You're quite right, the language I used does not quite hold up in a literal interpretation. I was willing to take this shortcut primarily because I assumed that

You're quite right, the language I used does not quite hold up in a literal interpretation. I was willing to take this shortcut primarily because I assumed that Truman's political capital limited his ability to attack the FBI's power as was dictated by the FBI's power over him and his supporters in Congress, whose support he would need to be effective as executive and commander in chief. This is tin foil hat circular reasoning but given the historical evidence for Hoover's abuse of power, I don't think it's much of a stretch