HARRY J. DEAN

[Ernie Lazar]

A while back I was asked for information concerning Harry Dean who claims that he infiltrated the John Birch Society from 1962-1964 and that he was an informant for the FBI.

During my research into FBI HQ and field office files pertaining to the John Birch Society I received an FBI document which pertains to an inquiry about a column by James Horwitz on page 2 of the 3/16/77 issue of the Las Virgenes (CA) Independent Valley News.

The Horwitz column reported upon an "exclusive interview" with Harry Dean during which Dean repeated his claims about his alleged association with the FBI as an undercover operative or informant from 1960-1965 (notice that in this interview, Dean changed the years to include 1965).

The Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office (Robert E. Gebhardt) saw a copy of the Horwitz column because of an inquiry which he received about it. Gebhardt responded to the inquiry about Dean’s assertions and he forwarded a copy of his 4/1/77 reply to James K. Coffin, the Publisher of the Las Virgenes Independent Valley News.

You may obtain a copy of the column, the inquiry, and the reply by requesting Los Angeles FBI field office file #100-59001, serial #1258.

Here is the pertinent excerpt:

“In the interest of accuracy, I must advise you that Harry Dean has never been an undercover operative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has never been an informant of this Bureau, and has never been instructed to perform any act on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Furthermore, I can tell you that the FBI has never investigated the John Birch Society. I am bringing the above information your attention. You might consider furnishing this information to the readers of your column.”

Since I have obtained the entire FBI HQ file on the John Birch Society (12,000 pages), as well as almost all of the FBI field office files on the JBS -- it seems very odd that there is no mention whatsoever of anybody who "infiltrated" the JBS at the request of the FBI.

More significantly, there is the matter of standard Bureau procedure regarding ALL prospective informants:

1. Standard Bureau procedure regarding field office interest in using informants of any kind was that the field office had to submit a detailed investigative report about the proposed informant.

2. In addition, the informant was placed in probationary status until it could be determined whether or not the informant was providing useful and reliable information. Field offices prepared periodic summaries of the information which every informant provided.

3. Furthermore, any expenses incurred by informants (such as travel, purchasing literature, attending conferences etc) were itemized and requests for reimbursement were routinely submitted to HQ for approval (or rejection).

4. Any other monies paid to an informant also had to be explicitly approved by HQ.

5. Any verbal reports by informants were converted into typewritten memoranda summarizing what information they provided. Those written reports were placed into the files of the subjects they discussed (along with cross-referenced copies in other pertinent files).

6. I might also add that standard Bureau procedure regarding its informants was to provide a factual summary of their status. For example, here is the summary which the Bureau routinely sent out when people inquired about Julia Brown, an FBI informant within the Communist Party who subsequently became a Birch Society member and paid speaker under the auspices of its American Opinion Speakers Bureau:

"Concerning Mrs. Julia Brown, she furnished information on subversive activities to the FBI on a confidential basis from 1951 to 1960. Although she was not an employee of this Bureau, she was compensated for her services. Her current views are strictly her own and do not represent the FBI in any way." [HQ 62-104401-2499, 4/24/65]. THERE IS NO COMPARABLE STATEMENT REGARDING HARRY J DEAN!

Given everything I have mentioned above, I would bring everyone's attention to the following facts:

1. There is no record of any kind whatsoever in any FBI HQ or field office file that Harry Dean ever was even considered as an informant much less accepted as one.

2. No official investigation of the JBS was ever opened by the FBI. There was a preliminary inquiry during 1959 and 1960 -- but once it was established that the JBS was an anti-communist organization which did not advocate or participate in criminal or subversive activities, there was no reason to "infiltrate" it.

3. There are no documents of any kind whatsoever concerning payments made to any "informant" within the JBS for expenses of any kind.

4. There are no documents of any kind whatsoever reflecting continuing periodic reports (verbal or written) by a specific "informant" whom the FBI authorized to "infiltrate" the JBS

Since I have acquired numerous FBI files on actual informants it authorized to infiltrate both legitimate and subversive organizations -- and I am, therefore, intimately familiar with the type of data contained in such files -- it is 100% certain that Harry Dean is misrepresenting his "FBI" association in order to inflate his credentials.

Furthermore, Harry Dean is on record stating that former FBI Special Agents Dan Smoot and W. Cleon Skousen were "members" of the Birch Society. But that is a total falsehood. Neither Smoot or Skousen joined the JBS. They did, however, support the JBS and both spoke at JBS functions or wrote for JBS publications.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ernie1241@aol.com

FBI FILES ON JBS: http://ernie1241.googlepages.com/jbs-1

Edited June 8, 2010 by Ernie Lazar

[William Kelly]

Hi Ernie,

Harry was most certainly an FBI informant in regards to the Chicago FPCC and a CIA operative in Cuba as there are many documents and records released under the JFK Act that certify those roles, and he is very knowledgeable about the JBS and recently started a thread about it on this forum, as he is a member.

I'm sure Harry will answer any questions if you are polite and honest.

It's hard to believe that the FBI would recruit half of the active KKK members as informants, and target the FPCC, Communist Party and other subversive groups, but not the JBS.

I'm sure we can find out more about this.

BK

[Bernice Moore]

Hi Ernie,

Harry was most certainly an FBI informant in regards to the Chicago FPCC and a CIA operative in Cuba as there are many documents and records released under the JFK Act that certify those roles, and he is very knowledgeable about the JBS and recently started a thread about it on this forum, as he is a member.

I'm sure Harry will answer any questions if you are polite and honest.

It's hard to believe that the FBI would recruit half of the active KKK members as informants, and target the FPCC, Communist Party and other subversive groups, but not the JBS.

I'm sure we can find out more about this.

BK

THERE CERTAINLY ARE MANY DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO HARRY, AND YES BILL HE IS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, HOPEFULLY HE WILL JOIN IN,AND PUT MATTERS RIGHT...B

http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/Photos_-_HSCA_Mugbook_-_p1

HE'S IN THE HSCA MUG BOOK ALSO...

Edited June 8, 2010 by Bernice Moore

[William Kelly]

Hi Ernie,

Harry was most certainly an FBI informant in regards to the Chicago FPCC and a CIA operative in Cuba as there are many documents and records released under the JFK Act that certify those roles, and he is very knowledgeable about the JBS and recently started a thread about it on this forum, as he is a member.

I'm sure Harry will answer any questions if you are polite and honest.

It's hard to believe that the FBI would recruit half of the active KKK members as informants, and target the FPCC, Communist Party and other subversive groups, but not the JBS.

I'm sure we can find out more about this.

BK

THERE CERTAINLY ARE MANY DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO HARRY, AND YES BILL HE IS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, HOPEFULLY HE WILL JOIN IN,AND PUT MATTERS RIGHT...B

http://www.maryferre...CA_Mugbook_-_p1

HE'S IN THE HSCA MUG BOOK ALSO...

#9 in your Program.

BK

[Ernie Lazar]

Bill: The FBI had very clear and specific protocols regarding when it was appropriate to develop informants.

As you correctly point out, they were obviously interested in the KKK (although you are mistaken about "half of the active members" being FBI informants). But the reason that the KKK came within the guidelines for active recruitment of informants was related to known or suspected violations of federal law.

There was never any such suspicion with respect to the Birch Society because it was never considered or even suspected of being engaged in criminal or "subversive" activities or any violations of federal law.

However, initially, before the Bureau had compiled factual data from its field offices about the nature and purposes of the JBS, there was a concern that perhaps subversives might attempt to join and use the JBS for reasons which are spelled out in FBI documents.

But when the Bureau became aware of the type of individuals who actually became JBS members -- they quickly realized that it was simply one of many "extreme right" organizations which came into existence during the 1950's and 1960's -- but it was NOT "subversive" or a security concern -- which is why no official investigation was ever undertaken of the JBS.

Lastly, I want to re-emphasize something for both you and Bernice:

Without exception, every person who actually became an FBI informant (and I am referring to those people whom the FBI recruited -- not individuals who just provided unsolicited information) had a very substantial paper trail which was archived in various FBI files. For example, I previously mentioned Julia Brown. The FBI file pertaining to her is more than 3000 pages and it includes copies of all her reports. Similarly, I could give you comparable data about DOZENS of other FBI informants whose files I have acquired.

It simply is NOT possible for Harry Dean to have been (as he claims) an FBI informant (for years) within the Birch Society without there being ONE SINGLE DOCUMENT anywhere that refers to him! I have the entire FBI HQ file on the JBS. I have the entire Los Angeles field office file on the JBS.

If Harry Dean wants to enter this discussion, then let him do two things:

(1) Provide us with his FBI code name

(2) Give someone a notarized authorization so that they may submit an FOIA request to obtain any FBI documents which pertain to him.

Lastly, I have gone through this many times previously. Recently, for example, the widow of Rabbi Meir Kahane also mentioned the "FBI informant" status of her husband. Mr. Kahane ALSO claimed to have "infiltrated" the JBS for the FBI. But that, too, is FALSE.

There are MANY people (including JBS members) who earned their living by CLAIMING to be associated with the FBI and then using their alleged FBI association as a credential for selling books, giving speeches under the auspices of various organizations, publishing newsletters, etc. The Bureau sarcastically referred to many of these folks as "professional anticommunists".

Hi Ernie,

Harry was most certainly an FBI informant in regards to the Chicago FPCC and a CIA operative in Cuba as there are many documents and records released under the JFK Act that certify those roles, and he is very knowledgeable about the JBS and recently started a thread about it on this forum, as he is a member.

I'm sure Harry will answer any questions if you are polite and honest.

It's hard to believe that the FBI would recruit half of the active KKK members as informants, and target the FPCC, Communist Party and other subversive groups, but not the JBS.

I'm sure we can find out more about this.

BK

Edited June 9, 2010 by Ernie Lazar

[William Kelly]

Bill: The FBI had very clear and specific protocols regarding when it was appropriate to develop informants.

As you correctly point out, they were obviously interested in the KKK (although you are mistaken about "half of the active members" being FBI informants). But the reason that the KKK came within the guidelines for active recruitment of informants was related to known or suspected violations of federal law.

There was never any such suspicion with respect to the Birch Society because it was never considered or even suspected of being engaged in criminal or "subversive" activities or any violations of federal law.

However, initially, before the Bureau had compiled factual data from its field offices about the nature and purposes of the JBS, there was a concern that perhaps subversives might attempt to join and use the JBS for reasons which are spelled out in FBI documents.

But when the Bureau became aware of the type of individuals who actually became JBS members -- they quickly realized that it was simply one of many "extreme right" organizations which came into existence during the 1950's and 1960's -- but it was NOT "subversive" or a security concern -- which is why no official investigation was ever undertaken of the JBS.

Lastly, I want to re-emphasize something for both you and Bernice:

Without exception, every person who actually became an FBI informant (and I am referring to those people whom the FBI recruited -- not individuals who just provided unsolicited information) had a very substantial paper trail which was archived in various FBI files. For example, I previously mentioned Julia Brown. The FBI file pertaining to her is more than 3000 pages and it includes copies of all her reports. Similarly, I could give you comparable data about DOZENS of other FBI informants whose files I have acquired.

It simply is NOT possible for Harry Dean to have been (as he claims) an FBI informant (for years) within the Birch Society without there being ONE SINGLE DOCUMENT anywhere that refers to him! I have the entire FBI HQ file on the JBS. I have the entire Los Angeles field office file on the JBS.

If Harry Dean wants to enter this discussion, then let him do two things:

(1) Provide us with his FBI code name

(2) Give someone a notarized authorization so that they may submit an FOIA request to obtain any FBI documents which pertain to him.

Lastly, I have gone through this many times previously. Recently, for example, the widow of Rabbi Meir Kahane also mentioned the "FBI informant" status of her husband. Mr. Kahane ALSO claimed to have "infiltrated" the JBS for the FBI. But that, too, is FALSE.

There are MANY people (including JBS members) who earned their living by CLAIMING to be associated with the FBI and then using their alleged FBI association as a credential for selling books, giving speeches under the auspices of various organizations, publishing newsletters, etc. The Bureau sarcastically referred to many of these folks as "professional anticommunists".

So Ernie is on a campaign to clean up the FBI Informants files and expose those who make a living claiming they were FBI informants when in fact they were not, incuding Harry Dean and Rabbi Meir Kahane?

Now we know for a fact that Rabbi Meir Kahane was assassinated in NYC and that his assassin was at first branded a lone-nut, but it was subsequently proven that he was part of the same terrorists cell that included those involved in the first bombing of the WTC and Ali Mohamad, the Egyptian Army officer who joined the US Army and trained special ops soldiers and FBI agents at Quantico. Now you are telling me that widow Kahane is falsly claiming her assassinated husband was an FBI informant?

I would certainly believe her before I would believe the FBI.

If the good Rabie was an FBI informant I would wager that John O'Neill was Kahane's FBI contact and case officer, as that was his style and jurisdiction.

As for Harry, we know he's not making a living off of it. There's over 166 documents in his file released under the JFK Act at NARA, where you can get the RIFF numbers and then go read them at Mary Ferrell, incuding this one from the Director dated 11/22/63:

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : SSCIA

RECORD NUMBER : 157-10008-10126

RECORDS SERIES : AIRTEL

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : FBI

FROM : DIRECTOR, FBI

TO : SAC, CHICAGO

TITLE : TRANSMITTING LETTER FROM HARRY DEAN

DATE : 11/22/1963

PAGES : 3

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

SUBJECTS : DEAN, HARRY; LOS ANGELES

CLASSIFICATION : UNCLASSIFIED

RESTRICTIONS : OPEN IN FULL

CURRENT STATUS : OPEN

DATE OF LAST REVIEW : 03/29/1994

COMMENTS : box 466-13

There's also documents with titles like Harry Dean's false allegations about FBI relationship, etc., and if I was the FBI i'd deny I ran Harry or Ozzie, and the FBI certainly didn't like the allegations of Oswald and Ruby being FBI informants, but it turns out that Ruby actually was one. And Gary Mack says Ruby couldn't keep a secret.

Whether Harry was recruited as an agent or was just a volunteer snitch, he was a FPCC operator at the same level as Oswald, maybe highter, and he actually got to Cuba and was interrogated by the Cuban G2 and the CIA, and he gives us a good insight into how those things operated. At least he gives us a better insight than the FBI will acknowledge that he gave them. Joe Pyne, Tom Snyder, Harry certainly was almost mainstream in getting the word out.

And if he wasn't an informant, how come so many of his documents are still redacted? What's with that?

The best insight into the FBI files on informants is not what they let you read, but what they have withheld, see:

We know most of what they were doing from the COINTELPRO documents that were stollen from the FBI's Media, Pa. office and leaked to the media, a crime the FBI has still not figured out. Those records show how extensive the CI infiltration of such groups really was, but in fact, we now know the Army CI was even greater.

Take Bob Hardy, the ex-USMC, not recruited, but a walk in, a volunteer FBI informant and agent provocateur who inspired the Camden 28 to raid the selective service office and try to steal their records, a good example of how the informant role often gets out of hand.

While the FBI may not have utilized Harry's information as they should have, we certainly can.

And since we know so much about Harry from his files, how about writing up and posting a short personal bio of yourself so we know who we're dealing with? Are you with the FBI?

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Edited June 9, 2010 by William Kelly

[Bernice Moore]

As for Harry, we know he's not making a living off of it. There's over 166 documents in his file released under the JFK Act at NARA, where you can get the RIFF numbers and then go read them at Mary Ferrell, incuding this one from the Director dated 11/22/63:

[/color]

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : SSCIA

RECORD NUMBER : 157-10008-10126

RECORDS SERIES : AIRTEL

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : FBI

FROM : DIRECTOR, FBI

TO : SAC, CHICAGO

TITLE : TRANSMITTING LETTER FROM HARRY DEAN

DATE : 11/22/1963

PAGES : 3

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

SUBJECTS : DEAN, HARRY; LOS ANGELES

CLASSIFICATION : UNCLASSIFIED

RESTRICTIONS : OPEN IN FULL

CURRENT STATUS : OPEN

DATE OF LAST REVIEW : 03/29/1994

COMMENTS : box 466-13

There's also documents with titles like Harry Dean's false allegations about FBI relationship, etc., and if I was the FBI i'd deny I ran Harry or Ozzie, and the FBI certainly didn't like the allegations of Oswald and Ruby being FBI informants, but it turns out that Ruby actually was one. And Gary Mack says Ruby couldn't keep a secret.

Whether Harry was recruited as an agent or was just a volunteer snitch, he was a FPCC operator at the same level as Oswald, maybe highter, and he actually got to Cuba and was interrogated by the Cuban G2 and the CIA, and he gives us a good insight into how those things operated. At least he gives us a better insight than the FBI will acknowledge that he gave them. Joe Pyne, Tom Snyder, Harry certainly was almost mainstream in getting the word out.

And if he wasn't an informant, how come so many of his documents are still redacted? What's with that?

The best insight into the FBI files on informants is not what they let you read, but what they have withheld, see:

We know most of what they were doing from the COINTELPRO documents that were stollen from the FBI's Media, Pa. office and leaked to the media, a crime the FBI has still not figured out. Those records show how extensive the CI infiltration of such groups really was, but in fact, we now know the Army CI was even greater.

Take Bob Hardy, the ex-USMC, not recruited, but a walk in, a volunteer FBI informant and agent provocateur who inspired the Camden 28 to raid the selective service office and try to steal their records, a good example of how the informant role often gets out of hand.

While the FBI may not have utilized Harry's information as they should have, we certainly can.

And since we know so much about Harry from his files, how about writing up and posting a short personal bio of yourself so we know who we're dealing with? Are you with the FBI? Thanks,

Bill Kelly

thanks bill ; here is further information; FBI - HSCA Subject File: John Birch Society

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/docset/getList.do?docSetId=1347

[Bernice Moore]

http://spot.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_issues/18th_Issue/blakey.html

B

[Bernice Moore]

deleted

Edited June 9, 2010 by Bernice Moore

[Bernice Moore]

when i load the link from mary ferrell's it keeps coming up empty, ???thanks b

Edited June 9, 2010 by Bernice Moore

[Greg Parker]

Ernie, you are absolutely correct that the FBI did not investigate groups like the JBS and White Citizen's Council (amazingly even when they had cause to).

You are also absolutely wrong in believing that the FBI adhered to policies and procedures in handling informants. Read FBI secrets: an agents exposé by Lesley Swearington.

A while back I was asked for information concerning Harry Dean who claims that he infiltrated the John Birch Society from 1962-1964 and that he was an informant for the FBI.

During my research into FBI HQ and field office files pertaining to the John Birch Society I received an FBI document which pertains to an inquiry about a column by James Horwitz on page 2 of the 3/16/77 issue of the Las Virgenes (CA) Independent Valley News.

The Horwitz column reported upon an "exclusive interview" with Harry Dean during which Dean repeated his claims about his alleged association with the FBI as an undercover operative or informant from 1960-1965 (notice that in this interview, Dean changed the years to include 1965).

The Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office (Robert E. Gebhardt) saw a copy of the Horwitz column because of an inquiry which he received about it. Gebhardt responded to the inquiry about Dean’s assertions and he forwarded a copy of his 4/1/77 reply to James K. Coffin, the Publisher of the Las Virgenes Independent Valley News.

You may obtain a copy of the column, the inquiry, and the reply by requesting Los Angeles FBI field office file #100-59001, serial #1258.

Here is the pertinent excerpt:

“In the interest of accuracy, I must advise you that Harry Dean has never been an undercover operative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has never been an informant of this Bureau, and has never been instructed to perform any act on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Furthermore, I can tell you that the FBI has never investigated the John Birch Society. I am bringing the above information your attention. You might consider furnishing this information to the readers of your column.”

Since I have obtained the entire FBI HQ file on the John Birch Society (12,000 pages), as well as almost all of the FBI field office files on the JBS -- it seems very odd that there is no mention whatsoever of anybody who "infiltrated" the JBS at the request of the FBI.

More significantly, there is the matter of standard Bureau procedure regarding ALL prospective informants:

1. Standard Bureau procedure regarding field office interest in using informants of any kind was that the field office had to submit a detailed investigative report about the proposed informant.

2. In addition, the informant was placed in probationary status until it could be determined whether or not the informant was providing useful and reliable information. Field offices prepared periodic summaries of the information which every informant provided.

3. Furthermore, any expenses incurred by informants (such as travel, purchasing literature, attending conferences etc) were itemized and requests for reimbursement were routinely submitted to HQ for approval (or rejection).

4. Any other monies paid to an informant also had to be explicitly approved by HQ.

5. Any verbal reports by informants were converted into typewritten memoranda summarizing what information they provided. Those written reports were placed into the files of the subjects they discussed (along with cross-referenced copies in other pertinent files).

6. I might also add that standard Bureau procedure regarding its informants was to provide a factual summary of their status. For example, here is the summary which the Bureau routinely sent out when people inquired about Julia Brown, an FBI informant within the Communist Party who subsequently became a Birch Society member and paid speaker under the auspices of its American Opinion Speakers Bureau:

"Concerning Mrs. Julia Brown, she furnished information on subversive activities to the FBI on a confidential basis from 1951 to 1960. Although she was not an employee of this Bureau, she was compensated for her services. Her current views are strictly her own and do not represent the FBI in any way." [HQ 62-104401-2499, 4/24/65]. THERE IS NO COMPARABLE STATEMENT REGARDING HARRY J DEAN!

Given everything I have mentioned above, I would bring everyone's attention to the following facts:

1. There is no record of any kind whatsoever in any FBI HQ or field office file that Harry Dean ever was even considered as an informant much less accepted as one.

2. No official investigation of the JBS was ever opened by the FBI. There was a preliminary inquiry during 1959 and 1960 -- but once it was established that the JBS was an anti-communist organization which did not advocate or participate in criminal or subversive activities, there was no reason to "infiltrate" it.

3. There are no documents of any kind whatsoever concerning payments made to any "informant" within the JBS for expenses of any kind.

4. There are no documents of any kind whatsoever reflecting continuing periodic reports (verbal or written) by a specific "informant" whom the FBI authorized to "infiltrate" the JBS

Since I have acquired numerous FBI files on actual informants it authorized to infiltrate both legitimate and subversive organizations -- and I am, therefore, intimately familiar with the type of data contained in such files -- it is 100% certain that Harry Dean is misrepresenting his "FBI" association in order to inflate his credentials.

Furthermore, Harry Dean is on record stating that former FBI Special Agents Dan Smoot and W. Cleon Skousen were "members" of the Birch Society. But that is a total falsehood. Neither Smoot or Skousen joined the JBS. They did, however, support the JBS and both spoke at JBS functions or wrote for JBS publications.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ernie1241@aol.com

FBI FILES ON JBS: http://ernie1241.googlepages.com/jbs-1

[John Dolva]

Ernie? Can you confirm Ronald Reagans status as FBI informant SF T-? , please?

Could you also elaborate on his standing as an informant from the FBI's POV?

(I presume you are aware of the so called SF ''ruckus'' (berkley barb (65?)) where the JBS offered to support or oppose Reagan according to how he considered this useful.)

Thank you.

[Ernie Lazar]

Bill:

1. First, with respect to Rabbi Kahane. When I contacted his widow, Libby, she replied to me as follows:

"My information on this subject is based only on Rabbi Kahane's own statements. The FBI informed me that they had no information about any connection between him and the Birch Society. I received a hundreds of photocopies of memos and reports from the FBI, and cited them in my book about Rabbi Kahane. I found nothing in any of that material about the John Birch Society."

2. Second, I am not "on a campaign to clean up FBI informant files and expose those who make a living claiming they were FBI informants when in fact they were not".

How could you possibly arrive at that conclusion from what I have written thus far? I am sharing factual data from my years of research into FBI files. I am sorry if that upsets you -- but it does not change the facts of the situation. Maybe you are emotionally invested in this matter and you don't care what the facts are?

3. If I was in your position, perhaps I too would claim that the FBI is covering up Harry's true status. But you don't explain why they would be interested in doing that. We are perilously close to a circular argument here. A circular argument starts with an unproven predicate (such as Harry Dean was an FBI informant within the JBS) and then all subsequent statements are based upon and flow from the unproven predicate. Please share with us your methodology regarding HOW you separate fact from fiction.

4. As I previously mentioned, over the past 30 years I have acquired the FBI files of many actual FBI informants. Some of them were discontinued as informants because of specific personal problems.

For example, Matt Cvetic was initially a very productive and useful informant but his chronic alcoholism and domestic violence and relentless demands for more money caused his Justice Dept handlers to conclude he was no longer reliable.

Karl Prussion was dropped because he revealed his FBI informant status, without permission, to a Los Angeles TV personality and because of his inconsistent statements.

Other informants who surfaced and testified in court proceedings or before legislative committees were highly regarded by the FBI (such as Julia Brown and Lola Belle Holmes) until they associated themselves with political extremist groups such as the Birch Society and they started fabricating lurid stories in order to increase their prospective income opportunities.

All of these pecadillos and problems are thoroughly documented in their FBI files -- so one wonders why Harry Dean would be treated so differently?

(a) WHY is there is NOT ONE document in any JBS file that refers to him?

( WHY is there NOT ONE expense report?

© WHY is there NOT ONE summary concerning information he supposedly provided?

(d) WHY is there NOT ONE reference to ANY person whom the FBI used as an "informant" within the JBS -- other than the persons who contacted the FBI on their own and provided unsolicited information of no particular consequence?

Bill: The FBI had very clear and specific protocols regarding when it was appropriate to develop informants.

As you correctly point out, they were obviously interested in the KKK (although you are mistaken about "half of the active members" being FBI informants). But the reason that the KKK came within the guidelines for active recruitment of informants was related to known or suspected violations of federal law.

There was never any such suspicion with respect to the Birch Society because it was never considered or even suspected of being engaged in criminal or "subversive" activities or any violations of federal law.

However, initially, before the Bureau had compiled factual data from its field offices about the nature and purposes of the JBS, there was a concern that perhaps subversives might attempt to join and use the JBS for reasons which are spelled out in FBI documents.

But when the Bureau became aware of the type of individuals who actually became JBS members -- they quickly realized that it was simply one of many "extreme right" organizations which came into existence during the 1950's and 1960's -- but it was NOT "subversive" or a security concern -- which is why no official investigation was ever undertaken of the JBS.

Lastly, I want to re-emphasize something for both you and Bernice:

Without exception, every person who actually became an FBI informant (and I am referring to those people whom the FBI recruited -- not individuals who just provided unsolicited information) had a very substantial paper trail which was archived in various FBI files. For example, I previously mentioned Julia Brown. The FBI file pertaining to her is more than 3000 pages and it includes copies of all her reports. Similarly, I could give you comparable data about DOZENS of other FBI informants whose files I have acquired.

It simply is NOT possible for Harry Dean to have been (as he claims) an FBI informant (for years) within the Birch Society without there being ONE SINGLE DOCUMENT anywhere that refers to him! I have the entire FBI HQ file on the JBS. I have the entire Los Angeles field office file on the JBS.

If Harry Dean wants to enter this discussion, then let him do two things:

(1) Provide us with his FBI code name

(2) Give someone a notarized authorization so that they may submit an FOIA request to obtain any FBI documents which pertain to him.

Lastly, I have gone through this many times previously. Recently, for example, the widow of Rabbi Meir Kahane also mentioned the "FBI informant" status of her husband. Mr. Kahane ALSO claimed to have "infiltrated" the JBS for the FBI. But that, too, is FALSE.

There are MANY people (including JBS members) who earned their living by CLAIMING to be associated with the FBI and then using their alleged FBI association as a credential for selling books, giving speeches under the auspices of various organizations, publishing newsletters, etc. The Bureau sarcastically referred to many of these folks as "professional anticommunists".

So Ernie is on a campaign to clean up the FBI Informants files and expose those who make a living claiming they were FBI informants when in fact they were not, incuding Harry Dean and Rabbi Meir Kahane?

Now we know for a fact that Rabbi Meir Kahane was assassinated in NYC and that his assassin was at first branded a lone-nut, but it was subsequently proven that he was part of the same terrorists cell that included those involved in the first bombing of the WTC and Ali Mohamad, the Egyptian Army officer who joined the US Army and trained special ops soldiers and FBI agents at Quantico. Now you are telling me that widow Kahane is falsly claiming her assassinated husband was an FBI informant?

I would certainly believe her before I would believe the FBI.

If the good Rabie was an FBI informant I would wager that John O'Neill was Kahane's FBI contact and case officer, as that was his style and jurisdiction.

As for Harry, we know he's not making a living off of it. There's over 166 documents in his file released under the JFK Act at NARA, where you can get the RIFF numbers and then go read them at Mary Ferrell, incuding this one from the Director dated 11/22/63:

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : SSCIA

RECORD NUMBER : 157-10008-10126

RECORDS SERIES : AIRTEL

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : FBI

FROM : DIRECTOR, FBI

TO : SAC, CHICAGO

TITLE : TRANSMITTING LETTER FROM HARRY DEAN

DATE : 11/22/1963

PAGES : 3

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

SUBJECTS : DEAN, HARRY; LOS ANGELES

CLASSIFICATION : UNCLASSIFIED

RESTRICTIONS : OPEN IN FULL

CURRENT STATUS : OPEN

DATE OF LAST REVIEW : 03/29/1994

COMMENTS : box 466-13

There's also documents with titles like Harry Dean's false allegations about FBI relationship, etc., and if I was the FBI i'd deny I ran Harry or Ozzie, and the FBI certainly didn't like the allegations of Oswald and Ruby being FBI informants, but it turns out that Ruby actually was one. And Gary Mack says Ruby couldn't keep a secret.

Whether Harry was recruited as an agent or was just a volunteer snitch, he was a FPCC operator at the same level as Oswald, maybe highter, and he actually got to Cuba and was interrogated by the Cuban G2 and the CIA, and he gives us a good insight into how those things operated. At least he gives us a better insight than the FBI will acknowledge that he gave them. Joe Pyne, Tom Snyder, Harry certainly was almost mainstream in getting the word out.

And if he wasn't an informant, how come so many of his documents are still redacted? What's with that?

The best insight into the FBI files on informants is not what they let you read, but what they have withheld, see:

We know most of what they were doing from the COINTELPRO documents that were stollen from the FBI's Media, Pa. office and leaked to the media, a crime the FBI has still not figured out. Those records show how extensive the CI infiltration of such groups really was, but in fact, we now know the Army CI was even greater.

Take Bob Hardy, the ex-USMC, not recruited, but a walk in, a volunteer FBI informant and agent provocateur who inspired the Camden 28 to raid the selective service office and try to steal their records, a good example of how the informant role often gets out of hand.

While the FBI may not have utilized Harry's information as they should have, we certainly can.

And since we know so much about Harry from his files, how about writing up and posting a short personal bio of yourself so we know who we're dealing with? Are you with the FBI?

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Edited June 9, 2010 by Ernie Lazar

[Ernie Lazar]

John: I acquired the entire FBI file on Reagan but I was looking for specific data concerning allegations that he might have been a member of the Birch Society. There was nothing in his file except one June 1960 memo from someone who speculated that if Reagan was a member, he might belong to a Beverly Hills chapter that included actors Ward Bond and Walter Brennan and columnist Hedda Hopper and actress Zazu Pitts.

A 9/8/60 memo from Milton Jones to Cartha DeLoach, page 2 contains the following summary under caption “Information in Bufiles”:

“The Bureau has not investigated Ronald Reagan. Our files do contain numerous references to him chiefly in connection with his anti-Communist activities in different Hollywood organizations. Informants have advised us that he is definitely anti-communist and he so indicated when he appeared before the House Committee on Un-American Activities as a friendly witness in October 1947. He has been contacted on several occasions by Agents of our Los Angeles office and in every instance has been cooperative and helpful; he in turn has visited our Los Angeles office and our relations with him have been cordial."

A 11/22/66 memo discusses contact by Donald Mulford (former member of California legislature) who inquired on behalf of Reagan (newly elected as Governor) if the Bureau could provide assistance to Reagan’s 10-member policy guidance committee “to assist Governor Reagan in identifying communists and other left-wing extremists. The purpose will be either to eliminate them from the State government or to prevent their receiving an appointment to a State position.”

Your reference to the JBS comment was a statement allegedly made by JBS PR Director John Rousselot. After Rousselot left the Birch Society, he became Special Assistant to President Reagan, Deputy Director of Office of Public Liasion. Interestingly, the JBS has changed its opinion of Reagan. In fact, the widow of Robert Welch (the founder and leader of the JBS) terminated her membership because the new leadership of the JBS savaged Reagan in the JBS magazine.

Ernie? Can you confirm Ronald Reagans status as FBI informant SF T-? , please?

Could you also elaborate on his standing as an informant from the FBI's POV?

(I presume you are aware of the so called SF ''ruckus'' (berkley barb (65?)) where the JBS offered to support or oppose Reagan according to how he considered this useful.)

Thank you.

[Ernie Lazar]

Ernie, you are absolutely correct that the FBI did not investigate groups like the JBS and White Citizen's Council (amazingly even when they had cause to).

Greg, you are wrong on two counts. The FBI did investigate the White Citizens Councils and, in fact, there is a SAC Letter (instructions to all Special Agents in Charge of field office) which explicitly instructs pertinent field offices how they should handle their investigations. I recently received the file on the Association of Citizens Councils of Mississippi (HQ 105-34237) which contains an 11-page memo that is devoted entirely to listing the investigative file numbers for every FBI file opened on a Citizens Council group -- alphabetically by state. So, obviously, your knowledge about this matter is not credible.

Second, every field office was required to adhere to specific protocols regarding use of informants. Those protocols were spelled out in mind-numbing detail in the FBI's Manual of Instructions. All of the files I have obtained of FBI informants make it very clear that field office SAC's (Special Agents in Charge) were aware of those protocols and followed them -- OR -- they received blistering letters from HQ Supervisors which addressed their shortcomings.