experience what they had in

mird in this regard:

I have no doubt from this memorandum and other memorandum

that the two individuals involved felt very strongly that

Martin Luther King was a threat to the success of the negro

movement and that steps should be taken to get him out of

that - what the reason for it was or the motivation, I am

just not in a position to say.

I do say it is improper to inject yourself into that

type of activity, but I don't know what the real motive was.

Senator Mondale. Now DI. King was investigated, as I

think you earlier testifiad, because of fears of communist

influence upon him?

Mr. Adams, Yes:

Senator Mondale.

Is

that a proper basis for investigating

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Dr. King or anyone else?

• Mx. Adams. It is where you have information indicating

that the Communist Party is and has made efforts to try

to influence an individual.

I would say that that would normally be considered

within the current criteria.

Senator Mondale.. You would consider that to be a

valid purpose for investigating today?

Mx. Adams. Excuse me, what?

Senator Mondale.

valid basis for investigating today?

You would consider that to be a

Mr. Adams.

The movement itself, but not the individual.

Senator Mondale: How do you investigate a movement

• without investigating individuals?

Mr. Adams:

You do get into a gray area.

The main thing

would be if we had an organization today that we saw the

Communist Party gravitating to, trying to work in positions

of leadership, we would be interested in opening an investigation

on Communist infiltration of that organization to see if

it was affacting it.

specifically.

Senator Mondale. All right, now let's go back'

I gather there never was any question raised about

whether Dr. King was a Communist. That was never charged.

Mr. Adams. Not as a Communist Party member, no, sir.

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Senator Mondale.

That's right.

or had committed acts of violence?

...Mr. Adams. No.

Senator Mondale.

But the reason for investigating him

apparently was that he was subject to Communist influence.

Now what makes that a justified reason for investigating

him? Is it a crime to be approached by someone who is a

Communist?

- -

Mr. Adams. No.-

Senator Mondale.

What is the legal basis for that

investigation?

Mr. Adams: The basis would be the Communist influence

on him and the effect it would have on the organization. It

would be in connection with our basic investigation of the

Communist Party•

Senator Mondale.

Well, as I understand the law to

read, it is not a crime to be a member of a Communist Party.

Mr. Adams. That is correct.

Senator Mondale. How can it be a crime to know someone

who is a member of the Communist Party?

MI. Adams.i. It is not.

- ==

Senator Mondale. How do you investigate something as

tenuous as that? What is the basis for it legally?

Mr. Adams. Well, it falls into the area of, one, the

intelligence jurisdiction of the activities of the Communist

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Party to have a situation where an individual in an organization,

a leader of an organization, efforts are being made to

influence him and to achieve control over the organization,

and it is part of the overall investigation of the Party

trying to exert this influence as to are they successful,

are they taking over the black movement or the civil rights

movement.

It is just like we tried to make clear in investigations

that were more prevalent years ago but still occur on the

Communist influence in labor unions. We tried to tell every-

body we interview we are not interested in labor matters. We

are not trying to inquire into that. We are interested in

the effect of the Communist Party on this union.

Senator Mondale: Mr. Adams, I am trying to get at the

legal basis in this particular case in investigating Dr.

King on the grounds that he might be subject to Communist

influence.

-Can you cite any legal basis for that or is it based

entirely upon a generalized authority thought to exist in

•the FBI to investigate "internal security matters"?

Mr. Adams. It would fall aiso in the Presidéntial

directives of investigating subversive activities.

Senator Mondale. And then the question would return

to what authority the President had.

Mr. Adams.

That's right.

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Senator Mondale.

Now Dr. King was investigated among

other things for matters of, I think you call it delicacy.

- .

Would that be a basis for investigating an American

citizen by the FBI?

Mr. Adams. No.

-

Senator Mondale.

Would you say then that those

investigations were improper?

Mr. Adams. -I don't believe that there is an allegation

that we investigated him for that. I think there were

certain by-products of information that developed and I think

at a point you had a situation where the tail was wagging

the dog, perhaps, but I don't see any basis for such investi-

gation. And I find it very difficult to get into a discussion

of this in view of the prohibitions that I think -

Senator Mondale. You answered my question. That for

itself would not be a basis for investigation.

Mr. Adams.

NO, SIt. :

Senator Mondale. Would you agree with me, Mr. Adams,

that this whole vague, generalized area of the assignment

that the FBI has been

tasked, which they thought they possessed

or could use to investigate Americans, not where there were

allegations of crime or suspicion that crimes were about to

be committed, or that violence was about to be committed,

but rather this whole generalized area, to investigate

Americans in terms of ideas that they have or might be persuaded

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to have that might hold potential for danger to this country

is an exceedingly vague, difficult, if not impossible to

define area and an area

which has got the FBI into an awful

lot of trouble, including today's hearings.

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir.

Senator Mondale. And because of that there is a very

important need to sit down and

redefine it,. have the guidelines

known specifically by all so that the FBI can know precisely

what it can do and what it cannot do.

Mr. Adams.

I think this is why thei country is fortunate

in this particular time, to have an Attorney General who is

a legal scholar and a lawyer of unquestioned repute who

has indicated a willingness to address these problems, which

as the staff has determined, was not always the case over

the years. But we have an Attorney General, we have a

Director, who has offered his complete cooperation, just

as

he has to the Committee in this inquiry, that we are not

trying to avoid embarrassment. The only thing we are trying

to hold back are identities of informants and sensitive,

ongoing operations that we have, a concern on the part of

Congress that not only recognizes there have been abuses,

but recognizes that there still always has to be some degree

of flexibility.

We are going to have situations where you have a

Weatherman working for the water works, and in college he was

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a scientific student, and he makes a comment to a fellow

employee that there is going to be some spectacular event

that is going to bring the attention of the world on this

city.

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Senator Mondale.. Wouldn't you have probable cause then

to investigate the commission of a crime?

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Mr. Adams. We might have to investigate, but to disrupt,

we have the authority. to tell the supervisor of the waterworks,

you had better get him out of there before the city water is

poisoned and 100,000 people die, and I think the Committee is

going to find the same problems we do in coping with that

situation, and even the Attorney General in his speech in Ottawa

pointed out that there is still possibly a necessity for some

flexibility to take appropriate action under extreme conditions.

But it should be controlled. It is like Mr. Kelley says, go

to the Attorney General, explore the legal issues, lay the

problem up there. It should not be handled internally in the

FBI.

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Senator Mondale. But do you also agree that the Congress

ought to redefine the rules legislatively?

Mr. Adams.

Yes, because the problem I have with it is

we talk about oversight, and Mr. Kelley and the Attorney General

and I believe this Committee. agree. that we should have joint

oversight which would avoid the proliferation of hearings

and the sensitive knowledge .among many people which always

poses that inadvertent leak of information. But yet even with

oversight, under the plan you discussed yesterday, or some of

the observations that were discused yesterday; having people,

conservative; liberal, black, and the other qualifications you

put in, can a Committee speak for the will of Congress? At

one time we had Congressmen making speeches all over the .

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country, if we don't stop these bombings, if somebody doesn't

do something about it this country is in trouble. Is that the

will of Congress?

Until it is embodied in legislation where the whole will

of Congress is expressed, we are going to have problems.

Senator Mondale. I am glad to hear that, because there is

a way Congress speaks. It is not through the buddy system of

a person. It speaks through the law.

Mr. Adams. That's right.

Senator Mondale. And now we have for the first time this

whole issue, it-is not denied by the FBI. The elements are

known. What I hear you saying is you would like the Congress

now to define and redefine specifically and carefully what it

is we expect the FBI to do, and what it is we wish the FBI and

will prohibit the FBI from doing.

Mr. Adams.

Right. What is our role in society?

After World War II, if you'll remember, a Congressional

Committee met .and raised.all sorts of storm. over the fact that

there was not enough in the way of intelligence investigations.

Never again should it. happen in the United States that we be

caught with our pants .down...

After the Kennedy assassination, if you recall, the FBI

was properly criticized for having too restrictive dissemination

policies in connection with Secret Service because they depend

upon us for the intelligence necessary to provide protection.

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for the President against extremist. groups.. We did. that but

just before the recent incidents in California there was going

to be Committee concern, not this Committee, over has there..

been too much dissemination.

So the FBI is in the position of at different times in our

history being damned for doing too much and damned for doing

too little. And it is because of reacting to what we try to

judge is what they want us to do, and this is what we are not

in a position to do...

We need the will of Congress expressed in

some

definitive measure, yet providing the latitude, because as

you have seen from these problems, there are many that there is

no black and white answer to. There have to be occasions

where when you are confronted with an extreme emergency, someone

can act, and I don't think you or anyone else wants to tie the

hands of law enforcement when today we have over 10 million

serious crimes in the United States.. Wei have I million crines

a year involving violence, and there has to be a capability to

react. But we need. to know in better terms what is our role

in this, especially in domestic intelligence.

.. Senator Mondale. . Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator Tower (presiding). Senator Schweiker.

Senator Schweiker. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Adams, in 1966 a letter written by the Bureau to

Marvin Watson, Special Assistant to the President at the white

House, and the gist of this letter was, in reference to his

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request, and I want to make it clear it was his request, not

the Bureau's, authors of-books that were critical of the Warren

Commission Report, the

assassination of President Kennedy, were

requested to file any pertinent personal data information,

dossiers, etc., on seven individuals whose names I will not

discuss.

"Do you have any knowledge as to why the White House requested

this kind of material on the Warren Commission critics?

Mr. Adams. I don't recall. I am familiar with the material.

I did review it some time ago when we were testifying before

the House _Committee in February, but I don't recall that I saw

in there any specific motivation on the part of the White House

group requesting this information.

-

Senator

Schweiker. Now, in the same letter it also says

a copy of this communication has not been sent to the Acting

Attorney General.

Mr. Adams. Yes.

- ..-.

Senator. Schweiker. Number one, is that a normal procedure,

when you get requests of this kind that the Acting Attorney

General is bypassed, and why was the Attorney General bypassed

in this instance?

Mr. Adams. This is not a normal procedure. It is not

the procedure followed today. There was a period of time where,

at the President's directions, Mr. Hoover reported more

directly to him in certain areas, and it was apparently a

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feeling that he did not want the Astorney General to know certain

things:

=-

Senator Schweiker. One of the dossiers specifically in-

cluded photographs of sexual activities.

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir.

Senator Schweiker. And my question is, how is that relevant

to being a critic of the Warren Commission?

What standard do we use when we just pass photographs of

sexuál activities to the White House? Is this a normal -- again,

is this a normal proceeding when a dossier is requested? Is this

included, or did they specifically request photographs of this

kind, or what light can you shed on this?

Mr. Adams. I can't shed much. - I know they requested

information on him. I think there was other material concerning

that individual of a security nature that was included. Why

the information in that respect was submitted I am unable to

answer.

--.-

I do know at the time there was a lot of concern following

the Warren Commission Report, had all the answers been explored,

was the Soviet Union involved, was Cuba involved, and who were

the critics who now are attacking this. But I have seen

nothing which would explain the rationale for requesting the

material.

Senator Schweiker: I think what concerns us on the Committee

is that whenever you get to the nitty gritty of investigations,

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and it doesn't have to relate to the Warren Commission, I will

leave that alone, or to some activity we are involved in, we

get back to something like that, where a photograph or a tape

recording or some letter referring to some kind of human weakness

or failing that is really very irrelevant to the investigation

is

sandwiched in here, and it just seems to me that it was a

tactic - this just happens to be the Warren Commission I

singled out - but it was a tactic that was used rather

frequently as a lever or for some reason which I am trying to

find out as an instrument of investigative policy.

Would you differ with that or dispute that, or again,

what rationale? Do we use sexual activities as a standard

criterion for investigations?

-

Mx. Adams. We do not use sexual activities as a criterion,

but during the course of our

investigation - we did have an

investigation on that individual at one time - and during

the course. of the investigation, in checking the records of a

local police department or a district. attorney's office, they

had conducted an investigation for a criminal act involving these

photographs, and. they made that available to us.

So it went into our files.

Now, the request of the President, he is the Chief

Executive of the United States.

He in effect has custody of

everything. There are problems involved when the man who is

in charge of everything

requests information. I would like

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to add, however, that following the cleansing effect of Watergate

that I don't know of any such requests coming over to the FBI

anymore.

......

....

There is a direct line between the Attorney General and

the Director, and the Director certainly recognizes that in a

case of extreme disagreement he would have the alternative to

tell the Attorney General, I need to go directly to the President,

or feel I should, but we do not have this line of communication

at the present time.'

Senator Schweiker. Well, it seems to me if they had just

listed the other investigation and listed what was alleged

in the other investigation, that certainly would have sufficed

for whatever purpose it would have. _But it seemsito me when

you in fact enclose living photographs, you are really getting

very much, to my way of thinking, towards attempting to

discredit their critics. What other purpose. would a photograph

have of this nature. other than to discredit critics because

they will not quarrel with listing whatever was charged in

another state. That may well have been included. I cannot

argue that.

Mr. Adams. I can't

answer that.

Senator Schweiker. One area that I think this gets to

which we really touched on in the assassination probe quite a

bit, Mr. Adams, is where the Bureau stops when they get some

of these requests, in other words, what kind of criteria, if

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any •

You touched on it a moment ago. The President asked for

something.

--=

I don't know in this case whether the President

asked to see photographs of this nature or didn't ask, but the

point is, nobody said no and he got them.

So the question is, where do you see the Bureau's responsi-

bility here, and what can this Committee do to ensure that

there is some kind of a test that we either put in the law

or that the FBI invokes, or that we invoke on the White House

in using police power in this way?

. Mr. Adams. I don't think Congress can ever fill the

responsibility of trying to draw up guidelines, even in conjunc-

tion with the Executive Branch, to guarantee that all abuses

won't take place. The oiganization is made up of human beings,

and these things occur.

Certain corrective actions are self-initiated, such as

this. The President, for instance, you know we had an incident

a few years ago about investigating. a newsman, where we were

requested, and if I recall from our information, we thought he

was being considered for an appointed position which would have

been a logical basis. As

facts turned out, that was not the

purpose that the information was requested.

To stem of stop abuses like that, the President, the

current Administration has issued instructions that any requests

for investigations under the special inquiry or White House

investigation such as for appointment must clear through the

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office of his counsel, in other words, not let the lower line

people come over and say we need this information or we need

this request.

They come through the office of Phil Buchen

through an employee that is assigned to that office with

responsibility.

Now, we do still make certain name check: requests for the

White. House, and those, too, have to clear through his office.

So we do have that. Then we have the responsibility, if we

get something which on its face appears political or improper,

then our responsibility under that would be to go to the

Attorney General and ask him-to intercede by finding out is

this a proper request on the Bureau. And I can assure you that

as MI. Kelley has testified and has made it perfectly clear

that he has not had any such improper requests and he would

go right to the Attorney General if it was necessary. Otherwise

he would reject the request.

Senator Schweiker.. What steps are we taking, under your

jurisdiction comes whatever internal investigation unit the

FBI has. I just wondered very briefly, because I know my

time is very limited, we have. a vote on, what steps are you

taking to make sure that we catch some of these things in the

present that maybe we either overlooked or did not catch or

somehow got sidetracked in the past?

Mr. Adams. We have been working with the Attorney General

and his staff. It started even when Attorney General Saxbe

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was there, to look at all of our procedures, all of our

..investigative operations: are they proper, do they fit

criteria, do we have a legal basis for them, and we have guide-

lines, committees which have been established in the Department

that meet every day on questions of what is even an overwhelming

problem of collection and maintenance of information. What

do we get, why do we get it, what should we do with it.

• I feel there is a very active program going on in that

regard, and I feel certain that it will continue to make sure

that we are aware of everything and take appropriate action.

- Senator Schweiker.. I wonder if. you might share some of

these with the staff so that we can have an advantage of taking

a 100k at those, too. I am glad to see this being made.

Mr. Adams. I would have to secure the approval of the

Attorney General on the guidelines. He did tell the House

Committee which originally raised the question on maintenance

of

information, that once we get something and they are nearing

completion in the Department, that he does intend to take it

up with Congress. So I am sure there would be no problem at

that point in bringing it to this Committee as well.

Senator Schweiker.

Because it seems to me this is where

the problems in the past have arisen, in not having clearly

defined or maybe if you measure it - you can measure it in

terms of today's standards versus standards of before, but I

think this is the crux of it.

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Mr. Adams.

That is true.

Senator Schweiker.

That's all I have, Mr. Chairman.

Senator Tower. Mr. Adams, what use does the Bureau presently

make of its intelligence informants, and have they ever been

used as provocateurs or as magnets for action?

Mr. Adams.

No, Sit.

' Well, you asked two questions.

Senator Tower.

Yes.

Mr. Adams. Let me take the last one first, provocateurs.

our policy has not -- or our policy has been to discourage any

activities which in any way might involve an informant doing

something that an agent cannot do, which would be in the area

of being a provocateur, which basically is entrapment. And

we have had some allegations of entrapment come up. We feel

we have satisfactorily answered them. This is a very technical

legal field which boils down, of course, to the fact that if a

person is willing to do something, and the government merely

provides the opportunity, that is not legally entrapment.

So

if a person comes

to us and says.I have been asked to participate

in a breakin of a Federal building, I would like to help you,

then the law basically would indicate we have the authority

to continue to let him operate.

The question comes up if he assumes the whole direction

and causes people to do something which they would not otherwise

have done. That is the entrapment issue. So we are very alert

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to this. We have instructions, clear guidelines; instructions

to .our field offices that they are not to use an informant for

anything that an agent cannot legally do. I don't say there

haven't been some mistakes in that regard, but I don't know of

any at the present time.

Senator Tower. Senator Huddleston?

Senator Huddleston. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

-First I think to keep this activity in proper perspective

it might be well to remember that even though a great deal of

the testimony and the questioning has been relating to the

question of DI. King, that this is by no means an isolated

situation. DI. King's case is indeed a classic example utilizing

all of the various techniques of the Bureau in both intelligence-

gathering an action against an individual in order to dis-

credit him or embarrass him, or indeed destroy him.

But the record is replete, and indeed, here is an entire

sheaf of similar targets who are certainly not as well known.

Some of them are high school students, some of them are

high school teachers, college students, college teachers,

broadcasters and journalists, people whose names would be almost

totally.unfamiliar. to. the.vast.majority. of. Americans,

So the.

activity was not.confined.to those.that are immediately

recognizable who were indeed public- figures.

I want to just proceed along the question of informants

that Senator Tower just raised for just a moment or two.

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You say that your informants are not expected to do anything

that an agent himself could not do, but in the gathering of the

----

information for which you are securing him in the first place,

do you have any safeguard at all, or any rule as to how he

proceeds in order to gather the information you are looking

for?

... Mt. Adams. Only that he proceed through legal means.

Senator Huddleston.

Is that specifically stated to him

when he is employed?

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir.

.. -

Senator Huddleston.

Are most

informers paid on the

-

basis of a regudar fee or regular salary, or are they paid

on the basis of the information they gather?

Mr. Adams. Even those who are paid on what you could say

a salary, that salary is determined on a COD basis as to the

value of the information furnished.. In other words, in the

criminal case, for instance, you could have a person come in and

give you the identity of three individuals who just robbed a

bank. You might pay him a lump sum amount, and never go back

-. -

to him.

In the security field where informants do finally manage

to work into a revolutionary type organization, their

continued activities in our behalf do set..up more of a program

for payment.

Senator Huadleston.

Do you check on occasion on the basis

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of information that may be supplied to you if it happens to be

of a sensational nature or of a surprising nature, do you ever

question the informer on how he obtained it?

Mr. Adams. I am sure this takes place. In any handling

of an informant over a sustained period of time, you do have a

rapport which they don't just come in and say Joe Blow said

this, Joe Blow did that. There is a conversation that goes

through which I feel certain would, if something looked like,

if it looked like he had

something that came from

some improper

source, I think the agent would say where did you get this.

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Senator Huddleston. If you found it had been taken

improperly or if some improper action had been taken, would

it be put in the files?

-

Mr. Adams. If he violated the law, we would have an

open investigation if it were within our jurisdication.

Senator Huddleston.

Now the Bureau disseminates this

information on individuals that is collected in various

ways in the various other agencies.

How many other agencies can request, for instance, an

individual check that would result in your supplying to him

information from these

personal intelligence files?

Mr. Adams. Every agent in the Federal Government under

the employee security program there is an obligation on the

part of every government agency to check with the FBI doing

name check search of our files to see if there is any subversive

derrogatory information which might militate against appointing

that individual to a Federal position.

Senator Huddleston. Do you take any precautions as to

how they will use that information once it is supplied to

them by your agents?

Mr. Adams. All we do is indicate to them on the

report that it is the property of the FBI and is not to be

disseminated outside

their agency.

Senator Huddleston. You have no way of knowing whether

or not indeed it is?

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Mr. Adams.

No, sir, we do not.

" Senator Huddleston. What internal precautions do you

have against the Bureau itself misusing information that it

gains from other agencies?

Mr. Adams.

Strong prohibitions. One, we don't allow

access to files except on a need-to-know basis. Any employee

of the FBI knows that if he improperly divulges information

or leaks information out of the files, he

will be subject

to administrative action.

We had a case where an agent obtained an identification

record and made it out improperly, and I think that agent

was separated from the roles. But we had asked for, and of

course we share in CIA's request to this extent, is that there

be a criminal penalty attached to misuse of information and

leaking it or making it available outside of an agency.

This is another issue before Congress.

IRS [JFK Law 11(a)]

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Did this in fact happan to your knowledge?

Mr. Adams.

I am not familiar with that case.

I can

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easily say it would not be proper.

Senator Huddleston. But you don't know whether: it

happened or whether the act. was carried out?

Mr. Adams. I do not know.

Senator Huddleston. Mr. Adams, getting on to another

subject, one of the techniques used very frequently by the

Bureau in its attempt to discredit individuals was to

utilize the press. It was customary to send anonymous letters

on many occasions to editors, broadcasters, commentators and

columnists around the country containing information or

suggesting information about an individual that the Bureau

wanted to discredit in some way.

There was also some evidence that the Bureau utilized

within the press itself on a regular contact basis certain.

columnists or broadcasters for the purpose of disseminating

information that the FBI wanted to get out about individuals.

How extensive was this custom utilized?

Mr. Adams. I don't believe it was very extensive.

In fact, I think there were probably very faw incidents where

untrue information was put. out.

That is my recollection.

on disseminating public source information there were

a number of instances of that which is still proper to date

under guidelines. I just don't know of many instances where

untrue information was used, and I do not know of too many

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instances overall where that was done.

Senator Huddleston. Do. you know of any instances or

how many actual journalists or practitioners of regular

disseminators of FBI information?

Mr. Adams. I don't know of any today that are in that

regard. I know there have been situations where, and people

still do. They come to us and say, we would like to do an

articla on organized crime. Can you be of assistance?

And if we can be of assistance within the guidelines

established by the Attorney General, we do assist. We have

a pull and a tug over privacy acts and freedom of infornation

and also the need to know, but we try to satisfy.

Senator Huddleston. Do you know of any at the present

time or in the past who have been paid by the FBI for their

services?

MI. Adams. Not personally. I don't know of any.

Senator Huddleston. Not personally. Do you know of

any evidence that indicates that?

Mr. Adams •

That's what I mean. I don't have any

evidence that indicates that.

Senator Huddleston. I think it would be helpful to our

inquiry if we could review or you would review the files and

make a determination as to whether or not that might be the

case, that the FBI has paid journalists who are amenabla to

disseminating information supplied by the FBI.

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MI. Adams. I am told we have. I don't know what files

we have reviewed, but we have reviewed them and we haven't

found any.

Senator Huddleston. You haven't found any.

What is the mass media program of the FBI?

Mr. Adams. To try to get the truth out, to get a proper

picture of the FBI's jurisdiction, its activities.

Senator Huddleston.

Is it also to suppress other

publications of other commentators or journalists who might

be disseminating other views?

Mr. Adams. No.

Senator Huddleston.,. Did the FBI not take some action

against a number of newspapers, most of them student newspapers

that they felt should be suppressed?

Mr. Adams. We may have in the past. I don't recall

any specific case.

You are talking about some of the Weatherman support

papers of Black Panther paper. I don't know of any in that

regard, but I'm not saying that such action was rot taken.

Senator Huddleston. Are you familiar with the special

correspondence list? •

Mr. Adams. Yes.

Senator Huddleston. What is this list?

Mr. Adams. My recollection is that the special

correspondence list was a list of individuals that had requested

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from time to time various Bureau publications and were kept

on a continuing list and mailed such communications to them.

Senator Huddleston. It was a list that was considered

to be friendly towards the FBI view?

Mr. Adams.. Yes. I would say anyone on that list would

normally be friendly.

Senator Huddleston. Do you have knowledge of a number

of instances in which the Bureau carrying out its COINTEL

program utilized the existing press in order to attempt to

discredit some individual?

Mr. Adams.' I don't have an idea of the number, but I

don't think there were very many.

Senator Huddleston. Do you have a list of the instances

in which the Bureau attempted to discredit other publications?

Mr. Adams. No, I don't know.

Senator Huddlaston. Do you know that they did occur?

Mr. Adams. I can ask. I get a no as far as any knowledge

in that ragard.

Senator Huddleston. As far as knowledge.

Mr. Adams. That means knowledge of what we have come

up with in our current review, I would assume.

Senator Huddleston. It seems to me that this is an

area in fich we are particularly troubled and should be. If

there is any right that is specifically called for in our

Constitution and has been upheld and reaffirmed in court decision

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after court decision, it is the right to publish in this

country. The First Amendment speaks not only of freedom of

speech, but also freedom of the press. And yet it seems that

we have à pattern here of the chief law enforcement agency

of the country attempting to suppress that very right.

Mr. Adams. I haven't seen -- I think any effort to

manipulate the press of this country, I just don't see any

possibility in that regard and I don't see the logic of

anyone even attempting such.

Senator Huddleston. But it did happen.

Mr. Adams. It may have happened in -

Senator Huddleston. In a rather extensive field.

Mr. Adams. I disagree with that rather extensive field.

I just don't know the extent that you are talking to here.

Senator Huddleston.

We are talking about the cases where

Mr: Adams. Are you lumping in cases where we disseminated

public source information? Are you lumping in a case where

we may have gone to a

Senator Huddleston. I think disseminating public source

information is somewhat different from furnishing a TV

commentator with derrogatory information about a specifi

individual who has been targeted as one that apparently the

Bureau thinks is dangerous of his ideas ought to be suppressed.

Mr. Adams. Is that manipulating the press, though?

Here you have a situation where an individual is going around

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the country advocating off-the-pig or kill-the-police or

something like that. And a newspaper man was furnished, say

some background information on him which would have been in

the area of public source material which he could use in an

article.

ArE We

really, if the information is.true, the final

decision, it would seem to me, would be the newspaperman as

to whether he would use any such information.

I think if we concealed our motives from the newspaper

man, or furnished false information, which I think we did in

one anonymous letter or something that I saw in all of this,

I would say that was improper.

Senator Huddleston.. Or --

Mr. Adams. I think newsmen have sources. I think --

Senator Huddleston. Or convincing a cartoonist, for

instance, to draw a derrogatory cartoon about a college

¡professor who. certainly did not constitute a threat to the

violent overthrow of the government.

Mr. Adams. If anyone accuses us of having any great

success in trying to influence the press, I think that their

objectivity stands pretty high.

• Senator Huddleston. I think the point is whether there

was sucggss or not, there was an effort made. I'm glad to

hear you acknowlsage now that it is almost an impossibility.

But more than that it seems to me at the beginning when

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these type of techniques were used, it seemed to indicate a

lack of confidence or faith in the American people to believe

that they could not hear ideas that might be contrary to their

own without being serious damaged.

One of the great freedoms we have is the freedom of

hearing other ideas whether we agree with them or not. I

think this is an area that we are concerned with and one

technique which I hope is being discontinued and one that will

be by the time these hearings conclude and by the time proper

legislation is drawn.

Mr. Adams. Well, I think you can be assured that any

such techniques in that area died with COINTELPRO in 1971.

Senator Huddleston.. That is comforting.

Mr. Adams. Yes.

The Chairman (presiding).. Thank you, Senator. :

• I have been forced in and out by virtue of votes and other

Committee business. I am not sure which Senators have had

their opportunity to question and which have not.

Senator Goldwater, were you next?

Senator Goldwater. I will not take much time.. I

apologize for not having been here in the last two days. It

is going good, I have heard.

We have heard testimony regarding the voluminous records,

I believe 500, 000, mairtained by the Bureau.

How in your view have these records come to be kept?

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For what purpose have they been kept and has the Bureau aver

undertaken to destroy or prune down any of these records?

Mr. Adams. We have a number of records. We are

a business-like organization. We record our activities. And

as the staff knows, they had access to a lot of recorded

material that is the product of what the FBI has done over

the years.

When we conduct an investigation, we maintain the

results. We do have destruction procedures where after the

passage of certain time limits approved by the Archives

authority, we are allowed to destroy certain files. Other

information we are required to put on microfilm. There is

a regular standard procedure for the destruction of FBI

"files. This has been suspended, of course, during the

initiation of these hearings and our files probably have

increased considerably during this period because we are not

allowed to destroy anything since the Committee commenced

its hearings.

But we do have procedures for destroying these that

are approved by the Archives, and a problem inherent in that

is maintaining information, what should we keep, what should

we obtain during an investigation, what should we record?

In the past we have been pretty consistent in recording

everything we thought was relevant to the investigation. The

passage of the Privacy Act put certain restrictions in. We

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cannot collect or maintain anything unless it is relevant to

an ongoing. matter of which we have investigative jurisdiction.

But beyond even the Privacy Act, the Attorney Generäl

instituted a guidelines committee in this area that we have

been meeting diligently with every day and hopefully have

tried to avoid this idea that we are for no good reason

maintaining a gossip, scandal, and unncessary, irrelevant

material.

-

So once these guidelines are in some sort of final

form, not to be adopted, then the Attorney General has

indicated that he is going to take it up with the various

Congressional committees to get their input into it, after

which they will be published.

Senator Golavater. Well, now these dossiers, I think

you can call them that probably.

Mr. Adams. I prefer not to, but I accept the fact that

that is how they are referred to. .

Senator Goldwater.

What do you call them?

Mc. Adams. I call them files. To me, I guess we all

have our little hang-ups, but to me that is usually used in

some sinister connotation. It is probably not to you. But

I will use whatever terminology you want to use on this.

Senator Goldwater. I hope what you have on me is not

called a dossier.

Mr. Adams. No, sir, it's a collection of material.

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(General laughter)

Mr. Adams. Of which you are aware.

Senator Goldwater. That's right..

Now let me ask you, the information you have would

probably be on computer tape?

Mr. Adams. No, sir.

Senator Goldwater.

It's

not.

Information that IRS

would have, is that computerized?

Mr. Adams. It may be. I'm not familiar with the extent

of theirs. We do have certain computer activities, such as

the National Crime Information Center, or we have, I guess,

7 or 8 million records. This is not the usual file material.

This is, it consists of individuals concerning whom a

warrant is outstanding, stolen property, material such as

this. And also some documented criminal history information

in the nature of prior arrest history. But not what I think

you are referring to in the way of file material, reports,

intelligence, this type of information.

IRS [JFK Law 11(a)]

MI. Adams. No, si.

Senator Goldwater. There's no such list that you know

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Mr. Adams. I don't know what other agencies have, but

the FBI does not have such a list, does not have such a

capability to interface with suck a list if such

a list

exists.

Senator Goldwater. Do you feel rather safe in saying

then that no agency of government has put together such a

computerized total of all the information on the people that

you have surveilled?

Mr. Adams. Oh, I think it is safe to say I don't know

of any. Today I am not saying what does exist or doesn't

exist elsewhere.

Senator Goldwater. •In addition to the 500,000 records

that you have, would I be correct in saying that you have

50 million data cards and that there's $82 million spent on

intelligence in the Fiscal year 1975 in maintaining this

library?

Mr. Adams.

No, I don't think that is correct. I think

the figure of $32 million is what our budget people have

drawn up as being the total cost in a given year of our

intelligence operations, sacurity, criminal, organized crime,

the whole intelligence field. But I don't relate it to the

maintenance of any data

cards.

Senator Goldwater®

Now one other area, and I think it

probably, according to the records, it does go back to 170.

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How did the Bureau come to place the so-called women's

lib movement under surveillance, and I say so-called. because

I think we discovered that there was no such organized movement.

Mr. Adams. There were a lot of movements. It is my

recollection - I häve not reviewed the file in detail, but

it is my recollection that the case was originally opened

because of indications that certain groups were attempting

to infiltrate or control the women's liberation movement.

The investigation was conducted and was terminted several

years ago, as far as I know.

Senator Goldwater. Do you know of any actions that were

taken by the Bureau as to the women's liberation movement

except to monitor it?

Mr. Adams. No. And the monitoring was for the purpose

of determining the infiltration, and I don't know of any

actions taken against them.

Senator Goldwater. That's all I have, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you.

The Chairman.

Thank you, Senator Goldwater.

Senator Hart, have you had an opportunity to question?

Senator Hart of Colorado. No, I have not.

The Chairman. Senator Hart.

Senator Hart. of Colorado. Thark you, Mr. Chairman.

In the testimony yesterday developed by the staff concerning

the last few days of Martin Luther King's life, we learned

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that the Bureau in March öf 1968 developed information to

be given to the press criticizing Dr. King for staying in

a white-owned and operated hotel, the Holiday Inn in Memphis,

instead of the Lorraine.

At some point during Dr. King's stay in Memphis, he

moved from the Holiday Inn to Lorraine.

To your knowledge, Mr.

Adams, was that information ever

given to the press?

Mr. Adams. I have been unable to determine that. This

question was raised of me by the Civil Rights Division of the

Department. Apparently, they had had some inquiry along

the same lines several months ago. But my recollection of it

at the time, we saw that this action had been proposed and

the memorandum bore the initials, I believe it was the

initials, statement handled, and the initials of the agent

in tha External Affairs Division who assumed the responsibility

of saying handle it and initiated it..

They contacted him and he said that he had no recollection

of the matter but the fact that he did say handled didn't

mean that he was able to do anything with it. He was just

clearing that memorandum so it would show action was taken,

and he doesn't know if he gave it to anyone or not.

- Stigator. Hart of colorado.. Well, suffice it to say that

the facts are that subsequent to the time the Bureau developed

this information to pass on to the press, it did appear in the

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local papers in Memphis.

Mr. Adams. There was some statement in the local papers,

not according to the terminology of the proposed statement that

was to be given to him. There was some comment made, if I

recall, that Martin Luther King gave a press conference

following the riots that followed one of his appearances,

and that he gave that press conference in a hotel, the Holiday

Inn Hotel. But it didn't have any, at least the newspaper

article itself didn't have any direct relation to acts taken.

Senator Hart of Colorado. Well, according to some

historians and people who have commented on the circumstances,

they were fairly explicit in stating that the local press

was critical of him during that period for staying in the

white hotel, but I don't want to make a big issue out of

that.

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What was the name of the agent that you talked to?

Mr. Adams. I didn't talk to him personally. People in

the Bureau that were working on this did and I believe his

name was Linbaugh, I-1-n-b-a-u-g-h.

Senator Hart of Colorado. If you could provide that

name to us, I would appreciate it.

Mr. Adams. I would be glad to.

Senator Hart of Colorado. Mr. Adams, was any effort

made during this entire COINTELPRO period to objectively

define what the New Left meant? What was your understanding

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Mr. Adams. They did have a definition of the New Left

distinguishing it from the Old Left. It was primarily to dis-

tinguish it from the, in the area that the New Left was trying

to separate itself from the old hidebound policies of the:

Communist Party or some of its links to the Communist Party.

Perhaps Mr. Wannall has a better definition of that.

Senator Hart of Colorado. It very definitely included those

who were opposed to the war, organized groups that opposed the

war and felt strongly about racial injustice in this country,

leaving the Communist Party aside.

MI. Adams. People involved in the New Left movement were,

of course, also involved in the Vietnam, anti-Vietnam was

effort.

Senator Hart of Colorado. What do you mean also?

That's what I'm trying to get out. What was the New

Left? If you didn't oppose the war and you weren't involved in

civil rights groups, who else might you have been?

Mr. Adams. Well, the New Left was a -- did involve a

revolutionary philosophy. It wasn't related solely to the

anti-Vietnam effort.

Senator Hart of Colorado.

Thomas Jefferson embodied a

revolutionary philosophy.

Mr. Adams. That's right. And the New Left activity

exceeded Thomas Jefferson's philosophy in that it did fit in

with the basic Communist philosophy.

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Senator Hart of Colorado. Every group that was placed under

the efforts of the COINTELPRO supported the violent overthrow

of this country?

...

Mr. Adams. The concept of COINTELPRO was directed toward:

those organizations. I would have to refresh my memory on each

one of the organizations

that were targets of it, but they were

basically New Left, Communist Party, Socialist Workers Party,

New Left, black extremists, white hate groups, those were the

five basics.

Senator Hart of Colorado.

The Southern Christian Leader-

ship Conference?

Mr. Adams. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference,

I don't know if it was involved specifically in COINTELPRO.

Three minor actions were taken against the Southern

Christian Leadership Conference.

Senator Hart of Colorado. Well, its. leader, I"think you

could say, for eight years was subject to a lot more than three

minor actions.

Mr. Adams. That's right, and that gets into the other

area that the activities taken against him were primarily

COINTELPRO type activities but weren't really under the control

of --

Senator Hart of Colorado. You're saying that basically

every. organization and individual that was swept into the

net of the five COINTELPRO nets supported the violent overthrow

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of this country?

Mr. Adams. Well, not just the violent overthrow of the

government. It would have been organizations that were threaten-

ing and fomenting violence. I don't believe it had to be.

related to the actual overthrow of the government.

Senator Hart of Colorado. Is a street demonstration

violent?

Mr. Adams. It depends on where you are in relation to

what is taking place. If there are a lot of activities in

connection with street demonstrations that are not violent,

and there are a lot of street demonstrations that have reported

in deaths, so it just depends on activity taking place and

the circumstances.

Our problem is we are given the responsibility by the

Attorney General to monitor demonstrations which have the

potential of violence. The

question is, how do you find out,

at what point do you get in and monitor demonstrations to deter-

miné if that has a potential violence?

Senator Hart of Colorado. Well, obviously what we're

told was here is, we have received testimony to the effect

that the FBI went out of its.way to foment violence itself,

to encourage disruptions internally, to encourage hostilities

and conflict between. and among these groups in the hope that

violence would occur, and therefore you could, say, go back to

the Director or the press

or whomever and say look, this is

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a violent group.

Mr. Adams. I accept the allegation but I don't accept the

fact, the conclusion that, from what I have seen in reviewing

these files in connection with our investigations, we don't

foment violence. We don't permit as a matter of policy our

informants to act as provocateurs to engage in violence. I am

not denying it may have happened, but the FBI does not foment

violence, and the FBI, you know, has no --

Senator Hart of Colorado. You are using present. tense

veibs.. I think --

Mr. Adams.

We didn't then. I don't agree that our actions

in any event were designed to foment violence.

Senator Hart of Colorado. I think there is plenty of

documentation of the attempt to set the Black Panthers against

"--

the Blackstone Rangers in Chicago.

Mr. Adams. Well, I don't .consider that plenty of evidence.

I think the evidence to the contraty is that one of the.

organizations, when we got word that the Black Panther versus

US, we notified the local police that this activity was going

to take place, and the individual, so that we would prevent.

the killing which had come to our attention was going to take

place, and then the turndowns of various COINTELPRO actions,

there were specific statements made, that will not be

approved because it might result in harm to an individual,

physical harm, and we have no indication from any of these

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actions under COINTELPRO that any violent act occurred, and I

have not been presented with any by the staff from their far

more extensive inquiry.

Senator Hart of Colorado. June 3rd, 1968, a memorandum

from the Special Agent in Charge of Cincinatti to the Director

of the FBI, the title of which is Counterintelligence Program,

Disruption of the New Left, a five page memorandum having to

do with Antioch College in Ohio. It is a long description of

the college and background. There is a recommendation on page

3, Cincinatti recommends that counterintelligence action be

taken to expose the pseudo-intellectual image of Antioch, and it

gives specific ways of doing that, and then the next page,

page 4, the desired result of action, force Antioch to

defend itself as an educational institution.

Where in the laws of this country or the charter of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation does it say that that Agency

should be forcing any educational institution to defend itself?

MI. Adams. I know of none.

Senator Hart af Colorado. You would say this is stepping

beyond the bounds.of your authority?

Mr. Adams. I would say -- I'm not familiar with the total

action of what was there, but just on the surface I don't see

any basis for it.

Senator Hart of Colorado. It is my understanding that

participating field officers of the counterintelligence, the

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COINTELPRO activities were required to send in status letters

and repott in annual results.

• Is that correct?

Mr. Adams. Yes.

Senator Hart of Colorado.

What kind of results generally

were you looking for? What was considered success?

Mr. Adams. Well, it would be considered success, like

in one instance where an action was taken to create factionalism

in the highest level of the Communist Party, and the results

were that we were advised that the Communisty Party influence

declined appreciably as a direct result of factionalism created

at that level. That to us was a concrete result.

We had other results

where, well, you get in various

degrees. That is an extremely favorable degree. We had others,

I think one was alluded to yesterday or today where. a letter

went on setting. up. a marital. strife. on. the. part of. someone.

I don't see. any basis. or. justification. for. that.. I think that

is the other. extreme. I think in the middle there were ones

. that. fell into a different degree.

The only thing that I feel is we had 3000 actions

recommended. The Bureau -- just like this Antioch one. I

don't know if the document shows whether that was approved of

not.

I doubt that it was approved.

Senator Hart of Colorado.

I believe it was.

We can

document that.

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Mr. Adams. Okay. Because there would be one. I would

say the judgment in approving that is in question. But out

of 3000 recommended, the fact that 2000 approved shows that

there was some concern to try to keep these to a proper level,

and I think the actual number of grossly improper activities

fortunately is rather small. I think there are a lot in there.

Well,: the whole program, we feel, should have been dis-

continued, and we don't have a program like it now, and we

wouldn't institute a program like it now.

Senator Hart of Colorado. It would be helpful to us if

now or in the future you could recommend what steps we should

take, both as the Committee and this Congress, to make sure

that doesn't happen, aside from just the assurances we are being

given here.

Mr. Adams. Well, the main recommendation I make is that

we don't wind up on the point we have been. on in the past

years that one time in our history. Congress. is saying we ought

to be doing. something to stop. violence in the streets, murders,

blowing up. of buildings,. and at another. time they are saying

you shouldn't have done. what you did, and that we make a

mistake when we react and try to identify one area and say that

is the voice of the people. What we need is a legislative

mandate which is the will of Congress in order to tell us what

our role should be in this area. I think that is the main

thing that would come out of all of these, I hope, some more

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definitive guideline where we all know what the will of the

people is as expressed by Congress.

Senator Hart of Colorado. I believe my time is up.

Senator Tower (presiding). Mr. Adams, to return to the

business of informants which I initiated and was interrupted

by a vote, who selects an informant? •

Mr. Adams. The basic responsibility is on our special

agent personnel who develop informants, the agent on the street.

Senator Tower. Does the Special Agent in Charge in a given

area have control over the activities of an informant or a veto

on the use of a particular informant?

Mr. Adams. Not only the Special Agent in Charge, but FBI

headquarters. We maintain the tightest possible control of the

utilization of informants. We require Bureau approval to utilize

a person as an informant.

Senator Tower. The Special Agent in Charge has the power

to veto the use of an informant?

MI. Adams. Yes, sir.

Senator Tower. Does headquarters know who all the

informants are?..

Mr. Adams. Absolutely.

We do not allow hip pocket

informants. We require --

Senator Tower. You don't have the agents informed by their

• ..

•own special informants?

Mr. Adams. Absolutely not.

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Senator Tower. Are the criteria different for paid.ana

for non-paid informers?

Mr. Adams. We have some informants over the years that have

refused to accept payment, but generally the criteria for

both, I mean for ones that are paid is that it must be on a

COD basis, evaluated as to the value of the information.

Senator Tower. What protections are afforded to

informants?

Mr. Adams. Protections afforded them individually?

Senator Tower. Yes.

Mr. Adams. The greatest protection in the world we can

afford them is to maintain the confidential relationship which

they have adopted with the FBI, and the fact that those citizens

of the United States who, for whatever reason, decide to

cooperate with the FBI and cooperate with their government

in criminal and the security field, have that confidentiality.

maintained, and beyond that confidentiality we are unable to:

afford them any protection,. any physical protection. We have

had informants murdered through disclosure. We have had them

subjected. to. other. violence. and. criminal. activities, and the

only protection beyond maintaining the confidentiality is once

we have. used. them or. had. to. expose. them. for. some. purpose., we

do. have.procedures. for. relocation. and.maintenance.of. them which

is utilized. quite.frequently in the top hoodlum and the Cosa

Nostra type investigations.

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Senator Tower.. It is. my understanding now that 83 percent

of all: cases involve. some. use. of informants, so that means that

the use is pretty widespread. and. apparently very essential.

What kind of guidance. does the. FBI: give to these informants

to give them any special training? Could you describe that kind

of relationship in terms of guidelines, control, authority,

what have you?

Mr. Adams. Well, when an individual is being developed

as an informant, our main concern is whether he provides

reliable information and that the information he collects is

collected by legal means. We don't permit an informant to

engage in any activity that an agent couldn't do legally

himself. In other words, you can't have an extension of the

agent out here engaging in illegal acts, and the agent saying

I abide by the law. This creates some problems, of course,

in the criminal field where you don!t recruit informants from

Sunday schools. You recruit: informants. in areas where they do

have knowledge of criminal activities. But we even had to

open investigations and prosecute some of our informants, be-

cause, we. do not. bend. from this, that they are: not going to

enjoy favorite. status. as. a result of their relationship. with

us.. So. the agent covers all of this with an informant during

the discussions...

we. secure. background. information on the. informants. We

do this to ensure, as best as possible, we are dealing with a

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reliable, stable individual even though he may be engaged in

an unstable activity, and we go through this period and consider

them more or less, in different terminology, probationary,

potential, verifying information: that he furnishes us, and

everytime when they report on the status of an informant, they

have to tell us what percentage of his information has been

verified by other means, by other informants or sources.

So we do have a continuing indoctrination which is

supervised at FBI headquarters.

Senator Tower. You said you don't recruit your informants

from Sunday school class. Being an ex-Sunday school teacher, I

resent that, but --

Mr. Adams. I am talking in the criminal field. Many of

our security informants come from a very fine background.

Senator Tower. But this leads me into this. Sometimes,

then; you might recruit people that you know have committed

criminal acts.

Mr. Adams. That's true.

Senator Tower. Do you promise him immunity from future

prosecution in many instances to secure their cooperation?

Mr. Adams. No. Now, the only exception to that would be

we may have an ongoing, it is what you call an informant --

believe your question is addressed to someone that we are

actually considering in an informant status.

Senator Tower.

Yes.

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Mr. Adams. We do have situations where during an investi-

gation we target on one individual, the lower rung, and the

United States Attorney and the Department offer immunity. We

don't. And say, you cooperate, and we go up the ladder to the

next level, and in some of these cases we have gone up through

successive stages until we get the main honcho who we feel is

the proper target of our investigation.

Senator Tower. Getting on another subject, does the

FBI still request bank audits?

Mr. Adams. Bank audits? Do you mean do we still have

access to bank records?

Senator Tower. Yes.

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir, we do.

Senator Tower. And do you obtain access with or without

warrants?

Mr. Adams. We obtain access without warrants.

Senator Tower. Without warrants?

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir.

Senator Tower.

Is the subject notified in advance by the

FBI when you obtain one without a warrant?

Mr. Adams. No, sir.

- Senator Tower. Are they notified by the bank, or is he

notified subsequently by the FBI?

Mr. Adams. No. We do get subpoenas in many cases, not

warrants, but we do get subpoenas in many cases, but in some

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cases a bank will make available to us records without subpoena.

When it comes time for utilizing that information we do issue

a subpoena for the information.

Senator Tower. Do you have legal authority to gain.

access to these records?

....

Mr. Adams. Yes, sir, we

do.

Senator Tower. Without a subpoena, without a court

document?

Mr. Adams. There is no law that I know of that forbids

us access. There have been several court decisions, including

some circuit courts that disagree with each other, but I think

the current finding is that the bank records are the records

of the bank and this does not violate any First Amendment or

other Amendments in connection with it.

Senator Tower. Do you make similar requests of S&Ls and

other, and credit unions and other financial institutions?

Mr. Adams. I would assume the same would provide there.

The Chairman (presiding). Thank you, Senator Tower.

I just have a question or two. We are going to try to

conclude this morning because the Committee has a hearing, a

business meeting at 2:00 o'clock this afternoon and for the

information of the members, that meeting will take place in

room 3110 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

And while I am making announcements, I think I should say.

that tomorrow between the hours of 9:00 o'clock in the morning

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and 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon, the Committee will report

its findings and make its recommendations to the Senate in

connection with our investigation into alleged involvement of

the United States in certain assassination plots, and attempts

directed against foreign leaders.

The Committee, as you know, has made an exhaustive investi-

gation of this issue. It has taken some six months; 75 witnesses

have been interrogated, over 8000 pages of testimóny have been

taken, mountains of documents have been analyzed and digested,

and the report will be a detailed accounting to the American

people of that evidence, together with the findings and

recommendations of the Committee.

Initially these disclosures will be made to the Senate in

secret session, after which the Committee has previously voted

to make the report public. Therefore, it is anticipated that

at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon in this room,. the caucus room,

following that secret session. of the Senate, the Committee will

meet with the press for the purpose of answering such

questions as the press may wish to address to the Committee on

the assassination report.

Now, the last few questions I would like to put to you,

Mr. Adams, have to do with some confusion in my mind concerning

the purpose of the FBI in monitoring the Women's Liberation

movement, what was that? What was that surveillance done for?

Why were you involved in monitoring that movement?

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Mr. Adams. It was basically, as I recall, I have not

reviewed the files, but from the information that I have

acquired, it would indicate there were groups that were believed

to be infiltrating and attempting to exert control over it. That

investigation was based_of_initiated on this fact.

The Chairman. But you never found, did you, that the

Women's Liberation movement was seriously infiltrated, influenced

or controlled by Communists.

Mr. Adams. No, and the case was closed. I would put them

in the position of comments we have made earlier about the

press, that I don't think anyone is going to dominate or control.

That is a very independent group.

The Chairman. Well, we are trying to keep the country that

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way •

Mr. Adams. That's right.

The Chairman. And the kind of thing that disturbs me

'is what the documents reveal. For example, if you will turn --

you have the document book there with you. If you will turn

to Tab 5, 5-4, can you find that? Can you move your thumb

through the pages to 5-4?

Have you found that? It's in the upper right hand

corner, 5-4, under Tab 5.

Mr. Adams. Yes.

The Chairman. Then, if you will turn back beyond that,

one, two, three, four pages where you find under the caption

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Origin, Aims, and Purposes, a description of the Women's

Liberation movement in Baltimore, Maryland.

Now, I call your attention to this because it seems to me

to typify the whole problem of this generalized kind of

surveillance over activities of American citizens. Here is

the report, if you will read with me this paragraph, the

report on the group reads as follows:

"The Women's Liberation

movement in Baltimore,

Maryland began during the summer of

1968.

There was no structure or a parent organization.. There

were no rules or plans to go by. It started out as a group

therapy session with

young women who were either lonely or

confined to the home with small children, getting together to

talk out their problems. Along with this they wanted a

purpose and that was to be free women from the humdrum

existence of being only a wife and mother. They wanted

equal opportunities that men have in work and in society. They

wanted their husbands to share in the housework and in rearing

their children. They also wanted to go out and work in whatever

kind of jobs they wanted, and not to be discriminated against

as women."

Now, can you find anything in that report that in any way

suggests that these women were engaged in improper or unlawful

activity?..

Mr. Adams. Not in that one. I believe there was another

report, though, giving the origin of it, which went into a

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little more description of what our basic interest was.

The Chairman. Can you tell me, because this is the report

I have --

Ms. Adams. Well, I am given here --

The Chairman. What other, if there was some sinister

activity connected with this group that isn't laid out in the

document --

Mr. Adams. I was given a work paper here which reads,

"Women's Liberation Movement. Investigation of captioned

movement was initiated by our New York Office in April 1969

as the Women's Libber movement was described as a loosely

structured women's movement comprised of individuals with

varying ideologies from liberal to New Left persuasion, some

of whom had exhibited an affiliation with and/or sympathy

for several organizations of investigative interest to this

Bureau, namely, the Students for a Democratic Society, Black

Panther Party, the Vietnam. Peace Parade. Committee, Venceremos

Brigade, the Socialist. Workers

Party, with its youth group

the Young Socialist. Alliance."

The Chairman. May I stop you at this point?

Mr. Adams. Yes.

The Chairman. You are reading from a paper which has to

do with the origination of an investigation coming out of

New York, are you not?

Mr. Adams. Yes.

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The Chairman. I am reading from a document that relates

to the Women's Liberation Movement in Baltimore, and the findings

concerning it in the summer of 1968. My question hasn't to do

with whatever original purpose the FBI sought by initiating

this kind of surveillance in New York, but with a finding

made concerning the Women's Liberation movement in Baltimore

which I have just read to you, and I think you would agree with

me that women do have the right to get together to talk about

humdrum existence and equal opportunities with men and equal

opportunities for work in our society, don't they? That is

not a subversive activity.

Mr. Adams. Well, but what you have here is the setup of

our investigative activity. We had New York, which was the

office of origin of the investigation. You have other offices

that were checking to determine what influence there was.

In addition, in New York, to the New York office, lay the

fact

that interwoven with the Women's. Liberation movement goal for

equal rights for women, there was. an advocacy certainly of

militancy and violence in achieving their goals.

Now, Baltimore is one office, and I believe that even

there in one of the reports --

The Chairman. You keep taking me back to New York.

Mr. Adams.

Right.

The Chairman. And I keep taking you back to Baltimore.

And the reason I do that is because if you turn two pages.

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back from this particular report, which has to do with the

Baltimore organization, the question is whether based upon that

finding the investigation should continue of the Baltimore

group, and the decision is that you will continue to follow

and report on the activities of the group.

And I just wondered why --

Mr. Adams. This is a problem that we have, that we do

have organizations where sometimes the -- the Women's Liberation

group is not a good example because that was washed out, but

we do have organizations where -

The Chairman. What was washed out? Not the Women's

Liberation movement?

Mr. Adams. No, the investigation indicated there was

no concern or no reason to be concerned about it.

But where you do have an organization that has branches

in many areas of the country, and you start with one place and

it looks like you have a subversive organization, you do have

to see, well, is this carried out. throughout the organization

or is it just one chapter. of one group? In other words, not

even an organizational problem..

The Chairman. But you see, in this - the trouble with

that is in this Baltimore organization you say in your own

report that it was independent, there was no structure of

•a parent organization, no rules or plans, so it isn't a part

of a national controlled and directed organization called by

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your own admission -

Mr. Adams. I believe this report had some subsequent

pages that aren't included in here that did show some additional

activity or influence.

The Chairman. I am told by the staff that this summary is

accurate, and the only other thing contained was that these

women had affiliations with an organization that had protested

the war in Baltimore.

Mr. Adams. I think there were some other items.

The Chairman. That is the only other association that

we have been able to determine.

Now, in a case of this kind, do you still carry -- you say

this has been closed. Apparently the Women's Liberation move-

ment is no longer under suspicion by the FBI and the case has

been closed. What happens when the case is closed? Are those

women's names still left in. the files?

Are they forever more contained?

MI. Adams. Yes.

The Chairman. In the system? Yes.

There is no - yes.

Mr. Adams. Yes.

The Chairman. Pretty soon you will have us all in the

system.

I mean, if there is no way, even after surveillance has

been terminated to terminate the references of individuals

through the files of the system, you will' one day have us all,

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won't you?

MI. Adams. Well, I would say as part of a normal business

record, when we do make a judgment that an organization should

be investigated and we investigate it, and then we find activities

but we make a conclusion that there is no additional problem

here, this is a record of our official action. Now, if we

destroy it, at what point do we get into a situation of being

accused of doing things and then destroying things to keep from

showing what we do?

The critical thing on this is whether we are able, and we

do set up safeguards, where information in our files is not

misused at a later date, and that is what these guideline .

committees are all about.

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The Chairman. Do you have any idea of how many names of

Americans you keep in your files all as a result of the

cumulative effect of all of these surveillances in all of

these cases?

Mr. Adams. No! I

_don't.

The Chairman. It's in the millions, isn't it?

MI. Adams. We have 6 1/2 million files.

The Chairman. You have 6 1/2 million files?

MI. Adams. Yes, sir.

The Chairman. And there are surely names of more than

one person typically in a file, aren't they?

Mr. Adams. But it is a rather large country.

The Chairman. That's a large number of files to start.

with, and if you have multiple names in them, you are quickly

up in to the, you know, 20, 30, 40 million.

Mr. Adams. Right. But many of these files are

applicant files. They are not all subversive files. They are

not all criminal files. Ne have a million crimes of violence

each year.

There is a million people.

The Chairman.

Sure, and I wish you had more time to

spend on those crimes of violence.

Mr. Adams. I do too.

The Chairman. " There we agree.

Mr. Adams. Right.

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The Chairman, What I worry about is this. You say there's

no way to know when to close a file. These were surveillance

files, or originally opened up to determine whether organizations

might have subversive connections.

-..

There are names in these. files, so some demagogua comes

along and says against some public figure that his name is

contained in a certain file to be found in the subversive

files of the FBI and there it is. It has not made a misstatement

at all. But tó the American people that man's name and

reputation has been scarred.

Mr. Adams. And I hope this Committee recognizes that

and recommends legislation that would enforce strong punitive

or criminal violations against misuse of information in the

files, We feel this way, CIA feels this way. We recognize

we have a lot of sensitive information in it. We fire our

employees if we find them misusing information. We feel

we need additional sanctions in this area.

I don't think we can ever stop the accumulation of

information. I don't know an investigative agency in the

world, a law enforcement agency, that does not have to

accumulate information. And we are working on guidelines

as to how to get rid of the irrelevant information, how to

eliminate material that really does not read to be kept,

that we hope we will be able to come to Congress with these

guidelines before too long, which will help address itself

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to just some of these problams.

The Chairman.

Well, you may be assured that the

Committee shares your objective in this regard and we will

be working with you and the Department of Justice and others

to try and change the laws-to give a greater measure of

protection to the First Amendment rights of the American people.

I have no further

questions. Are there any other

questions.

Senator Mondale?

Senator Mondale. Mr. Adams, earlier, in inquiring about

the basis for investigating Dr. King, I thought I heard two

basic justifications. One, suspicion and fear of Communist

influence or infiltration. And secondly, "that he constituted

a threat to the success of the Negro movement."

Did I understand that second basis?

MI. Adams. No. The first I was talking about was not

suspicion but information indicating Communist influence.

The second was on this question of motivation that you raised,

I don't know what their motive was to get to some of these

other activities in order to discredit and remove him, but it

was a question - apparently,. they must have felt that he

was a threat to either as shown in the files the President .

and Attorney General expressed concern about the civil rights

movement and his continued affiliation with some of these

people.

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So --

Senator Mondale.. Would you agree that it would not be

a proper basis for an investigation for the FBI of any other

government official to be concerned about the success of the

negro movement?

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In other words, that is not a valid --

Mr. Adams. I have no problem.

Senator Mondale. All right. So let us take the one

ground that appears to have justified the investigation of

Dr. King and the investigation of the women's liberation

movement - the fear that "dangerous influences might

infiltrate these organizations."

Suppose it is true.

Suppose that a Communist did

have influence over DI. King, or suppose an SDS member

infiltrated and became a dominant influence in a chapter of

the women's liberation movement and you established it as

a fact. What would you do?

Assuming that we can't get into this harassing and so

on, you agree that that no longer has any validity.

So what?

What do you have?

Mr., Adams. We have potential violations which might

arise, which rarely come to fruition and haven't for many

years, but we do have an intelligence responsibility under

the directives from the President and the Attorney General.•

That is, with a revolutionary group, like the Communist Party

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has taken over control of a domestic group and the Communist

Party is operated by the Soviat Union. We would furnish that

information as we do. Every copy

of our reper mee me the

Department of Justice.

..?

Senator Mondale. - Right. But I just want to get the

King case because as I understood, he was being investigated

for the reason that it was feared that a Communist or

Communists who were suspected of being Communists, or

known to be Communists, were gaining. influence over him.

Suppose you established that. What present use or

need is there for that information?

Mr. Adams. I feel that the President, the Attorney

General, the Executive Branch, needs to know the extent of

a foreign-directed Communist organization, its influence and

effect on the United States of America..

Senator Mondale. All right. So if such information

is valid and an investigation to seek it are necessary, is

there any limit on the investigative authority of the FBI?

We have just heard about the women's liberation movement

where we were fearful that New Left, SDS types might have

an influence.

That justified that investigation. We now

have your statement that we were fearful that some Communists

might have influence over DI. King, and therefore, he was

thoroughly investigated.

Are there any limits. then on who can be investigated?

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Mr. Adams.

Well, the only limits are that we must

relate it to a statutory basis of one of the Presidential

guidelines we have or the critéria we have, which criteria

are receiving scrutiny at the present time by Congress.

They

have in the past by the Department of Justice, and this is the

area of guidelines. This whole area of domestic

security is

what we need guidelines in.

Senator Mondale. Right. And you would agree, we talked

about this earlier, that being a Communist is not a crime.

Mr. Adams. No, it has not been a crime.

Senator Mondale. So that the whole basis for this has

• to apparently stem from a Presidential directive, you think

has tasked you to do this.

Mr. Adams. Yes.

Senator Mondale. Just a few other points.

In 1970, 11/6/70, a telegram from Newark to the Director

went forth proposing that the following telegram be sent:

"Word received. Food donated to party by anti-liberation

white pigs contained poison.

Symptoms: cramps, diarrhea,

severe stomach pains.. Destroy all food donated for convention

suspected of poison.

"However, still raquired to mest your quota.

signed,

Ministry of Information."

And this was a telegram that was ito be sent from Oakland,

California to the Jersey City, New Jersey headquarters.

The

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telegram went on further. It is suggested that the Bureau

then consider having the laboratory treat fruit, such as

oranges, with mild laxative type drug by hypodermic needle

or other appropriate method and ship fruit as a donation from

à fictitious person in Miami to the Jersey City headquarters.

The answer then from the Director of the FBI:

"The Bureau cannot authorize the treating of fruit to

be shipped to Jersey City because of lack of control over the

treated fruit in transit. However, Newarks's proposed

telegram regarding food collected for the Revolutionary

People's Constitutional Convention has merit."

• How did you ever get to a point lika that?

Mr. Adams. I don't know. What was the response from

Newark and then the final answer taken?

Senator Mondale. It was turned down because they

couldn't control transit, but they thought it was a good idea.

Do you think that's a good idea?

Mr. Adams. No, I don't. I think that -

Senator Mondale. How did we ever get to the point that

this kind of insane suggestion violating everyone's civil

liberties based on government-sponsored fraud? How does

anyone aver consider something like that?

MI. Adams. I don't know.

Senator Mondale.

One final point.

When we interviewed one of your former employees, he

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raferred to something I never heard of before called a no-

contact list. He did it jokingly because he said when the

Pope agreed to see Martin Luther. King, he was sure he would be

put on the no-contact list thereafter.

Can you tell me what that list is?

Mr. Adams. Not in any specific detail: I know that at

one time there was a, there would be a list that if an agent

interviewed an individual and this individual created a storm

or a ruckus and we didn't want some other agent stumbling

out there and interviewing the same person, that we would make

sure that they were aware of the fact that further contacts

of this individual would result in a problem.

Senator Mondale. All right. Now on 6/24/71, in a

memo to Clyde Tolson, it refers to a conference on 8/26/71

with certain - it looks like about 10 members of the FBI.

And this is what it says:

"Pursuant to your instruction, members of the conference

were briefed concerning recent attempts by various newspapers

and reporters to obtain information about or from FBI

personnel. Members were specifically advised that there would

be absolutely no conversations with or answers from any of

the representatives of the Washington" - something. Oh here,.

from the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times,

CBS and :TBC.

"The only acceptable answer to such inquiries is no

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comment."

Now Senator Huddleston earlier asked about efforts to

influence newspapers. and media outlet.

Does this trouble you, a decision not to answer questions

from certain sélected media outlets?

Mr. Adams. It is not the policy today. I think this

has been aired in the past. There was a period of time.

wharein Mr. Hoover, in reacting to criticism from some of these

newspaper men, where he felt he hadn't been given a fair

shake, or for some other reason, that he felt that they should

be told no comment, and he instructed they be told no comment.

The motivations I am not in a position to discuss, but

I can tell you that there has been no such policy in the

last several years that I know of.

Senator Mondale. If you could submit for us, if you

can find it, the no-contact list, I would appreciate that.

I have some other questions I will submit for the

recora, Mr. Chairman.

The Chairman. Very well. I just have one final follow-up

question on Senator Mondale's interrogation.

I continue to be somewhat fascinated by how long these

investigations go, and when, if ever, they are stoppad.

Apparently they never come out of the files, whatever is

found. But Senator Mondale raised the point of a suspicion

that in the Martin Luther King case, an advisor, he was

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getting advics from a person who had or was thought to have

Communist leanings.

And so without using the name, because we are trying to

protect privacy as we conduct this investigation --

Mr. Adams. I think we have a little more problem than

that, too, senator.

The Chairman.

I am just using a Mister X in place of

the name. What I am trying to get at is when the Bureau,

what the criteria is for pursuing an investigation, for

pursuing the matter, and this is the kind of a statement that

leaves me so perplexed. This has to do with a reply to the

New York office by. the Bureau here in Washington.

The part I read to you is as follows:

"The Bureau does not agree with the expressed belief

of the New York office that Mr. X is not sympathetic to the

Party cause. While there may not be any direct evidence that

Mr. X is a Communist, neither is there any substantial

evidence that he is anti-Communist."

And so the directions are to continue the investigation

of this matter. And in cases of this kind, do you pursue

the investigation until you prove the negative?

Mr. Adams. No. I believe in that particular case, if

it is the one I am thinking about, that there was evidence

that at one time he had been a Communist and that there was

a question of whether the office felt -- well, it's liké wa

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have had some situations where

a person comes out and publicly

disavows their former leanings.

Do you take them at words right away after they have

been engaged in violent activities, or do you wait until

you determine that they really have carried through the dis-

avowed practice?

That's a gray area.

This one seems like on the wording

itself, would seem like an extrema philosophy, leaning towards

averyone has to prove in the United States they are not

a Communist, and I can assure that is not a policy of the

Bureau and does not fit into the criteria of our general

investigative matters.

I just feel that there is more to it than just that

brief paragraph.

The Chairman. That particular kind of philosophy has

kept up in our life from time to time. I remember during

the days of McCarthyism in this country, we came very close

to the point where people had to prove that they were not

now or had never been a Communist in order to establish them-

selves as patriotic citizens.

Mr. Adams. That's right.

That's true.

The Chairman. And when I see standards of this kind.

of criteria of this kind emarging, it worries me very much.

I have no further questions. I want to thank you

both. If there are no further quastions, I want to thank

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you both for your testimony this morning. It has been very

helpful to the Committee, and the Committee will stand adjourned

until 2:00.

We will stand adjourned in public session. Our next

public session will be 2:30 tomorrow afternoon for purposes

of press questioning on the assassination report.

(Whereupon, at 1:07 o'clock p.m., the Committee adjourned,

to reconvene at 2:30 o'clock p.M., Thursday, November 20,

1975.)

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