104-10330-10100] ER 97-4602 Assassination Records Review Board 600 E Street NW - 2nd Floor - Washington, DC 20530 (202) 724-0088 + Fax: (202) 724-0457 October 28, 1997 Mr. David W. Carey Executive Director Central Intelligence Agency - Washington, DC 20505 Re: Completing the Review of JFK Assassination Records Dear Mir. Carey: I would like to congratulate you on your new appointment at the Agency and wish you the very best of success in the difficult challenges that lie ahead. As you probably are aware, the Assassination Records Review Board has been mandated by Congress and the President to oversee the declassification and transfer to . the National Archives of all records related to the assassination of President Kennedy. During the past three years we have received excellent cooperation from CIA in regard to the processing of the relevant Agency records. From our perspective, this is due in significant part to the work of John Pereira, Chief of the Historical Review Group, and J. Barry Harrelson, who has shouldered the extremely complicated, burdensome, and _ frequently thankless task of overseeing the project. Both of them have proved to be superb representatives of the Agency. We also very much appreciated receiving a strong message of support from your predecessor, Nora Slatkin, who advised us ina meeting on October 16, 1996, of her full support for the project and her willingness to commit the necessary Agency resources to complete the project. Because the Review Board is now in the final twelve months of its statutory tenure, I thought it would be appropriate to advise you of our goals for the upcoming year. It is our wish to be able to state in our Final Report to the President and to Congress that CIA has made all reasonable attempts to locate, review, and declassify all available records on the Kennedy assassination. We would like the Review Board to be able to assure the American people that the Agency has been fully cooperative in this - enormous and difficult task, and that the Agency no longer retains any “secret” files on the assassination. In addition, we are obligated to keep Congress informed, on a monthly basis, of the status of our work and any difficulties that would interfere with our ability to achieve our objective. . Although many important strides have been made to further our goals, we nevertheless perceive that the pace of review and declassification of Agency records will need to be Boaro Memacas: John R. Tunheim, Chair + Henry F. Gratf + Kermit L. Hall « William L. Joyce - Anna K. Neisort . Executive Director: David G. Marwell i fest.
13-00000 Mr. David W. Carey October 28, 1997 Page 2 accelerated in order for us to succeed. We must keep in mind that the goal includes reviewing, processing, and transferring to the custody of the National Archives all identified assassination records by September 1, 1998. (We do not perceive that duplicate copies of such records need be transferred by September 1.) Many time- consuming difficulties inherent in this project have been overcome, and we perceive that the pace of review is accelerating. Nevertheless, we wanted to signal to you our concern that, unless the pace of review increases further, we may not be on target to satisfy what I hope to be our common objective. It is our firm intention to complete our task within the congressionally mandated time limit. If CLA is unable to pre-review and process its records consistent with completion of this task, the Review Board will vote to release-in-full all relevant CIA records and mandate that custody be transferred to the National Archives in a timely way. We sincerely hope that it will not be necessary for the Board to make wholesale decisions on unreviewed records and we will be pleased to work with the Agency to see that sucha _ step is unnecessary. But we are prepared to make such decisions to the extent they are required to fulfill our own responsibilities. Although it is our perception that CIA may wish to devote additional human resources to this project, we of course leave such decisions to the sound judgment of knowledgeable CIA officials. We therefore strongly urge the Agency to take all appropriate steps to complete its _ review of records in an orderly and systematic manner. To the extent:that the Agency is able to satisfy appropriate deadlines, there will be no need for us to resort to any unfortunate — but potentially necessary ~- measures to complete our own obligations to Congress, the President, and the American people. If you would find it helpful, the Review Board members and I would be pleased to discuss these issues with you or others at the Agency. Sincerely, cc: Assassination Records Review Board
13-00000 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 21 November 1997 CSI 97-536 Dr. T. Jeremy Gunn Executive Director “Assassination Records CIA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Review Board RELEASE AS SANITIZED '600 E Street, Nw . Washington, DC 20530 2000 Dear Dr. Gunn: Thank you for your letter of 28 October in which you outline the Assassination Records Review Board’s goals for the coming year. I appreciate the complimentary remarks you made about the “excellent cooperation” that CIA has been providing to the Board. You raised a concern that the Agency may not be able to increase sufficiently the pace of the review process to meet the 1 September 1998 deadline for completing the transfer of records to the National Archives. You also expressed the view that if any records are not reviewed by the deadline, the Board will vote to release them in full and mandate that custody be transferred to the National Archives. - You can be assured that we are committed to taking all necessary steps to meet our statutory obligation to review all of the Agency’s assassination-related materials. It is important. that a proper review of all relevant records be done. This will allow us to recommend to the Board what information warrants continued protection. We appreciate the great responsibility that Congress and the President have given to the Board to inform the American people about the assassination. We share the Board’s goal of declassifying and releasing the relevant records to the fullest extent possible. Please convey my regards to Chairman Tunheim and the other Board members, and assure them of our continued cooperation. ‘ , Sincerely, (Dl ly.
13-00000 « SECRET Ci BY20185904 eee - CSE a dee a fern CL. REASON: Section 1.5C J pect. ON: X1 on SF f ae ‘ect. pav Fam: COL 1-82 a forwarded Heme fo Comotreller, fev. by Compt relfec provided abhdir.f dacheperl cbse he . NOTE FOR: FROM: OFFICE: DATE: SUBJECT: John F. Pereira CO! Glan CSIMHRG 11/06/97 11:38:33 AM: CSI Resource Request regarding JFK in Brian Latell's absence, | am providing the following response to the Exdir’s questions regarding the request for additional resources for review of JFK documents: ' 4. What is the size of the JFK declassification problem ? How much work remains to be done ? - An additional 40-50,000 pages of CIA records remain to be reviewed by 30 September 1998. - Alarge volume of documents are being referred to CIA by other agencies for review, including the FBI, State, and Presidential Libraries. The documents are either ClA-originated or contain CIA information. No figures are available, but we estimate at least 40,000 pages. - The JFK Board has also asked CIA to re-review approximately 130,000 pages of material that we released earlier to the National Archives. The reason is to determine whether information deteted earlier can now be released. 2. How many people do you have working on the JFK project now ? - Following are dedicated to the JFK project: -- One staff officer (Project leader Barry Harrelson) -- 13 independent contractors (work 3/4 days per week) - The DO unit detailed to CSI to coordinate the review of JFK records recently added two contractors and may add more. 3. What difference would X more make ? - The additional resources requested would allow us to increase the pace of the review of CIA documents and third agency referrals. Unless the pace is increased, it is highly unlikely that the Board’s requirement to complete the review and declassification of all JFK-related records by 30 September 1998 could be met. SECRET
13-00000 cc: Sent on 6 Nov SECRET Brian S. Latell] .J. Barry Harrelson 97 at 11:38:33 AM SECRET
13-00000 - SECRET CL BY:(0693020_ > CL REASON: Section 1.5 C DECL oN: 6 November 2007 pav Fre: FIN 7-82 TO: FROM: — OFFICE: COMPT DATE: 11/06/97 12:09:41 PM SUBJECT: &&jRe: CSI Resource Request regarding JFK Some background information for you: (S) First, although Congress authorized and appropriated $5.5 million for classification management, _it is unlikely that_CSI will receive the full.$5.5 million. Why? Congress levied a tax on DoD procurement that will have a significant impact on CIA’s program because of the fact that | As a result of that tax,CIA has to take about a $49 million \ ’ reduction across ail programs {per SAC ; direction). This will impact on all activities -- including new adds. ~ Each activity can expect to lose’ about 1% of its resources We will identify specifically how to take this cut at Friday's offsite. (Cyn addition, CIA has a large FY98 unfunded bill ( } On Friday, we will determine how to reduce and/or pay that bill” One of the proposals on thé table for paying that bill is to use ‘some of the > { Congressional add money > - obviously, we would have to work thisdwith the Hill but the bottom line is that some of the declass money may be redirected to other priorities. (C)Fina ally, we may decide to use some of the adds to prepay some FY99 shortfalls. “We are already 3 faware of as shortfall i in FY99 of about | (U) So, the bottorn line is that no one should count on. getting the full amount of their add until we have finalized our decisions on FY98 and FY99 unfundeds. (C) All that said, if CS! does receive some or all of the money added by Congress, they do have the flexibility to allocate that money to other priorities. However, they should attempt to meet the spirit of the language in the Authorization Act. Specifically, the language reads, “The Senate bill added $5.5 million to enhance declassification efforts, with a particular emphasis on those documents relating to Guatemala and Honduras. The House amendment added $8 million for classification management. the conferees agree to provide $5.5 million for declassification and classification management and request that the Director of CSI report to the Congressional intelligence Committees on progress in declassifying documents of historical significance, the volume of documents involved, the mechanism for review, the anticipated date of completion of this effort, and how the process can be improved." (U) Hope this helps. CRB ce: SECRET
13-00000 NOV. 87 °S7 10:31AM, Pe Classification of Material Transmitted . EX DI R. HISTORICAL REVIEW GROUP. CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF INTELLIGENCE Phone # 703-613-1806 PLEASE DELIVER IMMEDIATELY Pinte eeenn rennin end HOLiReEnennhhteeenibeenee nee beenennnnnnnens CLASSIFIED FAX SUBJECT: J PK : —— 3/058 FROM: aJohn fares've X Sle SENDING FAX NO. _703-613- CRD ce DELIVERTO: ( RECEIVING FAXNO. 7O3- 73¢> S¥/ 7 DATE TRANSMITTED: af 7 PAGES TRANSMITTED: 5 : . "(including cover sheet) _ TRANSMITTED BY: Barbern Seererren er neecerncennertncanecnter i tenvtreereteeeetreern ran MESSAGE om hae 8, og Arve. Classification of Material Transmitted
13-00000 NOV @7 97 10:31PM P.2 31 October 1397 Request. for Additional Funds for. the JFK Assassination Records Review Project, through 31 September 1998. Reference: Ltr. to Executive Director form J. Jeremy Gunn, Executive Director, Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), copy attached. Background. _ 1. The ARRB will go out of business on 31 September 1998. Before that date, it has a statutory obligation to complete ite review of all records held by the U.&. Government which relate to thé assassination of President * Kennedy, determine those which are relevant to the assassination story and ensure that the same are transferred to the National Archives. As the board begins its final year, it has become increasingly concerned about the pace of the review and transfer proceas. Referent letter is the latest of a number of exchanges dealing with that concern. 2. CSI/HRG has carefully reviewed its current position with respect to ite ability to’ meet the deadlines imposed and has concluded that it cannot fully do so without additional resources, at least through 30 September 1998. This conclusion is based in large measure on three changed circumstances: A. The ARRB has recently exercised ita statutory authority and designated additional CIA records to be within: the JFK collection (to date approximately twenty cubic feet or 40,000 pages). Additional records may be identified as. the ARRE staff continues its review of Agency files. B. Over the past three months we have received an increase in the number of “Assassination Records” referred from third agencies which include both Agency documents held by another agency or third agency documents which must be reviewed because they contain CIA information; and Cc. The ARRB itself has established a deadline which was not anticipated. All agencies had understood that the review processiand ARRB action would have to be completed by 30 September, but it was widely assumed that final ‘processing and transfer of the documents to the National Archives could occur after that date. However, the Board has now mandated that all relevant records which are not duplicates must be transferred to custody of the National Archives before it goes out of business.
13-00000 * NOV G7 °S7 19:32AM. - P.3 * 2 -". ° . Additional Resources Requested. . 3. The following estimate is based on our understanding of the ARRB requirements at this time. A. Review of records: eaquivalent of 2 man-years (3 sath ~~ average daily contractor cost $270) B. Preparation of documenta for National Archives: equivalent. of 1.5 man-years (2 contractors -- average daily contractor cost $180); Cc. Indexing: approximately one-man year of overtime* ($28 hourly rate) ; D. Reproduction: approximately one-man year of overtime ($25 hourly rate). Estimated cost FY98: $300,000
13-00000 NOV G7 °S7 10:33AM . P.4 Request for Funds for Declasaification of Korean Documents ‘1. Background. In December 1995, the Director of. Central Intelligence drafted a Policy Directive calling for the implementation of a community-wide systematic Geclassification program under the leadership of the Center for the Study of Intelligence (CSI) . The Community ' Historical Review Advisory Committee (CHRAC),, chaired by the Director of CSI, was formed last year to implement the DCI‘s directive and to select and prioritize topics for historical declassification review by the Intelligence Community. At the October meeting of the CHRAC, the agency representatives approved the review of materials related to the Korean War as the first topic for historical declassification to be done collectively by the Intelligence Community. The Korean Project, Funds are requested for the Agency’ to fully participate in this project. With funding, CSI, in cooperation with the Agency’s automatic declassification program (OIM/IRG/ADD), will review for possible declassification intelligence records related to the Korean War period (1 January 1950 through 27 July 1953). The review would be done concurrently with the rest of the Intelligence Community. The joint effort will be coordinated by CSI. 3. The Project's Cost. preliminary research done by CIA's History staff indicates there are approximately 100 boxes, about 150,000 pages, of material that will have to be reviewed from archival material belonging to several Agency directorates. The following costs would be incurred during such a review: @ Document Preparation (select pertinent documents for | Ne cor copying and organize them for reviewers) ~- One contractor gy} for 50 days ($13, 000)* => ® Copying Expenses ~ One copier, at 75 pages per ‘hour for 2000 hours ($50, 000)' : ® Document Review (contractor document review to make declassification determinations with guidance supplied by staf£ supervisor) - One contractor doing 2 reviews of each document at a rate of 200 pages per day ($390,000) * contractor is approximately $270 per day. * Copiers are approximately $25 per hour.
13-00000 . ., e ¢ Document Magsaging (input of staff supervisor, time for outside coordination, and preparation of final copies for NARA) - Approximately 1/3 of a staff officer’s time for 1 year and 2 contractors for a total of 384 days ($135, 000)* TOTAL COST . $588,000? * fhe total is a conservative estimate that could escalate depending upon the complexity of the project and the need for outside - coordination. Casts not included in this total are paper, cost of equipment maintenance, ADP suppoxrt,. document coordination expenses of ‘other directorates, share of cost of CSI support personnel and cast of putting finished declassified documenta into MORI.