4. Hoover’s Official and Confidential Files were released, though redacted, to the public
The Official and Confidential files kept by the FBI at the behest of Director Hoover, known as Hoover’s Official and Confidential files, were released to the general public in the late 20th century. In 2005 the files were transferred to the care of the National Archives and included all files collected by Hoover, or at his direction, from 1924 until his death in 1972. These files did not include Hoover’s personal files, collected and marked for destruction by Helen Gandy during the spring and early summer of 1972. The transfer of the files in 2005 included over 210 cubic feet of material, all of it brought to the personal attention of Hoover in his role as Director. Much of the information, well over 1,000 pages of documents, was at first shocking, and remains disturbing, as the public learned the type of information which was of interest to Hoover, and who the information was collected from and about.
The personal files, collected secretly and deliberately concealed from Gray, Felt, and other FBI officials, at least according to their sworn testimony before Congress, were not part of the transfer. Those files were destroyed. But unbeknownst to Hoover, much of what was sent to him by his agents were also retained elsewhere. FBI agents are trained investigators, who recognized, despite the collection effort being closely compartmented, that unusual information was retained, and retained same themselves. Being in addition to investigators also professional bureaucrats, copies were made and kept. Over time the compartmented information was gathered and collated, and an idea of the information kept by Hoover – secretly and personally – was extrapolated from the separated pieces scattered throughout the Bureau’s files and archives.