- To paraphrase legendary newspaper and radio commentator Paul Harvey, "Now we know the rest of the story."
(Jan. 23) -
The FBI released its file on Harvey this week, revealing several fascinating details about his close friendship with the bureau's former director, J. Edgar Hoover. In an ironic twist, the bond developed after the FBI investigated Harvey for possible espionage charges back in 1951.
Nearly 1,400 pages of the file obtained by USA Today and other news organizations via a Freedom of Information Act request show that Harvey regularly passed on advanced copies of his scripts to the FBI for review. In turn, the agency often altered and sometimes wrote portions of Harvey's commentary for him.
"All of us in the FBI count it as a great honor to have you as one of our closest friends," Hoover wrote to Harvey in one such letter in 1959. "The staunch defense you have always put up in behalf of the FBI and your unwavering devotion to the best causes of your country have been a source of great inspiration to us."
In 1956, Harvey penned a letter to then Sen. Joseph McCarthy to report the names of what he called "known Reds" who were stationed at a Texas Air Force base. The FBI files contain a note written by a senior official advising that Harvey's letter be kept secret, The Washington Post reported.
Paul Harvey's Friendship With J. Edgar Hoover Exposed - Sphere News