1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 172 Communication Security
The next morning.

Breakfast table at 4132 Q Street, Washington, D.C.

Hoover, wearing glasses, was flipping through the newspaper.

The president takes full responsibility for the failure!

Lessons from xx: The Lonely Burden of the President!

President Jack: It's Our Duty!

Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.

…………

All the newspapers in America gave President Jack their front page headlines.

Yesterday afternoon at 3 p.m., President Jack attended a White House press conference.

In the preceding five days, the media had already thoroughly investigated the ins and outs of the entire incident.

This includes how the covert operation was planned, the results of the first wave of air raids, how the CIA lied, how Emily was betrayed as the UN representative, how President Jack made his decisions, and how the war progressed...

This secret operation, which was supposedly three years in the making and involved a huge amount of manpower and resources, was laid bare for all to see and scrutinize, examined and judged inch by inch with a magnifying glass.

This was the president's first public appearance since the incident, and his first time speaking about the event.

Jack did not pass this hot potato to the White House spokesperson.

At the press conference, he answered the reporters' many sharp and tricky questions one by one without any hesitation.

When asked who should be held responsible for the incident, President Jack remained silent for a long time.

Instead of shirking responsibility, he answered with a proverb:
"Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan."

When reporters pressed for further details about who should take responsibility, President Jack stated that as president, he was the ultimate decision-maker and that he would bear the responsibility.

Newspapers were full of praise for President Jack, with The Washington Star commenting on page two of its editorial:
"By acknowledging this abandoned failure, President Jack has demonstrated a rare moral courage in politics—he has transformed shame into honor through complete accountability."

Hoover stared at it for a long time, then snorted in dissatisfaction.

He read the comment aloud, then closed the newspaper and placed it on the table.

The front page of the newspaper featured a picture of President Jack speaking at yesterday's press conference.

Hoover glanced at it, then pulled another newspaper over President Jack's head, before turning to Tolson across the table and saying:
"He's certainly good at saying things, but if he's so eager to take responsibility, why doesn't he resign?"

"Why do they even want to kick out the CIA director!"

As he said this, he glanced again at the part of the picture that was visible.

Rumors have circulated that President Jack privately told his staff that the CIA director had to be fired.

Coulson glanced at Hoover and concluded that this matter was no longer of much concern to the FBI.

This is a fact.

It's only a matter of time before the CIA is dealt with; the FBI can win the competition against the CIA without doing anything.

Hoover understood this principle; he simply wanted to express his dissatisfaction with President Jack.

He felt uncomfortable just looking at President Jack's face.

Hoover made a few more sarcastic remarks, rolled up the newspapers, and threw them into the trash can.

After breakfast, the two took a car to the Ministry of Justice building.

Hoover found a communications security report on the table.

The report was signed by Theodore Dickson Hoover.

The communications security report submitted by Theodore was carefully reviewed by experts convened by Director Rosen and delivered to the Director's office yesterday afternoon.

Along with Theodore's communications security report, an expert opinion and an analysis report written by Rosen's supervisor were also submitted.

The expert opinion, consisting of only two pages, directly expressed their agreement with the original report.

Other reports, such as analysis reports and feasibility reports, which are about the thickness of a palm, were not sent over.

Rosen's analysis report was quite thick, half of which was a translation of the original Theodore report.

Hoover glanced at the report's signature, then at its title, and opened the report with a puzzled expression.

After reading it, he stared at Theodore's name for a while, then handed the report to Coulson.

Coulson quickly glanced through the list, his gaze lingering on Theodore's name for a few seconds, before asking Hoover:

"What did the experts say?"

He didn't really understand the report's contents, but he roughly understood that it was about the huge hidden dangers in the current government's communications security.

The report written by Theodore contained a great deal of technical discussion, which was handed over verbatim by Director Rosen.

Hoover handed over both the expert opinions and Rosen's analysis report, and asked Coulson:
"Do you think he wrote this himself?"

He had already read the expert opinions and the analysis report from Rosen's supervisor, and had an understanding of the contents of the report submitted by Theodore.

Coulson thought for a moment:

"Weren't they investigating a phone scam case a while ago?"

“Alex Rosen said they contacted AT&T and the General Services Administration.”

After a pause, Coulson tapped the signature on the report:

"The president did indeed eliminate the Communications Technology Division of the General Services Administration and outsource that work to AT&T."

Hoover shook his head and summoned Supervisor Rosen.

Regardless of whether Theodore wrote it or not, this report is important to the FBI.

Previously, when the Soviets were in the air, Hoover had given Attorney General Robert a plan of action.

The action plan grants the FBI the authority to directly monitor and wiretap targets it deems suspicious without prior notification or approval.

This action plan was quickly rejected.

The exposure of the government's secret operation should have been another opportunity to revive the plan.

But the FBI was one of the biggest winners in this incident, and Hoover was hesitant because he was worried that the move would attract too much attention.

Theodore's report provided them with another angle to approach the issue.

This is a more covert, gentler, and more easily accepted method. Communication security inherently carries significant risks.

The FBI has an undeniable responsibility to push for the elimination of hidden dangers, ensure the security of government agency communications, and even reform communications security laws!
Supervisor Rosen quickly arrived at the director's office and gave a detailed report to Director Hoover and Deputy Director Colson.

After hearing the report, Hoover confirmed that the plan was feasible.

He smirked, then quickly became serious again. He made a mark on the report and handed it to Coulson.

…………

Bernie went to Arlington this morning to check on the renovations.

The renovation is progressing quickly and is expected to be completed next week.

Upon returning from Arlington, Bernie began planning what to do over the next two weeks.

A school has been found for Sullivan; he can start school immediately after moving here.

Mrs. Sullivan has also found a job as a typist at the law firm of a colleague's brother.

There is a daycare center in the community, so I can send my daughter there directly.

Felton also has some furniture that needs to be delivered.

Bernie had asked his colleagues and they said that if he hired a moving company, even the cheapest one would cost between $800 and $1000.

A colleague suggested he use rail transport, which would only cost $300 to $500.

Although it's a bit slow, it's cheap.

The cheapest way is actually to rent a van and drive the goods yourself; the whole process might cost less than $200.

Unfortunately, Bernie doesn't have that much free time.

There's no rush to get new furniture; we can add it gradually later.

Bernie made a plan, called his wife, and asked her to send the furniture onto the train in the next couple of days.

Railway transport takes about half a month, so you need to ship it in advance.

Bernie whispered to his wife for over half an hour before finally finishing explaining how to ship the furniture. They lingered on for another ten minutes before hanging up.

Theodore reminded Bernie that he also needed a car for transportation.

Bernie has already considered this.

He told Theodore that another colleague had introduced him to a used car dealership that could get him the lowest prices on the market.

Theodore glanced at Bernie.

He suspected that sooner or later, Bernie would become friends with all the FBI agents.

Bernie then started talking about last night's party.

He visited the home of the safety supervisor yesterday and received a warm welcome.

After eating and drinking, the two chatted until very late.

In order not to disturb the safety supervisor's family's rest, the two of them went to a bar and drank until after 11 p.m.

The bar was run by an old sailor, and it looked dilapidated from the outside, like a slum shack.

Unlike bars like L&O, that bar was very noisy.

This is the type Bernie has been searching for.

Bernie told Theodore that he had made many new friends there.

Theodore looked at him again, wondering if his estimate might be too conservative.

After Bernie finished speaking with great interest, he asked Theodore about what happened last night.

Theodore thought for a moment:

"Shortly after the banquet began, a diplomat's son came over and greeted me."

“I told him I worked for the FBI.”

"He shook my hand and then ran away."

"There are a few others like him."

He spread his hands:

"In short, the banquet was very boring."

Bernie shook his head.

Based on his understanding of Theodore, he was 100% certain that Theodore did it on purpose.

He then asked Theodore:

"Then?"

Theodore shook his head:

"The banquet ended after that."

"It only takes about two hours in total."

Bernie pressed further:

What happens after it's over?

"Aren't you and Russell best buddies? You haven't seen each other for over two years, didn't you go to the bar for a drink after the party?"

Theodore stared at Bernie for a few seconds, then hesitated and said:
"We went to L&O bar."

“They only accept FBI agents there, and Russell was very curious about it.”

Thinking about what he had talked about with Russell the night before, Theodore refused to bring up the topic again.

Bernie wasn't interested in the whispered conversations between his old friends.

In his mind, it was nothing more than him spouting some silly, drunken nonsense.

He has had this experience many times.

Bernie could never have imagined what Theodore had said to Russell in the L&O bar.

(End of this chapter)