JFK Assassination System Date: 3/31/201 Identification Form Agency Information AGENCY: FBI RECORD NUMBER: — 124-10375-10259 RECORD SERIES: HQ AGENCY FILENUMBER: 62C-HQ-1029205-1096 Document Information ORIGINATOR: FBI FROM: HARTINGH TO: MORRIS TITLE: DATE: = 12/18/1995 ‘PAGES: 13 SUBJECTS : JEKARCA OF 1992 DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified RESTRICTIONS: 3:4 CURRENT STATUS: = Redact DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 03/26/1999 OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE COMMENTS : INC APPEAL v9.1 - 142 i! i Docld: 32320601 Page 1
- ° Pog ~ 6 . Dep. Dir__ i . : ‘ Chief of | Staff . — Off. of Gen. - Memorandum FER, Counsel 4 Crim. Inv. ~ 4 CuJIS Finance Info. Res. ___ Insp. Lab. ' National Sec. | . ‘ Pi To : Mrs. Morri Date 12/18/95 | ne | Off. of EEOA_ Off. of Public ; & Cong. Affs._ From: John A. Harting Director’s Office Subject: JFK TASK FORCE PURPOSE: To advise that on or about 12/20/95, the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) will advise us of their determinations on 25 FBI documents, previously postponed (redacted) to protect informants and foreign government information and to request Criminal Investigative Division (CID) and National Security Division (NSD) review the determinations and provide their positions on the determinations, the length of the time postponed, and the substitute language added by the ARRB, aS to appeal. RECOMMENDATION: That CID and NSD addend this memorandum with their positions as to appealing the ARRB decisions and so advise the JFK Task Force and Office of the General Counsel (OGC) by 12/21/95. Enclosure 6 2HP-1029205_ jo VU 62-HO-1029205 1 - Mr. Kennedy, Room 7142 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. R. Bucknam, Room 7176 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. Shapiro, Room 7427 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. P. Kelley, Room 7338 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. Bryant, Room 7110 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. D. Evans, Room 4230 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. Loturco, Room 4026 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. Esposito, Room 7116 (Enclosure) 1 - Mr. Divers, Room 4944 (Enclosure) 1 - Mrs. Tucker, Room 4944 (Enclosure) 1 - IRD Front Office, Room 5829 (Enclosure) 1 - Mrs. Keeley, Room 6362 (Enclosure) ¥ 1 - Ms. Siford/Mrs. Leeper, Room 7176 (Enclosure) cup iy (14) (CONTINUED - OVER) ES Roba Sy aN s,fh i af F DoclId: 32320601 Page 2? ae A popess PVE ;
©) @ Memorandum from John A. Hartingh to Mrs. Morris, dated 12/18/95 Re: JFK TASK FORCE the information he provided was very limited. The efforts to locate this individual were not successful. The Springfield, Massachusetts Resident Agency tried to find the PCI, but he seems to have left the area without a trace. The ARRB has opened this document in full. 11. DL 100-10461-1458, NAR 124-10001-10059, is information from DL 6-S about a lunch conversation between Joe Landin and Augustin Estrada. The postponed information was narrowed as much as possible with the redactions for that information which was singularly identifying. The informant was contacted by the Chief Deputy Counsel of the Dallas office. The informant requested that his identity be withheld because he still lives in the same area and associates with some of the same people. The ARRB decided to withhold the numeric portion of his symbol number and the sequential portion of his file number for 10 years and to release all singular information. 12-13. HQ 62-109060-4450, HQ 105-82555-1505, NAR 124- 10058-10056, NAR 124-10035-10155, both documents involve MM 639-S. The JFK Task Force had previously agreed with the ARRB to only postpone the numeric portion of the symbol number, unless the field office prefix of the symbol number could not be determined from the communication and the prefix in itself was singularly identifying. Previously the ARRB postponed the numeric portion of symbol numbers until the year 2017, but the ARRB voted to sustain the numeric portion of this symbol number for 10 years. 14-15. HQ 105-82555-1976, HQ 62-109060-2987, NAR 124- 10062-10385, NAR 124-10079-10230, is about two informants, MEX 18 & 19 -S, who were providing information on Americans visiting the Communist American community in Mexico during the time of the JFK assassination. These informants were very close to Elizabeth Catlett Mora. One document sets out the details of a dinner party attended by four people, while the second document concerns the travel of Joseph and Eva Frank Bernstein while they were in Mexico during 1964. Both of the informants are deceased, but their son was interviewed about the release of information which could tend to identify the relationship his parents had with the FBI. The family requested that the confidential relationship be maintained. They did not want that information to become public, because one daughter is living in Mexico and her reputation and [es Docld: 32320601 Page 3
© e Memorandum from John A. Hartingh to Mrs. Morris, dated 12/18/95 Re: JFK TASK FORCE work could be affected by the knowledge of her parents’ relationship with the FBI. The ARRB sustained the numeric portion of the symbol numbers for 10 years, but released the Singular information in both documents. 16. HO 62-109060-3447, NAR 124-10058-10033, 10023, 10024, identifies SA 673-S as providing information about Alfred Dwight Amos Featherston, who supposedly knew something about the JFK assassination. The JFK Task Force had narrowed the postponements to the most singularly identifying information and had reconciled the release to reflect all that was previously released. The informant is deceased. A surviving daughter was interviewed concerning harm should the confidential relationship of her father with the FBI be revealed and she did not have a problem with the information being made public, as long as his true identity being revealed. The ARRB sustained the numeric portion of the symbol number and the sequential portion of the file number for 10 years, but released the singular identifying information. 17. HQ 62-109060-2981, NAR 124-10058-10009, identifies LA 3436-S as “the daughter of Charlotte Randall McElfresh”. The ARRB had voted to open this document at their last meeting. When the FBI provided the results of her interview, the ARRB voted to reconsider the additional information at this meeting. The informant requested that her identity as an informant continue to be protected. At this meeting the ARRB sustained the postponement of the numeric portion of the symbol number and the phrase “is the daughter of” for a period of 5 years and to use substitute language of “identifies the relationship”. 18. HQ 62-109060-1042, NAR 124-10027-10024, identifies an informant, since his name is written to the side of his "134" file number. The informant is the same as MM 639-S addressed in items 12 & 13 above. The informant was contacted by the CDC of the Miami office and requested that his confidential relationship with the FBI continue to be protected, since he was aware of someone wanting to kill whoever reported on them to the FBI. The ARRB sustained the postponement of the sequential portion of the file number and the informant’s true name for 10 years, with the substitute language of file number and informant’s name. jun DoclId: 32320601 Page 4
Se O Memorandum from John A. Hartingh to Mrs. Morris, dated 12/18/95 Re: JFK TASK FORCE 19. HQ 62-109060-1NR2321, NAR 124-10030-10093, identifies Richard W. Hunter as a confidential source. The ARRB had voted to open this document in full at their meeting 10/23 - 24/95. The FBI provided the ARRB with additional information once the source was found and interviewed. The source stated that he is still in contact with the person he reported on and fears for his safety. The ARRB reconsidered this document at this meeting and voted to sustain the name of the source and singular identifying information until 2017. The substitute language would be "name" and "informant identifying information". 20. HO 62-109060-5NR1275, NAR 124-10027-10065, identifies John Wesley Hall as a potential informant. The individual is deceased. The Birmingham office interviewed his widow concerning the harm to the surviving family should his status as an FBI informant be made public. The widow requested that the confidential relationship be protected. The ARRB sustained the postponement of his name for a period of five years. 21 - 25. HQ 105-82555-8, 9, 10, 11, & 1NR16, NAR 124- 10023-10234, 10235, 10236, 10237, & 10238, are documents with information from the Swiss government. These documents were opened in full by the ARRB at a prior meeting and appealed by the FBI to the President. The FBI withdrew its appeal and the ARRB voted to reconsider their decision and wait to hear from the Swiss government. The Swiss government requested that only the names of their citizens be protected in these documents. The ARRB sustained the postponements until the year 2017 with the substitute language of "name of Swiss citizen". 7 The FBI provided written justifications arguing the need to protect the individuals and singular information listed above. However, the ARRB supports the position that the information ordered disclosed is relevant and significant to the assassination and that it outweighs any harm that would be caused to the individuals to be disclosed. As experienced in the prior appeal to the President, we have difficulty meeting the statutory burden of protecting FBI symbol number informants, PSI’s and PCI’s under the JFK statute. We would have to determine whether they are alive, locate them and/or their relatives, interview them for their position on DoclId: 32320601 Page 5