MLK SUICIDE LETTER: Sullivan personally directed and likely authored the anonymous letter sent to Martin Luther King Jr. in November 1964, accompanied by FBI surveillance tapes. The letter stated: "King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is. You have just 34 days." The Church Committee concluded this was an unambiguous attempt to drive King to commit suicide.

COINTELPRO COMMANDER: As head of the Domestic Intelligence Division, Sullivan was the operational commander of all COINTELPRO programs from 1961-1971. Under his direction, the FBI infiltrated and disrupted the Black Panther Party, SCLC, SDS, Nation of Islam, American Indian Movement, Communist Party USA, and dozens of other organizations.

BLACK PANTHER OPERATIONS: Directed the FBI's "COINTELPRO-BLACK HATE" program specifically targeting Black nationalist organizations. Approved the use of informants, provocateurs, and psychological warfare operations designed to create violent conflicts between organizations.

MLK SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM: Expanded the FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. into the most intensive domestic intelligence operation in Bureau history, including wiretaps on King's phones, bugs in his hotel rooms, and infiltration of the SCLC.

ANTIWAR MOVEMENT TARGETING: Directed COINTELPRO-NEW LEFT operations against antiwar activists and student organizations, including illegal surveillance, infiltration, and disruption campaigns against constitutionally protected political activity.

SUSPICIOUS DEATH: Shot and killed on November 9, 1977, near his home in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, by a hunter named Robert Daniels Jr. who claimed to have mistaken Sullivan for a deer. This occurred days before Sullivan was to testify before the House Select Committee on Assassinations. The death was ruled accidental despite the timing and Sullivan's knowledge of FBI involvement in the King and Kennedy assassination investigations.

POWER STRUGGLE WITH HOOVER: Engaged in an increasingly bitter power struggle with J. Edgar Hoover in 1970-1971, partly because Sullivan argued the domestic communist threat was exaggerated. After Sullivan was forced out in October 1971, Hoover changed the locks on his office and seized all his files.

WEATHER UNDERGROUND BREAK-INS: Approved and directed warrantless break-ins ("black bag jobs") against Weather Underground members and supporters, the same illegal operations for which Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller were later convicted.