FOIA APPEAL--ROBERT SIBLEY (F 76-455).
Originator: CIA
From: DDO APPEALS OFFICER
To: DDA APPEALS COORDINATOR
Document date: 03/01/1977
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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

CONFIDENTIAL-

i March 1977

MEMORANDUM FOR: Appeals Coordinator,

Processing Staff DDA

THROUGH

SUBJECT

REFERENCES

Information

:DDO/Information Review Officer

: FOIA Appeal--Robert Sibley (F 76-455)

:A. Initial Request Letter, 19 July 1976.

B.

Initial Response, 17 September 1976.

C. Appeal Letter, 21 September 1976.

Summary: The DDo concurs in the position of the

DDA/Office of Finance/FOIO that Subject's FOIA appeal be

denied in toto (Tab C) •

In view of the fact that the

Office of Finance is the office of record and repository

for the documents concerned, we recommend that the

response action for this appeal be transferred from the

DDO to the DDA.

2. Background:

a. On 19 July 1976 Robert Sibley, a Washington,

DC journalist, requested "the complete travel

records of the Chief of the covert activities section

in the Domestic Operations Division of the CIA

from January. 1, 1963 - December 31, 1963." He

stated that according to his records E. Howard Hunt

occupied that position during the requested period.

If, however, his information was incorrect, he

requested the 1963 travel records of both the chief

of the section and E. Howard Hunt (Reference A).

b.

IPS referred the request to the DDO for

action.

•It was determined during the initial review that

E. Howard Hunt was indeed an employee of the DDO/

Domestic Operations Division in 1963. It was further

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determined that the only "travel records"

maintained by the Agency on E. Howard Hunt

were those on file in the DDA/Office of Finance:

The Office of Finance at that time prepared--

subject to DDO concurrence--suggested saniti-

zations of eleven (11) travel vouchers for

possible release to requester. (The vouchers

represent 1l trips made by E. Howard Hunt in

1903, all from Washington, De, to New York

and return.

The ll vouchers concerned are

158-63 553646307154, 121-79-636 156-63. 119-63,

Tab D for full text copies.)

The DDO, however,

considered these records nonreleasable and

recommended denial in toto under exemptions

also noted that

our principal reasons for a

•We

for denial

were, first,

that release of the records would

violate Hunt's privacy and, second, that once

all the operational and organizational data had

been removed from the records, the remainder

would be useless

to the requester.

Subject

was so advised by IPS letter of 17 September, 1976

(Reference B).

c.

Subject appealed our response on 21

September 1976,

countering our two principal

reasons

for denial with the arguments that since

Hunt was travelling on official Government

business

using public monies, release of this

information could hardly be considered an invasion

of Hunt's personal privacy.

Concerning the second

point, Subject maintained that he is the only

judge of what would be useful to him (Reference C).

During the appeals review, the DDO rechecked

with DDA/Office of Finance/FOIO (Mr. Hubert N. Lacey)

concerning the Office of Finance's current position

on the releasability of Hunt's travel records.

Upon reconsideration, the Office of Finance with-

drew its previous recommendation for release of

sanitized versions and suggested that the

documents

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be denied inasmuch as they represent an

accounting for expenditures on the certificate

of the Director under Section 8b of the CIA

Act of 1949, as amended, and therefore are

specifically exempt from disclosure by statute--

exemption

(b) (3) of FOIA.

(See Tab C).

The Office of Finance conducted

a classification

review of the documents in February 1977 and

downgraded them from Secret to Confidential.

3. Recommendations:

a. Since the DDA/Office of Finance is the

office of

record. for the documents concerned, we

recommend that responsibility for the appeal

response be transferred to the DDA.

b.

We concur with the Office of Finance's

classification review and with its citation of

requested documents.

however,

that exemptions (b) (1),

be claimed.

Justification for

these exemptions

is still valid notwithstanding Subject's

arguments. to the contrary.

Subject's point

concerning Hunt's privacy is well-taken and

should not have been cited as a principal reason

for denial in our initial response letter of

17. September 1976.

Exemption (b)(6), however,

was claimed at that time to also protect the

privacy of Hunt's operational contacts who were

listed on the vouchers.

Both exemptions (b) (3)

and (b)(6) apply then and now to these individuals.

By noting in our initial response that

sanitized versions of the documents would be use-

less to the requester (our second principal reason

for denial), the implication was made that segregable

versions could be released,

however meaningless.

This position was not upheld in our appeal review.

We concur with the Office of Finance's stand that

the requested records are in the class of documents

which are specifically exempt from disclosure by

statute and therefore should be denied in toto.

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For tha rocord bur

50P {OF

requester:

In

Sibley requested the 1963 travel

his intel toquest ron

TOCOrdS..IOT. DOC

E. Howard Hunt

and "the Chief of the covert activitlos.rn

section" of DO Division if Hunt was not himself the chief

of that section.

We neither confirmed nor denied

Hunt's position in our initial response nor did

we

comment

on the position of "the Chief of the covert

activities section in the Domestic Operations

Division,"

since Agency functions and official'

titles

are exempt under (b) (3).

(By the

phrasing of his

request, subject could, of course,.

assumed

that our.

response of 17 September 1976 was tacit

acknowledgement that Hunt was "the Chief of the

covert activities section."). During the appeal

review it was determined from a 1963 Domestic Operations

Division organization chart that DO Division had at

that time a position entitled "Assistant for CA

Activities"

(DO/OPCA) which was vacant.

Under the

responsibility of DO/OPCA was the Research and

Publications Branch of which E. Howard Hunt was the

Chief.

The foregoing is for record purposes only.

No reference to this aspect of Sibley's initial

request should be made in the Agency's appeal response.

to Sibley.

Dorts T. Lebaron.

DDO Appeals Officer

Attachments:

Tab A = References

•Tab B = DDA/OF/FOIO Memo to DDA/IPS, 5 Aug 76

Tab C = DDA/OF/FOIO Memo to DDA/IPS, 16 Feb 77

Full Text Copies of l1 Documents Involved

(Hunt's 1963 travel records)

COORDINATION:

C/ FR/Plans

DC/CCS/PRG

Patent Baker

DATE

2 March 1977

nds: 18177

CONFIMENTIAL

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