Don't swallow the Deep Throat hype!
W. Mark Felt is undoubtedly a nice grandfather, but he was a key FBI bureaucrat
during the illegal COINTELPRO operations and later authorized illegal break
ins of dissident's homes and political left movement offices. The claim that
he
only
authorized
covert
break-ins
(Black Bag jobs) of persons directly connected to the Weather
Underground as part of legitimate foreign intelligence matters is a rewriting
of history rejected by the the government officials who indicted, prosecuted,
and convicted Felt of illegal activity.
According to Nat Hentoff, writing in the Village Voice in 1981:
W.
Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller "supervised break-ins, without a warrant,
of the homes of 'friends and acquaintances' of the Weather Underground in 1972
and 1973."
Felt, in 1972 and 1973, was Acting Associate Drecter of the FBI; and Miller
was Assistant Director of the Domestic Intelligence Division.
The DC Grand Jury indicted Felt and Miller. Among the charges: "On
or about October 6, 1972, in Quantico, Virginia, FBI agents attending a Weatherman
in-service training course were given a lecture on how to conduct surrepticious
entries."
After President Reagan pardoned Felt and Miller, "John W. Nields Jr., chief
prosecutor of Felt and Miller, grumbled: 'I would not warrant that whoever
is responsible for the pardons did not read the record of the trial and did
not know the facts of the case.'"
"W. Mark Felt has publicly admitted that he approved an FBI black-bag job
at the Arab Information Center in Dallas in the fall of 1972 in an effort
to find clues as to possible Palestinian terrorists in the United States." (James
Q. Wilson, "Buggings, Break-Ins & the FBI," Commentary,
Vol. 65, June 1978, No. 6).
"Mark Felt (born August 17, 1913, in Twin Falls, Idaho; BA University
of Idaho, LLB George Washington University) had gone to work for the FBI in
1942. He
served at FBI headquarters here for several years and then at a number of posts
such as New Orleans, Salt Lake City, and Kansas City. In 1962 he returned to
FBI headquarters and in 1964 was named head of the FBI's Inspection Division.
In 1965 he became an assistant directer to J. Edgar Hoover. When Hoover died
in May 1972, L. Patrick Gray took over as FBI director and Felt was named associate
director—the number-two job in the bureau. Felt stayed until June 1973,
when he parted company with acting FBI Director William Ruckelshaus." (Jack
Limpert, Washingtonian Magazine, August 1974).
Felt was thus a high-ranking FBI official during most of the illegal FBI COINTELPRO
operations.
The Final Report of the Congressional "Church" Committee:
"COINTELPRO began in 1956, in part because of frustration with Supreme
Court rulings limiting the Government's power to proceed overtly against dissident
groups; it ended in 1971 with the threat of public exposure."
"Many of the techniques used would be intolerable in a democratic society
even if all of the targets had been involved in violent activity, but COINTELPRO
went far beyond that...the Bureau conducted a sophisticated vigilante operation
aimed squarely at preventing the exercise of First Amendment rights of speech
and association, on the theory that preventing the growth of dangerous groups
and the propogation of dangerous ideas would protect the national security
and deter violence."Cite
For more details on COINTELPRO:
According to Brian Glick, COINTELPRO used a broad array of methods, including:
1. Infiltration: Agents and informers did not merely spy on political activists.
Their main purpose was to discredit and disrupt. Their very presence served
to undermine trust and scare off potential supporters. The FBI and police exploited
this fear to smear genuine activists as agents.
2. Psychological Warfare From the Outside: The FBI and police used myriad
other "dirty
tricks" to undermine progressive movements. They planted false media stories
and published bogus leaflets and other publications in the name of targeted
groups. They forged correspondence, sent anonymous letters, and made anonymous
telephone calls. They spread misinformation about meetings and events, set
up pseudo movement groups run by government agents, and manipulated or strong-armed
parents, employers, landlords, school officials and others to cause trouble
for activists.
3. Harassment through the Legal System: The FBI and police abused the legal
system to harass dissidents and make them appear to be criminals. Officers
of the law gave perjured testimony and presented fabricated evidence as
a pretext for false arrests and wrongful imprisonment. They discriminatorily
enforced
tax laws and other government regulations and used conspicuous surveillance, "investigative" inter
views, and grand jury subpoenas in an effort to intimidate activists and silence
their supporters.
4. Extralegal Force and Violence: The FBI and police threatened, instigated,
and themselves conducted break-ins, vandalism, assaults, and beatings.
The object was to frighten dissidents and disrupt their movements.
--Brian Glick, War at Home (South End Press).
From First Principles, National Security and Civil Liberties, (Center
for National Security Studies), Vol. 6, No. 3, December 1980 p. 11:
FELT & MILLER. Former FBI officials W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller
were found guilty on November 6 of conspiring to violate the civil rights of
friends and relatives of Weather Underground fugitives by approving FBI break-ins
to search their homes in 197273. The verdict marks the first time high ranking
intelligence officials have been convicted for violating individual rights,
and attorneys for Felt and Miller said the verdict will be appealed. The officials
argued that former acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray had authorized the
breakins. Despite testimony that Gray had given general approval for break-ins
and had specifically approved several break-ins against Al Fatah, no evidence
was introduced showing that Gray had specifically authorized the Weather Underground
break-ins. Felt did mention that in 1972 Gray had authorized a program of conducting
break-ins for another agency, which he did not name, and another former FBI
official referred to a domestic operation with foreign connections which he
was under instructions from Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti not to discuss.
In instructions to the jury, Judge William B. Bryant accepted the theory,
advanced by the government, that a warrant is required for break-ins
except in foreign
intelligence investigations when approved on a case by case basis by the
President or Attorney General. Five former Attorneys General testified
that they had
not approved warrantless breakins while in office, although several said
they believed the President can delegate the authority to do so directly
to the
Director of the FBI. This belief was also expressed by former President
Richard Nixon, who said that when approved by the President "for a good cause
. . . what would otherwise be unlawful or illegal becomes legal."( WP,
10/ 10/80, p. A25; WP, 10/ 16/80, p. A13; WS, 10/ 16, 80, p. 138; NYT, 10/22,'80,
p. A27; NYT, 10,,23/80, p. A24; NYT, 10/29,,80, p. A17; WP, 10/30/ 80, p.
AI; N YT, I030,,80, p. A17; NYT 10131 / 80, p. A19; NYT, 11/7/80, p. A1).
FISA COURT.
FELT & MILLER. The defense in the Felt and Miller case introduced a memorandum,
prepared by Justice Department counsel for intelligence policy Kenneth C. Bass,
stating that it was the Department's opinion that the President has the constitutional
authority to approve warrantless searches to gather foreign intelligence information.
The memo, dated October 14, 1980, had also been submitted to the special federal
court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It noted
that the Court has recently approved searches of private property in foreign
intelligence investigations. (N YT, 10/ 25% 80, p. A8; WS, 10/ 25/ 80, p. A5)
Statement of Ronald Reagan:
Statement on Granting Pardons to W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller
April 15, 1981
Pursuant to the grant of authority in article II, section 2 of the Constitution
of the United States, I have granted full and unconditional pardons to W.
Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller.
During their long careers, Mark Felt and Edward Miller served the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and our nation with great distinction. To punish them
further -- after 3 years of criminal prosecution proceedings -- would not serve
the ends of justice.
Their convictions in the U.S. District Court, on appeal at the time I signed
the pardons, grew out of their good-faith belief that their actions were necessary
to preserve the security interests of our country. The record demonstrates
that they acted not with criminal intent, but in the belief that they had grants
of authority reaching to the highest levels of government.
America was at war in 1972, and Messrs. Felt and Miller followed procedures
they believed essential to keep the Director of the FBI, the Attorney General,
and the President of the United States advised of the activities of hostile
foreign powers and their collaborators in this country. They have never denied
their actions, but, in fact, came forward to acknowledge them publicly in order
to relieve their subordinate agents from criminal actions.
Four years ago, thousands of draft evaders and others who violated the Selective
Service laws were unconditionally pardoned by my predecessor. America was generous
to those who refused to serve their country in the Vietnam war. We can be no
less generous to two men who acted on high principle to bring an end to the
terrorism that was threatening our nation.
Source: http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1981/41581d.htm
Felt became a hero to the political Right in the U.S. and to hardling intelligence
agency officials and agents. See, for example, this article in the John Birch
Society's New American.
For further reading:
William Norman Grigg, "Respectable" Terrorists," Vol. 17, No. 24, New
American, November 19, 2001.
The Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI "raised more than $1 million
to pay for their defense." (Chicago Sun-Times, Dec. 16, 1980)
The Security and Intelligence Fund raised tens of thosands of dollars for
the defense of Felt and Miller. (Public Eye, v. 4, n. 1&2, 1983).
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