Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nixon's FBI: The Bureau In Crisis

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in History

Department

Arch Dalrymple III Department of History

First Advisor

Ted Ownby

Second Advisor

Matthew R. Hall

Third Advisor

Darren Grem

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

When historians write about Watergate, they do not immediately think of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This dissertation argues that they should. Watergate represented a perilous moment for the FBI, as its director allohimself to become an arm of President Richard Nixon. In turn, Nixon used his control of the FBI to frustrate its investigation into Watergate. The break-in of the Watergate Hotel in 1972 took place six weeks after the death of longtime FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover. For nearly half a century, Director Hoover remained loyal to the Bureau and held his own against eight presidents, both Democrats and Republicans. History largely remembers Hoover for his numerous indiscretions, seen in COINTELPRO, his vitriol towards Martin Luther King, Jr., and his tyrannical crusade against Communism. Towards the end of his life, Hoover was weakened by failing health, vocal critics, and President Nixon. This dissertation argues that despite Hoover’s indiscretions and the diminishment of his power, he manifested one critical strength: Hoover was apolitical and more than willing to stand up against a president's orders when he believed such orders compromised himself or his Bureau. Hoover's replacement, L. Patrick Gray, a longtime friend of Nixon, held no such qualms. During his 360-day tenure as interim director, Gray professed his loyalty to Nixon and ordered the FBI to assist with the president's reelection campaign, thwarted the FBI's investigation into Watergate (leading his Associate Director, Mark Felt, to become the Washington Post's infamous "Deep Throat" source), and destroyed Watergate documents seized from “Plumber” Howard Hunt's secret White House safe. This dissertation compares Hoover's directorship to that of Gray and contends that a political FBI director who blindly folloa president turned the Bureau into a state police.

Comments

The author requested to remove access to the thesis on 05/28/2020.

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