I supplemented the FBI’s publicly available material by filing dozens of FOIA requests on subjects ranging from FBI personnel (Harold Nathan, Guy Hottel, Dan Smoot) to important political allies (Barry Goldwater, James Eastland, Hoover’s stable of ex-agents in Congress) to right-wing organizations such as the John Birch Society and Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. FOIA was also crucial in instances where The Vault provides only partial or limited versions of investigative or personnel materials.
