MEMO: REVIEW OF JFK ASSASSINATION DOCUMENTS
Agency: CIA
Originator: CIA
From: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
To: JOHN F. PEREIRA
Document date: 2/1/93
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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JEK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD

NUMBER

: 104-10331-10028

RECORD

SERIES

JFK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER

: PROJFILES-CORRESPONDENCE

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Released under the John

' kennedy

Assassination Records

Collection Act of 1992

(44 USC 2107 Notel.

Case#:NW 53217 Date:

06-22-2017

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : CIA

FROM : JOHN E. PEREIRA

TO : EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

TITLE : MEMO: REVIEW OF. JEK ASSASSINATION DOCUMENTS

DATE

:

02/01/1993

PAGES :

5

SUBJECTS : PROBLEMS

RESOURCES

JFK ASSASSINATION

DOCUMENT TYPE

PAPER

CLASSIFICATION

: UNCLASSIFIED

RESTRICTIONS : 1A

CURRENT STATUS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

04/23/03

COMMENTS

JFK-M-16 : F2: 2000.02.08.08:27:57:950054: 2 PG MEMO

W/2 PG DRAFT ATT

[R] - ITEM IS

RESTRICTED

104-10331-10028

HH 53217

DooId: 32404158

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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

CIA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

RELEASE IN FULL

2000

CSI 0018/93

1

February 1993

MEMORANDUM FOR:

VIA:

FROM:

SUBJECT:

Executive Director

Director, Center for the Study of Intelligence D.

John F. Pereira

Chief, Historical Review Group

Review of JFK Assassination Documents

1. This memorandum is to advise you of a potential problem

regarding our capability for reviewing the Agency's JFK

Assassination records.

2.

All government agencies are required by law to complete

the review of documents related to the JfK Assassination by

22 August 1993.

The Agency has identified an estimated 250,000

pages of such documents. As of 1 February, we have processed

some 100,000 pages, which has taken about eight months to

accomplish.

3. At present we are processing the documents at the rate

of some 10,000 pages per month, with 14 HRG employees dedicated

to this task.

Half of these are part-time annuitants.

In

addition to the above 14 people, other HRG employees are

declassifying Soviet NIEs or documents requested by state for

s of doc

inclusion in the Foreign Relations of the United States series.

(The latter is also a legal obligation.)

We are faced with the

need to double the rate of review to 20,000 pages per month.

4. In addition to reviewing the remaining 150,000 pages, we

are required to fill out a form, called an identification aid,

for each document, which adds considerable time to the process.

We must also prepare such forms for most of the documents that

were reviewed earlier before the aids were available.

Until the review of the assassination records is

completed, we will be unable to devote resources to declassifying

other records, such as those on the Bay of Pigs and the

Guatemalan Coup of 1954. As you recall, former DCI Gates

committed the Agency to releasing records on those subjects and

others.

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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=..

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

:

SUBJECT:

Review of JFK Assassination Documents

6. We expect to speed up the processing of the JFK

documents. However,

we may need assistance to ensure that CIA

meets its

obligation

to complete the review by the 22 August

deadline.

John F. Pereira

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

SUBJECT: Review of JFK Assassination Documents

DCI/CSI/HRG/JFPereira:hs/31759

(1 Feb 93)

DISTRIBUTION:

original

- Addressee

- Executive Registry

1 - Comptroller

1 - D/CSI

1 - C/ HRG

1 - HRG/File

53217

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ADHINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONEY

file. JFK

DRAFT

MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Operations

FROM:

R. M. Huffstutler

Executive Director

SUBJECT:

Declassification of JFK Assassination

Documents

1.

The purpose of this memorandum is to ask that the

Directorate of Operations take steps to speed up the process

of reviewing the JFK assassination records.

2.

As you know, all agencies are required by law to

review for declassification, and transfer to the National

Archives by 22 August 1993, all records relevant to the

assassination of President

Kennedy.

As of 1 April, the DO

faced

a backlog of some 57,000 pages just to catch

up with

what has been reviewed initially by the Historical Review

Group.

There will be an additional 135,000 pages to process

by 22 August.

Although I realize that resources are scarce,

I believe that there is no option but to increase the level

of effort on this task if we are to meet the deadline.

3. The declassification of the documents will be

speeded up if the pace of the coordination process is

In addition to the resource aspects, I am

concerned that coordination is being prolonged unnecessarily

because of what may be at times an overly rigid approach to

protecting sources and methods.

The JFK legislation permits

withholding of information on sources and methods only when

there is "clear and convincing evidence" that release would

that release

"demonstrably impair" national security.

4.

OGC advises that the JFK legislation supercedes all

other statutory authority for withholding information

(except portions of the Internal Revenue Code). At the same

time,

the information released under the Act does not

establish a precedent for purposes of FOIA and other

matters.

The assassination records constitute an exception.

The Act allows us to protect genuinely sensitive information

such as names of agents, sources or methods currently in use

or expected to be used, and current foreign liaison

relationships.

DRAFT

ADMINISTRATIVE

TERNAL USE ONLY

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ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY

DRAFT

SUBJECT:

Declassification of JFK Assassination Documents

5. Please remind the Do coordination officers of the

importance of being responsive to the provisions of the JFK

legislation that govern declassification of those particular

records.

R. M. Huffstutler

DRAFT

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ADMINIGPRAPIVE INFERNAL USE ONEX

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