Dan Smoot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Howard Drummond Smoot aka Dan Smoot (born in East Prairie, Mississippi County, Missouri on October 5, 1913– died on July 24, 2003, in Tyler, Smith County, Texas) was an FBI agent and a conservative political activist. From the 1950s to 1971, he published The Dan Smoot Report, which chronicled alleged communist infiltration in various sectors of American society and government.
In 1970, he opposed the selection of a future president, George Herbert Walker Bush, as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Texas. He claimed that Bush's political philosophy was little different from the Democrats that he sought to oppose. Bush lost the Senate election that year to Democrat Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.
In 1972, Smoot opposed the reelection of Richard M. Nixon and served as campaign manager for American Independent Party presidential candidate John G. Schmitz of California.
Contents |
[edit] Why did Smoot leave the FBI?
Smoot was an FBI agent from 1942-1951, when he resigned for what he cited as professional reasons: namely, the desire to go into the field of political pamphleteering and commentary.
However, a Freedom of Information report obtained after Smoot's death reveals that he received an "unsatisfactory" performance evaluation in the Dallas office between April 1, and June 8, 1951, the date of his departure. At the time he resigned, Smoot was earning $7,200 annually. His unsatisfactory rating was in the following category:
"Attitude (including dependability, cooperativeness, loyalty, enthusiasm, amenability, and willingness to equitably [sic] share workload)"
FBI documents reveal that Smoot was subject to disciplinary action as a consequence of an inspection of the FBI's Dallas field office. According to a summary report, Smoot "misinterpreted, repeated and set forth in a memorandum to the Inspector allegations which were entirely incorrect. . . . He [Smoot] unjustly criticized the SAC concerning the SAC's handling of an inquiry which resulted in the resignation of a former Special Agent. He failed to notify the Bureau or the SAC of the existence of the above-mentioned allegations. . . . It was evident during the course of the interview that Smoot had an intense dislike for the SAC. He admitted he did resent the SAC in agents' conferences . . . He also stated the agents of the office had no respect for the SAC, and it was determined this opinion was not shared by other agents. By letter dated 5/15/51 he was censured, placed on probation, and ordered under transfer to the Savannah office."
Rather than accept assignment to the Savannah GA office, Smoot resigned because he wanted to rear his family in the Dallas area, he said. Smoot said that several fellow agents had complained to him about the SAC's management decisions. Smoot said that he related to the Inspector what he had heard from colleagues. Then, according to Smoot, the colleagues would not back up what they had told Smoot. The SAC hence believed that Smoot had been disloyal to him.
The Bureau Agent who conducted the inspection of the Dallas office (Gerald C. Gearty) recommended these four actions against Smoot, cited verbatim:
1. That he be transferred to another division. 2. That he be placed on probation. 3. That he be suspended for 10 days without pay. 4. That he receive a severe letter of censure." [See FBI Washington, D.C., HQ 67-263689, #144; 5/4/51 memo from H.L. Edwards to Mr. Glavin])
After Smoot left the FBI, he became a commentator and began producing Facts Forum newsletters in conjunction with Dallas oil billionaire H.L. Hunt. His salary doubled with his new assignment. On November 15, 1956, however, Hunt withdrew his financial subsidy to the monthly Facts Forum News because the newsletter was not financially self-sustaining.
In 1954, Medford Evans, a sometimes college professor and a conservative critic of American Cold War policies, was described as "News Editor" and "editor" of Facts Forum News. Mary Helen Brengel was identified as an "Associate Editor" of the forum news. She later worked for the Independent American, the radical newspaper of Kent Howard Courtney and his wife, Phoebe Courtney.
[edit] Spreading his conservative message
Thereafter, Smoot published his weekly The Dan Smoot Report. He also carried his conservative message via weekly reports over radio and television. The Report started with 3,000 paid subscribers; at its peak in 1965, it had more than 33,000 subscribers. Each newsletter usually focused on major story. One issue, for instance, was devoted to Smoot's lionization of Douglas MacArthur after the Army general's death in the spring of 1964. Another 1964 edition opposed a proposal by President Lyndon B. Johnson to transfer sovereignty of the Panama Canal to the Republic of Panama. Johnson failed in his mission, but President Jimmy Carter in 1978, with bipartisan support, convinced the Senate by a one-vote margin to give Panama control of the canal zone. It was liberal Republican support for many Democratic proposals that particularly angered Smoot, who finally gave up on the GOP as a viable alternative to the majority Democrats of his day.
In 1962, Dan Smoot wrote The Invisible Government concerning early members of the Council on Foreign Relations. Other books include The Hope Of The World; The Business End of Government; and his autobiography, People Along The Way. Additionally he was associated with the John Birch Society and wrote for the society's American Opinion magazine. Source: Smoot's autobiography and review by Jane Ingraham (1994).
[edit] References
[edit] External links
This is a 21-page report on Dan Smoot based, primarily, upon first-time released FBI files and documents. Smoot wrote articles for John Birch Society publications and he spoke at Birch Society functions. His themes and conclusions were identical to those of the Birch Society. A major section of this report focuses on Smoot/JBS assertions regarding the civil rights movement. This report also reveals how Smoot lied about his FBI experience and status.
This is a 65-page report on the John Birch Society based primarily upon first-time released FBI files and documents. For additional information, e-mail ernie1241@aol.com.
This is the FBI headquarters main file (492pp) on CFR (the Council on Foreign Relations). The FBI found nothing to substantiate Dan Smoot's characterization of CFR as a "subversive" organization.
