Monday, April 18, 2016

JFK FOIA Cases

JFK FOIA Cases - being considered for CAPA Support

1.      Jefferson Morley v. CIA re: Joanedes, DRE and HSCA w/ Jim Lesar and AARC. Landmark decade old case still being considered for its public value, exposed CIA officer responsible for the DRE Cubans who tangled with LHO in New Orleans in the summer of '63 and the agent's operational status as CIA liaison to the HSCA, co-opting its investigation. 


2.      James Lesar v. CIA  re: Valkyrie Study mentioned in the Higgins Memo.

•”13. He (Desmond FitzGerald) commented that there was nothing new in the propaganda field. However, he felt that there had been great success in getting closer to the military personnel who might break with Castro, and stated that there were at least ten high-level military personnel who are talking with CIA but as yet are not talking to each other, since that degree of confidence has not yet developed. He considers it as a parallel in history; i.e., the plot to kill Hitler; and this plot is being studied in detail to develop an approach.”


1.      Carl Oglesby v DOD re: Nazi Gen. R. Gehlen - Lesar and AARC have continued this case since the death of Oglesby, and David Talbot writes extensively about Gehlen in his book The Devil's Chessboard.


CARL OGLESBY, APPELLANT v. THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, ET AL., APPELLEES No. 94-5408 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUITb316 U.S. App. D.C. 372; 79 F.3d 1172; 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 5326 February 27, 1996, Argued PRIOR HISTORY: [**1] Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. (No. 87cv03349). 

2.      Anthony Bothwell v. CIA re: Rosselli Operational files. Although CIA "Operational" Files are usually exempt from public disclosure this California attorney has convinced a judge to consider releasing the CIA Op files of mobster John Rosselli, known as "Colonel" at JMWAVE where he ran a team of commandos and reported to his case officer William Harvey even after Harvey was replaced by Des Fitzgerald. Rosselli was the source of Jack Anderson's revelations of the CIA-Mafia plots to kill Castro.

[Note: A copy of Bothwell's response on appeal will be sent to CAPA Board separately and Mr. Bothwell, Esq., will be available to respond to Board questions] 

3.      Kelly v USAF re: MATS Manifests, on appeal to the Secretary of the AF, for Military Air Transport Service passenger manifests out of McGuire AFB NJ for October 1959 that may reflect that LHO traveled to USSR via Germany by air rather than by steamship as the Warren Report contends.

“On the airplane her son sat in the window seat and she sat in the middle. The man sitting in the aisle seat said his name was Lee Oswald; she doesn’t remember him using a middle name. He seemed tense and didn’t say much; he gripped the arms of the seat so tightly that his knuckles were white. She thought he was merely afraid of flying. He was quite taciturn and actually seemed hostile when she tried to talk to him. The young man relaxed after they had a meal. He seemed to her like he had a lot of pent-up emotion. He said he had served in Japan and the Philippines. He was wearing a Marine Corps uniform. He said he had fallen in love with a Japanese girl and had been imprisoned in either Japan or the Philippines because he wanted to marry her. He said he was being shipped to Germany by the military; the departure had been so hastily arranged that he had not even been able to see his mother. Mrs. Steenbarger described the man as having light to sand hair, light eyes, with sharpshooter medals on his uniform, a name plate saying “Lee Oswald” and a slight Southern accent. He said his father was named Robert E. Lee Oswald. He talked about putting down the American system. He said he was being shipped to Germany because they needed him right away and that he had a skill he could use there, but she doesn’t recall if he specified what skill.”

There are other outstanding cases but these are the most important ones that are underway that CAPA should officially endorse and publicly support. 

In addition CAPA and CAPA members should file new FOIA requests for the following records - 
Proposed FOIA cases being prepared 

1.      Kelly v. WHCA - White House Communications Agency re: AF1 Radio Tapes - These unedited tapes are known to exist or did exist and if destroyed there should be a record of their destruction - and since there isn't a destruction record there is a strong likelihood they still exist. Morley calls these tapes the most significant evidence in the JFK assassination.


2.      Kelly v. JFK Library and DOD re: Project Four Leaves. JFK's desk calendar says that on September 25 1963 JFK signed a special National Security Action Memo on Project Four Leaves - a military communications system that remains classified. 

THE WHITE HOUSE DIARY  SEPTEMBER 23 1963

“President Kennedy assigns the highest national priority to Project FOUR LEAVES to develop andproduce a military communications system.”

National Security Action Memo 261 - September 23, 1963 NSAM 261 – “THE WHITE HOUSE DIARY SEPTEMBER 23 1963: “President Kennedy assigns the highest national priority to Project FOUR LEAVES to develop and produce a military communications system. Project Four Leaves – SUBJECT: Assignment of Highest National Security Priority to Project FOUR LEAVES In response to a recommendation by the Secretary of Defense, the president, under the authority granted by the Defense Production Act of 1950, today established the program listed below as being in the highest national security priority category for development and production. FOUR LEAVES.”  Signed: McGeorge Bundy 

3) Kelly v. CIA re: Pathfinder and NPIC. ARRB records reflect that Pathfinder plans for a sniper to kill Castro while riding in open jeep were intentionally kept misfiled at JMWAVE's NPIC National Photo Interpretation Center  section rather than in regular station CIA files. 


“A folder, stored in the Photo Interpretation ["Section" crossed out ] Area at JMWAVE contained materials related to a plan to assassinate Castro in the Bay of Pigs Resort area where he maintained a yacht and was known to vacation. The plan, possibly with the code word PAJHFINDER had been disapproved and not under active consideration at the time. Our people did not participate actively in the plan in any regard.(b) While assigned to the Imagery Analysis Service, a number of our photo interpreters supported Carl Jenkins of the DD/P concerning a plan to assassinate Castro at the DuPont Veradero Estate, east of Havana. Castro was known to frequent the estate and the plan was to use a high powered rifle in the attempt. The photo interpreter support was restricted to providing annotated photographs and line drawings of the estate. To our knowledge this plan was never implemented

4.      CAPA v. Smithsonian re: NPIC Records. ARRB records reflect that NPIC JFK assassination records were boxed and sent to the Smithsonian at the order of RFK. 

“She has a strong, independent recollection of NPC personnel boxing up all photographic materials (“everything we-the film department-had”) related to the assassination on the orders of Robert Kennedy and sending them to the Smithsonian Museum for permanent storage sometime within 6 months or so after the assassination. She cannot remember whether the orders from Robert Kennedy were in writing, or oral, but she was firmly of the impression in 1996 that the direction had come from Robert Kennedy. In order to test the strength of her Smithsonian recollection, I asked her whether she may have been confusing the Smithsonian with the National Archives or some other government body; she replied emphatically that she knew the difference between the National Archives and the Smithsonian, and reiterated that the boxed material went to the Smithsonian. She said she was certain of this because she, herself, was required to call an official at the Smithsonian to discuss the imminent transfer, and recalls that the individual to whom she spoke was as surprised by the selection of the Smithsonian as she was.”

 5.Pendulum The Higgins Memo mentions that there was a special security program Pendulum - put in place - request Pendulum records. 


“16. After the JCS meeting Admiral Riley called Colonel Higgins into his office and read a letter from Mr. McGeorge Bundy which discussed secrecy measures necessary related to Cuba CIA operations. Admiral Riley directed Colonel Higgins to have the nature of this letter put out through SACSA control to SACSA contact points to insure an adequate system for secrecy within the military services. Admiral Riley stated he was returning the letter to Mr. Gilpatric as he did not want written communication by SACSA, but to put this out orally. This was transmitted to Colonel Wyman who will take the action to prepare an appropriate memorandum for the record to be filed with General Ingelido in accordance with further direction by Admiral Riley.”

"17. General Wheeler, Chief of Staff of the Army, called and questioned us concerning SACSA's access for the knowledge of such operations as mentioned in the McGeorge Bundy letter. I advised him that our Pendulum system was in being but that I would look into it in greater detail to determine that it met the letter as well as the spirit of the memorandum. I stated I believed this was so but had not had reason to do it until this date and therefore did not give him a positive answer at that time.”

4.      RFK Papers at JFK Library. Max Holland and a conservative think tank have requested these records and since we won’t work with them we will file our own request to determine the status of the RFK records at the JFK Library.






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