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178-10004-10148

2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

JFK Assassination System

8/27/207

Identification Form

Agency Information

AGENCY: DAVIS

RECORD NUMBER :

178-10004-10148

RECORD SERIES: GENERAL SUBJECT FILE

AGENCY FILE NUMBER: INTEL. INVESTIGATIONS--MISC. B, OCT. 1975 (3)

Document Information

ORIGINATOR: WH

FROM: RATLIFF, ROB ROY

TO: SCOWCROFT, BRENT

TITLE:

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR MAIL INFORMATION

DATE:

PAGES:

SUBJECTS :

10/14/1975

3

OPERATION MONGOOSE

DOCUMENT TYPE: MEMORANDUM

CLASSIFICATION:

Secret

RESTRICTIONS: 1C

CURRENT STATUS:

Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW :

08/09/1993

OPENING CRITERIA :

COMMENTS:

No attachments.

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MEMORANDUM

EYES OLE:

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

TOP SECRET/SENSITIVE Attachments

14 October 1975

OUTSIDE SYSTEM

INFORMATION

178-10004-10148

MEMORANDUM FOR: GENERAL SCOWCROFT

FROM:

SUBJECT:

ROB ROY RATIFE

Justice Department Request for Mail Information

Jeanne Davis transmitted to me a request from the Department of Justice to

survey 40 Committee and predecessor group files to determine any information

of a list of subjects focused on operations involving mail. She asked that I

transmit my findings directly to you.

I assume that Justice is interested in illegal use of the mails. As I understand

CIA's admitted activity in this field, it was an intelligence collection operation

and therefore would not be subject to review by the 40 Committee or its

predecessors.

We find no record that mail intercept operations were discussed

by the 40. Committee or predecessors; however, there are references to mail

operations in Committee records.

Jeanne Davis said Justice wanted material on "any use of mail techniques. "

These are representative items:

TAB A--Reports which indicate general mailings of propaganda and

related material. There is nothing sinister in this--you put a book

or pamphlet in an envelope, address it, put on postage and drop it in

the mail.

TAB B--Letters were test mailed inside a denied area to see if they

come out, or individuals mailed spontaneous letters to CIA-supported

enterprises. Again,

there is nothing unusual about this--regular use

of the mail

system.

IAB C-- Special covert operations which make use of the mails, including:

C-1-- A forged letter mailed in Prague to a Czech leader.

C-2--Mailing of black letters, primarily from third countries.

However (see page 5 of 9 May 1972 item), some of these letters

may have been inserted into the mail system ostensibly as having

originated in the denied

area.

CLASSIFIED EY

EYENIT

F00K

Signer

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C-3--Some covert operations using the mail may have been designed

to represent that the item was originally mailed in a denied area.

' In other words, you want the recipient to believe that his letter came

from the Chinese Communists so you make it appear as if it had

been mailed from China. Note that the last item in this group (17 and

10 January 1972) refers to "'letter-insert mechanisms."

I can find

no elaboration of what this means, but it might represent intercept

of the mail, surreptitious opening of a letter and the insert of some

additional material.

C-4--National Intelligence Estimates and other reports of intelligence

may refer to information, some part of which was gleaned from mail

intercepts. On the basis of protecting sources and methods these

would not normally be identified in a document.

However

if the

question were asked at a meeting, the source might be orally identified

as a mail intercept (or SIGINT or whatever).

C-5--This category represents probable entry into the international

mail system to support a covert operation. The first item shows DOD

sending. letters ostensibly from groups in North Vietnam to other

countries.

The second shows CIA fabricating and mailing 700 letters

"ostensibly from Peking." The third shows CIA fabricating Demo-

cratic Republic of Vietnam greeting cards and mailing them.

In each of the C-5 cases, operational information was probably gleaned

from a mail intercept operation which would enable one to fabricate

the paper, envelopes; writing and addressing styles, even counterfeit

postage stamps and cachets, all with the aim of giving the appearance

that the letter originated from a denied area. The material might then

be inserted into the international mail system (e.g.. you know that

mail from Communist China transits Panama for onward distribution

to Latin America; through liaison or independent contacts you insert

your bundles in the sack from Peking and then it is given routine onward

distribution through the regular mail system).

C-6--Here are two cases where the Committee was informed that mail

intercepts were the source of information used in support of covert

operations.

With regard to MONGOOSE files--which Mrs. Davis said Justice also wanted us

to check--I find only the references at TAB D which suggest the possibility that

mail intercept operations were a part of the response to intense pressures for

more "hard" information on what was going on in Cuba.

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Mrs. Davis also said that Justice made reference to Walt Rostow's recollection

of a general survey of all "intelligence programs country by country" made by

the 303 Committee. I assume he means the general beginning-of-a-new-

President's-term roundup (similar to the ones given Mr. Nixon and Mr. Ford).

We find references to covert action reviews, but these appear to have been oral

and we find nothing in writing, and no references to mail operations.

In summary, we have made a review of our files, with special reference to the

general index of minutes and the country files deemed most likely to include

references to "any use of mail techniques." Representative findings are cited

above.

We find no record of "illegal"' mail operations being a subject of dis-

cussion or consideration within the 40 Committee and predecessor organizations

(December 1958 to the present). However, there is evidence that the Committee

was informed that mail intercept operations were conducted (TAB C-6).

Please

advise if any additional material or presentation is desired.

Attachments

TABs A -D

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