[1]1990000
[2]104-10331-10076
[8]| 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992 | |
[10]SECRET
[12]CSI-0042/95
[13]27 June 1995
[15]MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
[16]Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
[18]VIA: ' Executive Director
[19]General Counsel
[20]FROM: . Brian Latell
[21]Director, Center for the Study of . ,
[22]Intelligence
[23]SUBJECT: JFK Review Board Actions on CIA Records .
[24]REFERENCE: Letter to DCI fr Executive Director, - a
[26]ARRB dtd 21 June, 1995, Same Subject
[28]1. Action Requested. That you disapprove the DO recommen-
[29]dation for you to sign the attached letter to the President.. The
[30]letter recommends that. the President postpone the release by the
[31]JFK Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) of the names of two
[32]CIA employees who retired under cover. (C)
[34]2. Background. On 7 June 1995, the ARRB made a formal
[35]determination to release in full to the National Archives 16
[36]CIA documents from Lee Harvey Oswald's 201 file. The President
[37]John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992
[38]stipulates that the President has 30 days after written notifica-
[39]tion of such determinations to either request the disclosure or
[40]postponment of disclosure of documents. Appeals procedures also
[41]require that the Agency advise the White House Counsel within
[42]seven days of notification of Board actions, if we wish to
[44]‘appeal. The Agency was notified on 21 June 1995 (see reference).
[46]OoGC will unofficially notify White House Counsel within the
[47]seven-day period of the DO objection to release. (U)
[49]3. This Center has worked closely with the Board and its
[50]staff and has declassified about 220,000 pages of Agency records
[51]that have been sent to the National Archives. A large percentage
[52]contain redactions, however, and it is those excisions that are
[53]now being systematically reviewed by the Board which has full
[54]access to the unredacted records. The Board will meet more or
[55]less monthly and is likely to press for lifting a significant
[56]percentage of CIA's redactions. The pending determination is the
[57]first taken by the Board involving Agency records. (U) >
[59]cL BY:
[60]DECL: OADR
[62]SECRET
[64]13-00000
[66]SECRET
[68]we i
[70]SUBJECT: JFK Review Board Actions on CIA Records
[72]4. The DO Position: The Acting Deputy Director for -’
[73]Operations reluctantly acquiesces to the release in full of the
[74]16 documents with the exception of two that contain the names of
[75]two Agency employees who retired in covert status. The DO‘argues
[76]that acknowledging these officers could expose them to physical
[77]danger, possibly threaten past operations and individuals with:
[78]whom they worked, and abrogate our agreement to protect their
[79]identities. The two documents (#104-10015-10052 and #104-1005-
[80]10153) and the DO's argument for the continued protection of the
[81]two former employees are attached. (S)
[83]5 CSI Position: After consultation with OGC, we;-donot
[84]believe the DO's damage argument would merit Presidential :
[85]reversal of the Board's decision. The Board's staff has advised
[86]that in the absence of “clear and convincing evidence” of a
[87]threat to the personal safety of a retired officer if his or her
[88]employment were revealed, the Board does not believe the JFK Act
[89]permits withholding names. The DO does not cite evidence that
[90]the two officers would be in physical danger. Furthermore, OGC
[91]advises that the DO's current policy of liberally rolling back
[92]cover for career covert officers who ask to be retired overt —
[93]would seriously undermine the credibility of such an appeal. (8S)
[95]6. Recommendation: That you not appeal the JFK Board's
[96]decision to the President and thus_that you disa ove the DO's
[97]recommendation. (U)
[99]Brian Latel
[101]Attachments:
[102]A. Documents 104-10015-10052
[103]and 104-1005-10153
[105]B. DO Document
[107]DISAPPROVED:
[109]irector oO entral inteliigence Date
[111]2
[113]SECRET
[115]13-00000
[117]SECRET
[119]te ‘ * ' -
[121]we?
[123]SUBJECT: JFK Review Board Actions on CIA Records
[125]DCI/CSI/BLatell:aw/30214 (27 June 95)
[127]Distribution: ,
[129]Original - Addressee (w/atts) ‘
[130]_1.-'DDCI (w/atts)
[131]ExDir (w/atts)
[132]Executive Registry (w/atts)
[133]Executive Secretariat (w/atts)
[134]General Counsel (w/atts)
[135]ADDO (w/atts)
[136]D/CSI (w/atts)
[137]C/HRG/CSI (w/atts)
[138]C/HS/CSI (w/atts)
[139]CSI file (w/atts) S
[140]CSI chrono (w/atts)
[142]lel el al ll al ll
[143]trtotrredre
[145]3
[147]SECRET
[149]13-00000
[150]SECRET
[152]i . Central insleence Agency
[154]The President
[155]The White House
[156]Washington, D.C. 20500
[158]Dear Mr. President:
[160]Under the “President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records
[161]Collection Act of 1992,” this agency has been reviewing and
[162]forwarding to the National Archives all of its records relating
[163]to the assassination of President Kennedy. As.a part of that
[164]process, those records and specific information within: records
[165]which were determined to require continuing protection were
[166]postponed from release under the guidelines of the Act.
[168]The Assassination Records Review Board appointed by you is
[169]responsible for reviewing the postponed materials not only of
[170]this agency, but all government departments involved in this
[171]effort. The Board then makes a determination that a particular
[172]postponement was justified under the Act or that it was. not.
[174]If the latter occurs, the agency then has thirty days in which
[175]to present its case to you and ask you to concur in the continued
[176]postponement.
[178]. We are now at the point where the Board has made a deter-
[179]mination to release the names of two former Agency officers who
[180]‘served in a covert status during their Agency careers in a number
[181]of overseas posts. The position of the Acting Deputy Director of
[182]Operations and one in which I concur, is that release of these
[183]two names would do harm to the Agency and its operations and,
[184]postponement is proper under the Act. In addition, the revela-
[185]tion of these two names would not add to public understanding of
[186]assassination issues in any substantial way. Thus, I recommend
[187]that you direct the continued postponement of the two names.
[189]on behalf of the Agency, I thank you for your consideration
[190]‘of this request.
[192]Sincerely,
[194]John Deutch
[195]Director of Central Intelligence
[197]Enclosure
[199]Unclassified When Separated
[200]From Enclosure
[202]SECRET
[204]13-00000
[206]4
[210]an
[212]a
[214]SECRET
[216]The President
[218]DCI/CSI/HRG/BHarrelson:pn/x30210 (27 Jun 95)
[220]Original
[222]PRB eee ee ee be
[224]Peres
[226]- Distribution:
[228]Addressee (w/enc)
[229]DCI (w/enc)
[231]-DDCI (w/enc)
[233]ExDir (w/enc)
[235]Executive Secretariat (w/enc)
[236]Executive Registry (w/enc)
[237]General Counsel (w/enc)
[239]ADDO (w/enc)
[241]D/CSI. (w/enc)
[243]C/HRG/CSI (w/enc)
[245]_C/HS/CSI (w/enc)
[247]CSI file (w/enc).
[248]CSI chrono (w/enc)
[250]_ 2
[252]SECRET
[254]SECRET
[256]26 June 1995
[258]MEMORANDUM FOR: L. Kay Oliver |
[259]Brian Latell
[261]FROM: William H. McNair
[262]_DO/IRO
[263]SUBJECT: JFK Information Release
[265]Per SA to ADDO, please consider this as the officia-ppo
[266]response and include it in your memo. 3
[268]-
[270]The DDO reluctantly acquiesces to release of documents cited
[271]in ARRB Memo of 21 June 1995 with the following exceptions:
[273]Document No. 104-10015~-10052, CIA Cable, DIR 74673:
[274]Cc. Bustos, originated the cable and testified about it using
[275]her pseudo. She retired in a covert status and resides in
[276]the United States. Release of her name as a CIA employee ;
[277]will damage cover credibility, expose her to the public as a
[278]CIA employee subject to any physical threats which might
[279]ensue, and abrogate our agreement with her as to our
[280]willingness to protect her identify in return for her
[281]willingness to engage in clandestine operations on behalf of
[282]the CIA. We would also point out that she was later
[283]assigned in several overseas locations including Mexico City
[284]and a posting as COS in Trinidad. Exposure of her as a CIA:
[285]employee would also endanger any operations in which she
[286]might have been engaged. Substitution of her pseudo in lieu
[287]of true name would allow the identification of a person yet
[288]protect the persona itself.
[290]Document No. 104-10015-10153, CIA Cable, DIR 85039:
[291]R.W. Herbert was chief of WH Div at the time and signed off
[292]on this cable as authenticating officer. He was an
[294]*intégrated State Officer”|)who retired in a cover status.
[296]His present residence is unknown but his overseas
[297]assignments as an cS. State bapartnent offices would be
[298]compromised by exposure of him as a CIA officer. It is
[299]believed that exposing him as a CIA officer would not only
[300]endanger his operations and those associated with the
[301]operations, but would also place him in physical danger in |
[302]that his field of operations involved anti-Cuban operations.
[304]SECRET