FBI Agents Share Their Truth

Even if you've never committed a crime, it's possible that the FBI has a copy of your fingerprints. After all, its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System holds at least 70 million sets of prints belonging to criminals, 73,000 prints belonging to potential terrorists, and a massive 31 million prints belonging to regular civilians. Biometrics can come from all over the world, too. The FBI can also identify your prints in as little as 12 minutes.

In 1993 The New York Times claimed that Walt Disney served as an informant for the FBI for the last 26 years of his life. The paper said Disney would report on suspected Communists operating in Hollywood. And Disney was apparently pretty good at this job, as in 1954 he was reportedly named a full Special Agent in Charge Contact. In 1947 Uncle Walt also named names before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan was also an FBI informant in the years before and during his tenure as head of the Screen Actors Guild. This came to light after the San Jose Mercury News obtained Reagan's FBI file with a freedom-of-information request in 1985. The released FBI documents revealed that Reagan was given the codename "T-10," and that Reagan his first wife, Jane Wyman, and 17 others provided the bureau with names of possible Communist sympathizers in the film industry.

While you'd think the country's top law enforcement agency would be constantly adapting to the latest technology, the FBI continued to rely on paper files to track its thousands of cases up until 2012. But it wasn't for lack of trying. The agency was widely criticized for missing potential leads before 9/11 and a plan to go digital was swiftly put into place. But then the system called "Virtual Case File" was abandoned in 2005 — after $170 million in costs. A new system called Sentinel began development in 2006... and suffered major cost and technical issues before finally going online in 2012. The total spend? $451 million.

Among the many individuals the FBI investigated over the years, John Lennon was possibly one of the most unusual. It happened because, in 1971, Lennon was trying to organize an anti-war concert that would encourage his younger fans to vote in the 1972 presidential election. The Vietnam War was ongoing, and the man looking to extend his stay in the White House was Richard Nixon. So perhaps it's not surprising that the FBI, under the Nixon administration, tried to get Lennon deported.

For a time, the FBI actually investigated the existence of Extrasensory Perception (ESP), otherwise known as the ability to read minds. The FBI has released files that were compiled between 1957 and 1960 that concerned the agency's investigations into these matters. "The FBI found no scientific support for this or other claims and did not pursue the matters raised in these references," the official website revealed.

One of the FBI's most effective interrogation techniques? Silence. In November 2019 the FBI published a report called the "Current State of Interview and Interrogation" by Michael Bret Hood, M.B.A., and Lawrence J. Hoffman, M.Acc. The authors revealed, "The future of interviewing, regardless of technique, may be best advanced if interviewers allow their subjects to do more of the talking."

According to evidence given in a New York court, the FBI associated itself with the Colombo family capo Gregory Scarpa, a.k.a. "The Grim Reaper." In 2007 Linda Schiro testified that the FBI used information provided by her boyfriend — Scarpa — to solve the murders of three civil rights workers by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s. Schiro said the Grim Reaper kidnapped a Klansman and, ahem, "interrogated" him. "He put a gun in the guy's mouth. You know, he threatened the guy," she said. "He told him where the bodies were."

In 2005 one of the original four pairs of ruby slippers worn in The Wizard of Oz was robbed from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. And while tracking down a pair of shoes doesn't seem too tall a task, this case took an unexpectedly long time. The FBI got involved in 2017 when it was discovered this was a case of extortion, not theft. "After nearly a yearlong investigation — with invaluable assistance from the FBI’s Art Crime Team, the FBI Laboratory, and field offices in Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami — the slippers were recovered during an undercover operation in Minneapolis," the FBI said in 2018.

As an organization designed to prevent crime, the FBI seemingly does allow some to take place. In 2013 USA Today accessed the FBI's "Otherwise Illegal Activity" report for 2011. The report revealed that the bureau had allowed their informants to commit a staggering 5,658 crimes in 2011 alone. The agency began keeping a record of these "otherwise illegal activities" in 2013 — after admitting that mobster James "Whitey" Bulger had run a sanctioned crime ring.

Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, you can request access to any of the files the FBI has on a deceased individual — even those of Marilyn Monroe and Steve Jobs. There are a few caveats, though. Fugitives, federal agencies, and foreign intelligence agencies are prohibited from submitting FOIA requests. And you also can't ask to see your own file or that of anyone else whose still alive.

Investigating a popular song may seem below an FBI agent's pay grade, but that's exactly what happened in 1964 with The Kingsmen hit "Louie Louie." The song was so popular that it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But the bureau received reports that the song's lyrics were obscene, so the FBI looked into it. "The limited investigation lasted from February to May 1964 and discovered no evidence of obscenity," the FBI revealed.

Created by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in 1950, the FBI Most Wanted list isn't all that true to its name. While the individuals on the list are high-profile criminals, the FBI typically selects "dangerous fugitives who might not otherwise merit nationwide attention." The agency further categorizes the list as a "publicity program" that "recognizes the need for public assistance in tracking fugitives." It's worked, too: 163 criminals who've made the list have been apprehended thanks to the public's help.

You can kiss your dreams of becoming an FBI Special Agent goodbye if you've smoked marijuana in the year leading up to your application. And before you ask, yes, that includes places where marijuana is legal. As for illegal drugs, potential candidates cannot have used them within ten years of their application. Once these periods of time pass, however, all you have to do is meet every other eligibility requirement, pass the fitness test, and, finally, ace the interview process...

In 2005 the FBI opened a file on a supposed anti-goth cult known as the "Church of the Hammer" after a report surfaced that the group was planning mass acts of violence. It wasn't until the bureau visited the group's website — two years after they had opened the file — that an agent discovered the whole thing was just a satire.

Though it's now hailed as a Christmas classic, the 1946 film It's A Wonderful Life was actually deemed Communist propaganda by the FBI on account of its anti-capitalist themes. Academic John A. Noakes wrote in 1998 that an agent deemed the film “very entertaining” yet “also identified what they considered a malignant undercurrent in the film.” A probe into the movie apparently revealed that “those responsible for making It’s a Wonderful Life had employed two common tricks used by Communists to inject propaganda into the film.”

In 2019 it was revealed that Family Tree DNA became the first private company to freely give the FBI access to the DNA data of its one million customers. Two years later, 23andme caused renewed fears about the private information of its customers when it went public. And the Pentagon has even warned military personnel not to take part in any of these at-home DNA tests. So make of that what you will.

While the FBI typically kept files on notable names open for just a few years, the bureau was involved in investigations concerning Frank Sinatra for more than five decades. Ol' Blue Eyes' name appears in FBI files from as early as 1943 and as late as 1985. This was partly because many people tried to extort him over the years. But, the bureau said, "Sinatra also appeared in FBI files in connection with his contacts with racketeering investigation subjects and his early involvement with the Communist Party in Hollywood."

Like a pair of stubborn siblings, the FBI and CIA seemingly don't really get along. The divide between the two organizations was highlighted in the influential book Wedge: The Secret War Between the FBI and CIA by Mark Riebling. Riebling laid out how the two agencies historically have failed to cooperate and have, therefore, endangered U.S. national security.

Over the course of what's known as "Operation Mongoose," the CIA helped to create many failed attempts to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. An official report from 1962 read, "The U.S. objective is to help the Cubans overthrow the Communist regime from within Cuba and institute a new government with which the United States can live in peace."

After his arrest, Ted Kaczynski — better known as the Unabomber — claimed that a psychological experiment in college forced him to become the man he did. Harvard's Henry Murray ran the "purposely brutalizing psychological experiment" — his own words — for three years and subjected Kaczynski and others to "vehement, sweeping, and personally abusive" sessions. It's been said that the experiment was part of the CIA's illegal Project MKUltra.

War strategy is partly about thinking one step ahead of your enemies, but the U.S. seemingly took a huge step backward with a project popularly known as "acoustic kitty." The CIA apparently attempted to train cats equipped with listening devices to eavesdrop on potential targets. The agency’s only official account of the project is reportedly a document called “Views on Trained Cats” archived in George Washington University's National Security Archive. This report notes that “cats can indeed be trained to move short distances” but that “the program would not lend itself in a practical sense to our highly specialized needs.”

In 1950 the CIA bought the Nationalist Chinese airline Civil Air Transport on the down low and in 1959 rebranded it Air America. Their nifty slogan became "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, Professionally." In reality, though, Air America was a front for the CIA's covert operations in Indochina, particularly during the Vietnam War. It smuggled soldiers, weapons, and even drugs into the regions — and flew a few civilians, too.

Author of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, Tim Weiner, said that the CIA attempted to sow seeds of rebellion among the people of North Korea in the 1950s. "They took thousands of recruited foreign agents, Koreans, Chinese, other Asians, and hundreds of recruited foreign agents from Eastern and Central Europe and Russia," he said. "And they put them into planes and they strapped on parachutes and they flung them out into the darkness. And they died."

In 1978 the prime minister of India, Morarji R. Desai, revealed that a combined Indian‐American intelligence team misplaced a nuclear‐powered spying device in the mid-1960s. The device, the prime minister said, was designed for “securing information about missile developments” in China. It weighed 38 pounds and was “a power system energized by two to three pounds of plutonium‐238 metal alloy, contained in several doubly encapsulated leak-tight capsules.” It was an embarrassment to all involved when it was revealed the device was lost.

To gain vital information from an older, impotent Afghan chieftain, the CIA offered him Viagra pills. And four days later, with his, erm, "performance issues" resolved, the chieftain spilled the beans on Taliban movements without hesitation — in exchange for more pills. "Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people — whether it's building a school or handing out Viagra," one veteran said to NBC in 2008.

Historian Hugh Wilford revealed in his book The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America that the agency considered a crafty plot to make Soviet men feel inferior during the cold war. He said that the Office of Policy Coordination — a department within the CIA — proposed strategically placing extra-large American condoms labeled "Medium" throughout Russia. They never actually went through with it, though.

In 2014 the CIA's brutal "enhanced interrogation techniques" came under the spotlight. But one revelation was weirdly out of place. A former interrogator revealed to Al Jazeera that The Red Hot Chili Peppers' music — played at ear-splitting volumes — would be used to disorientate detainees. The Chili's drummer Chad Smith told TMZ, "Our music's positive, man. It's supposed to make people feel good and that's... It's very upsetting to me."

The Cold War wasn't just about building missiles: it was also about culture. That's why in order to promote the dominance of the American way of life, the CIA actually invested in abstract, free-thinking artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. This art and more was encouraged by the CIA's International Organisations Division. "I think it was the most important division that the agency had, and I think that it played an enormous role in the Cold War," said the department's head, Tom Braden in 1995.

In 2013, after years of speculation, the CIA released a map and documents that confirmed the existence of a site 125 miles northwest of Las Vegas known as Area 51. The documents revealed that the area was a testing site for aerial surveillance programs, such as U-2 and OXCART. The U-2 program had been part of the government's international surveillance during the Cold War. But, come on, we all know what they're really keeping in Area 51...

You might not expect the CIA to be into magic... but you'd be wrong. At some point during the Cold War, the agency paid magician John Mulholland to draw up a guide to misdirection and stagecraft. The resulting manual covered such areas as working a target, removing items from someone without their knowledge, and spiking drinks. The manual was published as "The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception" in 2009.

In 1977 discontent CIA recruit William Kampiles stole a top-secret KH-11 spy satellite manual from the CIA — and apparently planned to use it to become a double agent. He contacted the Soviet Embassy the next year, passed on the manual, and was paid for his service. Then, in a mind-boggling twist, he returned to the CIA, told them all about his scheme, and offered to become a double agent. They weren't interested, and Kampiles was instead sentenced to 40 years in prison. In the end, though, Kampiles was released after serving just 18 years of his sentence

The CIA isn't known for its movie-making, but after George Orwell died in 1950, the agency purchased the rights to his novel Animal Farm. The decision was part of the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination's culture war during the Cold War. Interestingly, the resulting 1954 animated film adaptation was noticeably more anti-communist than the book, with only the communist pig characters turning evil at the end.

CIA agents are masters at covering up their tracks, of course, but in 2003 two covert operatives were exposed out of seemingly pure carelessness. While posing as business executives, the agents — a man and a woman — swiped their frequent flyer cards at every hotel and restaurant they visited. This allowed Italian authorities to accurately reconstruct their itinerary and expose the CIA's operation. Then-CIA Director Porter Goss was, understandably, said to be "horrified" and ordered a wide-ranging review of field operations.

Everyone knows that the CIA keeps its secrets closely guarded, but if you ever find yourself at its Langley, Virginia, headquarters you can actually walk right up to one. Or four, to be more accurate. Encrypted onto the face of the sculpture Kryptos are four riddles. Three have been solved, but, even after almost 30 years, the fourth remains unsolved. The artist has given four clues to its meaning — but nobody has been able to crack it.

Even CIA agents need their coffee, so it's no surprise that the Langley HQ boasts its own Starbucks. But this is no ordinary Starbucks — not least because they'll never ask you what you're name is. The baristas at "Store Number 1" are trained to recognize every agent's face, so there's never a need to reveal one's identity for the sake of a macchiato.

Dubbed "the best museum you'll never get to see," the CIA's official museum in Langley is packed with some of the agency's most incredible — and controversial — inventions. This includes "a robotic bug that’s actually a bug," "a makeup compact that hides a secret message," and "an A-12 OXCART reconnaissance aircraft." Unfortunately, only CIA agents are allowed inside, so regular folk have to make do with the online version.

Like other military branch headquarters, the CIA HQ features a memorial wall to honor those agents that have died in the line of duty. However, of the 139 stars on the wall, only 100 are named. The other 39 chose to take their secret identities to the grave. The CIA says, "The wall stands as a silent, simple memorial to those employees 'who gave their lives in the service of their country.'"