[1]14-9000
[3]104-10333-10008, [2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992 |
[4]a a fee (0 33i~ /
[5]SF AC
[7]at
[8]s
[10]a UNCLASSIFIED
[12]NOTE FOR: J. Barry Harrelson @ DA
[13]Gloria M. Boyd,@ DA
[15]Barbara A. Standley @ DA
[16]FROM: John F. Pereira
[17]DATE: 12/07/94 05:00:07 PM
[18]SUBJECT: Meeting with JFK Board Staff
[20]I've confirmed with David Marwell that we will meet with him and several of his staff in Ames at 10:00, tuesday, 20 December.
[22]For D/CSI: Marwell asked us to provide background on our JFK review process to him and the four or five members of his staff who will
[23]be on hoard. Among them will be Sheryl Walter, their General Counsel. I've invited Bob Eatinger, OGC to participate.
[25]cc: Brian S. Latell @ DA
[27]UNCLASSIFIED
[29]1.
[31]2.
[33]3.
[35]4.
[38]FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
[40](draft)
[42]BRIEFING OUTLINE (For JFK Board)
[44]Background on CIA's approach to review of JFK records
[46]Organization of the effort
[48]The review process
[50]Description of records under review
[52]Condition of records
[53]Sequestered documents
[54]Oswald 201 file
[55]Microfilm (printouts)
[56]Other records
[57]- HSCA
[58]- SSCI
[59]- HPSCI
[60]- FBI, other third agency
[61]- Warren Commission, Rockefeller Commission
[63]- Presidential libraries -Ford, Kennedy, Johnson
[65]Status report on processing of documents
[67]Records released to NARA (in full, sanitized)
[68]Records remaining to be completed
[69]Records withheld (examples)
[71]Types of information sanitized
[73]Issues/Problems
[75]Degree of sanitization
[77]Relevancy
[80]Privacy
[82]Duplicates
[84]Office of Personnel files
[85]Office of Security files
[87]Identification aids (examples)
[89]Indexing
[91]Jim Lesar litigation
[93]Inadvertent release of agent's identity
[95]Review of records by the Board
[97]Summaries
[99](examples- financial records)
[101]CIA JFK Collections
[103]1) Oswald 201 file: 17 boxes (Aug 93/Jan 94 Release)
[104]1) JFK hard copy, 63 boxes (Aug 93/Feb 94 Release)
[106]2) JFK microfilm, 72 reels (currently under review)
[108]The Microfilm Reels contain the files that the HSCA staff
[109]either requested or had access to. A great deal of the
[110]material is duplicative of that found in the 63 hard copy
[111]boxes including the complete Oswald 201 file. There are
[112]also files not related to the assassination story and files
[113]not reviewed by the HSCA.
[115]HGR has reviewed all the microfilm material (page by page)
[116]with the exception of the Oswald 201 file. The Microfilm
[117]collection has been divided into to two parts:
[119]1} documents reviewed for release and being prepare
[120]for NARA (records related to the assassination, the
[121]investigations, or the various conspiracy theories),
[123]2) documents reviewed but being held pending
[124]discussion with the board (see attachment).
[126]4go000
[128]Microfilm Material Not Processed for Release (Pending
[129]Discussion with the Board):.
[131]Oswald 201 File - this appears to be a duplicate of the hard
[132]copy 201 file reviewed in 1993. 124 Reels/approximately
[133]30,600 pages
[135]CIA Staff Employees' Personnel Files - Approximately 10,800
[137]pages located on 7 different reels. Request that these file
[138]not be considered part of the JFK collection as a matter of
[139]privacy. Only a small portions of these files have any
[140]relevance to the JFK investigations and we believe that the
[141]documents related to their roles in the JFK story were
[142]released in the JFK hard copy collection. We have reviewed
[143]each of the OP files and prepared a classified summary for
[144]the Board.
[146]Non-Related Material - Most of these documents fall into
[147]three major categories:
[149]Individual 201 files : These files cover the entire
[150]period of agency interest or contact with a person. For
[151]individuals who are not "key figures" in the JFK story,
[152]those sections of the file that are outside relevant time
[153]frames or can not be linked to Oswald, the assassination,
[154]the various investigations, or any of the conspiracy
[155]theories have been treated as non-related.
[157]Project/Operational Files: Many of these cover the
[158]complete life of a project. Sections of these file deals
[159]with operations which have no connection with the
[160]assassination or fall in only part of a relevant time frame.
[161]For example there are over 3000 pages on the Mexico City
[162]Photo operation covering the 1960's and 1970's. The only
[163]related material is that falling in the time frame of
[164]Oswald's visit to Mexico City and the investigation
[165]following the assassination.
[167]Cuban Exile Groups/Operations: The anti-Castro
[168]activities of the Cuban exiles in the us Guring 1960 - 1963
[169]are considered relevant to the assassination. However, some
[170]of the organizations and individuals members continued to
[171]run operations against Castro into the 1970's. The exile
[172]activities after the assassination are generally not
[173]considered related unless they involve plots to assassinate
[174]Castro, the continuation of pre-assassination projects or
[175]the Garrison Investigation.
[177]14-0000
[179]Notes:
[181]I did not address the financial records of the CRC that we
[182]are replacing with a summary (need to review again); we will
[183]probably have to wait until we meet with the full board to
[184]get their thinking on summaries.
[186]There are other categories/types of documents that are non-
[187]‘related but do not fit in the above categories. For
[188]example, the HSCA requested files on 29 on defectors; they
[189]chose only 11 for their defector sample to be compared with
[190]Oswald. We treated the 11 as related and the rest as non-
[191]related. However, the number of pages involved is small
[192]compared to the above three categories.
[194]14-0000
[196], — Manny
[198]to: John Pereira C
[199]fax #: 703-243-8343 IA HAS NO OBJECTION TO
[201]: U ng Vis DECLASSIFICATION AND/OR
[202]re: peonung Visit RELEASE OF CIA INFORMATION
[203]date: December 19, 1994 IN THIS DOCUMENT
[204]pages: 1, including cover shect.
[206]The followng ARRB Staff will be coming:
[208]David G. Marwell
[210]Gene Burpoe (Starting 27, December)
[211]Jeremy Gunn (Interim TS)
[213]Sheryl Walter (Interim TS)
[215]Tom Samoluk (Clearance Pending)
[217]From the desk of .,
[218]David G. Marwell! % i,
[219]—. Executwe Director
[220]Aguassinasion Recoras Revew Board
[222]300 C'Sreei NW * Room 203
[223]Wasturgton, OT 20004
[225](202) 724-0088 -
[226]Fax. (202) 714-0457
[228]14-0000
[230]FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
[232]20 Dec 94
[234]BRIEFING OUTLINE (For JFK Board Staff)
[236]INTRODUCTIONS
[237]AGENDA: Discuss review process for JFK records
[238]Status of document review
[239]Discuss indexing (Gloria)
[240]Walk-through/see documents
[241]1. Overview of CIA's approach to review of JFK records
[242]a. Process of review began in April 1992
[243]b. How the original "core' file was organized
[244]- Sequestered file
[245]- Oswald 201
[246]c. How CIA identified additional records
[247]- Oswald 201 file
[248]- Search request in_1993
[249]2. Organization of the effort
[250]- Staffing
[251]- Steps in the review process:
[252]-- Reviewers
[253]-- Senior reviewers provided guidance
[254]-- Coordinated with directorates
[255]-- Coordinated with third agencies
[256]- Guidance (JFK Law, specific)
[257]3. Description of records under review
[258]- Condition of records
[259]-- poor quality
[260]-- not organized
[262]-- lots of duplicates _
[263]-- large number of press items
[265]- Sequestered documents (64 boxes, 127,000 pages)
[267]- Oswald 201 file (17 boxes, 35,000 pages)
[269]14-0000
[271]- Gates released a pre-assassination file
[272]on Oswald to Congress in 1992
[274]- Microfilm (1 of 64 boxes, 72 reels, 164,000 pages)
[275](printouts) ,
[277]- Other records
[279]- DCI Morning meeting minutes (400 pages)
[281]-_ HSCA - 14,000 pp retOmnre\s [fi,oce \e Ao\
[283]- SSCI = Crnple
[285]- upscr/- oN
[287]- FBI, other third agency ~-40--0G0=pp-
[289]- Warren Commission, Rockefeller Commission
[291]- Presidential libraries -Ford, Kennedy, Johnson
[292]- Ford Library documents reviewed -
[294]4. Status report on processing of documents
[296]- Records released to NARA (in full, sanitized)
[297](attachment)
[299]- Records remaining to be completed
[300]“ “ -
[302]\5 ooo | HSCA, Working files, Presidential libraries
[304]- Records withheld (examples)
[305]- + Types of information sanitized
[306]-- identity of agents
[307]-- sensitive sources and methods
[308]-- relations with foreign government
[309]-- unwarranted invasion of privacy
[310]- Summaries (examples--financial records)
[311]5. Issues/Problems (examples of postponed information)
[312]- Degree of sanitization
[314]- Relevancy e.g., chrono cables from Mexico City
[315](Chinese ops items)
[317]- Privacy
[319]- Duplicates (Oswald 201 in microfilm)
[321]14-0000
[323]- Office of Personnel files
[324]Office of Security files
[326]- Hand- written notes prepared by HSCA staffers
[327]-- 5x8 cards, note pads, sensitive operational
[328]information, some of it innaccurate
[330]- Identification aids (examples)
[331]Indexing
[333]- Jim Lesar litigation--receives copies of docs, i.a.
[335]'- Inadvertent release of agent's identity
[336](attachment)
[338]6. Discuss arrangements for review of records by the Staff
[340]14-0000
[342]CIA SPECIAL CUOLLEC HUNS
[343]RELEASE IN FULL
[344]2000
[346]Assassination Review Board
[348]Second Public Meeting, 12 July 1994
[349]Room 105, NARA
[351]Official Attendees: Members of the Board, Steve Tilly, NARA.
[353]Public: 25/30 in attendance including four from FBI (Terry
[354]& Grant), Lesar, and Newman. Also one network
[355](ABC?) rep.
[357]Purpose: Transact official business, briefing form Tilly on
[358]recent releases; discuss future board activities
[360]Selected items of HRG Interest:
[362]I spoke with Jack after the meeting. Ex. Director MARWELL
[363]will be on board 8 Augusts; they expect to be in new offices
[364]by 15 August and have a core staff in September. Jack said
[365](after meeting) he would like to meet us last part of
[366]August/early September.
[368]Tilly said that the CIA would be releaseing 70,000 pages
[369]later this summer (he ask me before the meeting if July was
[370]still a good date -- I said "no"). He also mentioned the
[371]20,000 pages of HSCA material in our files that we would be
[372]reviewing this summer.
[374]4
[376]FBI received praise from the board; not much discussion of
[377]CIA. DOD agencies are now the "bad boys". Hall ask several
[378]pointed questions about the "small" DOD releases then Newman
[379]blasted NSA and DIA during the question period.
[381].Items/Issues addressed by the Board during the meeting:
[383]Announced appointment of Executive Director David G. MARWELL
[384](see bio sheet). Will be on board 8 August.
[386]Passed resolution extending the Board to October 1995
[387]MOA signed with the White House - funds through Sept. 1994
[388]Discussed status of items before Congress (extending the
[390]Board to October 1996 and funding). Funds included in House
[391]version of appropriation bill/deleted from Senate. They
[393]-assume that the -funds will-be restored in Conference;
[395]however, could be reduced which would impact on number of
[396]public meeting to held outside of Washington.
[398]Expects to move into new office space by mid-August and have
[399]a core staff in place in September. The bulk of the staff
[400]would come on board in October.
[402]14-0000
[404]Plans to begin public hearing on defining an assassination
[405]record in Sept. Anna Nelson commented on the importance of
[406]identifying what is a record before beginning to address
[407]specific issues/documents.
[409]William Joyce reported that he had sent letters to 55
[410]agencies asking about the quaintly of records still heid by
[411]the agency and had received 20 responses several which had
[412]identified additional sources for documents (no specifics)
[414]Steve Tilley gave a briefing on status of releases.
[416]Releases since last meeting include tapes of telephone calls
[417]from the Johnson Library, the FBI files, Church Committee (7
[418]boxes), and DOJ's FOIA litigation files. This month an
[419]additional 10 boxes of Church Committee and some Pike
[420]Committee Files (only a small part deals with JFK). Expects
[421]a release from the CIA of approximately 70,000 pages later
[422]this summer (mentioned the 73 Reels).
[424]Tilley also described the 20,000 pages of HSCA material in
[425]CIA files and that NARA would be acting as House agent on
[426]these record.
[428]Questions (to Tilly) by the Board:
[430]Size of the NARA collection? - 1200 Cubic Feet (2500 pages
[431]per foot)
[433](Jack) what was the number of documents with redactions? --
[434]Steve said he could not give a figure, would guess less than
[435]50%
[437](Graff) any problems with agencies' willingness to release
[438]documents -- None, considers the work be the various
[439]agencies as a remarkable effort to turn over records. The
[440]problem was the volume of material and the time it takes to
[441]review. ;
[443]A question about Senate and House Committee reviews
[444]procedures led to a discussion where it was clear that
[445]neither the Board nor Tilly had a good fix on that part of
[446]the review. The point was made that CIA information in
[447]those documents (and in our HSCA material) would be reviewed
[448]by CIA reviewers; the originator of the information was the
[449]key reviewer) .
[451](Jack) how were the agencies doing in defining
[452]"assassination records? -- Tilly described some of his
[453]discussions about assassination records within NARA and with
[454]other agencies. He mentioned that the "major agencies" had
[455]records that they felt fell outside the scope which they
[456]planned to discuss with the board.
[458]14-0000
[460](Hall) how was the cooperation of the DOD intelligence
[461]agencies including NSA / how much had they withheld ? --
[462]Tilly said he found them cooperative but that the release
[463]was small. Did not know off hand how much was withheld.
[464]Hall considered so few record as "suspect" and ask if NARA
[465]had followed up. Tilly said no. NARA did not have the
[466]authority to question the agencies about their searches. He
[467]indicated that the Army among others had not responded to
[468]NARA's initial request. (During the public comments part of
[469]the meeting Newman and Lesar returned to the question of DOD
[470]compliance.)
[472]Several members of the Board had questions about the
[473]Presidential Libraries; Tilly described his role and the
[474]process. ,
[476]When Jack open the meeting for public comments, Newman
[477]returned to the question about DOD releases. He clamied
[478]that NSA had release only one true document and that most of
[479]the DIA files was administrative or news clipping. He said
[480]he had seen at least 30 DOD documents in CIA and FBI files
[481]that did not appear in the DIA release.
[483]Newman then ask if the agencies could withhold documents
[484]from the Board; Jack responded that under the law thar only
[485]Board had the power to withold a document.
[487]Lesar ask if the Board had given consideration to.his letter
[488]concerning the definition of an assassination record. Jack
[489]thanked him for the letters but the Board would not be able
[490]to address the issues Lesar raised until they had a staff to
[491]do the research.
[493]A third "expert" named Mark Zaid ask a question about Post
[494]Office files that had been released before and how they
[495]compared with recent Post Office files found by NARA. Anna
[496]responded that such questions require a staff.
[498]14-0000
[500]SUR LS D4 Le r.Us
[502]Saclay
[503]ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD
[504]600 E Street, N.W.
[505]Washington, DC 20004
[506]MEMORANDUM
[507]via facsimile: } pages
[508]TO: JOHN PEREIRA CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO DATE: September 23, 1994
[509]DECLASSIFICATION AND/OR
[510]RELEASE OF CIA INFORMATION
[511]IN THIS DOCUMENT
[512]FR: JOHN R. TUNHEIM PHONE: (612) 296-2351
[513]Chair
[514]RE: PEREIRA LETTERS
[516]Please disregard the letter faxed to you on the issues the Review Board would like to
[517]review on Wednesday, as that was a preliminary draft of the issues. On Monday you will
[518]be faxed a letter which will be in final form of the issues the Reivew Board would like to
[519]discuss. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused. Thank you.
[521]ADDRESS FOR REVIEW BOARD CHAIR
[522]102 State Capitol » St. Paul, Minnesota 55153-1002
[523]612 296-2351 - TDD 612-297-7206 + Fay 612-297-4193
[525]14-0000
[527]SEP 25 "YA Ld: oo FLUL
[529]ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD
[530]600 IX STREET N.W.
[531]WASHINGTON, DC 20004
[532]202-724-0088 » Fax 202-724-0457
[534]September 23, 1994
[535]via facsimile: 703/243-8343
[537]CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO
[538]. ___ DECLASSIFICATION AND/OR
[539]John Pereira RELEASE OF CIA INFORMATION
[540]Chief, Historical Review Group IN THIS DOCUMENT
[542]Room 404 Ames Building
[543]Central Intelligence Agency
[544]Washington, D.C. 20505
[546]Dear Mr. Pereira:
[548]This is to confirm our discussion in which we agreed to meet on Wednesday,
[549]September 28, 1994 at 10:00 a.m. in your offices to discuss the agency’s review of
[550]records related to the assassination of President Kennedy. I expect all of the Board
[551]members, Kermit Hall, Henry Graff, Anna Nelson, and William Joyce to join me, as well
[552]as the Board’s Executive Director, David Marwell. As | indicated, Mr. Matwell now has
[553]a “temporary top secret” security classification. I expect to fax to you on Monday a list
[554]of the questions that the Board would like to review with you and your staff, questions _
[555]along the lines we discussed on Wednesday.
[557]We look forward to meeting with you and beginning our understanding of the issues
[558]and the process that the CIA is following with respect to the records that fall within the
[559]Review Board’s jurisdiction. Thank you very much.
[561]Sincerely,
[564]John R. Tunheim
[565]Chair
[567]cc: Board Members
[568]David Marwell
[570]ADDRESS FOR REVIEW BOARD CHAIR
[571]102 Stau: Capiwl - St Paul, MN 535155
[572]612-296-2351 + TDD 612-297-7206 » Fax 612-297-4193
[574]14-0000
[578]ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD
[579]; 600 E STREET N.W. CIA HAS NO CONE STION To
[581]202-724-0088 - Fax 202-724-0457 INTHIS Doe iN FORMATION
[583]September 26, 1994
[584]via facsunile: 703/243-8343
[586]John Pereira
[588]Chief, Historical Review Group
[589]Room 404 Ames Building
[590]Central Intelligence Ageacy
[591]Washington, D.C. 20505
[593]Dear Mr. Pereira:
[595]In our briefing meeting on Wednesday, the Review Board would like to address the
[596]following issues, along with whatever issues you may wish to raise.
[598]1. Overview of the JFK Assassination Record review process tollowed by
[599]the CIA, including:
[601]a. Formation of the original core file that was organized in ... _. _.
[602]response to previous congressional investigations; 7
[604]b. The process by which the CIA identified additional
[605]assassination records in order to fulfill the mandate of the
[606]current legislation.
[608]2. Overview of the process by which the CIA has identified assassination
[609]records, including relevant discussion of the filing system;
[611]3. Discussion of the files which include assassination records, including:
[613]a. Bnefing on the filing system(s), content of C1A archives,
[614]effect of reorganization of CIA since 1960s on filing
[615]‘ systems, etc.
[617]-- +--+ 4, ~The CIA’s view as to how. the term-"assassination records" should be-
[618]defined:
[620]ADDRESS FOR REVIEW BOARD CHAIR
[621]102 State Captiol - Su Paul, MN 55155
[622]612-290-2351] - TDD 612-297-7206 + Fax 612-297-4193
[624]14-0000
[626]4 .
[627]-* John Pereira
[628]Page Two
[629]September 26, 1994
[631]5. Discussion of postponement issues from the CIA’s view, including
[632]reviewing examples of postponed information and categories of
[633]postponed information;
[635]6. Discussion about relevant files at the Ford Library;
[636]7. Review issue of operational files as it relates to assassination records.
[638]We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday. Please contact me or Dave Marwell
[639]if there is any matter that we should discuss prior to Wednesday. We are planning a 4-5
[640]hour meeting. Thanks very much.
[642], Sincerely,
[644]di a SJuhe~
[646]John R, Tunheim
[647]Chair
[648]cc: Board Members
[649]David Marwell
[651]14.90000
[653]ay
[655]UA SPELIAL COLLECTIONS
[656]RELEASE IN FULL TS anny
[657]2000
[658]FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
[660]28 Sep 94
[661]BRIEFING OUTLINE (For JFK Board)
[663]INTRODUCTION: Discuss review process for JFK records
[664]Walk-through look at documents
[665]Possible demonstration of indexing (Gloria)
[666]1. Overview of CIA's approach to review of JFK records
[667]a. How the original "core' file was organized
[668]b. How CIA identified additional records
[669]- Oswald 201 file
[670]- Search request in 1993
[671]2. Overview of CIA filing system(which include JFK records)
[672]_ Issue of operational files
[673]3a Organization of the effort
[674]- Staff (from attached data sheet)
[675]- Steps in the review process:
[677]-- Reviewers
[679]-- Senior reviewers provided guidance
[681]-- Coordinated with directorates
[683]-- Coordinated with third agencies
[684]3h Description of records under review
[686]- Condition of records
[688]-- poor quality
[690]-~- not organized
[692]-- lots of duplicates
[694]-- large number of press items.
[696]_- Sequestered documents (64, boxes, 127,000 pagesite WAKA0 WA
[697]- Oswald 201 file (17 boxes, 35,000 pages)
[699]- Gates released a pre-assassination file
[700]on Oswald to Congress ‘in 1992
[702]- Microfilm (1 of 64 boxes, 72 reels, 164,000 pages)
[703]A
[705]14-0000
[707](printouts)
[708]- Other records
[710]- DCI Morning meeting minutes (400 pages)
[712]- HSCA - 20,000 pp. NO.
[714]- SSCT
[716]- HPSCI
[718]- FBI, other third agency - 10,000 pp
[720]- Warren Commission, Rockefeller Commission
[722]- Presidential libraries -Ford, Kennedy, Johnson
[723]4. How assassination record should be defined ?
[724]5. Status report on processing of documents
[726]Records released to NARA (in full, sanitized)
[727](attachment)
[729]Records remaining to be completed
[731]HSCA, Working files, Presidential libraries
[733]Records withheld (examples)
[735]- Types of information sanitized
[736]-- identity of agents
[737]-- sensitive sources and methods
[738]-- relations with foreign government
[739]-- unwarranted invasion of privacy
[740]- Summaries (examples--financial records)
[741]6. Issues/Problems (examples of postponed information)
[743]- Degree of sanitization
[745]- Relevancy e.g., chrono cables from Mexico City
[746](Chinese ops items)
[748]- Privacy
[749]- Duplicates (Oswald 201 in microfilm)
[751]- Office of Personnel files
[752]Office of Security files
[754]14.90000
[756]ay,
[758]7.
[760]8.
[762]- Hand- written notes prepared by HSCA staffers
[763]-- 5x8 cards, note pads, sensitive operational
[764]information, some of it innaccurate
[766]- Identification aids (examples)
[767]Indexing
[769]- Jim Lesar litigation--receives copies of docs, i.a.
[771]- Inadvertent release of agent's identity
[772](attachment)
[774]Ford Library--relevant files.
[776]Question: Arrangements for review of records by the
[778]Board ?
[780]14.90000
[782]iF
[784]SECRET
[786]The following Agency members will attend the meeting ©
[787]with the ARRB on Wednesday, 2 August 1995:
[789]Eleanor Neiman
[790]Directorate of Operations
[792]{Michael Luce 7/
[793]Directorate of Operations
[795](John Kambourian?
[796]Directorate of Operations
[798]Fred Wickhan
[799]Directorate of Operations
[801]William McNair
[802]Directorate of Operations
[804]Robert Eatinger
[805]Office of General Counsel
[807]Barry Harrelson
[808]Historical Review Group
[810]SECRET
[812]14.90000
[814]SECRET
[816][+ a ay 7s
[818]The following Agency members will attend the meeting
[819]with the ARRB on Thursday, 18 May 1995:
[821]Eleanor Neiman
[822]Senior Coordinator, Directorate of Operations
[824]Margaret Sanders Che)
[826]Latin America Division, Directorate of Operations
[828]Robert Eatinger
[829]Office of General Counsel
[831]William McNair
[832]Information Review Officer, Directorate of Operations
[834]Michael Luce /
[836]Latin America Division, Directorate of Operations
[838]John Pereira
[839]Historical Review Group
[841]Barry Harrelson
[842]Historical Review Group
[844]SECRET
[846]14.90000
[848]a
[849]lc Marek 94
[851]1. Mr. Devine will discuss the perspective of the
[852]Directorate of Operations with respect to sensitive
[853]information that may appear in the assassination records.
[854]This includes information related to protection of sources
[855]and liaison relationships.
[857]2. The following Agency members will attend the
[858]meeting with the ARRB on Monday, 6 March 1995:
[860]John Devine
[861]Associate Deputy Director for Operations
[863]Donald Cryer
[864]Deputy Chief, Information Management Staff
[866]Eleanor Neiman
[867]Senior Coordinator, Directorate of Operations
[869]Margaret Sanders/
[871]Latin America Division, Directorate of Operations
[873]Robert Eatinger
[874]Office of General Counsel
[876]Frederick Wickham
[877]Chief of External Support, Information Management
[879]John Pereira
[880]Historical Review Group
[882]Barry Harrelson
[883]Historical Review Group
[885]14.90000
[887]To Mr. David Marwell:
[888]The following Agency members will attend the meeting with
[889]tthe ARRB on Monday, 6 March 1995:
[891]John Devine
[893]Donald Cryer
[895]Eleanor Neiman
[897]Margaret Sanders
[899]Robert Eatinger
[900]Frederick Wickhan
[901]John Pereira
[903]Barry Harrelson
[907]CERTIFICATION FOR 6 MARCH 1995 SI/TK/G&B
[909]David Marwell 080-30-7709
[911]Thomas J. Gunn 529-74-8907
[912]Thomas E. Samoluk 030-50-1292
[914]Sheryl Walter 506-80-0934
[916]14-0000
[918]SECRET
[919]11 December 1995
[921]NOTE FOR THE FILE
[923]SUBJECT: Briefing of JFK Board Staff: Cover
[925]1. On 1 December, Barry Gibson, Deputy Chief of the
[926]Office of Central Cover, briefed the Executive Director of
[927]the Assassinations Records Review Board and other Board
[928]staff members. Also participating from CIA were (John Goins }
[929]and Eleanor Neiman of IMS; Linda. inda. Cipriani}, OGC; and Barry
[930]Harrelson and I from HRG.
[932]2. The focus of the briefing was on the need to protect
[933]the names of former Agency employees that appeared in the
[934]JFK records. Gibson discussed the risks involved for people
[935]who retired under cover if they were identified in the
[936]public record as former CIA employees. He discussed the
[937]efforts made by his office to obtain written statements from
[938]the more than 100 individuals whose names appear.
[940]3. The purpose of the briefing was to assist the Board
[941]in its review of names when it meets on 12-13 December. The
[942]Agency was asked in particular to present, in writing,
[943]evidence of risk for each of the names that will be
[945]discussed at the Board's meeting.
[947]te [GROEN |
[949]John F. Pereira
[951]CL BY: ee ee
[952]CL REASON: wa Ov 2-F7 fs o.
[954]DECL ON: Gan agr eo
[955]DEV FROM:___- 748 76-7
[957]SECRET
[959]14-00000
[961]ARRB OPEN MEETING
[962]6 August 1996
[964]HANDOUTS
[966]Memorandum of Understanding Between the Director of Central
[967]Intelligence and the Select Committee on Assassinations
[969]Office of Legislative Counsel Memorandum (OLC 79-2477) dtd
[970]August 1979; Subject: HSCA Records
[972]Request of Records Disposition Authority
[973]CIA's HSCA JFK Sequestered Records - I [Boxes 1-63]
[975]CIA's HSCA JFK Sequestered Records - II [Box 64]
[977]14-00000
[979]‘Pa peat Ne Tey AGENCY Cory
[983]a, : . Sfrgminy Attest igen Ba dt |
[984]-3f FOR RECORDS DISPOSITION AUTHORITY
[985]| (Sea instruc >s on reverse)
[987]‘0: GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTAATION, Re
[989]NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS. SERVICE, WASHINGTON, pe 20508
[991]DATE RECEIVED
[993]1. FROM (AGENCY OR ESTABLISHMENT) . ~ . June 3 1980
[994]——Central_Inte ence Agency NOTIFICATION TO AGENCY
[995]2. MAJOR SUBDIVISION 7 : .
[996]ew as . In accordance with the provisions of 49 US.C. 33033 the disnesatre. | -
[997]Office o ec oO se 08-76 Guest, including amasdmants. ig 2ccroved exceot for items that m
[999]be ASSOLE Copeiee AROMINIES TC Soa
[1000]WOT REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL oF
[1001]. RERMANEN? RETENTTON OR RECORDS
[1003]Dute Archivist of the Cnited States
[1005]3. MINOR SUBDIVISION ~
[1007]_— ,
[1008]4, MAME OF PERSON WITH WHOM TO CONFER .
[1010]Elizabeth S. Lancer, Jori E. Wolfe
[1012]David Wo Landream —° 6
[1013]8. CERTIFICATE OF AGENCY FPRESENTATIVE:
[1015]; fn nuthate yd ee MH. wae y 7 bee. Thor a
[1016]| hereby certify that | am authorized fo act for this agency in matters ‘pertaining to the disg68al of the agency's records; «+ °°
[1018]that the records proposed for disposal jn this Request of 2 page(s) are not now needed for the business of . -
[1020]this agency or Will not be needed after tha fetention periods Specified, . . CO ete ae
[1021]ria Request for irimediate disposal, co : So
[1023]:; B Request for disposal after a specified period of time Or request for permanent -...
[1024]”™ ea OE vhs roo ' . . - +
[1025]retention, Coa bl ee ian oy . Se
[1026]©. DATE _ D. SISYATURE OF AGENCY. RgPyessecare E. TITLE . :
[1027]. . = a + Ph . fe ry . . . . . . . "a . . . .
[1028]5/23/80 | Fdéar T, McHenyy SE eo Associate Records Management Officer
[1030]7 ; Ss . §, DESCAIPTION OF ITEM s. 10.
[1031]ITEM HO, |, a Aven inclusive O2tes or Retention Periods) aE eer ACTION TAKEN
[1033]¥,
[1035]tee
[1036]4
[1038]ME baby lie! ee. 7
[1039]qe PO ERIAL HELD BY. CIA: RELATING TO THE HOUSE SELECT :
[1041]» (COMITTER GN Assassrearions INVESTIGATIONS
[1043]y “4%
[1044]i er od
[1046]‘ collect A €ites reviewed by the Comnittee
[1048]stored, are ‘inspected in accordance with Federal Standards
[1049]for archival microfilm, The microfilming was done in
[1050]those instunces when ‘it Was necessary to return the Paper
[1051]Files to their original locations: (Zach paper file ~
[1052]Microfilmed will ba inaintained or-disposed of in accor-
[1053]idarce with roved records control scherhtles covering
[1054]the record series of which the file is a part.)
[1056]} 4. Silver original Lin microfilm procuced, Stored, and]
[1057]‘ . : + a re rn pow , . ‘
[1060]i
[1062]TN tay tanita ett aetee ote les ee ee eee Ft tee ett | eee ce oe steneaee A a neat ee ae we gee —_
[1064]ia STANDARO Foa
[1066]Pee gas Seg?
[1069]1-00000
[1071]“A
[1076]PFoe .
[1077]“OR OFFIGIAL USE ONLY
[1078]; . ‘{ joB.NO, - | PAGE OF
[1079].¢St for Records Disposition Authority — Continuation . 408 .NO .
[1080]= 8. DESCRIPTION OF ITEM- SAMPLE On| 2 10. 2
[1081]ITEM NO. (With Inclusive Dates or Retention Perlods) JOB NO. ACTION TAKEN
[1083]b.. Textual records not contained in "la" above,
[1085]Permanent. Records to be retained in the Agency Archives
[1086]and Records Center. Not to be Opened without the
[1087]concurrence of the Legislative and General Counsels.
[1089]Records will be offered for transfer to the National en ;
[1090]Archives and Records. Service when national security too. .
[1091]considprations permit, . oo, . .
[1093]A
[1095]ml. Bigtial inSpection of itéin Ja microfilm will be conducted
[1096]a3 required by 41CFR 101.11, 507 -2, at 2 year interval
[1098]~ from the approval date of this records disposition request, 7 te
[1099]Armonathehite, |e ¢ i ae
[1100]‘fen By Wolfe/CtA, and RG Tagge/NARS-NCD, 6/04-05/adt
[1101]Men ata Das inaryeg eT ae a
[1103]_
[1105]oe - Rr ca
[1107]: re es - :
[1108]-203 . Four caples, Includidg orighrar, tobe suSmitied
[1110]STANDARD. FOSM 115-0,
[1112]Rimiged Jere fete a
[1114]Peaseriomd by (Sasarat Seevices
[1116]AGT Ci statGT
[1117]a SRE
[1119]Se .
[1120]to tha National Archives a
[1123]14-0000
[1125]OLC 79-2477
[1127]10 August 1979
[1129]7
[1131]mihORANDUI FOR: fr. George Frates
[1133]AC/xecerds Management Livision -
[1134]=F ISS/DDA
[1135]FAUM > Rodger S. Gabrielson
[1137]Office of Legislative Counsel’
[1139]SUBJECT : HSCA Records
[1141]1. During the course of the.HSCA investigations, much classified
[1142]‘ information was assembled in response to HSCA requests. Three categories
[1143]of, information must» new be disposed of uncer terns of the HSCA/DCI ©
[1144]i#@morandum of Understanding.
[1146]Category la: Classified material from Agency
[1147]holdings, requested by the HSCA, which HSCA staff
[1148]members reviewed.
[1150]Category 1b: Classified material from Agency
[1151]holdings, requested by the HSCA, but which HSCA
[1152]staff members did not review.
[1154]Category 2: Material generated by the HSCA from
[1155]‘ Agency classified holdings made available to. the
[1156]HSCA in response to the latter's request. (Note:
[1157]This HSCA material is considered by the HSCA as its
[1158]property and, therefore, not releasable to the
[1159]public under the Freedom of Information Act. An
[1160]inventory of this material received from HSCA has
[1161]— xe been completed. )
[1163]Category 3: Classifigd correspondence and certain
[1164]unclassified correspondence exchanged between this
[1165]Agency and the H5CA.
[1167]2. The HSCA has indicated its desire that copies of these three
[1168]aategories of material ve hald in sealed and segregated storage ta
[1169]ensure the preservation cf all relevant records pertaining to tne
[1170]vnase of the investigatiun involving this Agency. In order to accom-
[1171]modate the HSCA, but also leave our own records accessible for routine
[1172]:urposes, a photographic copy should be made of each official Agency
[1173]document made availabie in response to a specific request by the HSCA
[1174](Category la and 1b).
[1179]14-0000
[1181]a a
[1183]3. Uron completion of the task of photographing the Category la
[1184]: and 1b docuents, those photoeraynic copies (Catevory 1}, cme HSCA-
[1185]generated materials based upon Agency material (Category 2), and the
[1186]Gesignated Agency-HSCA correspandence {Category 3), will be sealed and
[1187]held in segrecated storage by the Agency, in accordance with schedules
[1188]Segestablished by the Archivist of the United States.
[1190]4. vocuments are now in the individual custodies of sembers of
[1191]the Agency SCA Task Force. These individuals’ are listed by attachment.
[1193]5. Please advise on your recommended procedures for photographing
[1194]these documents and procedures for entering these copies into sealed
[1196]storage.
[1197]| ‘ - /
[1198]. Rodger S. Gabrielson
[1199]Attachment
[1200]i FF .
[1201]oe
[1206]14-0000
[1208]MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
[1209]BETWEEN THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
[1210]AND THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS
[1212]Fy
[1214]BA hvaysy (AR ET
[1216]I, Preparation of Materials
[1218]ay A. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will cooperate fully
[1219]B in the investigations conducted by the Select Committee on Assassinations
[1220]_ (Committee) by providing access, as requested, to classified information
[1221]within the releasing authority of the CIA, and held by the CIA, that bears
[1222]upon the study and investigation authorized by H. Res. 222. CIA will
[1223]notify the Committee of any requested information held by CLA not
[1225]within the releasing authority of the CIA, and notify the Committee of the
[1226]proper authority to contact to obtain the ‘information. No document ora
[1227]portion of the document in the possession of CIA will be withheld without
[1228]written notice of that action to the Committee. Access to all classified
[1229]information designated for protection from unauthorized disclosure by the
[1230]Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and currently held by any federal
[1231]agency or department shall be governed by this mem@fandum,
[1233]Mal B. Documentary material will be made available as expeditiously
[1235]and completely as feasible, subject to the responsibility of the DCI to
[1236]protect sensitive intelligence sources and methods. The Committee and
[1237]CIA will periodically agree upon a list of identities that will not be excised
[1238]from materials turned over to the Committee. Subject to the list of
[1239]identities that will not be deleted, CIA will appropriately sanitize, including
[1240]excising if necessary, information to assure protection of information
[1241]identifying sensitive sources and methods, When an excision is made,
[1243]CIA will indicate the nature of the source or method excised, including the
[1244]functional intelligence discipline which was the source of the intelligence.
[1246]. C. The Chief Counsel of the Select Committee on Assassinations
[1247]and a designated representative of the DCI shall meet monthly to discuss
[1248]a random sample of the complete and unsanitized materials selected by
[1249]the Chief Counsel for the purpose of verifying the appropriateness of the
[1250]sanitizing done by the CLA. Those matters on which they do not agree
[1251]shall be referred to the Chairman, Ranking Minority Member, and the
[1252]DCI for resolution.
[1254]14-0000
[1256]awa.
[1257]Al .
[1259]i Btn 1 ta 2 ur
[1261]"1
[1263]Iv. Transcripts of Statements Under Oath — bt
[1265]'
[1266]of
[1268]D. In making any excisions or other alterations of requested
[1269]‘Materials, CLA shall be bound by 18 U. S. C. Subsection 1505 and all
[1271]' other applicable statutes.
[1273]{l, Request Pr ocedure
[1275]A. The CIA element responsible for dealing with the Committee
[1276]is the Coordination and Review Staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel
[1277](C&RS/OLC). All Committee requests for information will be conveyed
[1278]to CIA only via the Coordination and Review Staff. Absent extraordinary
[1279]circumstances, appointments with CLA employees and former employees
[1280]will be arranged through the Coordination and Review Staff. .
[1282]B. Al Committee requests for information will be in writing.
[1284]In the interest of timely response, C&RS/OLC will accept preliminary
[1286]telephone or other oral requests, but no information can be made
[1288]‘available until a request is received in writing from the Chief
[1290]Counsel or one of the Deputy Chief Counsels.
[1291]Ill, Staff Clearance ;
[1293], Prior to access by Comunittee personnel to any material which ~
[1294]has been designated for protection from unauthorized disclosure by the
[1295]DCI, such Committee personnel will be granted security clearance ~-
[1297]by the Committee after consultation with the CIA. Committee personnel
[1298]requirin access to such material will be required to execute, in advance,
[1299]the attached Select Committee on Assassinations Nondisclosure Agreement.
[1301]74,
[1303]A steno-typist from either the Committee or the CIA will make a
[1304]verbatim record of all statements of current CIA personnel taken under
[1306]oath. One copy of the record will be made available to the Committee
[1307]and the other to the CIA in accordance with the Rules of the Committee.
[1309]V.. Examination of Material
[1311]. Materials to which access has been granted by CIA will be reviewed
[1312]in a CIA reading room set aside for this purpose or ina designated area
[1314]“within the Committee's offices.
[1316]. VI. Storage of Materials
[1318]A, Committee procedures for control and storage of any documents
[1319]or materials provided by the CLA which require protection will follow
[1320]security standards and procedures established in consultation with, and
[1321]approved by, the CIA. ; . ;
[1323]LO we en er nce on
[1325]14-0000
[1327]ye.
[1329]SAAT
[1334]oe
[1336]eke ( _ C
[1338]B. - Upon the termination of the Committee, all materials
[1340]_ provided by CLA and examined by the Committee will be kept and
[1342]preserved within a segregated and secure area within CIA for
[1344]at least 30 years unless the DCI and the House of Representatives |
[1345]agree to a shorter period of time. All persons having access to such
[1346]materials must sign an access sheet indicating the date, the name of the
[1347]person receiving access, the specific documents or materials to which
[1348]access was granted, and the person who authorized the access. ae
[1350]VII. Disclosure of Information ,
[1352]A. The Committee will notify the DCI in writing of its desire to
[1353]disclose, in any manner, including under the Select Committee on
[1354]Assassinations Nondisclosure Agreement, any information that is
[1355]designated for protection from unauthorized disclosure by the DCI.
[1357]Uf within five days the Committee does not receive a letter from the
[1358]DCI objecting to the proposed disclosure and stating the reasons for the
[1359]objection, the Committee may disclose the information. ;
[1361]B. If the DCI notifies the Committee within five days that he objects
[1363]“. to the proposed disclosure and states the reasons for his objections,
[1367]| ven
[1369]the Chairman of the Committee and the DCI, or their designated
[1371]representatives, shall.meet to attempt to resolve any differences over the
[1373]information to be disclosed. If the Chairman of the Committee considers
[1374]that the negotiations have reached an impasse, he will give the DCla
[1375]written notice to that effect, and the Committee will take no steps until
[1376]at least 14 days thereafter to disclose the information in dispute..
[1378]‘C, Any differences left unresolved by negotiatiol’ may become the
[1379]subject of litigation. .In any such action each party wid be free to assert
[1380]all its constitutional, statutory, or other legal rights, and the parties
[1381]agree to be bound by the final outcome of any such action. If such an
[1382]action is commenced by the Executive Branch but is disposed of without
[1383]a judicial decision on the merits of the disclosure issue, the Committee
[1384]agrees that it will not on that basis, or on the basis of its 14-day notice
[1385]letter, disclose the information in dispute. This Agreement, however,
[1386]is without prejudice to any of the Committee's other rights, privileges
[1387]and responsibilities concerning the production by legal compulsion and
[1388]disclosure of information, and the DCI's rights, privileges and responsi-~
[1389]bilities concerning the protection from disclosure of the information.
[1391]Va
[1393]; POE Le pec
[1395]Director of Cent al Intelligence
[1397]19 ave 1977
[1398]Date
[1400]August 29, 1977’
[1401]Date ;
[1404]14-0000
[1406]S August 1996
[1408]CIA's HSCA JFK SEQUESTERED RECORDS - I
[1410]mE
[1412]BOXES 1-63 HARDCOPY MATERIAL
[1414]The 63 boxes contain copies of material collected or
[1415]prepared in response to over a thousand individual requests
[1416]from HSCA. Boxes are grouped by responsible component. With
[1417]the exception of the security files, there is no general
[1418]subject grouping or order to the boxes. Individual boxes
[1419]usually contain a mix of topics and types of documents, and
[1420]there is much duplication through out the collection. —
[1422]Boxes 1-34 (Directorate of Operations): contains a mix of
[1423]CIA, third agency (primarily FBI) and Warren Commission
[1424]documents plus a significant amount of HSCA originated
[1425]material*. These records cover a wide range of topics
[1426]but focus on anti-Cuba/Castro activities and Oswald
[1427]in USSR, Mexico City and New Orleans. Also included are
[1428]responses to the large number of names traces
[1429]requested by the HSCA staff, numerous copies of
[1430]documents from the Oswald 201, the 1967 IG report,
[1431]testimony of Richard Helms before HSCA, Nosenko
[1432]material, CIA cable traffic.
[1434]Boxes 35-36 (Inspector General): HSCA reports, Senate
[1435]Select Committee reports, reports on Cuban
[1436]‘operations, Book V of Church Committee final report.
[1438]Boxes 37-38 (Office of the General Counsel): Cuban exile
[1439]activities, Garrison investigation, name files.
[1441]Bok F 39 (Directorate of Science & Technology): Photo
[1442]comparisons of Hunt, Sturgis and the Dallas tramps;
[1443]chart of frames from Zapruder film.
[1445]Boxes 40-48 (Office of Security): name files.
[1447]Boxes 49-63 (Office of Legislative Liaison): HSCA
[1448]requests, notes, memos, correspondence and final
[1449]report, plots against Castro, photos of unknown man,
[1450]defector study, Nosenko, name files, Mexico City - .
[1451]station files, FBI reports, Warren Commission reports.
[1453]*Zppproximately 30,000 pages of HSCA originated material has
[1454]been removed=from the files and transferred to the National
[1455]Archives. . —
[1457]S August 1996
[1459]CIA's HSCA JFK SEQUESTERED RECORDS -- II
[1461]=F
[1463]BOX 64 MICROFILMED MATERIAL
[1465]Box 64 contains 72 reels of microfilm. All but a small
[1466]percentage of the materials are CIA-originated, and include
[1467]cables, dispatches, memoranda, reports, and correspondence.
[1468]Many of the reels contain a mix of subjects and types of
[1470]material:
[1471]Reels 1-20
[1473]Reels 21-22
[1474]Reels 23-25
[1475]Reels 25-28
[1477]Reels 28-30
[1478]Reels 31-44
[1480]Reels 45-47
[1482]Reels 48-49
[1484]Reels 57-60
[1486]Reels 61-62
[1488]Reels 62-71
[1490]Reel 71-72
[1494]Project Files
[1496]Individual 201 files, mainly Cubans, some
[1497]Americans and Soviets
[1499]Cuban Defector AMMUG-1
[1500]DO Project Files, Garrison investigation
[1501]Cuban exile organizations
[1503]Office of Personnel Files; Mexico City
[1504]records
[1506]Oswald files; 201 file is duplicate of
[1507]hardcopy file
[1509]Nosenko; Mexico City records
[1511]CIA-HSCA Correspondence, 1967 IG Report,
[1512]Cuban Mug Book, miscellaneous
[1514]Individual 201 Files (includes Cubela)
[1515]Office of PersGnnel Files
[1516]Nosenko, Golitsyn, anti-Castro activities
[1518]Cuban Revolutionary Council and other Cuban
[1519]exile organizations.
[1521]14-0000
[1523]Outline of Presentation to the Board
[1524]August 6, 1996
[1526]( Lo ow
[1527]pf. Mi eS e areriir »)
[1529]Where we are in the process of CIA records
[1531]We have almost completed the Oswald 201 file.
[1532]Size 17 boxes
[1533]Postponements have been reviewed word by word
[1535]We are now tuming to new areas for CIA records
[1536]. HSCA collection now housed physically just a few yards from here
[1537]To be reviewed word by word —
[1538]Scelso
[1539]Oswald in Mexico City by Hardaway and Lopez
[1540]JFK Library
[1541]Release this fall of many records related to Cuba
[1543]| am pleased to say — and I offer this as my personal opinion — that | have
[1544]seen no example where the Board has postponed any information that
[1545]bears directly on the assassination. | believe that the story is coming out
[1546]with the records that are being released.
[1548]Issue immediately before us is the CIA’s sequestered collection.
[1549]Mr. Pereira has described it from the perspective of the agency.
[1551]The Review Board staff has been reviewing the record and has given the
[1552]Board its own assessment of the status of the records.
[1554]There are a great number of records in the sequestered collection that are highly
[1555]relevant:
[1557]Lee Harvey Oswald
[1558]Georges de Mohrenschildt
[1559]Elena Garro de Paz
[1560]Antonio de Varona (Frente RD)
[1561]Silvia Duran
[1563]Rolando Cubela
[1565]CRC
[1567]Bay of Pigs
[1569]Gastro assassination attempts
[1570]Warren Commission
[1572]HSCA
[1574]Garrison investigation
[1576]er
[1578]14-0000
[1582]These types of records need to be reviewed on the same word-to-word basis as
[1583]the board has reviewed records thus far.
[1585]But we have a new problem: how should the Board review records from the
[1586]sequestered collections where the relevance to the assassination is not clear.
[1588]Examples where the staff has difficulty finding a nexus to the
[1589]assassination in certain records.
[1591]| will offer a few examples to provide you with a flavor of some of the issues we
[1592]are confronting. The examples below are hypothetical and are loosely based
[1593]upon our review of the files in order to illustrate the issues.
[1595]A. The “false hit” category
[1597]The HSCA requested files from CIA on a great number of persons. Inmany ~
[1598]instances the agency did not know why the files were requested, and accordingly
[1599]it made available files that it had on the name that had been requested.
[1601]Because names are not always unique, the agency sometimes made available
[1602]files on individuals who were of no interest to the HSCA and who had no
[1603]identifiable relation to the assassination.
[1605]_ 1. Avery common name --- | will use as an example the name Robert Smith.
[1607]The HSCA requested Robert Smith files because of an alleged
[1608]connection between a “Robert Smith” and Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.
[1609]The Smith whose file was made available, however, was a CIA officer who
[1610]died in 1956. The ARRB staff has reviewed the file and has discovered
[1611]no relevance to the assassination.
[1613]B. CIA operational files or 201 files.
[1615]2. Cuban now living in the Unite’ States. CIA unsuccessfully attempted to
[1616]recruit her to collect information on Cuba through her family and friends,
[1617]but ultimately abandoned the effort. Neither she nor any of her hoped for
[1618]contacts had any identifiable connection to the Oswald story or to the JFK
[1619]assassination.
[1621]3. Cuban cultivated for operational work against Castro i in whom CIA lost|
[1623]~ interest when he was not able to meet operation standards. -
[1625]4. - Soviet official at the Mexico City embassy during Oswald's visit, although
[1626]he never had any personal contact with him. The Mexico City portion of
[1627]his file ha been reviewed and released in part to NARA. The remainder of
[1629]14-0000
[1633]his file covers his subsequent career in a European country, where CIA
[1634]monitored him closely. This portion of his career - by far the largest part
[1635]of his file - has no bearing on Oswald or the JFK assassination. -
[1637]C. CIA officials
[1639]There are many personnel files of CIA officers. The files often contain medical
[1640]records evaluations, recommendations, and postings. They generally do not
[1641]contain any operational details.
[1643]5. CIA employee who was a Headquarters secretary for a major figure in the
[1644]case. Her file consists of personnel records, medical records, and a
[1645]polygraph, none of which has any identifiable bearing on the Oswald story
[1646]of the JFK assassination.
[1648]As anyone knowledgeable about the Kennedy assassination can testify, there is
[1649]a bewildering number of allegations regarding CIA officials who have alleged
[1650]connections to the assassination. The HSCA investigated some of these leads.
[1651]Not all leads are successful.
[1653]6. ACIA officer was allegedly in Dallas on November 22. An examination of
[1654]the file suggests that the individual was not in Dallas, but was in Vietnam.
[1655]There is nothing in the file that contains any apparent connection to the
[1656]assassination.
[1658]7. CIA official in Mexico City who was directly involved in matters related to
[1659]Oswald's visit. Prior to and subsequent to the Mexico City tour, the officer
[1660]was stationed at headquarters and at other locations in the world. With
[1661]the exception of the portion related to Mexico City, the staff can identify no
[1662]other documents that illuminate the assassination.
[1664]D. Summary of problems an
[1666]First, establishing criteria for relevance
[1667]Second, handling different types of records
[1668]ex. 1: entire file has no identifiable relevance
[1670]ex. 2 some 3 documents i in a file have relevance, but others do not
[1672]ex. 3: portion of a document has identifiable relevance, but others do not
[1674]14-0000
[1678]Selected Statutory Provisions in The President John F. Kennedy
[1679]Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, 44 U.S.C. § 2107 (Supp. Vv
[1680]1994)
[1682]Definition of Assassination Record
[1684]“Assassination record’ means a record that is related to the assassination
[1685]of President John F. Kennedy, that was created or made available for use
[1686]by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the possession of [the HSCA].”
[1687]Sect. 3(2).
[1689]Interpretation 1: All records in segregated collection are assassination records.
[1691]Argument: the segregated collection are “assassination records” because
[1692]a government agency examined them in the course of their investigation
[1693]of the assassination.
[1695]Interpretation 2: Only segregated collection records that actually relate to the
[1696]assassination of President Kennedy come within the scope of the JFK Act.
[1698]Argument: In order for a record to be an “assassination record” it must:
[1699](a) relate to the assassination of President Kennedy, and (b) have been
[1700]used by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the possession of a_
[1701]government agency.
[1703]Selected CFR Provisions:
[1705]“All records collected by or segregated by ail Federal, state, and local
[1706]government agencies in conjunction with any investigation or analysis of
[1707]or inquiry into the assassination of President Kennedy... .” 36 CFR
[1708]1400. 1(b)(2)
[1710]“An assassination record shall be released i in its entirety except for
[1711]portions specifically postponed pursuant to the grounds for postponement
[1712]of public disclosure of records established in . . . the JFK Act, and no
[1713]portion of any assassination record shall be withheld from public
[1714]disclosure solely on grounds of non-relevance unless, in the Review
[1715]Board's sole discretion, release of part of a record is sufficient to comply
[1716]with the intent and Purposes of the JFK Act.” 36 CFR 1400.5. - ;
[1718]14-0000
[1722]V. Staff Preliminary Suggestions to Board
[1723]A. Factors suggesting possible relevance to assassination:
[1725]Unfortunately, there is no simple, clear, obvious method for determining
[1726]relevance. Accordingly, rule of thumb guidelines need to be followed.
[1727]The obvious rules of thumb to assist staff in identifying relevant
[1728]documents would include:
[1730]-- documents that obviously are related to assassination
[1731]CIA internal investigations
[1732]Oswald records
[1733]Garrison investigation
[1734]Castro assassination attempts
[1736]- documents falling within certain dates (relevance of dates depends on
[1737]issue under consideration
[1738]dates associated with Oswald
[1739]dates immediately around assassination
[1740]dates of Warren Commission
[1741]dates of Church Committee, HSCA investigations
[1743]-- individuals of importance
[1744]CIA officials in Mexico City
[1745]David Atlee Phillips
[1746]Win Scott
[1747]CIA officials in HQ involved in investigation
[1748]John Scelso
[1749]JJ Angleton
[1751]-- geographical relevance (USSR; Cuba; Mexico)
[1752]B. Handling of records in sequestered collection
[1753]First, ARRB staff reviews all records and files in sequestered collection.
[1755]Second, all documents that are found to be relevant will be subjected to
[1756]word by word review of postponements by the Board. The staff will, over
[1757]time, work with the Board to establish guiding criteria for identifying
[1758]relevance. The focus will be on individuals and groups that have been
[1759]identified as playing a role in the larger story of the assassination.
[1760]Examples of individuals who have been identified as being a part of the
[1761]greater story surrounding the assassination include David Atlee Phillips,
[1762]Win Scott, James Angleton, etc. Groups include Cuban exile groups
[1764]14-0000
[1768](DRE, Alpha 66, etc.), Minutemen, etc.
[1770]Third, for a file where no relevance can be found, the staff will write a
[1771]memorandum identifying the file, describing the review process, and
[1772]explaining the basis of finding no relevance. The staff memorandum will
[1773]then be sent to the JFK Collection and be made fully available to the
[1774]public.
[1776]Fourth, for a file containing some relevant records, the relevant records
[1777]will be subjected to the word by word review. Records for which the staff
[1778]has been able to identify no relevance, a memorandum will be written to
[1779]describe generally the type of records and explain the basis for finding no
[1780]relevance.
[1782]Fifth, with regard to the microfilm copy of the Oswald 201 file, the staff will
[1783]review the entire file in order to determine whether there are any records
[1784]in the file that are not included in the released version of the 201 file. If
[1786]- such records are identified, they will be subjected to the same word by
[1788]word review as other records -- but the remainder of the 201 file will not
[1789]be reviewed again.
[1791]Sixth, in rare cases, portions of a document that genuinely have no
[1792]identifiable relevance to the assassination, may be redacted consistent
[1793]with the 1400.5.
[1795]| recommend that the Board, in the near future, deliberate on the guidance that it
[1796]wishes to give to the staff regarding these matters.
[1798]14-0000
[1800]discussion with the Review Board.
[1802]TESTIMONY BEFORE JFK BOARD, 6 AUGUST 1996 +&~
[1804]SON
[1805]Introduce CIA participants
[1807]We are pleased to provide information to the Assassination
[1808]Records Review Board that might assist the Board in fulfilling
[1809]its responsibilities under the President John F. Kennedy
[1810]Assassination Records Collection Act. CIA is committed to full
[1811]cooperation with the Board.
[1813]Before addressing the subject of the sequestered collection
[1814]directly, I would like to provide some background to help put
[1815]the sequestered collection into some sort of context.
[1817]In the spring of 1992, prior to the enactment of the JFK
[1818]Assassination Records Act, then Director of Central
[1819]Intelligence, Bob Gates issued instructions to begin reviewing
[1820]for declassification all records related to the assassination.
[1822]The CIA History Staff was charged with identifying the
[1823]relevant records. Once this was done, the Historical Review
[1824]Group took custody of these records and immediately began
[1825]reviewing-them for declassification for release to the National
[1826]Archives.
[1828]Once the Kennedy Assassination Records Act was passed, our
[1829]goal became to release as many of the records as possible by the
[1830]22 August 1993 deadline established by the Act. Approximately
[1831]125,000 pages were transferred to the National Archives by that
[1832]date.
[1834]3 fr With subsequent releases, CIA has now declassified and
[1835]transferred some 227,000 pages of material to the National
[1836]Archives. Based on discussions with the Board, we are
[1837]continuing to release additional information that had been
[1838]redacted earlier.
[1840]The remaining records are in various stages of review.
[1841]Some require review by other agencies. Some is congressional
[1842]material. Final decisions on other records are awaiting
[1844]14-0000
[1846]THE ASSASSINATION RECORDS
[1848]In identifying relevant records, we have followed the
[1849]definitions in. the 1992 Act and the related rules which were
[1850]pw Fished in the Federal Register.
[1852]The Kennedy assassination records in CIA consist of two
[1853]major groups of files. One group consists of the documents in
[1854]the Lee Harvey Oswald file--sometimes referred to as the “Oswald
[1855]201 file”. These consist mainly of documents collected after the
[1856]assassination and during the Warren Commission investigation.
[1858]There are about 26,000 pages of material in the Oswald
[1859]file. All but a handful have been declassified and sent to the
[1860]National Archives.
[1862]The second group is comprised of the “sequestered
[1863]collection”. These are the records that were made available to
[1864]the House Select Committee on Assassinations, and which the
[1865]Committee asked CIA to hold in safekeeping upon the completion
[1866]of the Committee's investigation.
[1868]Certain additional records, including 400 excerpts from
[1870]minutes of the.Director’s morning meetings, and some working
[1871]files, have been added to the overall collection since 1992.
[1873]we
[1876]ra
[1878]14-0000
[1880]SEQUESTERED COLLECTION
[1882]First of all, every document in the sequestered
[1883]ca@l ection is available to the Board for review. The
[1884]documents are available in full, without redactions.
[1886]The record shows that the sequestered collection
[1887]consists of documents compiled in connection with the
[1888]investigation of the House Select Committee on
[1889]Assassinations (HSCA).
[1891]A portion of the documents were created specifically in
[1892]response to requests from the HSCA. Other records were
[1893]already in existence prior to the creation of the Committee.
[1894]Still other documents were created by the Committee itself.
[1895]For example, notes of interviews conducted by the
[1896]Committee’s staff.
[1898]Within the sequestered collection there are two major
[1899]categories of records. One category consists of
[1900]approximately 129,000 pages of hard copy. The second
[1901]category consists of 72 reels of microfilm, or the
[1902]-equivalent of 163,000 pages of hard copy.
[1904]The reason why the documents were sequestered-is
[1905]explained in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the
[1906]Chairman Louis Stokes of the HSCA and DCI Stansfield Turner
[1907]in August 1977. The Memorandum provides as follows:
[1909]“Upon termination of the Committee, all materials
[1910]provided by CIA and examined by the Committee will be kept
[1911]and preserved within a segregated and secure area within CIA
[1912]for at least 30 years unless the DCI and the House of
[1913]Ripresentatives agree to a shorter period of time.”
[1915]In April 1979, Robert Blakey, Chief Counsel and Staff
[1916]Director of the HSCA visited CIA Headquarters to complete
[1917]_the process of designating what materials were to be
[1918]sequestered. All the documents made available to the
[1919]Committee were included in the sequestered collection.
[1921]14-0000
[1923]REVIEW AND DECLASSIFICATION OF THE SEQUESTERED FILES
[1925]In 1992, CIA wrote to Speaker of the House Thomas Foley
[1926]ragr&esting approval to begin declassifying and releasing the
[1927]records. In October of that year, Mr. Foley wrote a letter
[1928]to the DCI granting CIA the authority to do so. The
[1929]Speaker’s decision was made in anticipation of passage of
[1930]the Assassination Records Collection Act.
[1932]THE HARDCOPY MATERTAL
[1934]The hardcopy part of the sequestered collection
[1935]includes copies of most of the CIA documents in the Oswald
[1936]201 file. Also included are 201 files, personnel files, and
[1937]security files on persons who are mentioned in documents
[1938]relevant to the assassination, or who figure in one of the
[1939]conspiracy theories.
[1941]The collection also includes about 30,000 pages of
[1943]documents, memos, and notes (many handwritten) that were
[1944]created by the Committee staff during their investigation.
[1946]we
[1948]14-0000
[1950]THE MICROFILM PORTION OF THE SEQUESTERED COLLECTION
[1952]As I noted earlier, there are approximately 72 reels of
[1953]microfilm in the sequestered collection. (Incidentally, we
[1954]ha arranged to have all of the microfilm records printed
[1955]in hard copy.)
[1957]The decision to microfilm a portion of the sequestered
[1958]collection was apparently based on two major considerations:
[1960]First, the integrity of the sequestered records
[1961]had to be maintained.
[1963]Second, a number of the files requested by the
[1964]HSCA were active and had to be available to allow people to
[1965]continue conducting their normal activities.
[1967]The solution was to replace certain records with
[1968]microfilm versions. These records were microfilmed during
[1969]1979-80 with the approval of the Assassinations Committee.
[1971]THE CONTENT OF THE MICROFILM
[1972]:) .
[1974]A sizeable portion of the microfilm--approximately 50
[1975]percent--duplicates the hard.copy-files.. For example,-there
[1976]are 12 reels of material from the Oswald 201 file.
[1978]The bulk of the reels consists of files on
[1979]individuals and organizations, including personnel files of
[1980]CIA employees. There are also a number of files on anti-
[1981]Castro organizations. All but a small percentage of the
[1982]materials are CIA-originated cables, dispatches, memoranda,
[1983]reports, and correspondence.
[1985]> id .
[1986]There are questions of privacy that we believe the
[1987]Board may want to consider in-determining what information
[1988]is to be released to the public. Some of the records
[1989]contain, for example, medical information on an individual.
[1991]There are also questions of relevancy that we suggest
[1992]the Board consider. For example, many of the documents
[1993]cover sensitive activities that go far beyond the timeframe
[1994]of the assassination or investigations into the
[1995]assassination. . - ote soe See
[1997]14-0000
[1999]SUMMARY
[2001]~-We hope that the Board has found this discussion of
[2002]the sequestered documents useful.
[2004]=F
[2006]--We look forward to continuing cooperation with the
[2007]Board as we all work towards releasing as much information
[2008]as possible to the American public.
[2014]14-0000
[2016]ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
[2018]24 February 1997
[2020]MEMORANDUM FOR: Richard Flynn/@ DI
[2021]Teresa Wilcox! @ DST
[2023]Kathryn Dyer
[2025]FROM: J. Barry Harrelson
[2026]CSI/HRG, JFK Project Officer
[2027]SUBJECT: Records Briefing for ARRB Staff
[2028]REFERENCE: ARRB letter to DCI, dtd. 27 November, 1997, RE CIA Compliance
[2030]with the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act.
[2032]1. The JFK Board (ARRB) staff has requested briefings by records “specialists” on the
[2033]Agency's records systems as part of the compliance with the JFK Act process (see reference). The
[2034]first DO briefing took place on 12 February. The DA briefing and a follow-up DO briefing is planned for
[2035]early March. | would like to set up the remaining briefings as soon as possible.
[2037]2. The ARRB staffers are very familiar with agency documents and have had several general
[2038]briefings on Agency records; one member of the staff is a former Agency employee (CTC). These
[2039]“compliance” briefings should focus on what files would have existed in the 1958-63 time period and
[2040]how we search, or account for, those records today. The ARRB requests you have been working on
[2041]give you some sense of the type of information they are interested in. In addition | am faxing a copy of
[2042]the “talking points" prepared for the DO briefing. | have also ask Jeremy Gunn, ARRB General Counsel,
[2043]to provide a list of directorate specific topics.
[2045]‘3. The briefing can take place at HQ or at IP. The ARRB attendees will include Mr. Gunn and 4
[2046]or 5 members of the Board's CIA team; all are fully cleared (SCI). | have asked Mr. Gunn to provide a
[2047]list of dates when he and his staff would be available. | will forward the list to you as soon as | receive
[2048]it. Thank you for your assistance in setting up these briefings. If you have any questions, please give
[2049]me a call on extension 31825.
[2051]ce: John Pereira -
[2053]ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
[2055]14-0000
[2057]ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
[2059]24 February 1997
[2060]MEMORANDUM FOR: Lee Strickland @ DA
[2061]DA Focal Point for JFK Board
[2062]FROM: J. Barry Harrelson
[2063]CSI/HRG, JFK Project Officer
[2064]SUBJECT: Records Briefing for ARRB Staff
[2065]REFERENCE: . 1. Meeting with you, 21 February, 1997, same subject;
[2067]2. ARRB letter to DCI, dtd 27 November 27, 1997, RE CIA Compliance
[2068]with the JFK Assassination Records Collection ACT.
[2070]1. As we discussed in our meeting of 21 February, the ARRB staff has asked for briefings on
[2071]the Agency's records systems. These briefings are the first steps in the compliance with the JFK ACT
[2072]process describe in reference #2. At the meeting we set the first two weeks in March as the timeframe
[2073]for the DA briefing. Mr. Gunn has requested that the briefing take place prior to 12 March if possible.
[2074]The Board is meeting on the 13-14 March and he will be reporting on the status of the compliance
[2075]process. Let me know as soon as possible if this is feasible.
[2077]2. Your proposal to include representatives of offices of Security and Personnel is excellent.
[2078]The briefing should focus on what records would have existed in 1963 and how we search, or account
[2079]for, those records today. The talking points paper for the DO briefing, which I left with you, will give you
[2080]a good sense of the type of information the ARRB staff is interested in. If you have any questions, please
[2081]give me acall on extension 31825.
[2083]cc: Becky L. Rant @ DA
[2084]John Pereira
[2086]ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
[2088]14-00000
[2090]a“
[2092]ey,
[2094]a
[2097]1 eve, Gunn
[2100]* bee Phe hoy
[2102]Talking Points - 2/18/98 Judge John R. Tunheim, Chair . Thr Po
[2104]Assassination Records Review Board Wok. Oh, t
[2105]1. OIM - New Office - awry Ng oN,
[2107]a. Bringing all of release programs into alignment.
[2109]b. Realize there are problems - let me read two short
[2110]sections from a briefing I have prepared for the DDA and the
[2111]EXDIR
[2113]Pgs 13, and 19
[2115]c. This office is not knee-jerk or Neanderthal in its
[2116]approach. We care a great deal about what makes sense
[2117]practically and legally
[2119]d. In fact we have a significant legal bent in this
[2120]office.
[2122]Lee is a former OGC attorney.
[2123]His FOIA coordinator is an attorney.
[2125]I am a former DGC on rotation from OGC
[2126]And I have three attorneys assigned to this office
[2127]Bruce Burke - Assoc DGC for Information
[2129]And two staff level attorneys:
[2130]{ Vicky Pepper/a GS-15 attorney and
[2132]Martin Boland a junior attorney.
[2134]2. Cover Issue:
[2136]a. Appreciate your consideration of our concerns on
[2138](state_covery.
[2140]b. As I explained when I met with Dr. Gunn on 3
[2141]February. There are subjects that seem like open secrets,
[2142]if they could be called secrets at all. And certainly, this
[2143]is different from a secret like x is a CIA spy in y country.
[2145]c. But as the State Department and our station chiefs
[2146]have indicated, this is more important that it would seem at
[2147]first blush. There are repercussions from official
[2148]acknowledgment of certain ~~open secrets.'!
[2150]d. Which brings me to perhaps a final point:
[2152]14.90000
[2154]_
[2156]a
[2158]a
[2160]e. Intelligence information often looks sensitive to
[2161]the layman or generalist when the expert will tell you it is
[2162]innocuous. And conversely, what seems innocuous to the
[2163]layman can be quite sensitive. Our job is to help you
[2164]distinguish the one from the other.
[2166]£. we rely on you to help us figure out ways to ensure
[2167]your job is done and the American people are informed
[2168]without doing damage to intelligence equities.
[2170]g. We want to be as forward leaning as possible, and
[2171]work out compromises so it is a win-win solution for our
[2172]respective organizations and for the American people.
[2174]h. We will strive very hard for a cooperative,
[2175]harmonious relationship and we are committed to providing
[2176]whatever resources are needed, from a very slender resource
[2177]base to ensuring that we have met all of your taskings.
[2179]{shifted 7 additional contractor/reviewers to bring the
[2180]total to 20]
[2182]14-0000
[2184]Olfice of
[2185]a
[2187]of MiVi Challenges
[2188]Matin Manage™
[2190][apainistrative internat use ontY](__ If JC IL IJLILIUU0I
[2191]& Process
[2193]~ Directorate Search & Review Is Cumbersome
[2195]~ Coordination Is Resource Intensive & Inefficient
[2197] IRO Task Not Perceived As Important
[2199]a --Limits Experience & Sophistication We Can
[2200]Bring to the Task
[2202]~ The IRO Has Little Clout or Resources
[2204]& Policies
[2205]Saying “No” Is Easier Than Justifying Damage
[2206]» Past Practices Are Not Examined Until Forced
[2208]sladdais/ed/oriefing/982Gina8.ppt
[2210]Process: First, process - the components own the information and the IRO is the gate-
[2211]keeper who controls what will be done, what will be searched, and what will be released.
[2212]This makes coordination complex, but the larger issue is that the IRO usually does not
[2213]have either the clout or the resources to do the job and we find cases bottle-necked.
[2215]Policies: What also makes coordination difficult, is an institutional bias to withhold
[2216]until forced to release. Thus, we adopt silly positions. When pressed, we often concede
[2217]in the end, but we lose credibility in the process.
[2219]There is no stomach, and perhaps no time to: ,
[2220]& Question the questionable,
[2222]& Revalidate the counter intuitive,
[2224]& or even overturn the nonsensical.
[2226]14-0000
[2228]an of
[2230]“ng t Mivi. -OIM Corrective Actions
[2232]“ormane Manate™
[2234][apmivistrative -mrernat use ost] CJC IC ITIOOU0I
[2235]« Expedite Automation Efforts
[2237]~ Assure All Released Agency Material
[2238]Contained in a Compatible and Easily
[2240]Accessible Database
[2241]« Conduct a Top Level Review of Current
[2242]Classification Policy
[2243]Confirm What is Sensitive and What is Not
[2247]Sixth, Capture of Previously Released Information: We are trying to complete the job of
[2248]populating a data base of previously declassified and released information.
[2250]It is not acceptable that those outside the Agency know better than we do, what we have released.
[2251]Our MORI database, once fully populated will allow us to:
[2253]Satisfy many requesters from information we already have declassified.
[2254]Speed up our declassification by knowing what decisions have already been made.
[2255]Increase the consistency of our decisions.
[2257]And most importantly, avoid wasting resources and embarrassing ourselves fighting to protect -
[2258]what already has been released.
[2260]And seventh, Classification Policy: The world is changing.
[2261]The overall budget figure was never released, but now it is.
[2263]It was forbidden to mention the existence of the NRO; that has changed.
[2265]All NRO contractors were under cover; now a two page listing of those contractors has been
[2267]published in the media.
[2269]We tightly protected all overhead imagery program, but we now are declassifying product.
[2271]- from early systems.
[2273]On the other hand, we still have policies that are outdated and may no longer make sense - [Farm, -
[2274]defectors, psychoanalysis, bios, World War II liaison information.]
[2275]A small effort can inject fresh thinking, and can staff'i issues for periodic and systematic validation by
[2276]senior management.
[2277]This can pay dividends by keeping us from wasting time and resources protecting and defending what
[2278]senior managers believe can and should be released.
[2280]14-0000
[2282]Secret - Working Notes
[2284]7
[2286]17 August 1998
[2288]Talking Points for meeting with ARRB Executive Director,
[2289]Laura Denk -- 4:00 p.m., 17 Aug. 1998
[2291]Meeting is primary a “Meet and Greet”
[2293]Laura will be looking for reaffirming of commitment to
[2294]complete the tasks still outstanding and to meet the
[2295]deadline for the Final Declaration. She may also bring up
[2296]the subject of a “Memo of Understanding” on what is to be
[2297]done after the Board goes out of business.
[2299]Current Status:
[2300]Sequestered Collection
[2302]The re-review is virtually complete-- the remaining material
[2303](approximate two boxes) is mostly security files)
[2305][Note: In the review controversial, complicated or Denied
[2306]in Full documents were white-banded for later processing; I
[2307]currently have a team of 3 reviewers going through the
[2308]collection handling these problem documents. A number of
[2309]these could lead to potential appeal issues. It will take
[2310]2-3 weeks to complete the white band review.]
[2312]Russ Holmes' file
[2314]Review -- approximately 2/3 completed
[2316]Indexing -- approximately 1/2 completed
[2317]Special Requests
[2319]Complete -- 22
[2321]Continuing -- 10 (searches complete;
[2323]material being
[2324]collected or
[2325]available. for review) -
[2326]Outstanding -- 5 All DO
[2328](Note: Two of the outstanding requests (CIA 16 and CIA-IR-
[2329]04) are long-overdue priorities that the ARRB staff
[2330]requested by completed by 7 August. Laura may raise this
[2331]issue. Several of the “Continuing” requests are close to
[2332]completion. ]
[2334]Preparation of Records for NARA
[2335](Board Determination Documents and Release in Fulls)
[2337]The pace wili pick as I move reviewers from the sequestered
[2338]collection to assisting with preparation.
[2340](Note: Will probably need additional resources in September
[2341]to complete the task]
[2343]Secret - Working Notes
[2345]14.90000
[2347]Secret - Working Notes
[2349]Post Board Tasks (some examples)
[2351]Duplicates from the Sequestered Collection, Russ
[2352]Holmes, and other working files.
[2354]Referrals received in last two months of project (We
[2355]will try to review as many as possible by end of
[2356]September)
[2358]Other documents/material that it is not feasible to
[2359]review by 30 Sept. or extremely time-consuming for
[2360]both staffs and marginal to the story (examples:
[2361]Mexico City tapes, card files that duplicate
[2362]information in the file)
[2364]Other Topics for Discussion
[2366]Final Declaration -- “Who signs” may come up.
[2368]Transfer of Oswald classified files to NARA by 30 Sept.
[2369]seanster of all Release In Full documents to NARA by 30
[2370]ept. .
[2372][Laura changed procedures -- we no longer have to send
[2373]through ARRB staff; send directly to NARA.]
[2375]Next Meeting - 25 Aug.- Possible Issues
[2377]Mexico City Tapes (200+)
[2379]Board leaving toward declaring as Assassination Records;
[2380]DO's initial response is to object. I have advised DO that
[2381]we will need a “defense” for Aug. 25 meeting.
[2385]Although the release of DECANTER was delayed at last
[2387]“meeting, I understand the Board still leans toward release.
[2389]Secret - Working Notes
[2391]14.90000
[2393]et en
[2395]43
[2397]Secret - Working Paper
[2399]Notes from Briefing of ARRB Staff on Stations?
[2400](11 October 1995 - ARRB conf. roomy
[2402]CIA Attendees: Bill McNair
[2403]{Lee Carle
[2407]Chuck Briggs
[2408]Hal Bean
[2409]Barry Harrelson
[2411]Bill re Stations: ~~
[2413]No problem with release of CAS (Controlled American Source),
[2414]fact we have overseas locations, CIA representatives in
[2415]specific countries -- the problem comes with officially
[2416]acknowledging the stations thereby putting the host
[2417]government and service ina position of explaining why it is
[2418]allowing a foreign espionage unit to operate in the country.
[2419]This may become a serious political issue for the
[2420]government, especially in countries where the government
[2421]does not acknowledge its own service. Also can be perceived
[2422]as “rubbing their nose in it” and can affect the trust
[2423]between the Agency and the host service (violated agreement
[2424]of confidentially).
[2426]Maxwell pointed out that this information was 30 years. old
[2427]and asked what was the impact of acknowledging a station
[2428]presence in 1963 on current operations or relations.
[2430]Bill responded “opened up old sores” and cited Rome and the
[2431]sensitivity to our involvement in past election. Mentioned
[2432]the reaction to the announcement on covert actions by DCI.
[2434]Gunn asked if stations = liaison relationship; Bill said the
[2435]other service can not say it did not know the CIA was -
[2436]operating in its own country -- would look incompetent.
[2438]Mary asked about changes in government; Bill responded that
[2439]intell types tend to stay own or its revolving door where
[2440]the group that leaves when a neww government comes into
[2441]power will be back in power at some point. !
[2443]Bill comments on specific stations 1
[2444]L£ important to the story such as Mexico City and the |
[2445]surrounding stations which were involved in the cable ee aie
[2446]exchanges re Oswald, then will release. 5
[2448]| j
[2449]“Don't take it away from us for little or no gain to the /
[2451]story”, I. e. if not critical to the story let us Proves
[2453]Secret
[2455]14-0000
[2457]| Madrid - Liaison relationships have been up and down; (PNGed
[2458]five officers) can't afford any more flaps
[2459]i Rabat - long time relationship w/ head of state; could give
[2460]H
[2461]|
[2464]Secret - Working Paper
[2466]. He indicated he could live with opening the stations for
[2467]| short windows if important to story, but also said it
[2469]created a problem about protecting other activities in that
[2471]window 1
[2472]y
[2474]Moscow - opened for Oswald windows
[2476]Rome - No, past elections issue and current narcotics
[2477]. projects
[2479]Delhi - No, counter narcotics projects
[2481]| anti-government labor unions an issue (however, would
[2482]| not “fall on my sword” for this one
[2484]Helsinki and Stockholm -- would go to DCI with request to
[2485]appeal (governments currently under fire for cooperation
[2486]with US/very sensitive operation under way
[2488]Marwell asked about substitute language: Scandinavia,
[2489]‘Northern Europe -- Bill responded with Western Europe/ said
[2490]southern Europe for Rome, Madrid etc. “ok”
[2492]London: do’ not want to acknowledge but could live with
[2493]Australia - very sensitive
[2495]Berlin - is open in 1955; 1963 (?) Bill may have been having
[2496]second thoughts about previous statement “to release”, but I
[2497]think it still stands -- there was a discussion of why
[2499]| Berlin important to story.
[2501]Mary asked about other European stations, Bombay and some
[2502]South American stations
[2504]Bill did not have specific on other stations but made a
[2505]couple of comments
[2507]Bonn and Hague - no problem
[2509]Brussels - very sensitive to any mention of intelligence
[2510]service presence
[2512]Would get back to them on other stations
[2514]{I promised Bill a list of the Stations]
[2516]Secret
[2519]14-0000
[2521]Secret - Working Paper
[2523]Other issues discussed aN
[2527]Crypts other than LIs and AMs - there was a discussion re
[2528]deleting digraph and letting rest of crypt; everyone seemed
[2529]receptive, but no decision. -
[2531]Bill mentioned Iranian takeover as good example of damage
[2532]caused by release of documents with crypts, file #s, etc.
[2533]Gunn ask if there was an internal “damage” study prepared.
[2534]Bill said he would check.
[2536]Marwell rejected the approach of the Agency having the
[2537]opportunity to discuss Board actions before official
[2539]notification. If we have evidence, need to present upfront,
[2540]not come back with additional evidence after the decision.
[2542]The balancing of public interest vs Agency needs came up
[2543]several times; Marwell commented that even if a document or
[2544]item is not important to the Oswald story, the Agency must
[2545]still defend.
[2547]Bill stated several timed during the meeting “If important
[2548]to the story, we can live with release”. 4
[2550]Barry
[2551]12 October 1995
[2553]Secret