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ITE IN ENVEL : UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT Mr. Tolson Memorandum Mr. DeLoach - Mr. Bishop TO :Mr. . C. Sulliv DATe: June 23, 1969 JUNE 1 - Mr. Sullivan FROM :C. D. Brenna - Mr. G.C. Moore Mr. C.D. Brennan O techn!lAl Grigalus SUBJECT: ELECTRONIQ SURVEILLANCES AILL INTORLTTON CONTAINED SYNOPSIS: FHERE EHC OHE ETIES. Pursuant to the Director's instructions, this summar the Bureau's policy on wiretaps and microphone.surveillances. Concerning wiretaps, the Director, since 1924, opposed the use of wiretapping as a general practice and has openly. stressed for years that wiretaps, where necessary, should be limited and tightly restricted. In l94o -President Roosevelt authorized wiretaps when the national securitywas affected. Since that date, every Bureau request for a wiretap has been presented to the Attorney General in writing for approval.. This policy continues to date. REC 18 C G-yil0- L4-.il . Attorneys General Kennedy, Katzenbach, and Clark were cieariy iniormed of the Bureau's poiicy concerning wiretaps at the time they took otftce. Kennedy exnressed an interest in inereased (s) Furthermore, at nis urging, telephone surveillance was placed on Martin Luther King. In addition, he personally approved request for telephone surveillance on a case involvin! requested the FBI to consider placing telephone surveillance on the parents of a Mississippi civil rights worker. The. tial embarrassment. On 3/3o/65,.the Director advised Katzenbach that back under the administration of Attorney General rdu)29 36 Clark, he, the Director..recommended that all Government. agencies refrain Irom wiretapping unless there was specrtrc approval"in each~Instance by the Attorney General and this See E had been repeated to subsequent Attorneys General. The Director added he was the only.head of an investigative. agency who didnote have the authority to authorize a wiretap. On Attorney Genera! had been given to reduce the number of telephone sugyeillances peing operated by the Bureau in view of the,President?. feelings concerning use of electronic deviess as #eii s Clark's question as to the actual value of the same. The Director pointed out that this was being brougat to Clark's atten State Department and Clark-fatled ASIRE 0G-876C 6 JUL 3f CONTINUED - OVER- 66-816o