Hoffman Abbie Yippee

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UBER TheBrain SEE ALSO rUBIN

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LEVER MP

While Powell was advising Philip Morris, another force loomed large in his life: a deep fear of communism. Starting in the 1960s, Powell regularly corresponded with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover41 and his top deputies. Newly uncovered documents reveal that Powell served as what the Bureau referred to as an “SAC contact,” a designation for trusted informants.42 Powell shared information about suspected communist activities, particularly within the legal profession, and as part of this friendly relationship he received intelligence about left-wing organizations, including detailed financial reports on activist groups.

Powell’s correspondence with the FBI revealed his growing alarm about a new breed of political activists—college organizers, anti-war protesters, and the New Left. One report Powell reviewed, titled Confrontation Politics, analyzed the rhetorical techniques of these radical groups.43

Cartha DeLoach, assistant to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and widely regarded as Hoover’s most trusted lieutenant, was a frequent correspondent of Powell. DeLoach provided Powell with real-time research and strategic insights about activist tactics, drawing directly from FBI intelligence.

“[M]ay I suggest that you might like to consult a newly published book, Revolution for the Hell of It by Abbie Hoffman,” DeLoach wrote, referencing Hoffman, a leader of the Youth International Party (the “Yippies”). “This book might give you some insights into the New Leftist mentality,” Hoover’s deputy added.44

While Powell’s exchanges with the FBI were private, his public speeches began to echo similar themes.45 In a 1970 address titled The Attack on American Institutions, Powell decried what he saw as the growing threat of radicalism. “Today there are others with quite opposite goals who insist with equal fervor that civil disobedience of laws deemed to be unjust is a legitimate means of asserting desired rights,” Powell said. “Tyranny is the inevitable result of this form of anarchy.”4

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