Transcript of 104-10337-10002.pdf
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aaaa0 T 60,137,30002
2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
25 August 1993
NOTE FOR: All HRG Members
SUBJECT: Briefing of HPSCI on Denied JFK Documents
This is to let everyone know that HRG has been asked to
brief the HPSCI staff on the 10 ,000 pages of JFK materials
that we have denied in full (so far)
The request cane from HPSCI Chairman Dan Glickman_
1
who
apparently anticipates questions from others in Congress
about the denied documents _
Among the questions we are asked to address in the
briefing are the following:
How many documents are involved (as opposed to
pages) ?
What specific types of sources and methods are
we protecting?
What is the review process?
Who made the judgments to deny the documents?
Are there provisions for continuing review of the
denied documents?
We ve asked that the br iefing not take place until the
week of 30 August, but HPSCI may want it sooner
John F Pereira
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26 August 1993
CIA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
EPSCI BRIEFING OOTLINE RELEASE IN FULL
2000
JFK ASSASSINATION RECORDS
IS Overview: CIA declassification program for JFK records
Sequestered files and Oswald 201 file
Total JFK records :
Hardcopy documents: 162 0o0 pages
(HScA malufa
Kullo'
Microfilm: 73 reels, 150, 000 pages
II_ Resources devoted to JFK
Nunber of people: 15 . HRG (9 staffers_ 6 retirees)
25 indexers (overtime weekends)
10 DO for coordination
III Documents Released:
Oswald 35,,000 pages
Sequestered files 90 , 000 pages
Total 125 000 pages
Indexing and identification forms for each document
Show example of iden form
Withheld temporarily:
HSCA-originated: 20 ,000 pages
Third Agency 7 ,000 pages
Denied-in-full
Continuing review of the DIF documents by HRG
Likelihood CIA will release a number (many 2) of DIF
Review Board S determination on DIF items
SAN AQU ( &e Ha Pane
{5'
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IV _ Identification forms provided to NARA for each DIF
Document
Types Of information protected in DIF items
Grounds for postponement of information under JFK
Law
VI - Who made judgments on
withholding documents
15 reviewers
Followed procedures
Senior Reviewers provided guidance
Directorates coordinated
Third agency coordination
VII. Issues for Review Board
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CIA SPECIAL CQLJeFGmIONS3
RELEASE IN FULL
HPSCI BRIEFING OUTLINE
2000
JFK ASSASSINATION RECORDS
Introduction: Discuss how CIA fulfilled requirements of the
JFK Act
Discuss the withheld documents
General Remarks
1 Every JFK recora will be seen by the Review Board _
2 We have fcllowed the JFK Assassination Records Act
in determining which records will be postponed _ (Section 6)
Our presumption was that a record would be released .
3 We made every effort to meet the 22 August deadline
established by the JFK Act _ The Director was committed to
this _
4 _ This called for a major efrort--additional people,
1ot f overtime and weekena shifts_
5 _ We are continuing to review the postponed documents _
1
and expect to release a high percentage Of them .
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23 January 1996
CIA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Memo for Record RELEASE IN FULL
Subject : Status of JFK Records Review 2000
References: Letter from Marwell to Pereira, dta 15 Dec 96 ,
(same subject)
{
Letter from Pereira to Marwell, dtd 19 Jan 96 ,
(response to above letter)
Phone Conversation with Marwell, 22 Jan 96 _
(same subject)
1_ Marwell requested a figure for the number Of
records in the sequestered files that contained
postponements _ I explained that our review figures were
based on pages and that there was no record count for the
microfilm part of the collection However _ based on the HRG
index unaudited record count (see below) of the Oswald 201
file and the JFK hardcopy boxes , I was able to give him an
estimate Of 28 , 000 records
2 Unaudited HRG Index statistics:
Total Records Records W Postponements
Oswald 4 ,349. 1,8717
JFK
(63 boxes) 28 532 12.132
32 ,.881 (154 _ 724 pages) 14,003
The page count for the hardcopy part of the collection is
within 10 , 000 pages of the Microfilm (163, 500) Given that
the microfilm contains many duplicates and similar records
as the hardcopy, the percentage of sanitized documents
should be close to the same I estimate the total number Of
records with postponements to be approximately 28 _ 000 _
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CONFIDENTIAL
NOTE FOR: Richard E. Schroeder
FROM: John F.Pereira
DATE: 03/27196 05.54.53 PM
SUBJECT: Phone Conversation with Susan Oullette, HPSCI
As you requested;, called Susan Oullette, HPSCI Staff today to respond to her questions about JFK Assassination records: She said that
the Committee was interested in the process used for declassifying the records, the status of our review, and what criteria we use for
declassification:
Following are among the main topics we covered a discussion of about 10 minutes on the STU-Ill:
A description of the JFK records held by CIA
Process of declassification (review by retired senior officers, coordination with DO,
OGC, others)
Criteria for redaction
Coordination with FBV, other agencies on third agency documents:
Presidentially-appointed JFK Assassination Records Review Board
Differences with the Board on release of certain information e g,,
names of former employees, identification of stations
Current appeal to the White House of decision by Board to release
certain information we redacted:
Efforts of the Board to identify additional records, including in other
countries
Susan said that she may have enough information for now; but she would let me know if more would be needed. invited her to visit us if
she wanted more details or to look at the records:
cc: Brian $. Latell, J. Barry Harrelson, Fred Wickham DO
CONFIDENTIAL
during
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CONFIDENTIAL
EVENT : QUICK COM DATE : 03 /27/96 TIME 1500
PLACE 7BOO HQS STATUS : X KEY : c/96-05672
FOR : HPSCI
SUBJ : JFK ASSASSINATION DOCUMENTS
RESPONSIBLE OFFICER RICHARD SCHROEDER SECURE 3-9940
> (PARTICIPANTS) <---
AssOC NAME ROLE
STAFF OUELLETTE SUSAN MARY (HPSCI)
CIA PEREIRA , JOHN (DCI/CSI) BRFR
EXECUTIVE SUMARY
In response to a request from HPSCI staffer Susan
Ouellettee_ John Pereira_ Chief of the Center for the Study
of Intelligence' 9 Historical Review Group, called her to
discuss staff questions _ Attached is his memo of that
telecon
QUOTE
I called Susan Ouellette, HPSCI Staff today to respond to
her questions about JFK Assassination records She said
that the Committee was interested in the process used for
declassifying the records_ the status of our review and
what criteria we use for declassification
Following are among the main topics we covered during a
discussion of about 10 minutes on the STU-III
A description of the JFK records held by
CIA
Process of declassification (review by
retired senior officers coordination
with DO, OGC , others)
Criteria for redaction
Coordination with FBI _ other agencies on
third agency documents
Presidentially-appointed JFK Assassination
Records Review Board
Differences with the Board
on release of certain information
g . names- of former
employees _ identification of stations
Current appeal to the White
House of decision by Board to
release certain information
we redacted .
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Efforts of the Board to
identify additional records _ including
in other countries
Susan said that she may have enough information for now _ but
she would let me know if more would be needed _ I invited
her to visit us if she wanted more details or to look at the
records
END QUOTE
SUPPORTING TEXT :
no further text in this document (U)
Richard E Schroeder
DCI/OcA/ CLG
28 March 1996
Distribution
8
DCI/CSI
DO/ORMS
DDI
OGC
OCA
RES chrono
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SECRET
From the Desk of(Richard E. SchroedeC:
NOTE FOR: John Pereira
(Laurie_Goodwin @ DO
FROM: Richard E. Schroeder}c:
DATE: 03/28/96 01:19.41 PM
SUBJECT: HPSCI Request for staff brief on JFK assassination
HPSCI staffer Susan Ouellette liked John Pereira's 27 Mar 96 telecon on the JFK assassination issue (see attached note) so much that
she'd like to schedule a staff brief for sometime in the next two weeks. She'd Iike the brief to concentrate on two issues mentioned by
John in the telecon:
~Differences with the Board 0n release of certain info (names of former employees, identification of stations)
and ~Current appeal to the White House of decesion of Board to release certain info we redacted:
Defer to John and DO addees to work out who'Il brief (see separate note from DO/ORMSQaure Goodwinre Bill McNair:)
Ouellette suggests € 10OO either Apr 2, 3, or 4, or Apr 9, 10, 11 since HPSCI recess schedule is pretty open:
John; pls advise your timing preference Thanks:
c9605672.DOC
cc: Brian Latell
Barry Harrelson
Fred Wickham @ DO
William McNair DO
Viginia BOKUM @ DO
Montgomery Rogers
Charles Boykin
Joyce Woodburn
Jacqueline_Mitchell
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MEMORANDUM FOR :
Attendees at the meeting with HPSI Members on Wed:
Mike Sheehy
@hristine Healey
Steve Nelson
Bownan
BiTI Lieser
Date
Y]96
F0 Us € P R € V | 0 U 5
5 - 5; i01
€ 0 | T | On $ #U.S. GPO: 1989-253-195/00416
Dug
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SECRET
TO: John Pereira
Laurie Goodwin @ DO
FROM: Richard E. Schroeder;€
DATE: 04/03/96 12:57:18 PM
SUBJECT: Re: HPSCI Request for staff brief on JFK assassination
HPSCI staffer Susan Ouellette liked John Pereira's 27 Mar 96 telecon on the JFK assassination issue (see attached note) so much that
she'd like to schedule a staff brief for sometime in the next two weeks: She'd like the brief to concentrate 0n two issues mentioned by
John in the telecon:
~Differences with the Board on release of certain info (names of former employees, identification of stations),
and ~Current appeal to the White House of decesion of Board to release certain info we redacted.
Defer to John and DO addees to work out who'Il brief (see separate note from DOJORMSLLaurie Goodwinre Bill McNair )
Ouellette suggests c. 1000 either Apr 2, 3, or 4, or Apr 9, 10, 11 since HPSCI recess schedule is pretty open.
John pls advise your timing preference: Thanks:
c9605672DOC
Ive now confirmed our briefing for HPSCI at 1030 Weds 10 April. Pls let me know who will attend for CSH and the DO.
Thanks OCA van will depart from OHB Main Entrance at 1000. RES 1255/3Apr96.
cc: Brian Latell, Barry Harrelsen, Fred Wickham @ DO, William McNair DO,Virgina B. OKUM@ DO, Montgomery
Rogers Charles Boykin Doyce Woodburn;(Jacgueline Mitchell
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From the Desk of (inda C. Cipriani
SECREL
NOTE FOR: John F. Pereira
J. Barry_ Harrelson
FROM: Linda C_Cipriani _
DATE: 04/09196 01.51.24 PM
SUBJECT: HPSCI talking points
Thought you may be interested in seeing in advance an outline of what plan to say at the HPSCI briefing: Of course, will be ready to
alter this according to the circumstances of the meetingl
Talking Points
I Statutory Authorities Of the JFK Board
1 The JFK Act states that all government records relating
to the JFK assassination should carry a presumption of immediate
disclosure and that all records will eventually be disclosed .
Although the Act allows for the postponement of release of
certain information all records will be disclosed in full by
2017 unless the President certifies that protection is still
necessary_
2 Under the JFK Act , the JFK Board determines what is an
"assassination record" and whether an asgassination record
qualifies for postponement The Board has the power to direct a
government agency to make available to it_ not only assassination
records but additional information which it believes is
necessary to fullfill its duties under the Act It has has the
power to request the Attorney General to subpoena private
persons records and other information relevant to its
respongibilities under the Act
II Appeal Procedures set out in JFK Act
1 Once Board has determined whether a record shall be
released or postponed, it must send: a "Notification Letter" to
the head of the agency (DCI)
2 Only recourse for an agency that disagrees with Board
determination is to appeal to the President
3 The President has 30 days from the date of the
Notification Letter to reply to appeal
a White House asks that agencies submit any
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appeals within 7 days of receiving Notification Letter
4 CIA has never before presented an appeal to the
President ; FBI presented an appeal last year but the White House
told the parties to work out their difficulties_
III February 8th Appeal
1 In November and December Of 1995 the JFK Board
notified DCI of the release of documents that would:
implicate high-ranking Mexican] officials_ in a @oint
teltap} operation against Eoreign embassies Mexican liaison
(December 7 )
reveal station in Gelsinki] (December 27)
identify sensitive unilateral source in the
Wicaraquan service (November 28 )
2 On February 8 , DCI submitted an appeal to the President
on these issues _
a
Admittedly, CIA did have problems getting appeal
out on time The JFK staff was very understanding of our time
problems and arranged to give us more time They too have
recognized that the time periods set out in the Act are too short
to bring an appeal
b_ The reason for CIA S delay was simply because the
decision to appeal _ a Board determination to the President of the
US is very difficult one to make both on a procedural and a
substantive level As CIA never did an appeal before, it did not
have an efficient system worked out
Today, the procedure is as follows : Once HRG is
notified of Board decisions immediately pass this on to OGC
and the DO The appropriate components within DO are asked
whether the release would cause current damage to the national
security or
intelligence operations
or sources If 80 , they are
tasked to provide a written assessment of that damage
d _ An appeal package is then prepared by OGC and the
DO _ This package must then be approved by GC , DDO _ EXDIR , DDCI
and DCI
e Although CIA S turn around time is improving, it
can take several weeks to task the appropriate people have them
gather the information needed to prepare an appeal and then get
this up to the DCI
3_ Despite our time problems_ the JFK Staff was
cooperative in the process of bringing this appeal to the
President :
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SEGRET
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a Before submitting appeal to the President I faxed
copy of appeal to JFK Board' s General Counsel with the idea that
if it presented new and convincing evidence he would present it
to the Board during its session
b Shortly after submitting the appeal to the
President I spoke with White House Counsel and Counsel to JFK
Board We agreed to the appeal on hold until the Board coula
review CIA S submission to the White House and possibly
reconsider its determinations in light of additional information
presented in the appeal
I talked with JFK Board 9 Counsel and Executive
Director regularly about the best way to handle the appeal . I
arranged with them to have the General Counsel of CIA to come to
the Board' s February meeting and present new information
regarding the issues on appeal
d. On February 29 , the General Counsel of CIA and I
met with the JFK Board and their staff We discussed igsues on
appeal as well as 3 other stations recently released (Qs10,
Stockholm Copenhagez)
e Based on the information presented by CIA at this
meeting, the Board reconsidered and agreed to protect all of the
issues on appeal as well as 3 other stations
IV _ Future appeal procedures
1 Both JFK Board and CIA agree that we should never have
to appeal something to the President and we should try to work
out difficult issues on our own
2 In the last 2 months when CIA believed that a_ release
would damage the national security, the Board has invited uS to
their meetings to present additional evidence on the issue In
some cases _ they have reconsidered their decision and protected
the information
3 The Board also recently releaged Cokyo station we are
arranging to meet with them at the end of this month to present
stronger arguments for protecting this station
4 The Board is now consi dering the release of names of
CIA employees who retired under cover It is very important for
CIA' s mission that the names of its employees especially those
who remain covert be protected even after retirement In the
spirit of cooperation and in the hopes of getting the Board to
understand this _ CIA helped arrange a meeting between the JFK
Board S General Counsel and a retired CIA covert employee
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put
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currently living in Europe CIA hopes that after hearing from
the employee about his objections to having his name released and
the harm that may come to him, the Board will agree to protect
his name _ and others like him, from release
cc:
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HPSCI BRIEFING JFK DECLASSIFICATION 10 April 1996
1 Nature Of the records--Oswald 201 ,
Sequeftered (hzsh cwxhi_cl_
3 +
Other records : Minutes Of DCI morning meetings ; working
files
Third Agency documents: FBI , SSCI _
1
Presidential libraries
2 _ Pages released (227 ,000)
Percentage of( pages redacted; 70 8
3 Process Of declassification
Former senior officers in HRG review
Coordination with OGC_ DO (DO team detailed to HRG)
4 Standards for review in JFK Assassination " Records Collection
Act , 1992
smka} Records related to the assasgination or investigation
0
[4pes &
into the aggagsination [cwLca
o le acf tufies
T e cuncls Law provides grounds for postponement of disclosure Of
records
6 "Clear and convincing evidence must be pre -
sented to the Board
E.g. Identity of agent currently requiring
protection
Source or method currently utilized
Foreign government relationship
cur-
rently requiring protection
5 Board has authority to release records unless it agrees there
35 is #clear and convincing evidence to support a postponement
Board then has to justify on the record each redaction
with which it agrees
Once a determination is made Board must publish it in
Federal Register within 14 days
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Options available: substitute language e.9. , "Northern
D European station
Also_ summary of a record
Board has access to every document in full
6 Issues raised by Board' s decisions :
Problem : Board has difficulty in linking disclosure Of
information that i8 30 years old with damage to current
intelligence operations
wihdo -
Identification of stations e.g_ Hel Sinkilw! ? Sept|964
@rceptivs
Names of former Agency employees who retired under cover
Board guidelines =
8 Protect person if retired under
cover and nOw res but if in US
YecA 4
aFieetii7i d,feea;, etd45
@iison jeint Tin; Mexiieo
Briefing of the Board.by {Dave_Edger), Jeff Smith, Central
Cover_ DO desk officers others
Problem of accumulative effect of releases--eroding cover_
ability to conduct operations
7 Provision for appeal to the White House if we disagree
with Board S determination
President has sole authority to require postponement of
a record or information
President required to advise the Board within 30 days
of the Board s determination
This is published in the Federal Register
8 _ Current appeal (now resolved)
Issues: identification of Agency asset
liaison relationship doruwxov extu-ILDs
identification of station
Potential appeal
8
Tokyo} station
9 Additional requests of Board to review other records e.9.
history of Mexico station, Intelligence Community staff
records
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WTCMMemorandum for the Record
KEY: C/96-05677
EVENT: STAFF BRIEFING DATE: 04/10/96 TIME: 1030 STATUS: COMPLETE
PLACE: H-405 CAPITOL
FOR: HPSCI
SUBJ: JFK ASSASSINATION DOCUMENTS
PARTICIPANTS )
ASSOC NAME ROLE
STAFF BARTON , CHRISTOPAER (HPSCI)
STAFP DOPART LOOIS A. (EPSCI)
STAFF EBERWEIN CATHERINB Da (EPSCI)
STAFP EBALEY , LOUISE CHRISTINB (HPSCI)
STAPF LOWENTHAL , MARK M. (BPSCI)
STAFF OOBLLBTTB , SUSAN MARY (HPSCI)
STAFF SHEEHY MICHAEL WILLIAM (HPSCI)
CIA CIPRIANI DINDA (DCI/OGC) BRFR
CIA HARRELSON , BARRY (DCIICSI) BRFR
CIA PEREIRA , JOHN (DI/CSI) BRPR
CIA SCHRQEDBR RICHARD} (DCI/OCA) SPRT
CIA WICKHAM , FRED (DOIIMS) BRFR
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Following a telephone conversation with HPSCI staff in which HRGICSI noted a number of JFK assassination
declassification issues (see OCA C/96-05672 of.27 Mar 96,) CSI,DO,and OGC briefed staff on-the status of the JFK
declassification effort; the 1992 law which established the JFK Assassination Records Review Board and the scope of the
Board"s authority, and the details of some current declassification issues we have been addressing with the Board. We noted
the close working relationship between the Agency and the Board, and said that the Board staff is trying t0 understand the
Agency's equities and perspectives. Some staff expressed concern about the Board's broad powers and authorities under the
1992 law, particularly regarding declassification of intelligence material bearing on identities, sources, and methods: (S)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. CICSIHistorical Review Group Pereira opened by briefly describing the nature of the CIA JFK material The
open-ended "Oswald 201" also includes material gathered after the assassination, and the "sequestered file" is that material
that was assembled for the JFK assassination investigations: The material was originally sanitized and released to the
National Archives in 1993. We are now reviewing the 227,000 pages and attempting to justify the material we withheld: Some
seventy percent of the released material contains redactions, atthough later in the briefing we noted that as our experience has
grown the redaction standards have evolved and now most material (up t0 eighty percent) is being released whole. Some 25
senior annuitants, working closely with a DO team led by Wickham; have been performing the initial review. Pereira pointed
out that we are not only reviewing the assassination records, but those records bearing on the House Assassinations
Committee's investigation of the assassination. Pereira identified the five academic historians who make up the Board, and
said are supported by 30 full-time Board staffers headed by former Berlin Documentation Center chiet David Marwell.
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Pereira said that the 1992 Act specifies that the Board must have "clear and convincing evidence" if we want to postpone
release, and said that the Board requires "current justification" if we want to protect agent identities, sources and methods, or
liaison identities: Under the law, the Board has the authority to release all information, and must justify in the Federal Register
within 14 days any redactions. The Board sees the full text of all documents: Pereira said that we negotiate with the Board
the use of summaries or generic descriptions (such as(ubstituting "a northem European station' for Helsinki) and that the
Board is making an "honest effort" t0 see the connection between 30 year old information and current damage to Agency
equities Dupart asked rhetorically whether the Board understood the concept of ongoing liaison, with Wickham saying that
the Board clearly had a different perspective from the DO, and that the ADDO, General Counsel, Cover Staff and others have
briefed the Board in detail to address this "problem:' Harrelson pointed out that our joint teltaps had recorded Oswald himself}
although we assured the clearly unhappy Dupart that we are trying to protect the fact thatdiaison cooperated in the teltaps) We
also noted our etfort to protect the identities of covert Agency employees, although we are working particularly hard in cases
where the Agency employees now reside overseas. Pereira said we are concemed about the cumulative erosive effect on our
cover and our ability t0 conduct operations. He noted that the Board tends to focus on individual specific cases without always
focusing on the broader cumulative impact of their discrete decisions. (S)
2. (Ciprianidescribed the appeals process specified in the 1992 JFK Act. She also lent Sheehy a copy of the act, which he-
studied carefully during the briefing: Under the 1992 act, documents related to JFK carry the "presumption of release, with the
Board defining which records fall under the act:_ We have to justify any redactions or postponements, and Board decisions can
only be appealed to the President himself (which, as Ciprianidryly noted; tends to inhibit appeals ) The act also specifics
short deadlines, with only 30 days for the President to make his decision. (This means we have only about seven days to get
our appeals out of Hqs and to the White House--a practical impossibility:) Our only appeal to date involved three issues: () a
cable implicating seniorMexican otticials in our joint teltaps} (ii) the identification of the very sensitive HelsinkiStation, and (ii)
the identity of a Nicaraguan source. In fact our appeal took several months, with the Board being very accommodating about
the delay, and we finally were able to give the Board enough justification and explanation that they changed their position and
spared the White House the decision; Healey noted that the Agency declassification team includes a DO team (as noted
above;) and asked why we hadntt been able to head off the problem: (Cipriandesponded that new information arises for the
Board to consider in making its determination, and Wickham elaborated by noting that the DO is reluctant to reveal sensitive
current information to protect old material. He characterized this as a problem of "DO culture:" At the same time , he cited the
specific example of theMexicans declining_to meet the DCL on his recent Latin American trip as Iustrative ot Mexican
sensitivty to the Jiaison _ssue] We later noted that the only other appeal thus far involves the FBI, and the White House has
told the Bureau to resolve the matter with the Board: (S)
3. Pereira noted to the staffers that we're dealing with very short deadlines involving enormous volumes of material, and
illustrated by showing the staff a bulky recent Board declassification notification which we must review t0 confirm we have no
problem with the material involved. In response t0 a Sheehy question, Harrelson reminded staff that the original redaction and
submission to the Board took place in 1992-3, and as noted above, our redaction standards and judgements have evolved
since then: Further, we have to double-check each release t0 confirm we concur, and in some cases compare substitute
language. Sheehy asked why we would object to such a thing as the acknowledgment offTokyo Station,_and seemed
impressed and persuaded when Wickham patiently explained that both thejJapanese} and (Ambassador Mondalehhave strongly
recommended against contirming the existence of the Station. The {(apaneselare very sensitive to any public
acknowledgment of ourliaisonjelationship. Wickham noted that the Board is trying to document Oswald's travels, and wants
to identify stations reporting such travel. Pereira said that we recognize the need to report the facts, but want to protect details
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that do not add to the story but harm our equities In response to a Healey question, Pereira said we are making progress in
giving the Board staff the context and framework necessary to appreciate and support our concerns: He said the staff tries
very hard to give the Board necessary background, and Wickham seconded Pereira's assessment that we have a very good
working relationship with the stamf. Under the provisions of the the Board will be working until October 1997 , dealing with
CIA, FBI, DepState, as well as private individuals and even foreign governments are interviewing people, and as
Pereira noted, "getting theories" (S)
4 Staff; even those who asked pointed questions like Healey and Sheehy, seemed satisfied Majority Staffer Eberwein;
perhaps retlecting concerns voiced by Deputy Majority Director Dupart about protecting Agency sources and methods,
however, expressed concern later about possibly amending the '92 act t0 moderate the act's bias toward release. Indeed, she
contacted OCA lawyer-Cindy Ellisfand asked her to draft language amending the act: It had not been my impression during
the briefing that staff had been especially concerned about the act to the of intending to modify it, and its also unclear
whether Eberwein was acting on behalf of senior majority statf or the membership in asking OCA to suggest modifications to
the act; (S)
Richard E. Schroeder
CIA Liaison Group_
Office of Congressional Affairs
DCIOCACLGIRESchroederdms/39940 (15 Apr 96)
Distribution:
Original OCA Records
1 DIOCA
1 DCVCSI
DOIIMS
DOIORMSICAG
DCIOGC
(RESchroeder Chrono
(FOLLOW-UP ACTION ITEMS)
There were no Action Items on file for this event;
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EVENT STAFF BRIEFING DATE : 04/10/96 TIME: 1030
PLACE H-405 CAPITOL STATUS X KEY : C/96-05677
FOR : HPSCI
SUBJ : JFK ASSASSINATION DOCUMENTS
RESPONSIBLE OFFICER (RICHARD SCHROEDERI SECURE : 3-9940
> (PARTICIPANTS) 5 &
AssOC NAME ROLE
STAFF BARTON CHRISTOPHER (HPSCI)
STAFF DUPART LOUIS H (HPSCI)
STAFF EBERWEIN CATHERINE D (HPSCI)
STAFF HEALEY LOUISE CHRISTINE (HPSCI)
STAFF LOWENTHAL , MARK M_ (HPSCI)
STAFF OUELLETTE_ SUSAN MARY (HPSCI)
STAFF SHEEHY MICHAEL WILLIAM (HPSCI)
CIA CTPRTANI LINDA (DCI/OGC) BRFR
CIA HARRELSON BARRY (DCI/CSI) BRFR
CIA PEREIRA _ JOHN (DCI CSI) BRFR
CIA GCRROEDERR RTCHARD] (DCI/OCA) SPRT
CIA WICKHAM , FRED (DO/ IMS) BRFR
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EVENT : STAFF BRIEFING DATE : 04/10/96 TIME : 1030
PLACE : H-405 CAPITOL STATUS : X KEY : c/96-05677
FOR : HPSCI
SUBJ : JFK ASSASSINATION DOCUMENTS
RESPONSIBLE OFFICER : RRICHARD SCHROEDER SECURE : 3-9940
7 (PARTICIPANTS) C---
ASSOC NAME ROLE
STAFF BARTON , CHRISTOPHER (HPSCI)
STAFF DUPART LOUIS H (HPSCI)
STAFF EBERWEIN CATHERINE D_ (HPSCI)
STAFF HEALEY LOUISE CHRISTINE (HPSCI)
STAFF LOWENTHAL , MARK M (HPSCI)
STAFF OUELLETTE SUSAN MARY (HPSCI)
STAFF SHEEHY_ MICHAEL WILLIAM (HPSCI)
CIA CIPRIANT LINDA (DCI/OGC) BRFR
CIA HARRELSON BARRY (DCI/CSI) BRFR
CIA PEREIRA JOHN (DCI/CSI) BRFR
CIA SCHROEDER RICHARDJ (DCI/OCA) SPRT
CIA WICKHAM
1
FRED (DOT IMS) BRFR
EXECUTIVE SUMARY
Following a_ telephone conversation with HPSCI staff in which
HRG / CSI noted a number of JFK assassination declassification
issues (see OCA C/96-05672 of 27 Mar 96 , ) CSI DO _ and OGC
briefed staff on the status of the JFK declassification
effort the 1992 law which established the JFK Assassination
Records Review Board and the scope of the Board S authority,
and the details of some current declassification issues we
have been addressing with the Board We noted the close
working relationship between the Agency and the Board, and
said that the Board staff is trying to understand the
Agency' 9 equities and perspectives _ Some staff expressed
concern about the Board' s broad powers and authorities under
the 1992 law particularly regarding declassification of
intelligence material bearing on identities_ sources , and
methods (S)
SUPPORTING TEXT :
1 C/CSI/Historical Review Group Pereira opened by briefly
degcribing the nature of the CIA JFK material The open -
ended "Oswald 201 " also includes material gathered later,
and the II sequestered file" is that material that was
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assembled for the JFK assassination investigations All is
being processed for declassification, with some 227 _ 000
pages already released _ Some seventy percent of the
released material contains redactions although later in the
briefing we noted that as our experience has grow the
redaction standards have evolved and now most material (up
to eighty percent) is being released whole Some 25 senior
annuitants working closely with a DO team led by Wickham_
have been performing the initial review Pereira pointed
out that we are not only reviewing the assassination
records _ but those records bearinmg on our own investigation
of the assassination Pereira identified the five academic
historians who make up the Board _ and said they are
gupported by thirty full-time Board staffers headed
former Berlin Documentation Center chief David Marwell
Pereira said that the 1992 Act specifies that the Board must
have "clear and convincing evidence" if we want to postpone
release_ and said that the Board requires "current
justification F if we want to protect agent identities ,
sources and methods or liaison identities _ Under the law
the Board has the authority to release all information, and
must justify in the Federal Register within fourteen days
any redactions The Board sees the full text of all
documents Pereira said that we negotiate with the Board
the use Of summaries or generic descriptions (such as
substituting "a northern European station" Gor Helsinki) and
that the Board is making an
"honest effort" to see the connection between thirty year
old information and current damage to Agency equities
Dupart asked rhetorically whether the Board understood the
concept Of ongoing liaigon_ with Wickham saying that the
Board clearly had a different perspective from the DO , and
that the ADDO General Counsel _ Cover Staff and others have
briefed the Board in detail to address this II 'problem II
Harrelgon_pointed out that our Goint EeTcaps nad recorded
(Oswald himself; although we assured the clearly unhappy
Dupart that we are trying to protect the fact that (Tiaison
cooperated in Ehe Tertapg We also noted our effort to
protect the identities of covert Agency employees although
we are working particularly hard in cases where the Agency
employees now reside overseas_ Pereira said we are
concerned about the cumulative erosive effect on our cover
and our
ability to conduct operations He noted that the
Boards tends to focus on
individual specific cases without
recognizing the broader cumulative impact of their discrete
decisions _ (S)
2 Cipriani described the appeals process specified in the
1992 JKF Act She also lent Sheehy a copy of the act which
he studied carefully during the briefing Under the 1992
act _ documents related to JFK carry the II presumption of
release , with the Board defining which records fall under
the act We have to justify any redactions or
postponements , and Board decisions can only be appealed to
by
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the President himself (which_ as (Cipriani dryly noted , tends
to inhibit appeals . ) The act also specifics very short
deadlines _ with only 30 days for the President to make his
decision (This means we have only about seven days to get
our appeals out of Hqs and to the White House ~ -a practical
impossibility. ) Our only appeal to date involved three
issues_ (i) a cable implicating senior Mexican officials in
our joint teltaps) (ii) the identification of the very
sensitive Helsinki Station, and (iii) the identity of a
Nicaraguan source In fact our appeal took: several months
with the Board being very accommodating about the delay, and
we finally were able to give the Board enough justification
and explanation that changed their position and spared
the White House the decision Healey noted that the Agency
declassification team includes a DO team (as noted above _ )
and asked we hadn t been able to head off the problem _
Cipriani responded that new information arises for the Board
to consider in making its determination_ and Wickham
elaborated by noting that the DO is reluctant to reveal
sensitive current information to protect old material He
characterized this as a problem of II DO culture At the
same time he cited the_specific_example ff" the Mexicans
declining to meet Ehe DCI on his recent Latin American trip
as illustrative of Mexican sensitivity to the liaison issue
We later noted that the only other appeal thus far involves
the FBI and the White House has told the Bureau to resolve
the matter with the Board : (s)
3 Pereira noted to the staffers that we re dealing with
very short deadlines involving enormous volumes of material,
and illustrated by showing the staff a bulky recent Board
declassification notification which we must review to
confirm we have no problem with the material involved _ In
response to a Sheehy question Harrelson reminded staff that
the original redaction and submission to the Board took
place in 1992-3 and as noted above our redaction standards
and judgements have evolved since then Further we have to
double-check each release to confirm we concur and in some
cases compare substitute language Sheehy asked why we
would object to such a thing as the acknowledgement of (Tokye;
station_ and seemed impressed and persuaded when Wickham
patiently explained that both the (Japanese and Ambassador
Mondale have strongly recommended against confirming the
existence of the station_ The (Japanesel-are_ very sensitive
to any public acknowledgement of our (liaison relationship_
Wickham noted that the Board is trying to document Oswald S
travels , and wants to identify stations reporting such
travel Pereira said that we recognize the need to report
the facts _ but want to protect details that do not add to
the story but harm our equities _ In response to a Healey
question_ Pereira said we are making progress in giving the
Board staff the context and framework necessary to
appreciate and support our concerns He said the staff
tries very hard to the Boara necessary background and
they
why
give
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Wickham seconded Pereira S assessment that we have a very
good working relationship with the staff_ Under the
provisions of the act_ the Board will be working until
October 1997_ dealing with CIA FBI Depstate_ as well as
private individuals and even foreign governments They are
interviewing people and as Pereira noted, "getting
theories _ II (S)
4 Staff even those who asked pointed questions like
Healey and Sheehy , seemed satisfied. Majority staffer
Eberwein perhaps reflecting concerns voiced by deputy
majority director Dupart about protecting Agency sources and
methods _ however expressed concern later about possibly
amending the 1 92 act to moderate the act S bias toward
release Indeed _ she contacted OCA lawyer (Cindy EITT and
asked her to draft language amending the act It had not
been my impression during the briefing that staff had been
especially concerned about the act to the point of intending
to modify it and its also unclear whether Eberwein was
acting on behalf of senior majority staff or the membership
in asking OCA to suggest modifications to the act (S)
QRichard E Schroeder
DCI/OCA/CLG
15 April 1996
Distribution: DCI/CSI
DO/ORMS
DO/ IMS
OCA
OGC
RES chrono
CL BY (620119
CL REASON 1.5C
DECL ON Xl
DRV FM HUM 4-82
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TO: Richard E. Schroeder;c:
FROM: ~inda C._Cipriani
DATE: 04/15/96 05.30.04 PM
SUBJECT: Re: DRAFT-OCA MFR on 10 Apr 96 HPSCI JFK Docs Brief
Looks OK to me was especially pleased to read that the staff was concerned about the the presumption for release in the Act and
askedCindy Ellislto draft language modifying the act. If Cindypeeds any help, would be very happy to give her some suggestions!!
would greatly appreciate being kept informed as this progresses.
Thanks {Linda
cc: John Pereira, J. Barry Harrelson, Fred Wickham DO,Linda Cipriani
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To: Richard ESchroeder-C;
FROM: John F. Pereira
DATE: 04/16/96 02:40.06 PM
SUBJECT: Re: DRAFT-OCA MFR on 10 Apr 96 HPSCI JFK Docs Brief
The MFR looks basically fine
Two minor suggestions:
Par 1. - change "our own investigation" to the House Assassinations_Committee's investigation
Par 1, last sent; - change last part of sent to read without always_focusing on the_broader cumulative impact of their discrete_
decisions
cc: J. Barry Harrelson
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