WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2007

FBI's Cold War Arrest Plan Revealed

Declassified Docs Detail J. Edgar Hoover's Plan To Arrest 12,000 "Disloyal" Americans

  • Photo

     (CBS/AP)

  • Interactive Inside The FBI

    See the bureau's highs and lows in this interactive portrait of the crime-fighting agency.

(AP)  Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had a plan to suspend the rules against illegal detention and arrest up to 12,000 Americans he suspected of being disloyal, according to a newly declassified document.

Hoover sent his plan to the White House on July 7, 1950, less than two weeks after the Korean War began. But there is no evidence to suggest that President Harry S. Truman or any subsequent president approved any part of Hoover's proposal to house suspect Americans in military and federal prisons.

Hoover had wanted Truman to declare the mass arrests necessary to "protect the country against treason, espionage and sabotage," The New York Times reported Saturday in a story posted on its Web site.

The plan called for the FBI to apprehend all potentially dangerous individuals whose names were on a list Hoover had been compiling for years.

"The index now contains approximately twelve thousand individuals, of which approximately ninety-seven percent are citizens of the United States," Hoover wrote in the now-declassified document. "In order to make effective these apprehensions, the proclamation suspends the writ of habeas corpus."

Habeas corpus is the right to seek relief from illegal detention, and is a bedrock legal principle.

All apprehended individuals eventually would have had the right to a hearing under Hoover's plan, but hearing boards comprised of one judge and two citizens would not have been bound by the rules of evidence.

The details of Hoover's plan were among a collection of Cold War-era documents related to intelligence issues from 1950-1955. The State Department declassified the documents on Friday.

© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Video and Galleries from U.S.

Add a Comment See all 37 Comments
by Krazcarl December 23, 2007 4:10 AM PST
Hoover the cross dressing queer we should have known he was a paranoid hard telling how many pies he had his finger in...
Reply to this comment
by myidoncbs December 23, 2007 7:34 AM PST
"Habeas corpus is the right to seek relief from illegal detention, and is a bedrock legal principle."

Don''t think the nightmare is over just because Hoover is dead! Bush has suspended Habeas Corpus. This "bedrock legal principle", the very foundation of all freedoms, is dead thanks to Bush''s imaginary "war on terror" and all the little nazis who think permanent incarceration and torture without due process are a "good thing" and it will somehow make us "safe".
Reply to this comment
by sbb2211 December 23, 2007 8:02 AM PST
lastdance7

By your timeline, the child s.e.x. rings and Monarch project were start during a Democrat''s Administration.

Interesting.
Reply to this comment
by amazedd December 23, 2007 8:08 AM PST
Stalinismus at large.
World Trends, see?
Reply to this comment
by mcvet December 23, 2007 9:27 AM PST
By your timeline, the child s.e.x. rings and Monarch project were start during a Democrat''''s Administration.

Interesting.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by SBB2211 at 08:02 AM : Dec 23, 2007
+ report abuse

Why are Nazi''s always looking for an angle to Blame things on their political enemies? You people are beyond belief. Sieg Heil Bush!
Reply to this comment
by jn122736 December 23, 2007 9:28 AM PST
By your timeline, the child s.e.x. rings and Monarch project were start during a Democrat''''s Administration.

Interesting.
Posted by SBB2211 at 08:02 AM : Dec 23, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes it is very interesting; that the Hoover project was devised by an avowed UNAFFILIATED politician (neither a democrat nor a republican) during democratic president Truman%u2019s administration, but was not unacceptable to him or any other president until this disasterous Bush administration adopted it carte blanche.

Very interesting indeed.
Reply to this comment
by magoo2u1 December 23, 2007 9:34 AM PST
Hoover the cross dressing queer we should have known he was a paranoid hard telling how many pies he had his finger in...
The dress accusation was leveled by one ex-employee and never substantiated. We do know plenty of things Hoover did that were real and he did them all in pants. Even if it were true it didn''t deny so much as one american his constitutional rights, the other , illegal activities did, or endangered them at the least. He had too much power and so does his replacement. Instead of working within the law the jackals seek inventive ways to work around it and deny us our rights. We threw off a king over these matters a long time ago but the replacements morphed into a new king. See Orwell''s "Animal Farm".
Reply to this comment
by nudistgirl19 December 23, 2007 9:47 AM PST
it is a darkest time in our history. Someone used communists to reach his personal politic ambition. -- nudistconnect.com
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim December 23, 2007 10:06 AM PST
This is one of the most incoherent posts I''ve seen. JEdgar was weird so I guess his name brings out the weirdos. By the way, how many innocent Japenese did the great liberal FDR lock up.
Reply to this comment
by usmcgeorge December 23, 2007 10:25 AM PST
Boy must be a slow news day to grag this out. This past, past history,
It really wouldn''t hurt to print something good for a change. Isn''t there any good in this world??
TO all.... pray for peace.
Just say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Reply to this comment
by jn122736 December 23, 2007 10:50 AM PST
This is one of the most incoherent posts I''''ve seen. JEdgar was weird so I guess his name brings out the weirdos. By the way, how many innocent Japenese did the great liberal FDR lock up.
Posted by downsteamjim at 10:06 AM : Dec 23, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apples and oranges;

America had just been sneak-attacked by Japan and congress had declared war with a KNOWN ENEMY.
FDR, albeit irrationally, contained many Japanese residents as a precautionary measure, they were NOT held for years without contact with others and definitely were NOT tortured (water boarded or otherwise).

Compare that with Bush%u2019s illegal, unconstutional, actions!
Reply to this comment
by inventagod December 23, 2007 10:57 AM PST
Just goes to show what goes on in the back halls of our government, and how dangerous some of our paid officials can become...
Never, ever become complacent when living under any party''s rule.
Anyone wondering about the stories we will eventually dig up about Cheney and Bu$h???
Reply to this comment
by jw218389 December 23, 2007 11:24 AM PST
BUSH HAS A LIST TOO...

And I''ll bet it''s more than 12,000.

Reply to this comment
by dakotaclark December 23, 2007 12:10 PM PST
Hmmm...

The FBI headquarters building is the "J. Edgar Hoover Building."

As more historial information comes to light, it is very obvious that Hoover had a lot of "kinks in his hose," so to speak.

His tactics and procedures were not unlike those of the dreaded Soviet KGB.

As more and more sordid information seeps out of the Hoover swamp and quagmire, maybe it would be very appropriate to rename the building - for someone or something more honorable.



Reply to this comment
by joshdestardi December 23, 2007 12:17 PM PST
How many innocent Japanese did the great liberal FDR lock up.
Posted by downsteamjim at 10:06 AM : Dec 23, 2007

WHAT DIFFERENCE does it make if the President was "liberal" or "neoconservative"...NO President should be allowed to do this under the Constitution;
I see how your weak mind works there Jim.."Party over Country" huh?

Funny how you don''t hear about Halliburton''s contracts to build bunkers all across the United States equipped for housing "thousands of people".

Reply to this comment
by joshdestardi December 23, 2007 12:18 PM PST
Boy must be a slow news day to grag this out. This past, past history,
It really wouldn''''t hurt to print something good for a change. Isn''''t there any good in this world??
TO all.... pray for peace.
Just say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by USMCGeorge at 10:25 AM : Dec 23, 2007


Yes, let''s just all sing Cumbayah, stick our heads in the sand, and not pay attention to history to prevent horrible things in the present and future.

Wow that''s an incredibly naive, and dumbed down post.
Reply to this comment
by joshdestardi December 23, 2007 12:29 PM PST
If people would understand how Authoritarian psychology works, they would see how the "republican" party is made up and the appeal to these types of people.

Cops are always right, the victim is to blame, the government can be trusted, and there was once a time in history when everything was perfect because "God" was everywhere, husbands took care of their wives, and all was right with the world.

Of that must have happened sometime between when slaves were locked up in the backyard, kids could be used for child labor in coal mines, women couldn''t vote until 1920, poor people starved, because blacks were lynched without a trial, and poor kids couldn''t go to college.

I''m not sure when that "golden" age existed.

Authoritarians have poor reading comprehension, and the fantastic ability to compartmentalize what they perceive as wrong, then manage to justify that same vein of wrong when they or one of their leaders do the same thing. "Conservatives" NEED a strong leader to tell them it''s all ok, and what to do, how to behave. REad the free book by Dr. Bob Altemeyer.

Don''t attempt to dispute this unless you read the book (of course "Authoritarians" will be able to rationalize this, or insult me without reading the book...this is for the normal, well adjusted people who are not scared of terrorists being around every corner):
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
Reply to this comment
by amazedd December 23, 2007 12:32 PM PST
See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil...
Fear no evil!
- Tommy
Reply to this comment
by actornaught December 23, 2007 12:40 PM PST
limbaugh''s probably pinned this article on the ceiling over his bed and is reaching for the lotion and kleenex about now...
Reply to this comment
by michellem99-2009 December 23, 2007 1:37 PM PST
Read 1984...
Reply to this comment
by mh4cbs1 December 23, 2007 1:54 PM PST
This nation has always been vastly more vulnerable to Fascism from within than from any external threat - be in ''Communists'' in the film industry, or terrorists.

A nation that can be duped into Invading Iraq based on LIES, that were known to be LIES before the invasion, is a nation with one foot already in fascism quicksand.

A nation with a corporate-owned complicit Congress that does nothing to hold the war criminals accountable is a nation with the other foot in the fascism quicksand.

Many citizens are trying hard to hold on to our nation as we know it, as we watch it getting sucked down.

Enough is Enough. If you love America, JAIL Cheney and Bush for their war crimes. Purge congress in 2008 of all spineless complicit Democrats.

Reply to this comment
by talk2chief December 23, 2007 2:01 PM PST
mh4cbs1

You seem to have all the answers, why don''t you run for public office?
Reply to this comment
by myidoncbs December 23, 2007 2:05 PM PST
"Purge congress in 2008 of all spineless complicit Democrats."

That would be a nice idea EXCEPT that, in nearly every case, the replacement would have to be a republican, one who values PARTY over country, one whose party has vowed to create eternal ONE PARTY RULE in a world that is eternally at war.

If you have an opportunity to choose a principled democrat over a spineless one, then do so. But, unfortunately, often the only choice available is between bad or worse (or sometime it''s just between horrible and execrable, etc.).
Reply to this comment
by rowdytexan2 December 23, 2007 2:05 PM PST
Enough is Enough. If you love America, JAIL Cheney and Bush for their war crimes. Purge congress in 2008 of all spineless complicit Democrats.

Posted by mh4cbs1 at 01:54 PM : Dec 23, 2007

Democrats??? Oh lest ye not forget the party that has been in charge for this country for about the last 20 or some years!

Reply to this comment
by talk2chief December 23, 2007 2:14 PM PST
Hey RowdyTexan2,

Just checking with you on our past discussion. You are not against Legal Immigration?
Reply to this comment
by rowdytexan2 December 23, 2007 2:24 PM PST
I think we should have a run on the Congressional incumbents. Get them OUT!

Then, any new candidates names be posted on a website known to every citizen in the US that shows every stinking business deal they''ve ever made in their life both inside and outside the US.

They should have to sell their business interests, and live off their Congressional salaries for as long as they are serving their country.

They should make campaign donations illegal, and allot $500,000 to each for their campaign stump.

They should have to post their plans to promote new legislation and have those scrutiinized as well.

And once they get elected, they should have to meet a specified effort to meet the goals for legislation that they promised and were elected to promulgate, or they''re out for non=performance at the end of their first term.

Anybody in here ever have to meet goals and outcomes in their jobs? These people need to be held accountable for their performance as well. If they can''t get done what they promised to do for lack of effort to get it done, they need to go.
Reply to this comment
by rowdytexan2 December 23, 2007 2:32 PM PST
Posted by talk2chief at 02:14 PM : Dec 23, 2007

No, I am not against legal immigration...at a rate gaged according to jobs available for them. And on whether they have enough skills to perform those jobs and take care of themselves.

(What economic wizardry are you going to plot now?) lol
Reply to this comment
by talk2chief December 23, 2007 2:35 PM PST
RowdyTexan2

LOL. No. No. I think we are on the same wavelength. Besides who can predict future jobs and profits from things yet invented.
Reply to this comment
by Razzl December 23, 2007 4:11 PM PST
Most of us who lived through earlier eras of reactionary authoritarians recognize the genuine danger that Bush and Cheney represent to the republic, and must fight as hard as possible to defeat and punish them because the younger generation doesn''t have the experience to recognize the warning signs of the ambitions of the would-be oppressors...
Reply to this comment
by jw218389 December 23, 2007 5:07 PM PST
You should see Bush''s list.

Anyone that''s not a goose stepping Neo Con is headed for a FEMA concentration camp.

Remember: Werk macht frei...

Reply to this comment
by Krazcarl December 23, 2007 8:19 PM PST
Nancy_naive...everyone knows that Hoover was a cross dressing queer even pulled boys out of juvy for hisw fun and had enough dirt on presidents they all backed down so he was given his little fiftom for over 40 years and still few have the backbone to say he was a piece of garbage...
Reply to this comment
by cfin5 December 23, 2007 8:20 PM PST
Hmmm. Sounds familiar to me. Next they''ll be arresting many times more American citizens for being "disloyal globalists".......One more reason for needing a constitutional advocate in the Big Chair like Ron Paul.
Reply to this comment
by watcher269-2009 December 24, 2007 4:11 AM PST

Hoover was Gaay!

here is another story about the FBI creating a 1Billion dollar database

Yet another incursion into the realm of our civil liberties. We have been slowly destroying our privacy for seven years. In that time have you grown to feel safer? It has stopped terrorists is the argument for what is being done. Really? Stop for a minute and think: If you and three friends were determined to create a terrorist event, do you seriously believe you couldn''t pull it off? Think carefully about that before answering. Particularly if you were willing to die in the process? We have not had a terrorist event for the past seven years, because the people who commit such acts have not found it in their interest to do so. That''s a reality that is politically inconvenient to talk about.
Reply to this comment
by motherhen11 December 24, 2007 7:17 AM PST
I don''t believe that J. Edgar Hoover was gay for one minute! He was gay for a lifetime. Hoo hoo.
Reply to this comment
by Krazcarl December 24, 2007 1:34 PM PST
ttinsly...either your gay or not thesre is no middle ground he persequted folks to look good not because he was straight he was a cancer in our goverment ask the young men he molested.
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim December 24, 2007 2:18 PM PST
Hoover spent most of his time as director for Democrat administrations. T.Tinsly, why did Ambassordor Kennedy have to give up his position? Also who received the wiretaps of MLK?
Reply to this comment
by downsteamjim December 24, 2007 2:19 PM PST
P.S. I''m no fan of JEdgar. I despise fascism, communism, and irrational musllims. Merry Christmas
Reply to this comment
See all 37 Comments
  • MOST POPULAR
  • Viewed
  • Commented
Latest News
Featured Blogs