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Strike Forces
Hicke
You know, you started out to tell me about the strike forces that were sent out here on the West Coast. Did you have to deal
with them?
Poole
Remember now, Johnson announced that he wasn't going to run. I think it was like the 31st of March. I think that's when it
was, the 31st of March, and he was not going to run. He, in effect, said that there is so much that needs to be done to get
this war won and get it behind us, and so much needs to be done to bind up the nation's wounds that "I think I don't want
to be distracted from the responsibility I have [as president] by running a political campaign, so, therefore, I will not
seek, and, if asked, I will not accept the nomination to be again president of my country." I had just recently been nominated
by him for the district court, and I thought to myself, What's he going to do? That's the way with Tom Dewey, he's not going
to run. That's when I knew that we were going to hear from Robert Kennedy. I knew that.
On the strike forces, I went back to a meeting. They had a meeting at the Department of Justice of the United States attorneys
from about the twelve or fourteen largest offices. Remember, they did have burnings, they had clashes, they had the Panthers,
and they had a lot of things like that.
##
A lot of people thought that the country was—I think it was the Tet invasion by the Vietnamese, and that took a terrible toll,
and people were saying, "Why don't we just go in and drop it on them and get it over with?" Others were saying, "We can't
do that," and others were saying, "Let's bring them out of there and bring them home. We don't belong there anyhow." There
was some looseness about the control, which had people at odds against each other. The strike forces—I always thought that
their mission was to distract peoples' attention. [Laughs]
Anyhow, at this meeting back in Washington, Ramsey Clark was the attorney general, because when Bob left, Lyndon Johnson appointed
Ramsey. We were in this meeting, and they were talking about the strike forces, and I said, "I'm opposed to this thing. I
don't need strike forces out here. What are they going to do? Who are they going to strike?" In fact, Ramsey wouldn't accept
that. He was pretty tough. He said, "It is our judgment that this is needed."
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Hicke
What was the basic concept?
Poole
I really think that the idea was to give assurance to people who were doubtful that the administration was going after the
violence and criminality and all of these things that were upsetting people, to get our own house in order, and that sort
of thing.
Hicke
He wanted it to look like something was being done?
Poole
Yes. I was opposed to it from the beginning. Actually, Ramsey didn't try to push it. He put them in some places. I'm not sure
if Morganthal let them come to New York City. I'm not sure about that now.
Hicke
Was he the U.S. attorney there?
Poole
Yes, Bob Morganthal, yes. I think they put one down in southern California, if I'm not mistaken, but I didn't want them here.
Hicke
So they didn't put one here?
Poole
No, they didn't put a strike force here. The strike force didn't come in to San Francisco until later. They wanted to do something,
and I said, "No." By that time, it after the election, and Nixon was elected in 1968. He took office in 1969.
I was still there under my understanding with Richard Kleindeinst, who was the deputy attorney general, and John Mitchell,
that whenever they wanted this place, they could have it. There would be no problems. We would make an orderly and smooth
transition. If, before they were ready, I determined what I was going to do, I would let them know. I wasn't going to just
walk out and leave a vacancy at that point. So they understood that.
They then decided, well maybe now is the time [to send a strike force]. Someone from the Department of Justice called the
office, and I wasn't there. I don't know where I was then. They told somebody that they were going to send out a fellow whose
name they mentioned. He didn't come that day. I guess it was a week or so before one day, some guy showed up and said he had
been told that he was in the vanguard of the strike force, and he was to have an office somewhere. I said, "I don't have any
room for you, I'm sorry. I'm like other orphans, I don't have any space." He said, "Don't you even have a chair for a desk?"
I said, "No, not at all." So, he talked to them [in Washington], and they decided that they had better hold off.
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I think there were, at that time, in the Federal Building two branches of the Department of Justice. There was what was called
the Admiralty and Shipping Section of the Civil Division, and there had always been an Admiralty and Shipping Section as a
separate office out here as long as I can remember, even when I was first U.S. attorney and we were over at the Post Office
Building. They did a lot of work out here, and they were involved when there was a shipwreck, and they also were involved
when there was a maritime strike. It had been in existence, I think, since right after World War II, when they had a whole
lot of shipping and so forth, and a lot of problems arose. So they got the Admiralty and Shipping people to give this kid
an office. He would come over and he would want to borrow paper or something like that. Our guys would say sure, if he needs
any supplies, give him what he wants. As a matter of fact, I've forgotten who it was now, but he was kind of a short guy.