NSA TELEPHONE REQUEST CIRCA 28 SEPTEMBER 1960 TO OFFICE OF SECURITY.
Originator: CIA
From: ANITA POTOCKI
To: MR. WILLIAM K. HARVEY
Document date: 1960-10-26 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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104-10176-10016

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection act of

1992 (44 USC 2107 Note). Case#:NW

65997 Date: 10-28-2021

26 October 1966p

MERORANIUL

TO:

MI. I. Ulliam K. Harvey

Chiel, Fl/LIVIaJOR D.

¡rOLa: Anita POrOCkI

Background Use Only

De Not Reproduce

Subject: NSA Telephone Request circa 28 Septarber 1960 lo Office of Security,

reiajed do El/Livision I, regardlag Loasible Access to the Recordinga

Allejed to Have Been Liado al the Speech al the Latis ADATICan Youth

CEDIESA Da A JUguEt 1960 la llavaRa by BerROR E eIgUEOn tilICHELL.

Reference: 65-3/450,465, dissemiented an 21 September 1960.

lo Feferenced report, based on HZP-3852 dared 29 jugust i960. was

deseminatad on 21 September 1960 as Ci-3/450,465 to varioas U.S. Agencias.

Including NS^. sepsrately illen tri. Hanna ol the Panama Station prepared

& disparch forwarded as HLPA-10437 under date of l4 Septeraber 1560, referencing

above report and calling atrention to the fact thas MITÜHili bad been reported

PIEBENI at the LAYG dicCing according lo diaseminated raport. HZP 4-1C437

was routed to various i H Livision LeAks, none al which braught tha contante

to the asentian d appropriate V.H Livialos aflicials who might hare been expected

8o have had sunte kronledje af or responsibility lor follow-up ai suca laformation.

ad latter disprich, therelore did not resch this alfice unil 7 Uctober 1960

hrough the good affices of hiT. Robe! DтOwnC1/UpS/WH. MiT. Browni)tas thr

individual no nored on the corer sacer that "# Livisios, ubes checied by phone,

had advised that no attomp had beea liado lo follow-up this lead or to determino

#ho in the Agency might bare responsibility los reporting suca informarios directy

tO NSÁ Of Orber U.S. GaverAMent agencies.

2a 'C1 05 about 28 Septeraber 1960, MI. J. D. Noell o O/S!SRS received

a telephone call from NSA dílicials, calling his atteadon to the existance os a

report CS- 3/450,465 0f 21 septernber 1960, siblch ladicated that ClA bud eitber

lad an obserrer of had costaci with someose who had attendd le LAYG, ubica

Individual had reported por referance that ¿ernon t MilICHill had sado a

speech in llarans on & August 1960 wilca speoch "had bees recordad"'. Esgo,.

NSA DAS maEs AndORE lO DOtaiI eliDer the OrigLaRle os a COpy of the "cape s"

or "recoré" mentiasad la le report, la order las persons famillar wita Mitchest

and lla manner al apeaking mizh! listen lo same to check the ideatlication

made la referescad reporta diT. Noell relayed this roqueas to le uriter lua mediaso-

ly upon receija, mhereupon withis the space of ino dayo or no, the toritor la fura

checked wich the Cilice of Chiel, HHI Uperalons, dI. Jo ¿storliae, uho la tura

refersed lha MIller to the PaDamaNlas Lesk.!IleI a succession al referIalo.

the walter ended up lalkleg willi a youay laar lu tasams Reports sectos, whose serse

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unfortunately escape me at this time. Notes made at the dime of this

conversation jave either been mislaid or temporarily lost, and therefore

are not available for referial at this writing. hiter several minutes of discussion

back and forth with reference lo the report itself, attempts to licate exaci passage,

etc. the writer finally arrived at a point vnere the request for acceas to the

"recording" mentioned by NSA officials could be relayed to lbe Fanama Dese

officer. Reaction received amounted to a re-interpolation of uhat Para 3,1, ol

Referenced Report actually said, was intended to say, etc., how the informa don

was probably obtained, and finally a virtual refutztion of lhe statement inat the

"speech was recorded" as reported in disseminadion. I was taereupon advised

gratuitously that "1f & recording actually was made, undoubtedly this was under -

taken by the Cuban authorities thenselves as the hosts for the meeting..... and

therefore would be in Havana in the hands of the Cairo authorities, and not in

the possession of CLA either in the field or at Headquarters." A few more ravads

= -====

that above statement was mere assumption on her part, obviously was not ossed

on any factual information she had first-hand or had developed through research

into other pape=s available on this conierence, whereiore CLA could not relay

such a reply to NSA.

Additional argument ensued, and the Panama Desk officer

recollected that "someone eise recently mentioned tapes brought up either from

Cuba or Panama which someone had been looking for, out in a different consection..."

She was thereupon requested by the writer to check into such separate inguiry,

alid adrise the writer of the results: Another telepaone call within about 24 hours

resuited in agreemeni by Fanama repurix Section either to initiate necessary seid

pouch themselves, or else to take up with the appropriare Operations Lest Officer

the initiation of a formal inquiry to Panama Station, by pouch, the entire vatter

oí existence of a tape or record-platter of the speech reported in reference.

availability of such "secording" al'or to the Station or the Agent who had arougat

in the original report, and request that if available, such

recording be forwarded

to Headquarter s soonest.

I was under the impression a the time that the party

with whom I had talked had accepted this request as official, and that I had received

& firm commitment that appropriate correspondence wouid be initiated to cover

this point, allowing for "crasa priorities"' which might develop unexpecgedly, so

that. a reply could ba expected by late October of ea-ly November. I reiterated

insistance by this office that without regard to any knowledge possessed by lige.

Dosk Officers al the circurstances of the reported LAYÜ meeting, at least a

pro-forma written query to the field was required on basis of the MA requeri

that they be allowed lo listed to the reported "recording", in order that a factual

answer could be given their inquiry ana the disseminated report be claritied la

event the wording used the rein had led to erraneous conclusions on part of tire

rocipient.

3. Al the timo of the se discuasiona the writer gained the impression thes

a relatively lage amount of confusiun reigued in the Cubas and Paramanian Deske

of Will Division, based upon crash-priorides resuldng from the U.N. meeting.

1a Now York, Mr. Caatro'o antice in New York, absence al various sesponsible

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desis dificers on othes business, wherefore there might be some delay la getting

the actaal pouch written and out to the leid, Mention also vias made of a lzige

amoans of material recentiy sent back to Headquarters from the field la connection

with the LAYE and from the Panama Station, which would also have to be checiced

prior to preparation di the outgoing dispatca, etc. lionever, the uriter vas assured

that we would be kept advised ai the progress made and specifically would be

imesediately alerted, uben field reply on this point was received.

4. Above iniormation was relayed to sir. Noell upon completion l tere

arrangements, and he in tarn advised NSA that we were checking with our field

representatives in an effort to locate the actual recordings, rape or platter as the

case might be, to which they desired access.

5. As of this morting uriter was advised by MI. Noell that ISA bad

again inquired of him last weex, and again this weex the siatus of our efforto lo

locate the requested recording of the NIICHELL speech on i jugust 1960, as they

still' jesired to linten to the voice to verify the identification of the spcaier as

actuzlly the former NSA employee, jeInOD F. MiTCHiLL, as Ieportad in relerance.

The writer thoreapon retraced the ertire perlormance, as related in paras 2 and 3.

Only to discover anew that so-one had the faintest inkling.of what I sas talking abour.

not could anyone recollect that any request bad been made by this afice on the

writer with refeTence to CS-3/450, 465, paIR. 3,k. After initially calling MI.

ESTERLINE'S seCretZIy on this problera, the writer was relerIed by beI

to bit. Phillips, aão apparently is head of the Farama Desk. After a "jolly"

chat well into the subject, hit. Phillips, uno hai listened politely for a brief time,

asked whether the writer realized tani he know noidiay about the vauie atladi, and

that he was primarily responsible for PP activities. He suggested I call a dI.

[pallip Toomeyjon cixt. 2031, who suggested that I might have been tallong at sime

or original quesy with Mire Barbara idmund a, Reggrts Ufficer, os "he ocher girl

Who worka in thes name ofice". However, Mr. (loomey got down to specilica right

away. Alter obtaining the secessary coples of both the disseminated report dnd the

HSPA-10437 dispatch referencing same,

he agreed that there was some urzency in

getting & dellaitire report from the field as to whether or not a "recordiag" bad

been made of the speech itsell, uho made it, who held it, and bether or not the

origioal or a copy thereal could be obtained on a priority basis by Havana Station

and forwarded to tiesdquasters for the purposes requested by liSA. He thereupos

Buggeried that he could send out a routine cable to the field, test al saica be

pistually read to me over the phone, and asted unother in the interest of expediting

• Rame I could coordinare 18 los FI/D by phose in drait-forma, ubich I did,

He was advlind that the indcater "ZAGRACE" sbould be included in the beading.

aná me aball therefore receive a copy ai the cable uben 18 la linally nons our te

mill aldo, omicunly be iscluded on the reply os reulles iron both Hagare and

Panama City, nben aralladie. I galnad the impression that MI. Toomoy was

roRsonably impressed by the urgency al getting a atraigar-for ward answer sires

much annecessary delay, and the apor we were now la via-d-via NSA's artical

requedi di over a cola ago. I am certain that we aball not get day rua-arodad froca

3900

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Mr. Toomey.]

6. 141. Neoll was advised by phose lala morning of the isiest developorents.

HT. Noell adrised tase since the most recent query on this ma lte came irom

JeITy Brastor, Leputy lo i Grooms, he was of the bpi-son that this was merely

a lobbu-up al some loose-eads concerning ubich sor. cone on General Carroll's

staft may have made loquiry to brastow, in conneriion wich the Carroll Investiga-

don of this case. Genaral Carroll's stail, apparently, keep digging up such little

unfloished pleces ol business, and reminding va:ious people at liSA, probably

On s "tickles aystem baris" that such and such a lead has nor been checked out la

its entirety, sad that status a such requests should be checked. sir, Nooll advised

tsar is light of his original report to lisA that ClA was norking on atterafta to iccaro

the "recordings" elther in the field or at headquarters, he moulá make no further

• frora the field.

7. So far the situation seems to be under control once again. It is most

miottusale that such unnecessary delay in complying with tie original request

sas caused by a rariety of lactors wich in distilled fashion can be terme d

"'lack of cooperation" by #HiParama Leak officers vila whom the original

request was discuased. I is also unlortunate that from the ourses, namely

receipt of HZX-3652, this estire matter has been given obviousiy soutine

treatment by people uno eiser inci ine initiaiive iu chech un vas wight have

responsibility withlo CLi for follom-up ol this type aí case, os tho were not

sufficiently "do courari" with the overt sems to recognize the darne bernon

F. alichell. I am not certain leas you wish to take this matter any furtber.

miese there are reasons al unica I an unaware. Duy ona lapression is that

pertaps the best thing would be to let the whole matter drop for the moment.

at least until such lime as me can agala raise lt, say by sext tuesday or so.

in event we do not have a reply to dir. Joomey'& cable by that date.

03

Original & CC: MI. HATVeY fOr IRGRACE File

CC: 261-282337 (Mitchell 268)

2 cc: C/S, SRS, MP. J D. Noell

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