THE FBI: Bugging Hoover (Contd.)

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The controversy continues to gather around the FBI and its chief, J. Edgar Hoover. Picking up from Hale Boggs, Democratic House majority leader, who charged that the bureau wiretapped members of Congress, Senator Edmund Muskie accused the FBI of infiltrating last April's Earth Day rallies with undercover agents. Attorney General John Mitchell replied: "The FBI has no interest in an Earth Day meeting as such, but it does have a very legitimate interest in the activities of persons whose known records reveal a likelihood of violence, incitement to riot or other criminal behavior." He added pointedly: "Any suggestion that the FBI is conducting surveillance of the political activity of United States Senators is just as false as the charge that the FBI is tapping the telephones of members of Congress."

That is a rather sticky parallel. Although Boggs has yet to produce evidence that his or any other Congressman's phone was ever tapped, reports surfaced last week that the bureau had monitored conversations and telephone calls between Representative John Dowdy, a Texas Democrat, and an FBI informer. The recorded conversations were used to indict Dowdy on March 30 for allegedly accepting $25,000 in a bribery conspiracy. This would seem to contradict the bureau's claim that it has never tapped a congressional phone. Technically, though, the FBI has a case: a Justice Department spokesman noted that although Dowdy's conversations were monitored, the actual listening was clone at the other end of his line.

Repugnant. Throughout the rising debate, the acidulous FBI chief has maintained a low profile. President Nixon, too, has been extremely careful in his statements. He termed the criticism of Hoover "unfair and malicious" without commenting on the specific charges. He also noted that the attacks on Hoover would not prompt the FBI director to resign. Rather, said Nixon, they "would have the opposite effect." In any event, he added, "it would be unfortunate to allow a man after 50 years to go out under a cloud, maligned."

White House Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler admitted that "perhaps" the FBI had brought the Earth Day activities under surveillance, but added that the Administration viewed the investigation of private citizens as "repugnant." Ziegler intimated, however, that Muskie was among those whom he had characterized as "creating a feeling of fear and intimidation among the people" for basically "political motives." Still, the feeling around the White House seems to be that between the powerful Hoover and the mounting public uneasiness over bureau activities, the President for a time will walk a careful line.