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F y ‘ dent: Te s.3 50 (4-34-62) ~ A TOT We ITLA@ R@y AD FBPs tapping of King phones |: The FBI has a Jor more explaining to-do about its motives .for spying on the late Dr. Martin Luthe¥ King. It has publicly described as “malicious” a column written by Carl Rowan that criticized the tapping of Dr. King’s phones. Clyde Tolson, associate FBI director, says the wiretapping was done for ‘national security” reasons, with the approval of the late Robert Kennedy, then attorney general. That doesn't coine even close to telling it. ONE THING IT DOESN'T EXPLAIN, is the following inci- About four years ago, an ex-FBI agent I knew asked me to join him for a round of golf. ‘orked the conversation around ‘to Dr. King. He told me the FBI had been using a variety of electronic eavesdropping devices on Dr. King. Besides tapping his phone, they had planted listening devices in hotel rooms h used while traveling. The result, he said, was a very thick file on Dr. King. He gave me sor-e examples. They were very personal things. They were things I’m sure Dr. King would not want anyone else to know about. If you bugged almost anyone’s bedroom long enough, you would hear things that person didn’t want anyone else: to know about. BUT NONE OF THE THINGS this ex-FBI agent told me reflected in any way on Dr. King’s loyalty, his Americanism, or seemed to be remotely related to national security. Nor did they rciicct on his role as a leader in the civil rights crusade, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, or a figure of historic importance. 7 Ke the round, we sat in the clubhouse chatting. He_ I asked the ex-FBI agent if his information was merely . gossip or if he was sure about it. He said he had visited J. Edgar Hoover in Washington and had been briefed on the contents of the King file. . + Tt was not uncommon, he said, for trusted ex-agents to be . let in on such things. Obviously, I was supposed to be. shocked by the things he — told me. And I was. But not for the reasons he assured. The shocking part of it was that he was actually sitting : there telling me such things. They were none of my business, and they were none of his bu iness. They were nobody" s basins but Dr. King's. { —— SALTS orb INGING, on a level with thi ldwest scandal Thagazines 2nd Transom-peeking publications. a ALL INFORMATION CONTA HERETN_IS Nyc TTFIED GA BE i) mit po - if endl . Callahan __ ir. Conrad . Felt bir. Gale » Rogen » Sulliva: . Tavel . Trotter ele. Ruom C Hiss Candy 2] as Gundy # page, name o! wSpaper, city and state.) CTCAGA DATTN FT ___ CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Date: 6-19 -69 Edition: BRUE SURE oN Author: vy “KO Editor: ROY Title: ‘DR ‘ANTIN LUTE TET Classification: Submitting Office: