FBI employees received orders to immediately search their workstations and digital media for anything related to the disappearance of union leader Jimmy Hoffa, according to a report from CNN. Hoffa disappeared in 1975 and is presumed dead.
Hoffa investigation
Why that directive came down from the Trump administration is unclear. The agency has searched various locations over the last five decades to find Hoffa’s remains, but has never found anything.
He was last seen outside a Michigan restaurant on July 30, 1975. Despite no updates in 50 years, the FBI Detroit office said earlier this year that the investigation remains open.
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“The FBI Detroit Field Office reaffirms its commitment to pursuing all credible leads related to the case,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said. “The Hoffa case remains an active investigation, and the FBI continues to encourage the public to come forward with any information that may assist.”
The request from the Trump administration follows a similar order earlier this month for FBI employees to look for records related to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
“Per a priority request from the Executive Office of the President of the United States, please search any areas where papers or physical media records may be stored, to include both open or closed cases, for records responsive to Amelia Earhart,” a message to employees read according to CNN.
Trump has also ordered the declassification of files relating to high-profile assassinations, including President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
Hoffa disappearance
Hoffa’s disappearance has baffled investigators for 50 years.
Hoffa was a powerful union leader in the 1960s and held leverage over elections at the time. They were also notoriously tied to organized crime.
Hoffa ended up being sentenced to prison in 1967 for attempting to rig a federal jury. Former President Richard Nixon pardoned Hoffa in 1971 with the condition that Hoffa no longer be involved in unions.
Despite that, Hoffa attempted to regain control of the union, something that angered his rivals.
After his disappearance, Hoffa was officially declared dead in 1982. Hoffa’s son has said he was killed because of his attempts to reenter the union.
Hoffa theories
The Hoffa case has spawned dozens of conspiracy theories on what happened to him, and most of them are pretty gruesome.
One theory is that he was killed by the mob, and his body was ground up, shipped to Florida and thrown into a swamp. One of the most popular theories is that Hoffa’s body was buried underneath the New York Giants stadium in New Jersey.
Another theory suggests he was abducted by federal agents, put on a plane and dropped into one of the Great Lakes.
The FBI hasn’t presented evidence to support any of these claims.
