Grannie needs research information ASAP

[TallahasseeGrannie]

Guys, I had coffee break with one of my least favorite right-wingers today (and anybody who knows me knows I like most people, regardless of their stripes) and this ... person... (spit) told me that Bobby Kennedy was the one that authorized the wiretaps on Martin Luther King.

Does anyone know if this is true? I don't have time between classes to research this adequately. If somebody could shoot me a link to debunk this I would appreciate it. I always understood that this was a J. Edgar Hoover personal vendetta. I can't imagine RFK, with his strong civil rights history, would have touched this situation.

tg

[DS1]

1. heh

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200207/garrow

[LiberalPartisan]

2. That's definitely a big black mark on RFK's legacy

Nobody is perfect but he really erred in authorizing the wiretapping of MLK.

[John Q. Citizen]

5. True, but RFK was kind of cornered into it by J. Edgar Hoover. n/t

[LiberalPartisan]

9. Hoover was probably blackmailing RFK and JFK

about their indiscretions...all while wearing a dress.

[John Q. Citizen]

10. Maybe, but I think it was Hoover claimed MLK had communists

in the Civil Right Movement and Bobby was worried about the potential political fallout if that turned out to be true.

[mzteris]

3. unfortunately - yes.

August 13, 1963 J. Edgar Hoover’s office sends a two-page memo to Deputy Attorney General Katzenbach dealing only with Martin Luther King’s personal life and sexual activities. AOT

August 28, 1963 As a footnote: J. Edgar Hoover has been tapping Martin Luther King’s telephone since
the middle of this month. He is providing RFK with tapes of King talking to Clarence Jones, the
New York attorney. “He’s a Tom Cat,” Hoover exults, reading the transcripts of King’s private
telephone conversations, before editing them and sending them on to the Kennedys. But Dean
Rusk tells the FBI director, in front of JFK, that if he ever finds a tap on his telephone or a bug in his office, he will immediately resign and go public with the evidence.

((((Funny how he was tapping BEFORE he got "permission".)))

October 7, 1963 J. Edgar Hoover resubmits a request to RFK to wire-tap Martin Luther King’s home and
office.

October 10, 1963 RFK approves an FBI wire-tap request on Martin Luther King’s home and office. RK

[EFerrari]

4. The difference between Kennedy and Hoover is

Kennedy grew as a human being and came to be one of the strongest advocates for civil rights we had at the time. Don't forget the happy ending. :hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

6. The more important question is: why are they all harping on this?

Did the words of the Democratic leaders yesterday get under their collective right-wing skins? Ask the right-winger to name five other bad things RFK did. Ask him to explain the context of RFK's choice. Chances are the right wing talk shows haven't bothered to put out the message on anything but the wiretapping.

[LiberalAndProud]

7. Doctor King was a target of intrusive government.

I don't care if the AG is a Democrat or a Republican, Mayflower Descendent or son of Italian immigrants, intrusive government is still intrusive government.

[MissMarple]

12. Exactly! Warrantless searches were wrong then and are wrong now.

The checks and balances that are supposed to be in place stand between us and tyranny.

[stop the bleeding]

8. I thought that it was actually Hoover from the FBI and I heard that Hoover

was a democrat

will update with DU thread in second:

here you go:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x353051

the thread has over 100 responses on it - ENJOY! should have all the research that you need

[Spazito]

11. Yes, but Hoover took it far beyond what was authorized and

Bobby became a very strong advocate Dr. King soon after.

Here is a link to a Senate report:

"The FBI collected information about Dr. King's plans and activities through an extensive surveillance program, employing nearly every intelligence-gathering technique at the Bureau's disposal. Wiretaps, which were initially approved by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, were maintained on Dr. King's home telephone from October 1963 until mid-1965; the SCLC headquarter's telephones were covered by wiretaps for an even longer period. Phones in the homes and offices of some of Dr. King's close advisers were also wiretapped. The FBI has acknowledged 16 occasions on which microphones were hidden in Dr. King's hotel and motel rooms in an "attempt" to obtain information about the "private activities of King and his advisers" for use to "completely discredit" them. 2"

The whole report makes for very interesting reading, especially about Hoover, imo.

http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/churchfinalreportIIIb.htm