j. edgar hoover. and j. edgar hoover tells bobby kennedy, in a voice that bobby kennedy would generally describe as a monotone that was like j. edgar hoover had found another communist on the faculty at howard university. he says in that monotone voice, your brother has been shot. and an hour later somebody calls back and says, your brother is dead. and that moment changed bobby kennedy's life in a way that was different than just losing his brother. he had lost his brother, he had lost his best friend and he had lost his whole sense of purpose. bobby kennedy had been close enough to his brother from the time that they went overseas, when they were both in their 20s. that the idea that jack kennedy was gone was a world-changer for him. and yet something happened magically for the next month. the kennedy family was as you would imagine, totally distraught and somebody had to take charge and it was bobby kennedy for the next month. he gave out assignments to the family you will take care of mom, you will break

j edgar hoover kept going back to bobby kennedy asking permission to wiretap martin luther king. the reason was because there was a fear and a fear that hoover fanned i think without any convincing evidence that there was communists in martin luther king's hierarchy and that moment j edgar hoover survived through attorneys and presidents because he had always -- he always had dirt on someone and he always asked what he wanted. he asked repeatedly for wiretaps. in the end, bobby kennedy gave it to him without defending the decision. he gave it to him for district -- strategic regions -- reasons. a major civil rights bill and the most embarrassing thing would have been if a bunch turned up in martin luther king's camp and j edgar hoover would've used that information to embarrass the kennedys. the idea that the wiretaps which provided embarrassing information about king, the idea that bobby kennedy wanted that circulated is the opposite. he realized what was happening and hoover was using it to tarnish martin luther king's reputation pick he tried to withdraw the tape from the tran

j. edgar hoover committed because he became too independent. he was accountable to no one. j. edgar hoover feared -- was feared by presidents, senators, and congressmen. while the director originally was selected by the attorney general, in 1968, congress made the position subject to presidential appointment and senate confirmation. in 1976, the congress established a nonrenewable ten-year term for the director. the senate judiciary committee published a committee report on that bill limiting the ten-year term in 1974. it took a couple of years for the bill to pass the house. i want to quote from that report. the purposes of the bill is to achieve two complementary objectives, the first is to insulate the director of the fbi from unique pressure being exerted upon him from superiors in the executive branch. the second is to protect against an fbi director becoming too independent and unresponsive, end of quote. at the time congress was grappling with the fallout of watergate and the decades of corruption and civil liberties abuses by that first director of the fbi, j. edgar hoo

certainly with j edgar hoover, he was an absolute enemy from day one. at some point restrained in fact by lyndon johnson but we now know that the fbi had an informant within the ku klux klan from the mid-50s and the fbi knew everything that the alabama klan was going to do before they ever did it. they knew in advance that there would be an attack on the freedom writers, when viola greg was murdered at the end of the march from selma to montgomery, gary rowe was in the car from which she was shot. the fbi knew the next day what had happened and who had done it because they had an informant right there in the car. there is even a suggestion that rowe himself was the person who fired the shot. very clearly j edgar hoover was in bed with the ku klux klan and was an absolute opponent of the movement. with respect to and of course as director of the fbi, he was reported to robert kennedy. often did not pass along the information. of the justice department didn't know half of what hoover knew. with respect to the labor movement, again ambivalent legacy. there

j. edgar what is so dangerous about folk music that's the question. ok. sure it's ok never in my life in the you know twenty some odd years ago when i sat sipping whisky with dave van ronk i say what i did i ever think i would be sitting here with this why is folk music so because protest songs and especially at that time they tended to be about unions and workers and that's what most of the folk music is about it's about workers about working class and the thing is people forget a speech they forget a leaflet they don't forget a song and that was that thing where they had to keep an eye on who was being i mean pete seeger woody guthrie these are all people who were you know pete seeger was banned from radio because he talked about the socialist workers party in the sixty's and fifty's that's incredible sort of amazing that is really incredible what's really you know what else is interesting when we were looking through this earlier today in the good reporting on this story of the there the f.b.i. plan essentially backfired because you know very wrong as

j. edgar hoover served as fbi director longer than robert mueller. while today was the 110th anniversary of the bureau, it was formed back in 1908 as a "force of special agents," which it remains today. and today's anniversary reminds us of mueller's public remarks a decade ago in celebration of the fbi's centennial. >> it is not enough to stop the terrorists. we must stop him while maintaining his civil liberties. it is not enough to catch the criminal. we must catch him while respecting his civil rights. it is not enough to prevent foreign countries from stealing our secrets. we must prevent that from happening while still upholding the rule of law. the rule of law. civil liberties. civil rights. these are not our burdens. they are what make us better. they are what have made us better for nearly 100 years. >> perhaps the second most talked about man in america these days. robert mueller speaking on american life, civil liberties and the rule of law. and that brings an end to our thursday night broadcast. thank you so very much for being here with

j edgar hoover fumbled with the conspiracy in the 20s. i was trying to make sense of it. the texas ranger came to help him, mr. tom white. there is a story of itself on how they pursued it persistently and how people were keeping quiet about it. this was a real conspiracy. against an indian tribe. this book is fantastic. david has done a fantastic job. the mystery of it, the historical nature of it and it's true. >> book to be wants to know what you are reading, send us your summer reading list. book tv on c-span2, television for serious readers. [inaudible conversation] >> good evening. welcome. i am jonathan, the manager politics and prose. thank you for coming out tonight on a nice night here. the weather is good in your inside. thank you if you could kindly turn off your cell phones or at least silence them for the time and if you wanted

j. edgar hoover, no libertarian, thought that this was a bit much and it. he would not implement but bit by bit, it was implemented. a lot ofweren't governors or people who about the boundaries place. mr. fleug? like you, aow, i am watergate junkie. us there are a lot of around. that --with you >> uh-oh. >> that it wasn't destined that nixon get caught and taken out of office. it might not have happened, but of luckyies happenstances. and having the right people in the rightplace, at time. so i agree with you on a lot. >> but? the am still troubled about gerald ford question, because to dorst one who tried something about stopping the watergate investigations was when the first investigation started in the house. >> how else do you think he president? >> well, that's gonna be my bottom line question. do you think that he was -- that a quid pro quo? >> no. >> that there was a deal line?ere along the i know that many people who have looked at it, including the of directors, of the award, whichourage awarded that honor to gerald decidedme out and that -- what

j. edgar hoover building.mate conversation to have about fbi about whether the politics motivated the investigation. a worthwhile question that needs to be answered. >> we learned that the fusion gps dossier was given to bruce ohr. it came up in the question. >> it came up in jim jordan's head. >> it was not contradicted by strzok. >> look, we're running out of time here. it didn't -- he was told what he couldn't say by the fbi, hugh. >> we'll find out in the end how it all came together. but one investigation. i ask everyone to wait on everything until the end. >> that's all for today. thanks for watching. and remember, if it's sunday it's "meet the press." >> you can see more "end game" and "postgame" sponsored by boeing on the "meet the press" facebook page.

j. edgar hoover in desperate need of replacement.onversation about the fbi including kevz of conservatives whether politics motivated the investigation. that is a worthwhile question. >> we learned about the dossier -- at the end of the testimony at the very end of the day, it came up in question. >> came up in jim jordan's head. a at t >> it was not contradicted by peter strzok. >> look, we're running out of time here. it didn't. he was told what he couldn't say by the fbi here. >> we will find out in the end how it all came together. it is one investigation. i ask everyone wait on everything till the end. >> all right. i'll leave it there. that's all for today. whew. thanks for watching and remember, if it's sunday it's "meet the press." >> announcer: you can see more "end game" and "post game" sponsored by boeing on the "meet the press" facebook page. boeing on the "meet the press" facebook page. sfx: [cell phone dialing] no. no, no, no, no, no. cancel. cancel. please. aaagh! being in the know is a good thing. that's why discover

j. edgar hoover building.mate conversation to have aboutbi about whether the politics motivated the investigation. a worthwhile question that needs >> be answered. e learned that the fusion gps dossier was given to bruce ohr. it came up in the >> it came up in jim jordan's shead. >> it not contradicted by strzok. >> look, we're running out of time here. it didn't -- he was told what he couldn't say by the fbi, hugh. >>i we'll out in the end how it all came together. but one investigation. i ask everyone to wait on everything until the d. >> that's all for today. thanks for watcherg. and rememb, if it's sunday it's "meet the press." >> you can see and "postgame" sponsored by boeing on the "meet the press" facebook page. z2vpbz z16fz y2vpby y16fy >>> breaking news, one-on-one win helsinki president trump and vladimir putin preparing to meet face-to-face amid escalating tension between the u.s. and russia. t're live with w to expect from this morning's summit. >>> the light at the end of the tunnelhe when will t

j. edgar hoover was nabbing them, mccarthy was just smearing people in the state department. >> right. >> mccarthy smeared general marshall, a hero of world war ii and of the postwar. yeah, they have a lot in common in terms of just an utter and complete disregard for truth. and smearing. but what stand for is very different. trumpism and mccarthyism, and donald trump as a person and joe mccarthy as a person are very different people. but the lying and the smearing and the indecency, i think, are very similar. >> and you alluded to in a moment ago, but mccarthy goes down ignominiously. >> yeah. >> in 1954 when your book ends -- although you don't go into this in the book -- i assume the reader knows what happens. >> this audience certainly -- >> there are hints, there are hints as to what mccarthy's about to experience. >> right. you get a good sense of what his fate is going to be. but he got censured, as you said, by the senate for conduct, quote, contrary to senatorial traditions, unquote. after which his influence wanedder revocably, and he was condemned to the ash heap of history. w

mean, everything he said was a lie there were communists trying to infiltrate the government, but j edgaroover was napping them. mccarthy was just smearing people in the state department. mccarthy smeared general marshall, a hero of world war ii so, yeah, they have a lot in common in terms of just an utter and complete disregard for truth also, smearing. but, what they stand for is very different, i mean, trump's amend mccarthy is a, they are different people, but the lying and smear and indecency i think are similar. >> you alluded to this a moment ago, but mccarthy goes down in 1954 when your book ends although you don't go into this in the book. >> i assume the reader knows what happens. there are hints as to what mccarthy is about to experience. >> yes, you get a good sense of what his fate will be.u as you said he got censured by the senate for conduct quote contrary to senatorial traditions after which is influence waned irrevocably and he was condemned to history. what do you think history will say about donald trump? >> i don't know because obviously joe mccarthy was known for one

susan: let's listen to how president nixon and j edgar hoover reacted. >> edgar, i wanted to tell you so damn mad. i didn't like the decision. unbelievable, wasn't it? i hope i outlive the bastards. politically, too. we have to change that court. >> i thought this was a possibility of 5-4. >> what in the hell is the matter with stuart? >> he is very wishy-washy. susan: isn't that priceless? your reactions? >> it is very predictable listening to various different tapes of nixon. presidents feel every time to lose a decision and the supreme court, i don't know if they use the same language, but i suspect you would hear if there were more tapes similar language from other presidents who are disappointed. you have covered and are covering some very interesting cases in this series. and presidents do not like to lose anything, particularly in the supreme court, when they pretty much know that is the end of the line. >> i would just add a reference to justice stewart and justice white, it is quite right that they were the deciding vote. we had four votes when we came in and the question was

cents a month and i signed up for the nonfiction and four out of the ones i would get something by j edgar hoover on the perils of communism and this was in the early 50s. [laughter] then i would get a book about the habsburg monarchy and chinese civilization so i was like what? i was in grammar school so they did not teach you much in school and i could read and write i could read and write stuff like that. >> then you got about communism and did you detect that something was fishy or wrong? >> how in the hell do i remember? [laughter] >> it's interesting question because you ask yourself that question if you don't remember often -- >> but i do remember is let me jump ahead ten or 15 years and i'm a reporter in chicago for the associated press and worked as a police reporter and oh my god, but anyway it was great because i was a chicago kid southside of chicago and i'm in a town of 10000 and -- what? i had to figure it out. that helped but when i did my first reaction to the vietnam war i was passionate and i began to read the near times early every day that i began to read bernard ball a

me of j edgar hoover, who went after martin luther king. i thought that was no longer possible. have no confidence in the fbi anymore. that is all. that was from iowa, independent line. again, the announcement of the reopening of the emmett till case by the fbi. democrats line, ruth, jackson, mississippi. caller: hello. it's nice to hear you guys this morning. our president is another country, and he is doing what he is always done. throwing his strong arm out and telling the world what he wants to do. he is being a bully as he always has. we are going to be the one to suffer for it. do not see that, because they like the bullying. we always said we did not want a dictator, but we got a dictator. that is what they really want. realize he is dictating their lives, and he is going to ruin their lives and our lives. all they have to do is wait and see. host: john in san antonio, republican line. caller: good morning. i just wanted to touch on the cyber digital task force that this administration has created. your democrat callers all seem to think this of is not doing anything to f

j. edgar hoover.ver the head of the fbi for life. when he was done, turned to his top guy and call ben bradlee and say -- you. you stuck us with hoover forever. i screwed up. i wasn't wrong. how much can you tell me about deep throat? >> how much do you need to know? >> do you trust him? >> yeah. >> i can't do the reporting for my reporters, which means i have to trust them. and i hate trusting anybody. run that baby. ugh we're gonna be late, we're gonna be late! hold on, don't worry, there's another way [siri: *beep beepá] directions to the greek theater. ♪ can i get a connection? can i get can i get a connection? ♪ ♪ i can see it in my, see it in my reflection. ♪ ♪ ohhh can i get a connection? ♪ tryna find the old me when heartburn hits... fight back fast with tums smoothies. it neutralizes stomach acid at the source. tum tum tum tum tums... smoothies... ...and introducing new tums sugar-free. need a change of scenery? the kayak price forecast tool tells you whether to wait or book your flight now.

j. edgar hoover committed because he became too independent. he was accountable to no one. j. edgar hoover was feared by presidents, senators, and congressmen. while the director originally was selected by the attorney general, in 1968 congress made the position subject to presidential appointment and senate confirmation. in 1976 the congress established a nonrenewable 10-year term for the director. the senate judiciary committee published a committee report on that bill limiting the 10-year term in 1974. it took a couple of years for the bill to pass the house. i want to quote from that report. the purpose of the bill is to achieve two complementary objectives. the first is to insulate the director of the f.b.i. from unique pressure being exerted upon him from superiors in the executive branch. the second is to protect against an f.b.i. director becoming too independent and unresponsive. end of quote. at the time, congress was grappling with the fallout of watergate and the decades of corruption and civil liberties abuses by that first director of the f.b.i. j. edgar hoover, s