I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 152 I, Hoover, must rebuild my authority, but the West is fierce and the East is strong.
Regardless of how many eager European "heroes" would ultimately attract to America from the disdainful and gloating reports across the Atlantic, becoming new trouble for the Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Investigation had no time to spare for anything else at the moment.

The "president" can remain behind the scenes and even gain a lot of adoration because of his legendary status.

However, the Bureau of Investigation, as one of the symbols of national law enforcement, can only be exposed to a storm of criticism and suffer verbal attacks from all sides.

Media ridicule has become commonplace, with all sorts of scathing cartoons, satirical novels, and editorials finding new ways to humiliate them, such as depicting FBI agents counting money for the "president"; or showing a sign on the FBI building that reads "Liar Training Center."

What gives the top brass of the Bureau of Investigation even more of a headache is the buzzing of those lawmakers on Capitol Hill!
Several members of Congress from California, in particular, were the most vocal and vocal during the congressional consultations, brandishing the "tearful accusations" of the California Vintners Association and demanding a thorough investigation.

"We must know whether taxpayers' money is supporting law enforcement officers who serve the federal government, or partners who share the spoils with criminals!"

"What a disgraceful role the Investigation Bureau has played! A thorough investigation is necessary, inside and out!"

Faced with immense pressure from public opinion and Congress, the Department of Justice, the top department of the Bureau of Investigation, had to step in to quell the situation.

Attorney General Doherty personally announced to members of Congress that the Department of Justice would establish an independent, high-level special investigation team, under his personal supervision, to conduct a thorough and transparent review of the Bureau of Investigation's conduct, internal oversight, and response measures in this series of events!
Amid boos from some members of Congress (mainly Democratic members), Doherty declared emphatically: "Any attempt to bribe law enforcement in exchange for illegal asylum through so-called 'compensation' or 'sponsorship' is absolutely intolerable!"

"All the money that lawless swindler paid to the investigation bureau will be legally recognized as illicit funds and confiscated in full! The Ministry of Justice will not allow such a horrific precedent of 'criminals escaping punishment by bribing law enforcement agencies' to occur!"

His resounding assurances were met with unanimous applause from Republican lawmakers.

Then he changed the subject and explained the "reward" issue for the investigation bureau: the investigation bureau is not deliberately condoning fraudsters, but is genuinely poor!
"So, esteemed members of Congress, if you are truly concerned about the effectiveness of law enforcement and national security in the United States, then while discussing accountability, shouldn't you also seriously consider providing the Bureau of Investigation with a more adequate and reasonable budget next year?"

The moment the word "increase the budget" was mentioned, a heated argument erupted in the Capitol.

Increase the budget? Where will the money come from? Raise taxes? Cut other programs? This will inevitably affect the interests of various factions!

The Bureau of Investigation doesn't seem so important anymore!
An accountability crisis ultimately devolved into a wrangling session about money.

After the conference, Attorney General Doherty privately praised the Bureau of Investigation's top officials for their flexible approach and effective revenue generation!

Well, most of the money that is "confiscated" is quietly returned to the Bureau of Investigation's slush fund after the formalities are completed.

Doherty also specifically praised Edgar Hoover's execution ability, stating that he would be in charge of such "revenue-generating activities" from now on.

But Hoover did not feel much joy.

It's not that I'm worried about the Justice Department's investigation team; that's just for show, they can't really investigate.

Through this "cooperation" with the "President," the Bureau of Investigation established initial mutual trust with the heroes of Arkham, making continued cooperation less of a challenge.

But what's the cost?

He saw that Attorney General Doherty, in order to realize his own political ambitions, openly instructed the Bureau of Investigation to use illegal searches or theft to collect incriminating material on political opponents—this was the core intelligence that enabled the "President" to extort $400,000 from California!

Collecting damaging information on politicians is not wrong, but it really shouldn't be used to "exchange for money"!

He also witnessed the Bureau of Investigation's authority crumble.

He personally felt that after the "three killings," the Bureau of Investigation's authority in the public eye had plummeted.

Well, it didn't have much authority before, but at least when people mentioned the Investigation Bureau, their first impression wouldn't be "liar" or "big liar who directs liars"!
The collapse of public trust is fatal for a law enforcement agency.

This is not possible!

His ambitious plans require a truly powerful and deterrent intelligence agency, not a lucrative but laughable department with a plethora of pocket change.

Now, pressured by his superiors and the constraints of his budget, he has no choice but to compromise, but he has to do something.

Hoover decided to do as much as possible within his authority to build up his power.

He was determined to select more core members from existing and newly recruited agents with relatively clean backgrounds and whose ideals had not been completely extinguished, and send them to Arkham Academy for "further training"—Logan could help with that. This would both improve their quality and keep them away from the department's tainted "rotten mud."

Yes, in Hoover’s view, it was better to let young agents hang out with gangsters than to let them hang out with the department’s corrupt “old hands”!
On the other hand, he plans to create a "Heroes Archive".

He wanted to create detailed files on all known extraordinary individuals, such as "the president," who possessed special talents, influence, or potential threats, whether they were con artists, gang leaders, radicals, or other marginal figures.

There may not be anything we can do right now, but once the time is right...

Finally, and most urgently, he needs a real "victory"!
The Investigation Bureau must investigate a major case that will shake the entire nation in order to divert public attention, wash away its stains, and restore its crumbling authority!
So, what major cases in the United States right now are worth the Bureau of Investigation's attention and can guarantee a successful outcome?
Hoover's gaze swept across the national map.

He looked westward.

This place is now a land where heroes roam freely.

The president's brilliance inspired aspiring heroes across America, who, with the covert support of the Irish Gang, began to flock to the West, using various methods, both overt and covert, to crack down on the West Coast's bootlegging network.

There is naturally room for cooperation here. To take action against the west now would be like throwing money away from our own pockets.

Moreover, the Irish gang's group of lawless outlaws are not to be trifled with.

The west side is too dangerous!

He looked east.

Following the Mafia Alliance Summit in Chicago, the newly formed "United Support Corporation" began to systematically support the young Mafia members on the East Coast in their turf wars.

The old guard of the Mafia were still unwilling to leave the stage of history. They wanted to join the Mafia alliance, but were choked by Al Capone's conditions, and the two sides remained in a state of war.

Although there wasn't a "major demolition war" like in New York before, there were quite a few "small-scale demolition wars" behind the scenes.

According to Hoover, although it was not reported in the newspapers, in some "old neighborhoods" in eastern cities that were targeted by a mysterious real estate company, small-scale "demolition battles" would take place every night until the property owners of the neighborhoods could no longer stand it and sold their assets and left.

Unfortunately, his boss's boss's boss was among them—the Attorney General.

These small-scale "demolition operations," though lacking artillery and tanks, were still equipped with machine guns and hand grenades. Sending the Investigation Bureau to tackle such a tough task... hmm...

The east is too strong!

His gaze swept across the map, and finally, with a sigh, settled on a few southern states.

Recently, several states surrounding Mississippi, along with their state governments and local law enforcement agencies, have been submitting reports to the federal government with exaggerated claims that "Black armed forces are rapidly expanding, seriously threatening local security and even federal security..."

Hoover was well aware that the KKK had suffered heavy losses in its conflicts with Black people, so he used his political influence to try to use the federal government to eliminate Black people.

Can Black people threaten federal security?
This is a big joke!
It's more accurate to say that the KKK is too useless; they can stir up trouble but can't resolve it!

but……

Hoover picked up a red pen and drew a heavy circle around the locations of several states, including Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama, and wrote next to them: "Armed Black Threat".

"Sigh, since you say you're a threat, then you are a threat!"

"We have to pick the easy target first, so we can only make things difficult for the Black people first."

……

(End of this chapter)