In 1947, Attorney General Tom Clark persuaded Harry Truman to grant him broader powers in the use of electronic eavesdropping gadgets. Now, 20 years later, another Attorney General named Clark has ordered a drastic curtailment of the use of bugging and wiretapping in investigations by federal agencies. This Clark is Tom's son Ramsey, 39.
Ramsey Clark laid down the new rules in response to a 1965 order from President Johnson, who insisted that eavesdropping by Government agents be "fully in accord with the law and with a decent regard for the rights of others." The Justice Department, aware that a...