COINTELPRO

The Smearing of Jean Seberg

This is another example of the tactics used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to stifle legitimate dissent in Hollywood. Following my going public about the inconsistancies I found in the Vincent Foster affair, I was subjected to similar treatment.

Jean Seberg, a well known actress in the 60s, became pregnant and the FBI sent out letters to the gossip columnists identifying the baby's father as a Black Panther, in order to cheapen Seberg's image.

The scans below are of the official FBI letter from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. asking permission for the scam.

Click for full size picture of page one of the letter requesting permission for the smearing of Jean Seberg.

Click for full size picture of page two of the letter requesting permission for the smearing of Jean Seberg

The text of the letter.

"Bureau permission is requested to publicize the pregnancy of Jean Seberg, well-known movie actress by (name deleted) Black Panther (BPP) (deleted) by advising Hollywood "Gossip-Columnists" in the Los Angeles area of the situation. It is felt that the possible publication of Seberg's plight could cause her embarrassment and serve to cheapen her image with the general public. " 'It is proposed that the following letter from a fictitious person be sent to local columinists: "I was just thinking about you and remembered I still owe you a favor. So ---- I was in Paris last week and ran into Jean Seberg, who was heavy with baby. I thought she and Romaine [sic] had gotten together again, but she confided the child belonged to (deleted) of the Black Panthers, one (deleted). The dear girl is getting around! " 'Anyway, I thought you might get a scoop on the others. Be good and I'll see you soon. 'Love, " 'Sol., "Usual precautions would be taken by the Los Angeles Division to preclude identification of the Bureau as the source of the letter if approval is granted."

The results of the letter.

Permission was granted, but with the suggestion that the smear be delayed until Jean Seberg's pregnancy was in a very obvious condition.

Click for full size picture of the letter granting permission for the smearing of Jean Seberg.

The story was then run by Los Angeles Times propagandist Joyce Haber.

Click for full size picture of the Haber Article that launched the smear.

The story was picked up by Newsweek and the international press. The shock of the story was so severe that Jean Seberg suffered a miscarriage. The funeral for the child was held with an open casket, so that the lie stood revealed in it's most tragic form. Jean Seberg, her baby dead and her career shattered by this outright lie, attempted suicide several times, finally succeeding in a French Hotel.

Click for full size picture of memo that accompanied copy of the Haber story sent to FBI files..

(The name which was redacted from the memo during the FOIA process is thought by many to have been Raymond Hewit, a Black Panther leader. His "outright lie" was far more direct. The FBI typed up a letter on official FBI stationary identifying Hewit as an informant and planted it where other Black Panthers would find it in the hopes that Hewit would then be killed.)

Following Seberg's death, the Los Angeles Times, the key instrument of her torment, issued a statement by the FBI.

"The days when the FBI used derogatory information to combat advocates of unpopular causes have long since passed. We are out of that business forever."

The Senate committee that looked into COINTELPRO disagreed, however.

"Cointelpro activities may continue today under the rubric of 'investigation.'

(From my own experiences in Hollywood following my interest in the Vincent Foster murder, I can attest that the Senate committee has a far more accurate grasp of reality.)

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