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NEE oak Tae swe “KELLEY ASKED B BREAK-IN FOK°AS AGENT FBI Director Clarence M. Kelley says be cannot recall asking bureau permis- sion in the late 1950s to conduct an investigative break-in. _ r i eae ATED PE nn \ ibsaa-na BF (S24 -%em/ Col Acted as Head Of FBi Office In Birmingham | By Jerry Oppenheimer Washington Star Staif Writer Bi eee ee aspecial Clarence M. Kell wi charge of the Birmingham, special ageat office in the late 1950s, requested au- - thorization from Washington head- quarters for at least one break-in, according to a knowledgeable source. The source, who formerly held a high position in the bureau, said that Kelley approved the request for au- -thorization that went to headquar- ters, based on a recommendation from the agent heading the investi- - . gation. The source said he could not recaii the investigative reason for the sur- reptitious en request from the Birmingham office. But he said it was made between December 1957 and November 1960 when Kelley wa: special agent in charge there. ONE REASON FOR the request, ! bureau official speculated yesterday could have been that in 1956, about 4 year hefore Kellay took over the Bir wees Sa wee, mingham office, the FBI initiated it: controversial counterintelligenci operation, Cointelpro. Its first targe was the Communist party-U.S.A. and the official speculated that thi Birmingham office might have bee: investigating a Communist group it the area. The FBI was also activi against the Ku Klux Klan during tha peri Break-ing were among the investi gative techniques nsed by the burea during Conintelpro — a concerted ef fort to harass, discredit and disrup freanizations that were considere ‘threats to the country. Cointelpr | Kelley, through a bureau spokes man, did not deny the source's asser tion yesterday, but said he could “‘ne ay hint requesting hd gurreptition entry while serving mingharn But, Kelley emphasized, “If I di have a recollection I would have a hesitancy in admitting it.” At the time of the alleged request the source said, Kelley was “whole ,heartedly in favor” of break-ins a ‘an investigative technique in intelli -gence investigations. “He was | ‘ mmm? See KELLEY, an ae _ an we