LETTER: THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY'S COMPLIANCE WITH JFK ASSASSINATION RECORDS COLLECTION ACT, 44 U.S.C. 2107
Originator: ARRB
From: DAVID G. MARWELL. EXEC. DIR. ARRB
To: JOHN M. DEUTCH. DCI
Document date: 11/27/1996
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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1104-10330-10067

2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACTO 098J/8

Assassination Records Review Board

600 E Street NW • 2nd Floor • Washington, DC 20530

(202) 724-0088 • Fax: (202) 724-0457

BOA

November 27, 1996

VIA FACSIMILE

The Honorable John M. Deutch

Director of Central Intelligence

The Central Intelligence Agency

Washington, D.C. 20505

Re: The Central Intelligence Agency's Compliance with the JFK Assassination

Records Collection Act. 44 U.S.C. § 2107

Dear Mr. Deutch:

Since 1994, the Assassination Records Review Board ("Review Board") has been

working with a number of Federal agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency,

to locate and publicly release records related to the assassination of President Kennedy.

These actions have been taken pursuant to The President John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, 44 U.S.C. § 2107 (Supp. V 1994) ("JFK

Act"). We have been working with Mr. John Pereira, Chief, Historical Review Group

and Mr. Barry Harrelson, Senior Review Officer, Historical Review Group of CIA and

have appreciated the cooperation we have received.

The purpose of this letter is to request your agency's cooperation in assisting the

Review Board in discharging its responsibility of assuring Congress and the American

people that the goals of the JFK Act have been accomplished to the greatest reasonable

extent. We want to assure the American people that the United States Government has

identified, located, and released all records relating to the assassination of President

Kennedy. Indeed, one of the paramount purposes of the JFK Act is to certify to the

public that the United States Government is not withholding relevant materials related

to the assassination. See, e.g., Assassination Materials Disclosure Act, H. R. Rep. No. 102-

625, Part 1, 102d Cong. 2d Sess. (1992) ("The Federal Government's failure to release

official materials has contributed to numerous conspiracy theories and fueled charges of

government complicity in the assassination... a salutary purpose is served in opening

these files [relating to the JFK assassination] to allay the suspicion of government

cover-up.").

BOARD MEMBERS: John R. Tunheim, Chair : Henry F. Graff • Kermit L. Hall • William L. Joyce • Anna K. Nelson

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: David G. Marwell

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The Honorable John M. Deutch

November 27, 1996

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The Review Board has recently considered how it, along with the relevant federal

agencies, can best demonstrate to the American public that a thorough, good faith, and

diligent effort has been made to locate and release all remaining assassination-related

records within the control of the United States Government (and that the Government is

not hiding any such materials from public disclosure). Pursuant to the Congressional

mandate under the JFK Act to "create an enforceable, independent, and accountable

process for the public disclosure of such records," 44 U.S.C. § 2107(2)(a)(3), the Review

Board seeks to have the relevant federal agencies provide a complete and specific

accounting of their efforts to locate and release assassination-related records, including

a full explanation for any destruction of such records.

Accordingly, the Review Board requests that each relevant agency adhere to the formal

compliance program (hereinafter "JFK Act Compliance Program") outlined below and

devised by the Review Board pursuant to its powers under Section 7(j)(1)(A), (B), (C),

(D), and (F) of the JFK Act. We hereby request that you undertake the following

measures by the dates provided (these dates were set in view of the fact that the

Review Board's operations currently are scheduled to expire on September 30, 1997):

1.

Designation of Agency Compliance Official (or officials) and statement of

intent to comply with the IFK Act. We request that by December 9, 1996,

your agency designate an Agency Compliance Official who ultimately will

be responsible for ensuring that the agency has complied with its

obligations under the JFK Act, including the identification, location, and

organization of assassination records and the transmission of those

records to the National Archives and Records Administration ("National

Archives"). Although the Review Board assumes that Mr. John Pereira or

Mr. Barry Harrelson will serve in this position, we nevertheless await

your formal confirmation. If necessary, your agency may designate

additional persons with knowledge of the measures that have been

undertaken to locate assassination records.

We also request that by December 9, 1996, the agency convey its

agreement to adhere to the compliance procedures outlined in this letter.

To the extent that any compliance procedure described below appears to

be unreasonable or to present difficulties that we may not have

anticipated, please explain why and make alternate suggestions to us.

Initial Statement of Compliance. We request that the Agency Compliance

Official prepare, by January 6, 1997, an initial written statement of the

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•The Honorable John M. Deutch

November 27, 1996

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agency's compliance with the JFK Act ("'Statement of Compliance"),

setting forth the steps that the agency has taken to locate and process

assassination records. The Review Board recognizes that many of the

relevant federal agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, have

previously written letters to the Review Board apprising it of their

progress at various stages of identifying and processing assassination

records under the JFK Act. The Statement of Compliance, while it may

include information previously reported to the Board, is to be the agency's

comprehensive and final report to the American public of what it has

done to locate records relating to the assassination. This Statement of

Compliance shall include, to the fullest reasonable extent, the following

information:

A complete description of all steps that your agency took to

identify and locate assassination records including, but not limited

to, an identification of the major record collections and files that

were consulted in the agency's search, any departmental file

indices consulted, the names and titles of the persons who were

responsible for conducting the searches, the physical locations of

the records that were searched, the off-site storage facilities (e.g.,

Federal Records Centers) searched, the specific steps that were

taken to locate and retrieve materials in archives, and any other

criteria used by the agency to locate assassination records.

b.

A description of the steps that the agency took in direct response to

specific requests of the Review Board to locate certain additional

records or information relating to the assassination. In particular,

we ask that the CIA describe what specific steps it has taken to

address the following requests: CIA-9, Publications and Analytical

Materials (See David G. Marwell letter dated March 6, 1996 to Mr.

John Pereira); CIA-11, Silvia Duran's Original Statement (See David

G. Marwell letter dated May 3, 1996 to Mr. John Pereira); CIA-12,

IMWAVE Materials (See David G. Marwell letter dated May 22,

1996 to Mr. John Pereira); for HTLINGUAL records (See T. Jeremy

Gunn Memorandum dated October 1, 1996 to Mi. Barry Harrelson);

and for Monthly Operational Reports on Cuban Exile Groups (See

Manuel E. Legaspi Memorandum dated October 17, 1996 to Mr.

Barry Harrelson).

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The Honorable John M. Deutch

November 27, 1996

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3.

4.

c.

To the extent that any assassination-related records have been

destroyed by the agency or any agency official, a full and specific

explanation of the circumstances surrounding the destruction of

such records.

d.

The status of remaining work that you can now identify that needs

to be completed by your agency in order to comply fully with the

JFK Act, including an identification of the categories of records

that must be processed and transmitted to the National Archives, a

description of any additional searches for files that must be done,

and the projected date(s) for completion of these tasks.

Review Board Interview With Agency Compliance Official (er Officials).

Shortly after the submission of the agency's written Statement of

Compliance, we ask that the Agency Compliance Official (as well as any

persons who helped prepare the agency's initial Statement of

Compliance) be made available to the Review Board for an interview

regarding the location of agency assassination records. The interview will

be used as an opportunity to resolve any outstanding questions regarding

the agency's search, including any follow-up tasks to be completed by the

agency. The Review Board anticipates that these interviews will be

conducted in January 1997.

Submission of Final Agency Declaration of Compliance. By July 1, 1997,

Federal agencies are expected to complete the process of identification,

location, and declassification of its assassination records at which time

they should submit to the Review Board a final declaration certifying,

under oath, their compliance with the provisions of the JFK Act (the "Final

Declaration of Compliance"). Because of the volume of CIA records, such

a "final" statement may not be practicable at that time. However, we do

expect that CIA will provide a complete status appraisal by July 1, 1997.

This final declaration shall set forth all of the information initially set forth

in the initial Statement of Compliance and shall also supplement the initial

Statement of Compliance by detailing any further steps-that were

conducted by the agency in identifying and locating assassination records.

The agencies' Final Declarations of Compliance will be included in our

final report to Congress.

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The Honörable John M. Deutch

November 27, 1996

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Compliance Depositions. Starting on or about August 1, 1997, the Review

Board, pursuant to its statutory authority, may conduct depositions,

under oath, of the Agency Compliance Official along with any other

agency officials with responsibility for complying with the JFK Act. The

decision to take a compliance deposition of an agency will be made on a

case by case basis, taking into account the importance of the agency to the

work of the JFK Act and the sufficiency of the agency's efforts to account

fully for its compliance with the JFK Act. In the event that the Review

Board decides to commence a compliance deposition of an agency, the

responsible agency designees) will be expected to testify under oath with

respect to any and all issues relating to the agency's record search,

including the scope of the search, the identity of files searched, the

destruction of any relevant records, and any other matters set forth in the

Final Declaration of Compliance. Any person obligated to appear for a

deposition under oath shall be fully entitled to obtain legal representation.

We look forward to receiving your initial response, by December 9, that designates your

Agency Compliance Official and includes your statement regarding your position with

respect to the provisions outlined in this letter. To the extent that you have any

questions or suggestions regarding the Compliance Program, please do not hesitate to

contact our General Counsel, T. Jéremy Gunn, at (202) 724-0088.

Thank you for your cooperation with our work.

Sincerely,

David G. Marwell

Executive Director

CC:

The Honorable Nora Slatkin, Executive Director, Central Intelligence Agency

Michael O'Neil, General Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency

John Pereira, Chief, Historical Review Group, Central Intelligence Agency

Barry Harrelson, Senior Review Officer, Historical Review Group, Central

Intelligence Agency

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• DEC 89

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83:17PM

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505

General Counsel

9 December 1996

David G. Marwell

Executive Director

Assassination Records Review Board

600 E Street N.W..

2nd Floor

Washington D.C. 20530

Dear Mr. Marwell:

The Director of Central Intelligence has forwarded to

me your 27 November 1996 letter for response. . I commena the

efforts of the Review Board and its staff in reviewing and

releasing hundreds of thousands of United States Government

documents for greater public understanding about the

assassination of President Kennedy. I also confirm the

Central Intelligence Agency's commitment to continue working

closely with the review Board in carrying out its statutory

authorities.

With regard to the requests made in your letter, I

understand the Review Board's desire to demonstrate to the

diligently. You have requested that CIA appoint an Agency

compliance with its obligations under the JFK Act.

The DCI

has full confidence in MI. John Pereira as Chief of the

Historical Review Group (HRG) and has determined that Mr.

Pereira will continue to act as the CIA official responsible

for ensuring full

compliance with the JFK Act and will

remain the Agency's focal point with the Review Board.

You have also requested that CIA provide an Initial

Statement of Compliance.

Mr. Pereira and Mr. Barry

Harrelson, the senior review officer for HRG, as well'as the

rest of the HRG staff, have always been available to you

The Review Board and your staff have

been provided access to any relevant documents or

information you have requested. As you know, the Review

Board was fully informed as to the steps CIA took to

designate Agency records as part of the President Kennedy

HRG has also arranged for multiple briefings by

res also a

senior CIA officials from a wide variety of CIA components

can better understand the

information it is reviewing. Given the current effective

relationship between HRG and your staff, should you require

additional assurances of this Agency's compliance with the

JER ACt, I suggest that you contact Megsrs. Pereira and

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DEC 09 '96 03:17PM

David G. Marwell

P. 3/4

Harrelson directly. As usual, they will provide you with

the specific information you need as quickly as possible to

continue to record CIA's compliance with the JFK Act.

As to your request for a complete description of the

steps CIA has taken to respond to specific requests. I

understand that there are several outstanding requests. HRG

has assured me that these reguests have been discussed

your staff and responses will be provided to you as quickly

as possible. Given the number and breadth of the requests

that are being made by the Review Board and the limited

staff resources available to CIA to process such requests, I

ask that the Review Board continue to prioritize all its

requests for information or documents. With the Review

Board's priorities established in this way, the Agency can

immediately work on those requests that are most important

to the Review Board. Of course, as CIA responds to these

requests, HRG will provide any information the Review Board

needs as to how the searches were conducted. I believe that

this method

will best meet the needs of the Review Board and

will allocate CIA's limited resources in the most efficient

manner possible.

Finally, as to your requests to interview CIA officials

responsible for this Agency's compliance with the JFK Act,

MI. Pereira has always been available to the Review Board

for informal discussions as well as for giving sworn

testimony including depositions. CIA has never objected to

the Review Board deposing or interviewing informally any of

its current or former employees and has, in fact,

facilitated such interviews.

You will also recall that, on

6 August 1996, Mesars. Pereira and Harrelson gave sworn

testimony at an open hearing of the Review Board.

I trust that this responds to the concerns raised in

your letter. Of course.

menarding this matter, Please do not a have a to lontans

Ciprianian attorney in the Office of General

Counsel, at

(703) 874-3124.

With every good wish, I am

Sincerely yours,

2

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