104-10336-10008 Se Ci IR-OT {7 Assassination Records Review Board v/ 600 E Street NW + 2nd Floor » Washington, DC 20530 fo (202) 724-0088 + Fax: (202) 724-0457 CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO December 18, 1997 DECLASSIFICATION AND/OR RoLEASe Cr CA INFORMATION Mr. John Pereira IN THIS DOCUMENT Chief Oey, ake jr Historical Review Group Center for the Study of Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Washington, D.C. 02505 Re: Status of CIA Responses to Assassination Records Review Board’s Requests for Additional Information and Records Dear John: I am writing to follow-up on our telephone call earlier today and to convey my serious concern about the status of CIA’s responses to the Review Board’s requests for additional information and records. Although CIA has completed its responses to several requests, and many others have been answered in part, a significant number of requests have not been answered — including some that were made more than two years ago. On many occasions we have been assured that responses would be forthcoming, only to have promised dates come and go without answers. It is now extremely important that these requests be answered promptly so that we may conduct a proper follow-up if necessary. The issues that we can now identify as being of the highest priority are identified in the text below by double asterisks (**)' and we request that they be answered within the next month. We request that the remaining requests be answered by April.1, 1998. The remainder of this letter is divided into two parts: first, a listing of the formal ‘requests for information and records, and second, a listing of the informal requests for information and records. Please.let me kriow if your understanding of any of the following points differs from ours so that we can resolve any potential discrepancies. ‘As identified more fully below, the issues are: CIA~1 Organizational Material, _ CIA-6 Cables and Dispatches, CIA-13 Backchannel Communications, CIA-IR-03 HTLINGUAL Documents, CIA-IR-04 Disposition of Angleton Files, CIA-IR-07 Claude Barnes Capehart, CIA-IR-15 Electronic “take” from Mexico City, CIA-IR-21 DRE Monthly Operational Reports, CIA-IR-22 “A” Files on Clay Shaw and Jim Garrison. Boaao Memecas: John 8. Tunheim, Chair « Henry F. Graff « Kermit 1. Hall « William L. Joyce « Anna K. Nelson
13-00000 Mr. John Pereira December 18, 1997 Page 8 -CIA-IR-09 George Bush Computer Search. The Review Board provided CIA with a copy of an FBI document, dated November 29, 1963, prepared under the name of John Edgar Hoover, which states: “The substance of the foregoing information [on the assassination of President Kennedy] was orally furnished to Mr. George Bush of the Central . Intelligence Agency ....” We have been informed that the DO has no record of a “George Bush” being in the employ of CIA in 1963 with the exception of Mr. George William Bush who has already given a sworn affidavit that he is not the “George Bush” in question. It is our understanding that the CIA has confirmed that the search query included George Herbert Walker Bush prior to 1970. CIA should determine whether George Herbert Walker Bush is the person to whom the memorandum refers and should provide a definitive statement regarding the scope of its search and the basis of its conclusion. Any and all personnel files of George Herbert Walker Bush should be reviewed to determine whether he had any affiliation with CIA during the 1963 period. Once the formal statement is provided, this request will be complete. CIA-IR-10 IG Reports. CIA will determine whether the IG’s office maintains an index or inventory of its reports and determine whether the IG’s office prepared a report on the handling of Oswald. Since April 1997, CIA has had no response and no fime frame for a response. CIA-IR-11 Warren Commission Critics. We are asking that CIA determine whether it possesses any files or records on Warren Commission critics Edward J. Epstein, Josiah Thompson, Mark Lane, Harold Weisberg, or Sylvia Meagher. The Review Board is not requesting information per se regarding any FOIA requests by these individuals or any Public Affairs news clippings. Since April 1997, CIA has had no response and . no time frame for a response. °To the extent that CLA possesses FOIA files or records on any of these individuals, and to the extent that those records contain information that was not filed with the courts, such records are being requested for review by the Review Board.
13-00000 e 4 20 March 1997 SUBJECT: Call from OP/FOIA re update on OP Name Trace: George Bush (Previous results attached) Barry, \ Dan, called this morning to indicate that he had retrieved the folder on George W. Bush, the individual who had been a GS-05 Watch Officer in 1963. The only other information in the file was that George W. Bush resigned Erom_ the Agency 15 February 1964 and went to work for DIA. \ Dan added that he still had been unable to locate the file on George H. Bush referred to in his 14 March call. I told ‘Dan' that unless he heard from me in the next couple of hours, he should consider this a closed query. « 3 ) Bonnie —
13-00000 14 March 1997 SUBJECT: OP NAME TRACE - George Bush 1. On 14 March 1997, Joe Murphy asked me to conduct an Office of Personnel name trace on George Bush. Joe advised that other searches with DO, etc., were also being conducted. This George Bush was not the former DCI or former President, but a person supposedly associated with the Agency in the 60's who may have been given information about the Kennedy assassination. 2. .I learned from voice mail that the OP Information Officer, S57636), was on leave and would not return to the office until Mon _i_then d the OP/FOIA Officer, _$57639.) Mr. questioned the direct cers;—srerceting these requests usually come through Becky Rant. I explained the nature of my request and told him I would follow up with a call to Becky Rant's ing them of my call. This was done by a call to on 14 March who said she would advise Becky of ace request. 3. mr{ spalllea later that day to indicate two possible hits on George Bush, as follows: a. George W. Bush a 5x8 card record identified by\ No. (237286. Per(Dan, it was not known if this was an ; Employee Number and was thought it might rather be a Security File Number. <Dan) suggested this be pursued with Office of Personnel Security. The card record indicated dates of service as 29 Sep 63 - 15 Feb 64 (resigned). Mr. Bush appeared to be a GS-05 Watch Officer, with the office designator I/OCI/OAD/CIA/WO. He was born in 1939. b. George H. Bush microfilm record showing #80- 01155R00010096, an indicator that the file was sent to Archives in 1980. The file could not be found. The name does not appear in any other OP data bases. 4. Barry Harrelson has been advised and is awaiting results of other component name traces. Bonnie ‘Hunter
13-00000 ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY 9 February 1998 MEMORANDUM FOR: J. Barry Harrelson CSI - JFK Project Officer FROM: rie ep e_ Liv - Associate Information Review Officer, DDA SUBJECT: CIA-IR-09 - George Bush/ARRB Request 1. This is with reference to your 2 February 1998 memorandum (attached) and our telephone conversation on 6 February wherein you requested that the Directorate of Administration (DA) review “any and all personnel files of George Herbert Walker Bush to determine whether he had any affiliation with CIA during the 1963 period.” 2. The Office of Personnel Security and the Office of Human Resource Management have reviewed its files and have been unable to find any documentation to show that George H.W. Bush had any affiliation with CIA during the 1963 ‘period. 3. This concludes DA action on this request. Attachments ADMINISTRATIVE-INTERNAL USE ONLY
2 February 1998 MEMORANDUM FOR: Fredrick C. Wickham @ DO : Lee S. Strickland DCI Jonn F. Pereira @ DCI FRON: J. Barry Harrelson @ DCi JFK Project Officer OFFICE: OIM/HRP SUBJECT: ARRB Requests - Priorities REFERENCE: ARRB letter dtd 18 Dec 1997, Status of ARRB Request for Additional information | have been advised by the ARRB staff that an updated “Status of Requests” letter will be sent to the Agency early next week The following requests will be listed as priorities to be completed in February: CIA-14 Mexico City Station Annual Reports (DO) CIA-IR-06 OQKENCHANT (DO) CIA-IR-08 “Family Jewels" (DCINRO and DO ) | CIA-IR-09 George Bush (DO, DA, DCIRO) L~ CIA-IR-11 Warren Commission Critics (DA, DO ) YS “iy | gents Ag beck y : Yo CIA-IR-27 Security Files for Five Individuals (DA) PY “ ~ pP have CIA-IR-32 AMWORLD (DO). | | have partial responses to some of these requests; call me if you have questions or need the status of your response. cc: [ f@ DO Becky L. Rant Kathryn |. Dyer Sent on 2.February 1998 at 01:26:47 PM theedy ~ TER Lo as aon wy Tab ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
13-00000 ae igj002 03/10/37 M WN, 23: * Zug ¢% 497. ain oad CBSECTION TO ‘1 = Rosen CAVONANDIOR | 1 = Ldedson +s a. P See ¥ re IN THIS, DOCU j cnr CRMATION |. 2 gues mee RES he HOOY ONIOVIY-0.930 ae: Pag § tee te . 4° Da oe Cur Hiandi, Yioxtda, Office on Novester 23, 1963, edvi zed that the Office of Goomtinates of Ocben ‘Agkatee tar tiend advised that the Degartment.of State facile some Bieguided anti-Castro Erovp might capitalize on cis present situation ead undertake sa unsuthoriged raid against Caba, believing thst tha assuscinetion of President John F, Kennedy might herald 2 ehenge in U. So policy, which fe net true. ae 4 ‘Ger sasrees ond inforsants fanilier with Guben matters in 09-0 PS | ut SE OEE 9 1963" | Fey by Br. W. te onthe f this Praageea {1 23 - ¢ To nirectod of Kawa | Na we Ore gaa 2 4 Fretlar — Tale. Hotes —— HIN: eh, Ge recetyre unit CI ~~
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13-00000 s 2s Gee Te , BE oad Mae eh Het RELEASE IN FULL 2000 25 February 1998 MEMORANDUM FOR: TT. Jeremy Gunn Executive Director Assassination Records Review Board FROM: J. Barry Harrelson Senior Reviewer SUBJECT: — ARRB Request No. CIA-IR-9, George Bush ro 1. The following is responsive to subject request. 2. The Agency has made a thorough search of its records in an attempt to determine if an individual identified as “George Bush of the Central Intelligence Agency” in a certain FBI document dated November 1963 was George Herbert Walker Bush. That search determined the Agency has no record of any association with George Herbert ~~. -- Walker Bush during the 1963 time period. 3. I£ you require anything further in this regard, please advise. eee J. Barry Harrelson ea