# Was Hoover a cross dresser

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hoover-a-cross-dresser/150190>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [January 22, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hoover-a-cross-dresser/150190 "2003-01-22T12:07:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![KGBHoover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@KGBHoover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGBHoover)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hoover-a-cross-dresser/150190/1 "2003-01-22T12:07:55Z")

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According to a book on the KGB, called the Sword and the Shield, this story was invented by the KGB and fed to the press, in an attempt to discredit Hoover.

[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465003125/qid=1043236884/sr=2-3/ref=sr\_2\_3/104-1625396-4509517](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465003125/qid=1043236884/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/104-1625396-4509517)

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hoover-a-cross-dresser/150190/2 "2003-01-22T14:37:24Z")

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And the column being referenced is, [Was J. Edgar Hoover a cross-dresser?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021206.html)

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hoover-a-cross-dresser/150190/3 "2003-01-22T22:26:53Z")

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I’m confused by this assertion. As Cecil’s column noted, Susan Rosenstiel was the sole source of this rumor, feeding a 25-year-old story to Anthony Summers. This is a KBG disinformation campaign?

Does the book provide any evidence that Rosenstiel was making a concerted effort to get this out to “the press” or why the KGB would use such a pair of poor sources to get the story into the public record?