The People vs J Edgar Hoover

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The People Vs J Edgar Hoover

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An examination of how the first director of the FBI's iron grip still permeates America.

An examination, half a century on from the first director of the FBI's death in office in 1972, of how Hoover's iron grip still permeates contemporary America.

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The People vs J Edgar Hoover: Omnibus 2

Omnibus 2

BBC Radio 4 - The People vs J Edgar Hoover, Omnibus 2

The story of the legendary lawman's fall from power.

The story of the legendary lawman's fall. Emily Maitlis on the legacy of perhaps the most powerful figure in 20th-century America.

The story of the legendary lawman's fall. J Edgar Hoover built then ran the FBI for almost five decades. He turned it from a bureaucratic backwater into a premier crime fighting and counterintelligence force. In the process, he arguably became America’s most powerful man. He’s been dead 50 years and still his shadow looms over the US. Today’s fears of a ‘deep state’ - of unaccountable government officials working against the public in their own interest – can be traced back to him. In the second of two omnibus episodes, Emily shows how though his job was to enforce the law...he would not always be bound by it.

Correction note: The programme incorrectly identifies the Church Committee as the Church Commission.

Producer: Neal Razzell
Research: Louise Byrne
Editor: Hugh Levinson
Production Coordinator: Janet Staples
Sound: Tom Brignell

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The People vs J Edgar Hoover

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