J. Edgar Hoover Quotes

Just the minute the FBI begins making recommendations on what should be done with its information, it becomes a Gestapo.

Justice is merely incidental to law and order [...] Law and order is what covers the whole picture.

The menace of communism in this country will remain a menace until the American people make themselves aware of the techniques of communism. No one who truly understands what it really is can be taken in by it. Yet the individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst. It rejects even the assumption that human creatures could espouse a philosophy which must ultimately destroy all that is good and decent.

[Whoever did this] must be exterminated, and they must be exterminated by us.

Purpose of counter-intelligence action is to disrupt [<nowiki/>Black Panther Party] and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate the charge. If facts are present it aids in the success of the proposal but the Bureau feels … that disruption can be accomplished without facts to back it up.

Above all, I would teach him to tell the truth. Truth-telling, I have found, is the key to responsible citizenship. The thousands of criminals I have seen in 40 years of law enforcement have had one thing in common: Every single one was a liar.

We are a fact-gathering organization only. We don’t clear anybody. We don’t condemn anybody.

I always thought this Marston was a phony.

Banks are an almost irresistible attraction for that element of our society which seeks unearned money.

You state that the Bureau under the <nowiki>[</nowiki>counter-intelligence program] should not attack programs of community interest such as the [<nowiki/>Black Panther Party] "Breakfast for Children." … You have obviously missed the point ... This program was formed by the BPP for obvious reasons, including their efforts to create an image of civility, assume community control of Negroes, and to fill adolescent children with their insidious poison.