MEMO: RELEASE OF OSWALD SECURITY FILE PURSUANT TO REQUEST OF ARRB
Originator: CIA
From: STRICKLAND. C/IRG, OIM/DA
To: DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Document date: 04/03/1998
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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1104-10331-1014:

2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

Administrative - Internal Use Only

OIM 98-0036

3 April 1998

MEMORANDUM FOR:

Deputy Executive Director

VIA:

FROM :

SUBJECT:

Director of Information Management/DA

Lee S. Strickland

Chief, Information Review Group, OIM/DA

Release of Oswald Security File Pursuant To

Request of Assassination Records Review Board

1.. Action Required: None; this brief is for information

only regarding a required release pursuant to the request of the

Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB or JEK Board). This

release has been coordinated with the DO JEK Focal Point Officer,

the DA Information Review Officer, the Office of General Counsel,

and required external bodies; it is scheduled for transfer to the

ARRB for release to the National Archives on or about 17 April.

Background: The Oswald Security File, maintained by the

then-Office of Security, surfaced in February 1997 as our JEK

records review personnel were responding to the ARRB's "Request

for Additional Information and Records No. CIA-16 (Oswald Pre-

Assassination Files)", dated 28 January 1997. Before this, the

file had been reviewed in 1978 by the House Special Committee on

Assassination (HSCA). Unfortunately, and probably by oversight,

the file was not included in the so-called JEK sequestered

collection

and thus had not been included to date in our

releases to the ARRB.

In any event, however, approximately 92%

of the documents therein are duplicative of documents previously

released elsewhere in the JEK collection by CIA.

1 At the conclusion of its investigation, the House Select Committee on

Assassination (HSCA) sequestered all of the files that the HSCA staff had

requested or been granted access.

9) need acces to the else so

This "sequestered collection" includes 63

boxes of hardcopy records and notes

and'72 reels of microfilm.

Administrative - Internal Use Only

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Administrative - Internal Use Only

SUBJECT: Release of Oswald Security File Pursuant To

Request of Assassination Records Review Board

3. The Office of Security subject file on Lee Harvey Oswald

was established circa 1960.

It appears this file was created as

a separate repository for the numerous press clippings and

reports from other government agencies on

Oswald's defection to

the. USSR and his activities following his return to the United

States.

Initially, references to Oswald had been placed in a so-

called "Defectors'

File"

Both the Oswald security file and the

Defectors File were maintained by the Security Research Staff --

the CI arm of the Office of Security at that time.?

4. Information to be Released: The Office of Personnel

Security in its response to the ARRB request of 28 January 1997

advised it had located six volumes of the Oswald Security file,

numbered 1-4

and 6-7; a search failed to locate a volume 5.

The

six volumes include over 400 documents and about 2,000 pages of

which 1,000 pages are newspaper clippings. All of these

documents are to be released in full or with minor redactions;

more specifically, the fully coordinated documents ready for

release include:

• Volume 1: Pre-assassination documents relative to Oswald's

defection

• Volume 2: Miscellaneous memoranda on Oswald and copies of

cables between Mexico City and

Headquarters

• Volume 3: Partial Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)

file on Marina Oswald

• Volume 4: Newspaper clippings

• Volume 6: Newspaper clippings and memoranda (many related to

the Garrison Investigation)

2 This may explain why this Oswald file was not included in the sequestered

collection with

several other security files which had been maintained

normally (i.e., with most other security records) by the Security Records

Division.

" Representative samples of the documents to be released are attached for your

information; please note that the "blackened" areas are not deletions but

are the

result of red highlighting used in the original review by the then-Office of

Security.

•- 2 -

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Administrative - Internal Use Only

SUBJECT:

Release of Oswald Security File Pursuant To

Request of Assassination Records Review Board

Volume 7: A third agency (EBI) report and some HSCA related

documents:

5.

Potential Media Reaction: There is potential for media

criticism on two counts:

the unexplained missing volume 5 and the

delay in releasing the security file.

• . The Office Of Security has been unable to locate a Volume 5.

It is possible that volumes were combined without changing numbers

(note the predominance of newspaper clippings in Volumes i and 6),

or that the filer simply skipped a number.

The file was primarily

a repository for externally generated documents, and there do not

appear to be significant time gaps.

The delay in releasing the file is somewhat alleviated by the fact

that about 92% of the documents have been previously released in

the sequestered JFK Collection.

Of the remaining 8% (35 documents)

all but six (6) documents will be released

in full. The file

contains nothing of a controversial or politically sensitive nature.

As indicated by the signatures below, the. Directorate of

Administration, the Directorate of Operations, and the Office of

General Counsel concur in this release.

In addition, all

necessary external coordinations (i.e., FBI, INS, and the House

of Representatives) have been effected.

Lee S.

strickland

3-

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SUBJECT:

Administrative - Internal Use Only

Release of Oswald Security File Pursuant To

Request of Assassination Records Review

Board

CONCUR:

leiten

Point Officer

becky SPout

DA Information Review Officer

2 Ape 1998

2 apul 1998

Date

Cinda Ciprimit (telecon+ fax)

Office of General Counsel

2A- 98

Date

Administrative - Internal Use Onty

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SUBJECT:

Release of Oswald Security File Pursuant To

Request of Assassination Records Review Board

OIM/IRG/LSS: blo/31287 (2 April 1998)

Distribution:

1

- EXDIR/CIA w/atts

1-7

- D/EXDIR w/atts 1-7

1

- DDA W/O atts

1

- D/OIM w/o atts

- DD/OIM w/o atts

- OIM (Oliver) w/o atts

- OIM (Harrelson) w/atts

- C/IRG

- C/L&SSD

- Subject

- DO/IRO

- DO/JFK Focal Point w/atts

1

- DA/IRO w/atts

- D/OPS (info only)

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