J. Edgar Hoover died during the night of May 1 – May 2, 1972. According to Curt Gentry, who wrote the book J Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets, Hoover's body was not discovered by his live-in cook and general housekeeper, Annie Fields. Rather, it was discovered by James Crawford, who had been Hoover's chauffeur for 37 years. Crawford then yelled out to Fields and Tom Moton (Hoover's new chauffeur after Crawford had retired in January, 1972). Ms. Fields first called Hoover's personal physician, Dr. Robert Choisser, then used another phone to call Clyde Tolson's private number. Tolson then called Helen Gandy's private number with the news of Hoover' death along with orders to begin destroying the files. Within an hour, the "D List" ("d" standing for destruction) was being distributed and the destruction of files began. However, The New York Times quoted an anonymous F.B.I. source in Spring 1975 that "Gandy had begun almost a year before Mr. Hoover's death and was instructed to purge the files that were then in his office."
L. Patrick Gray, was appointed Acting FBI Director by President Nixon after Hoover's death.
Anthony Summers reported that G. Gordon Liddy stated his sources in the F.B.I. said "by the time Gray went in to get the files, Miss Gandy had already got rid of them." The day after Hoover died, L. Patrick Gray, who had been named acting director by President Richard Nixon upon Tolson's resignation from that position, went to Hoover's office. Gandy paused from her work to give Gray a tour. He found file cabinets open and packing boxes being filled with papers. She informed him the boxes contained personal papers of Hoover's. Gandy stated Gray flipped through a few files and approved her work, but Gray was to deny he looked at any papers. Gandy also told Gray it would be a week before she could clear Hoover's effects out so he could move into the suite.
Gray reported to Nixon that he had secured Hoover's office and its contents. However, he had sealed only Hoover's personal inner office, where no files were stored, not the entire suite of offices. Since 1957, Hoover's "Official/Confidential" files, containing material too sensitive to include in the Bureau's central files, had been kept in the outer office, where Gandy sat. Curt Gentry reported that Gray would not have known where to look in Gandy's office for the files, as her office was lined floor to ceiling with filing cabinets. And without her index to the files, he would not have been able to locate incriminating material, for files were deliberately mislabeled, e.g. President Nixon's file was labeled "Obscene Matters".
Monday, June 17, 2013
Setting fire to the Library at Alexandria…
