Geodog

What happened the last time we gave the FBI free reign

The SF Chronicle last weekend published an 8 page special section on how the FBI and Governor Reagan worked together to  stomp the student movement at Cal in the 60's, and to smear Clark Kerr's name with disinformation. A good and timely reminder of why all the restrictions that Ashcroft just took off the FBI were put on in the first place.

See: http://sfgate.com/news/special/pages/2002/campusfiles/

Excerpts:

The Chronicle's report was based on FBI records obtained after a 17-year legal battle under the Freedom of Information Act. The FBI refused to turn over many records on the grounds that they concerned law enforcement, but five federal judges found that many of the FBI's activities were unlawful and ordered more than 200,000 pages of the files released.

The documents show that the FBI:

-- Sent the White House a report on Kerr containing allegations that he was disloyal -- even though the bureau knew they were false.

-- Schemed with then-CIA Chief John McCone to leak derogatory reports about students and faculty to Edwin Pauley, a senior member of the university's Board of Regents, who used them in his efforts to oust Kerr.

-- Gave a secret briefing about alleged subversion on campus to Gov. Reagan, who had vowed to fire Kerr during his 1966 campaign for governor.

Kerr was dismissed by UC's governing Board of Regents on Jan. 20, 1967, at the first board meeting attended by the newly elected Reagan.

The whole thing started because In early 1960, Hoover became furious over an essay question on UC's English aptitude test for high school applicants that asked: "What are the dangers to a democracy of a national police organization, like the FBI, which operates secretly and is unresponsive to public criticism?"

Sounds like a very Bush/Ashcroftian thing to get furious about.

Posted by Geodog at June 14, 2002 09:39 AM | TrackBack