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Paul Harvey

By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
     He was a broadcasting legend, a commentator with a voice instantly familiar to listeners both loyal and sporadic. But on the cusp of his national career, he was an FBI target whose network bosses fretted about whether he should be fired.
    Paul Harvey's FBI file, released to USA TODAY under a Freedom of Information Act request, shows how his relationship with the bureau evolved from perp to pen pal.
    The 1,375 pages also illuminate how the FBI cultivated one of the nation's most popular media figures by not only providing flattery from its most prominent officials but also by secretly putting words in his mouth.
    Harvey died last February at age 90 after a broadcasting career spanning seven decades. His voice reached 24 million listeners at the peak of his career, when his daily show was carried on more than 1,200 radio stations and his column appeared in 300 newspapers.
    His signature form was "The Rest of the Story," a folksy anecdote ending with an ironic twist, delivered with theatrical cadences and dramatic pauses.
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