The Freedom of Information Act was used to uncover the evidence that Ernest Hemingway was shadowed by FBI agents, on orders from J. Edgar Hoover, until his death.

Counter-intelligence programs

      One of the most illustrative stories in recent American history on the importance of the right to know evolved through documents obtained under the FOIA from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

      Under J. Edgar Hoover, renegade FBI agents and officials worked directly against the best interests of the public. Hoover’s notorious “counter intelligence program”—abbreviated “Cointelpro”—has since become synonymous with government dirty tricks and treachery. The purpose of the program was to subvert groups and individuals perceived as threats to domestic security. Tools employed by agents and informers included black bag jobs, infiltration, mail covers, evidence and witness tampering, and the insidious use of rumor and false reports to destroy individuals’ reputations and careers.

      In pioneering the use of the FOIA, Freedom revealed how the tentacles of Cointelpro reached into the private lives of individuals targeted by J. Edgar Hoover.

The Right to Know continued ...

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