</s>File #: 62-HQ-116395 Serial Scope: 951-953,954-943,963,964,96-95-971 Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 992 (44 USC 2107 Note) Case(RV) 8914 Dale: 03.18.2026 PONO: DESTRIC 7 FOLPAE: M.P.A.R. NW-8861-D0C1-D01E1-228969673-Page-1

Summary  
The document contains a collection of declassified government records from 1962–1975 involving U.S. federal agencies (FBI, DOJ, NSA) and Senate Select Committees on intelligence activities. The focus is on FBI investigations into communist infiltration of civil rights organizations, particularly the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and surveillance of figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Stanley Levison, and Hunter Pitts O’Dell. Key topics include internal FBI directives on racial matters, mail interception programs under COINTELPRO, and coordination with Senate committees to manage sensitive intelligence operations. The records reference legal challenges to surveillance practices, administrative procedures for handling classified information, and discussions about national security threats from foreign agents and domestic hate groups. No direct references to John F. Kennedy or the assassination are present in the summaries provided.  

Key People  
- **Martin Luther King Jr.** (SCLC leader; subject of FBI surveillance)  
- **Stanley Levison** (alleged secret member of Communist Party USA, financial advisor to King)  
- **Hunter Pitts O’Dell** (alleged Communist Party member linked to SCLC activities)  
- **J. Edgar Hoover** (FBI Director; referenced in internal security directives and surveillance policies)  
- **Burke Marshall** (Assistant Attorney General; coordinated with DOJ on civil rights investigations)  
- **Robert F. Kennedy** (Attorney General; involved in discussions about communist infiltration of civil rights groups)  
- **William C. Sullivan** (FBI Associate Director; oversaw counterintelligence operations)  
- **Michael E. Shaheen, Jr.** (Special Counsel for Intelligence Coordination, DOJ)  
- **John T. Elliff** (Director, Domestic Intelligence Task Force, FBI)  

Key Locations  
- **Washington, D.C.** (FBI headquarters, DOJ offices, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities)  
- **Atlanta, Georgia** (SCLC operations, FBI field office)  
- **New York City** (SCLC activities, FBI field office)  
- **Birmingham, Alabama** (civil rights activism, FBI surveillance arrangements)  
- **Riverside, California** (suspected Soviet agent’s residence)  

Key Events  
- FBI surveillance and analysis of Communist Party USA influence in civil rights organizations (1962–1965).  
- Internal FBI directives on classifying racial or bombing-related cases under code 157.  
- Legal challenges to FBI mail interception programs and COINTELPRO operations.  
- Senate Select Committee requests for records related to Martin Luther King Jr., SCLC, and communist infiltration investigations.  
- Coordination between FBI, DOJ, and NSA on national security threats from foreign agents and domestic hate groups (e.g., KKK, Black Panther Party).  
- Disclosures of Stanley Levison’s alleged Communist ties to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963.  
- Monitoring of Hunter Pitts O’Dell’s activities, including his pseudonym use and financial transactions with SCLC.  

Key Organizations  
- **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)**: Conducted surveillance on civil rights leaders, managed COINTELPRO operations, and coordinated with DOJ.  
- **Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)**: Civil rights organization under scrutiny for potential communist influence.  
- **Communist Party USA**: Alleged to have infiltrated SCLC through figures like Stanley Levison and Hunter Pitts O’Dell.  
- **U.S. Department of Justice**: Oversaw internal security investigations and advised on responses to congressional inquiries.  
- **Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities (SSC)**: Requested FBI records for public hearings, with instructions to excise sensitive information.  
- **National Security Agency (NSA)**: Collaborated with FBI on intelligence initiatives like Project Hunter and mail cover operations.

Summary  
The documents detail FBI surveillance operations, intelligence activities, and interactions with U.S. government committees during the 1960s–1970s. They reference Project Hunter, COINTELPRO, and other initiatives targeting suspected subversive groups, including communist organizations, civil rights activists, and anti-war movements. The FBI provided information on monitored individuals such as Angela Davis, Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr., and members of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). These records include internal communications between FBI officials like W.R. Wannall, H.H. Helgeson, and R.L. Shackelford, as well as interactions with Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities (SSC) staff. The documents also mention administrative procedures for handling classified materials, informant networks, and surveillance of publications linked to radical groups. A memorandum referencing "John F. Kennedy" appears in an unrelated context, likely a misreference or error.  

Key People  
- **W.R. Wannall** (Assistant Director, FBI)  
- **H.H. Helgeson** (Deputy Assistant Director, FBI)  
- **R.L. Shackelford** (Section Chief, FBI)  
- **J.G. Degan** (Section Chief, FBI)  
- **Mark H. Glistenstein** (SSC Staff Member)  
- **Mary Deoreo** (SSC Staff Member)  
- **John T. Elliff** (SSC Staff Member)  
- **Michael E. Shaheen, Jr.** (Special Counsel for Intelligence Coordination)  
- **Angela Davis** (monitored by FBI for communist affiliations)  
- **Ralph Abernathy** (SCLC leader profiled in FBI records)  
- **Martin Luther King Jr.** (referenced in SCLC operations and civil rights activities)  
- **Gus Hall** (CPUSA General Secretary, referenced in SCDCP meetings)  
- **Leonard Bernstein** (alleged Communist Party member monitored by FBI)  
- **Ben Davis** (National Board of the Community Party member, convicted under Smith Act)  
- **Jack Stachel** (National Board of the Community Party member, convicted under Smith Act)  

Key Locations  
- **Washington, D.C.** (FBI Headquarters, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities)  
- **Los Angeles, California** (Angela Davis’s residence and SNCC activities)  
- **New York City** (FBI office, Cultural Exchange Program, "National Guardian" publication)  
- **San Francisco** (DCA founding convention, SCLC operations)  
- **Atlanta, Georgia** (SCLC headquarters, Ralph Abernathy’s residence)  
- **Montgomery, Alabama** (Abernathy’s early career and education)  
- **Boston, Massachusetts** (Brandeis University, Davis’s academic affiliation)  

Key Events  
- **Project Hunter** surveillance operations targeting suspected subversives, including communist groups and civil rights leaders.  
- **COINTELPRO** activities monitoring domestic groups like the Nation of Islam, Black Nationalist organizations, and anti-war activists.  
- FBI provision of correspondence details on monitored individuals (e.g., Angela Davis, Jane Fonda) without their knowledge.  
- Senate Select Committee requests for declassified documents related to intelligence operations and surveillance methods.  
- FBI administrative reviews of informants and surveillance lists, including the Hunter Mail watch list.  
- Monitoring of "National Guardian" as a publication linked to subversive networks during Cold War-era investigations.  
- Investigations into Leonard Bernstein’s alleged ties to Soviet entities and cultural exchange programs.  
- Surveillance of civil rights organizations like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and Los Angeles Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).  

Key Organizations  
- **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)**: Conducted surveillance, COINTELPRO operations, and informant networks.  
- **Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities (SSC)**: Requested declassified documents and information on FBI intelligence methods.  
- **Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)**: Implied through references to intelligence activities and informants.  
- **Communist Party USA (CPUSA)**: Linked to monitored individuals, including Gus Hall and Stanley Levison.  
- **Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)**: Profiled in FBI records for civil rights activism and internal operations.  
- **Los Angeles Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)**: Monitored for radical activities and communist infiltration.  
- **National Lawyers Guild**: Cited as a Communist front in U.S. government reports.  
- **W.E.B. Du Bois Clubs of America (DCA)**: National organization linked to CPUSA, focused on socialist outreach.  
- **Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCFE)**: Operated as an educational wing of the Southern Conference for Human Rights (SCCI).

JFK Declassified Files

124-10264-10210_multirif.pdf

Document Summary

Try AI Search