'Independent Lens: 1971' - Before Edward Snowden,
8 unlikely spies exposed J. Edgar Hoover
By Jay Bobbin May 18th, 2015

Before such people as Edward Snowden made headlines, some parents, professors and community members got there in a similar way.

Eight unlikely spies comprised the self-appointed Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, which stole and anonymously sent documents to journalists and members of Congress, thus revealing the J. Edgar Hoover-led agency's illegal surveillance and intimidation of everyday Americans. The commission's actions fuel the documentary "1971," which the PBS series "Independent Lens" debuts Monday (May 18).

March 8, 1971 -- the night when much of the country was captivated by the so-called "Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier -- was the date of the group's break-in at an FBI field office in Media, Pa.

They grabbed all the information they could, some of it confirming federal activity against Vietnam War protesters and civil-rights advocates, and the FBI's consequent search for the thieves proved fruitless. However, several of those who committed the crime talked to "1971" producer-director Johanna Hamilton, including their since-deceased leader Bill Davidon.

Keith Forsyth used his lock-picking skills for the group, and he says finally he came forward after two of his then-comrades were located by Betty Medsger, who was a Washington Post reporter when she was among those who received and wrote about the FBI documents. (Much later, she would write the related 2014 book "The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI.")
Forsyth tells Zap2it that trio contacted "the rest of us and asked us if we'd be willing to revise our original decision not to go public. And after some thought, it just seemed like the right thing to do. At that point, there was no real significant jeopardy, and I thought it was an important story historically ... and that as, not just our country but probably a lot of countries, we like to forget about the bad stuff. And I wanted some of the bad stuff to be documented while there were still witnesses around."

In the following years, the Pentagon Papers, National Security Agency leaks and WikiLeaks also would exemplify the sort of situation detailed in "1971," and Medsger recalls "there was no precedent for the FBI to be covered, for any intelligence agencies to be covered. Intelligence agencies got a free pass, and there was no official oversight, and that also included journalists. There was only one investigative reporter at the time who was doing any coverage of the FBI."

Plus, Hoover was "an iconic hero" in the public's view, adds Medsger: "I think that's very important to understand. It wasn't until these files came out that people understood that Hoover was something very different than what the public understood him to be."

In telling the story via "1971," filmmaker Hamilton says she hopes "to stimulate a conversation about what it means to be an engaged citizen. There are so many of these seemingly very small incidental acts that can happen any day, every day. This was a very dramatic act. People put everything on the line on a hunch ... an educated hunch, but a hunch nonetheless, to great personal risk that greatly benefited democracy."

http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/independent_lens_1971_before_edward_snowden_8_unlikely_spies_exposed_j_edgar_hoover-2015-05

First it was learning about my cousin Allison getting shot 4 times in the back at Kent State by our 'National Guard'; having her body shipped home in a sealed casket and her parents told to 'KEEP THAT CASKET SEALED'...when my uncle demanded his right to view her body to discover what had happened to his one and only daughter!

Working on George McGovern's presidential campaign {circa 70's} and having some FBI agents stopping many of us in Manhattan, KS and follow us around Topeka, KS; I learned early on that the methods and system that J Edgar Hoover and his 'THUG' mentality were off the charts for power and control within my country.

But this --- this will open up your eyes and explain the mentality that has allowed the incidents like 'RUBY RIDGE' and the follow up at WACO, TX to David Korash and those humans within that building and the lies that the FBI were telling the media but the entire time they were doing just the opposite to the victims!



To go so far as to write letters {many - many letters} to MLK telling him that he {count down to his Nobel peace prize award} to kill himself before the ceremony --- just an ugly/heinous example of what J Edgar Hoover had his minions doing while on his pay roll.

I thought about you when I was watching this in the early wee hours this morning; if you get a chance watch this or better yet read the book and watch the film!

Those young people that took part in this - OMG, I'm gutsy but they really put their very lives and the lives of all their immediate families in jeopardy when they took this on and to keep quiet for well over 35+ years --- amazing!

Then the NBC affiliate and the lady that they turned the files over too; traveled to far off places to pay for the use of a copier because the FBI/CIA had explained how they could trace a photocopier back to the sight that it was being used at! She then destroyed the original set that she had been given...that's how fearful she was that she'd be caught and forced to testify about how she obtained those files.

This has got to be made into a movie - for sure!