3. Eight presidential administrations had been spanned by Hoover’s tenure as Director of the FBI
When Helen Gandy closed the last of the boxes (more than thirty total) which contained the papers she identified as Hoover’s personal files and sent them to the FBI for final destruction, only two known people had seen the contents of the entire personal file. The first, of course, was J. Edgar Hoover – dead and buried. The other witness to these secret files was Helen Gandy, who never revealed the contents of the documents she reviewed. If she did, she never revealed with whom she shared the information. Clyde Tolson was Hoover’s near-constant companion for over forty years, he inherited and moved into Hoover’s house as well as inherited most of the Hoover Estate (Gandy was left $5,000) and was the number two man in the FBI from 1930 until Hoover’s death. Tolson’s knowledge of the content of the personal files has never been confirmed, he claimed ignorance.
Tolson retired from the FBI two days after Hoover’s death and died less than three years later. Despite being Hoover’s number two man at the Bureau, his constant companion during the pair’s off time, and his confidante for nearly over four decades, his opinion was not sought – at least not officially – regarding whether the documents being reviewed by Gandy were of a personal or official nature. Indeed, Tolson left the FBI too quickly to be consulted in his official capacity, though no man known to Hoover was in a better position to judge the nature of the papers. Tolson may not have been aware of the content of the personal files, but he was fully aware that Hoover also used official files to maintain records of individuals throughout the world for decades, including presidents and their families.