FBI Spying

Throughout its more than hundred year history, the Federal Bureau of Investigations has been a very important agency to the United States. As a threat-based and intelligence-driven national security organization, the mission of the FBI is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership to federal, state, and international agencies (“A Brief History of the FBI”). The Bureau’s success has always depended on its agility, its willingness to adapt, and the ongoing dedication of its personnel. But in the years since

When one thinks of the FBI, an image of utmost intelligence and professionalism comes to mind, however it was not always this way. Preceding the intricate and expert agency that takes care of national crimes and issues today, there was J. Edgar Hoover and his group of ragtag investigators. In the 1930’s, the FBI was just being founded, rising on the back of the growing organized crime that was taking place all throughout America. Bryan Burrough, author and journalist, takes his readers through this era, describing how organized crime ultimately led to the establishment of the FBI, because to cope with criminal masterminds committing atrocities all throughout America, there needs to be an organized and rational force working to stop them. Bryan

The mission and values of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is up held with strong Constitutional values. Over the years since the FBI was created in 1908 by Attorney General Charles Bonaparte during the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. As a progressive during this time period Bonaparte applied his philosophy to forming the FBI with several corps of agents. His thought was that these men should have expertise and not political connections. With the U.S. Constitution based on “federalism” a national government with jurisdiction over matters that cross boundaries, such as interstate and foreign affairs.

In the early years of the Revolutionary War, General Washington started using what would become the forerunner of today’s counterintelligence and counterespionage fields by utilizing undercover agents, spy rings, and discreet reporting methods, much of which was focused

Espionage, the use of spying to obtain secret information regarding the intentions and capabilities of other persons, groups, organizations, or states is largely seen as a modern twentieth-century phenomenon (Burds, 2012). In reality, it is one of the oldest political and military acts, appearing in historical and literary accounts since the beginning of recorded history. A vital tool of statecraft, espionage shapes foreign policy and changes how wars proceed. Unbeknownst to many Americans, subterfuge and secrecy would play an important role in the Revolutionary War. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was well aware that he needed reliable intelligence to triumph over British forces which outmatched and often outnumbered his own. To achieve this, Washington would establish numerous spy networks over the course of the war, the most successful being the Culper Spy Ring.

Around this time, Americans feared the invasion of Communism, which triggered the FBI to investigate people within the U.S. whom were suspected of sabotage and undermining Democracy in the name of Communism.

The above quote, by Richard Nixon, best captures the mass hysteria and paranoia that dominated the American people during the Cold War Era. It would only be 15 years till an article by a New York Times reporter by the name of Seymour Hersh accusing the CIA of targeting antiwar protestors as well as many others whom they believed where foreign agents and had conducted everything from break-ins to wiretaps and even placement of informants within groups to monitor their actions. Later in the article Hesrh would state that the concept of the program was developed by a presidential aid and was in fact encouraged by members of the executive branch. He also revealed heavy involvement by the FBI on the behest of CIA director Helms who had been known to believe that the KGB had infiltrated the United States government.

Named by Calvin Coolidge as the sixth director of the Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover quickly rose to greatness. In 1935, he was appointed by U. S. Attorney General Stone as the first director of the newly conceived F.B.I. For the next 36 years he made all of the rules, declared war on everything he disliked or that opposed his morals and personal beliefs from “Bolshevik radicals” to Martin Luther King, he hindered the progress of the civil rights movement, and used force to eradicate every suspected communist. While he brought about myriad investigative technology, including fingerprints, wire-tapping, and forensics labs that forever changed the criminal justice system, he also used the F.B.I. to intimidate celebrities and public figures, harass political activists, and illegally collect secret files of evidence and scandals against everyone. In truth, Hoover was a malicious and hypocritical man; under the guise of protecting the “American way,” his motto was “knowledge is power,” but after the Great Depression when the world changed, he didn’t

In 1917 the United States government enacted a much disputed law entitled the Espionage Act. It had been debated in the years leading up to the United States involvement in World War I. Faced with outspoken citizens who were critical of any direct participation in the war and with a growing fear that any public dissent would make it difficult to conscript the needed man power for U.S. involvement, President Woodrow Wilson’s administration looked to make such actions criminal. Throughout the almost 100 year history of the Espionage Act it has come to blows with the United States Constitution, particularly the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, on many occasions. Thousands of American’s have been charged under the Espionage Act’s

Although many citizens criticized the FBI’s highly contentious investigation of the Democratic presidential nominee Secretary Clinton during the 2016 election, the Bureau is no stranger to controversial involvement with political movements. Originally created to protect the United States from foreign intelligence threats, the FBI interpreted their creation as a mandate to mobilize against communist sympathizers and extremists who threatened Democracy. Specifically, the years between 1956 and 1971 marked some of the FBI’s most fanatical persecution of dissidents. Here, against the backdrop of the Cold War, Vietnam War, lingering fears of communism, the Civil Rights movement, and a surge in KKK activity, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover implemented

outbreak of the first Red Scare. Schmidt focuses on the anticommunist intolerance, especially from 1919 to 1920, to better analyze the FBI’s political role, and as examined by recent scholarship. Schmidt focuses that the genesis of Red Scare was planted on “institutional factors rather than of a popular mass movement.” He focuses on the multiple relationships on the bureaucracies with Wilson’s administration and Congress. Schmidt also focuses on the FBI’s role with connection to strikes, public turmoil and the notorious Palmer raids. Moreover, Schmidt argues that predominant rationale behind the creation of the FBI “is not to be found in the demands of

Hoover, “[given] the title of Special Assistant to the Attorney General,” devised plans to “arrest thousands of foreign-born Communists and turn them over to immigration officials to face non-criminal deportation proceedings.” These plans were heavily debated in terms of “their total disregard for basic human rights,” and further contributed to corruption of President Harding’s administration; this also resulted in a negative perception of the FBI. Ironically, to fix the FBI’s image, “Attorney General Stone named 29-year old J. Edgar Hoover Acting Director of the Bureau of Investigation.” Hoover’s actions in the years to come mirrored those of his beginning days in office. Everything he did help shape the FBI as a powerful component of the government, but his actions were often self-centered, and did not completely benefit the country as a whole. Despite this, the FBI would not have become such an important agency if it hadn’t be for Hoover’s work. Through Hoover’s strong leadership, though corrupt and sometimes inhumane, he shaped the FBI into a powerful federal agency, achieving these changes through his use of investigative techniques, strict standards, and strategic political relationships; whether positive or negative, most perceptions many have about the FBI can be attributed to Hoover.

In 13 economical and clearly written chapters that rely mainly on secondary accounts and published documenta-ry collections along with some archival sources, Daigler covers the key specifc topics of the intelligence war in the broad areas of espionage, covert action, and coun-terintelligence: the Boston Mechanics spy ring and the British penetration agent in its midst, Benjamin Church; martyr-spy Nathan Hale; France’s sub rosa provision of essential military aid; Benjamin Franklin’s propaganda and other covert activities as “chief of Paris Station”; George Washington’s intuitive grasp of the intelligence business and his clever use of deception and disinforma-tion to choose the right moment to strike at while keep-ing away from the always stronger

COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) repressed the government and firmly insured that any disputes going on within the government would end. The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover founded the program in 1950. Hoover made it very clear that any person who was an activist in the anti-war movement would find their life invaded. Hoover's goal was to root out communism using any tactics that he could. The ways that this was achieved was through wire taps, lies, and having families investigated and threatened. The purpose of this was that the FBI wanted to keep a close "eye" on suspect's lives. With this going on, many anti-war activists and liberals decided that the bad did not out weigh the good. Due to COINTELPRO,

The term “Covert Action” brings with it a connotation of shadowy figures wrapped in secrecy and intrigue. It also brings with it a substantial amount of moral questions as to “what is right.” The use of covert action has been widely publicized since the early seventies, but trying to find out the truth to these events has been difficult to say the least. What is even more difficult, is historically recording these events into categories of successes or failures. These operations are difficult to dissect because of their secrecy and although events have been recorded, some facts simply aren’t apparent. This paper will seek to identify the complex issues associated with covert operations.