Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XIV, Soviet Union

194. Letter From the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hoover) to Senator Karl Mundt¹

Washington, January 23, 1967.

Dear Karl,

I have received your letter of January 21, 1967,² in which you advised that you are concerned and confused over the various interpretations being given to my letter of September 16, 1966, to Secretary of State Rusk, “with regard to the position of the FBI on the probable consequences likely to result from ratification of the Consular Treaty now before the United States Senate.”³

It should be clearly understood that the FBI is the investigative arm of the Department of Justice and, as such, it is our responsibility to gather and report facts. The FBI is not a policy-making agency and we do not express opinions. Since 1924, when I became its Director, the FBI has refrained from injecting itself into the area of legislation. The Consular Convention between the Soviet Union and the United States, which is now before the United States Senate, is no exception to this long-standing rule.

Because the Consular Convention does involve considerations which have a direct bearing upon the responsibilities of the FBI, I appreciate your interest in requesting the following facts from me. Again I emphasize that the FBI is not recommending a course of action or expressing an opinion.

You specifically inquired whether I had changed my views or whether any evidence has developed to make me change my mind about my testimony of March 4, 1965.⁴ The answer is an unequivocal no.

During my testimony before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on March 4, 1965, I called attention to the fact that the establishment of Soviet consulates in this country, “of course, will make our work more difficult.” At no point in my March, 1965, testimony-nor following the release of that testimony by the House Appropriations Committee in May, 1965-did I state or imply that the Consular Convention would impose any additional burdens of responsibility upon the FBI that we are incapable of handling. Nor did I express any opinion concerning the matter of ratification. The simple fact is that the work of the FBI in combating Soviet-directed espionage activities in this country has increased through the years commensurate with the increase in Soviet representation here. I can also state without equivocation that communist-bloc diplomatic establishments in this country serve as focal points for intelligence operations.

You inquired whether, since March 4, 1965, there has been a cessation of attempts by communist diplomatic personnel in this country to engage in acts of subversion or attempted espionage. The answer again is an unequivocal no.

You asked whether these efforts by communist diplomatic personnel still continue. They most certainly do. Representatives of the KGB (Soviet Committee of State Security) and the GRU (Soviet Military Intelligence Service), comprising a large segment of the Soviet diplomatic corps in the United States, are conducting an intensive campaign aimed at the most sensitive data regarding our scientific and technical developments, our military and defense programs and the future plans of our Government.

You requested that you be supplied with a list of attempts by communist diplomatic personnel to engage in acts of subversion or attempted espionage as they are available for public information, segregated by calendar years over the past six to ten years. In accordance with your request, there is attached a list of Soviet officials stationed in this country who have been arrested or expelled from the United States since January 1, 1957.⁵

With every good wish,

Sincerely,⁶

1. Source: Johnson Library, Legislative Background, Consular Treaty. No classification marking.
2. Not printed. (Ibid.)
3. See footnote 2, Document 192.
4. Mundt was one of several members of the Senator Foreign Relations Committee who, influenced in part by Hoover’s testimony, had dissented from the committee’s recommendation in 1965 that the Senate ratify the Consular Convention. Regarding Hoover’s testimony, see footnote 3, Document 163.
5. Not printed.
6. Printed from an unsigned copy.