Perspective: The right’s claims about weaponization of the FBI don’t stand up to the historical test
There is just one problem with the fury and demands for action: If the FBI suffers from bias against a political side, it’s the left. In fact, the Bureau’s history reveals that it has long had a conservative Christianin its hiring practices, culture and investigative priorities. While there have been some steps taken to address the Bureau’s bias, its fundamental culture remains in place — underscoring that the right’s claims are simply divorced from the reality of the Bureau.
Hoover labored to ensure that the Bureau would be staffed by agents receptive to such a culture. For more than three decades under his leadership, the FBI exclusively hired White male Protestant and Catholic special agents. Hoover’s college fraternity, Kappa Alpha, which counted Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as its spiritual founder, was a fountainhead of FBI Protestant recruitment, while special recruiting overtures to Catholic schools centered on Georgetown, Fordham and St. Louis University.
The FBI director considered Martin Luther King Jr. the worst of all. He even referred to the preacher as a “disservice to his own race and our country.” The Bureau launched an unprecedented harassment campaign against King. This included conservative Christian preachersby inserting it into their religious broadcasts and publications.
Director Clarence Kelley, a Life Elder of his church, The Country Club Christian Church in Kansas City
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