AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Frankfurter Papers Vanish
- More than a thousand pages of Felix Frankfurter's papers were stolen from the Library of Congress in the early 1970s and never recovered.
- The FBI investigated, had a prime suspect, held a grand jury, but made no arrests and the files vanished into history.
High-Value Files Targeted
- The stolen material appeared to be the "best stuff" — juicy, high-value items like correspondence with presidents.
- Poor archive security at the time made such thefts feasible and prompted later crackdowns.
Possible Political Motive
- Missing pages included correspondence potentially damaging to William Rehnquist during his 1971 confirmation.
- Scholars speculate Nixon's team might have sought those files to influence the confirmation, linking the theft to Watergate-era dirty tricks.