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JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : NSA

RECORD NUMBER

144-10001-10288

RECORDS SERIES :

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

DATE: 10/08/98

PAGE: 1

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : NSA

TO : PRINCIPAL DEUTY ASST SECDEF (INTEL>

TITLE

SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE QUIERIES TO NSA CONCERNING THE WARREN COMMISSI

DATE : 01/26/76

AGE • 10

SUBJECTS

SSCSGO, WC INVESTIGATIONS

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION

RESTRICTIONS : 1A, 1B

CURRENT STATUS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW : 07/24/98

OPENING CRITERIA

ORIGINATING AGENCY'S DETERMINATION REQUIRED

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

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*Doc ID: 6878938

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

CENTRAL SECURITY SERVICE

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND 20755

Serial: N0078

26 January 1976

TOP SECRET

MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY

OF DEFENSE (INTELLIGENCE)

SUBJECT:

Senate Select Committee Queries to NSA Concerning

the Warren Commission

Reference your letter dated 14 January 1976 transmitting

a request from Mr. Alton Quanbeck of the Senate Select

Committee Staff.

The following information is provided in

response to Mr. Quanbeck's letter, keyed by paragraph to

his letter (inclosed - see underlined portions) •

Most of

the information was made available to the SSC Staff, Mr.

Jim Johnson, during

an interview with Dr. Louis Tordella

on 20 January 1976.

Para. 1. - NSA requested permission to retain

photocopies of those reports on which we had worked merely

as record copies of our efforts on behalf of the Commission.

It was felt that if a question should arise at that time

concerning what analytic efforts had been involved and the

number of manhours expended, a record copy would prove useful.

No operational use was made of these documents except to

hold them on file for a period of time which cannot now be

determined. To the best of our present knowledge, the photo-

copies have now been destroyed.

Absolutely no results

relevant to the assassination were obtained through NSA's

analytic look at the exhibits.

The Commission, in the person

Of Mr. Allan Dulles, had asked Di. Tordella, informally, to

review the exhibits for any secret writing or codes which

might have been contaned in the documents.

Dr. Tordella,

after causing a careful review of the documents by NSA crypt-

analysts, reported verbally to Mr. Dulles and other Commission

members that nothing whatsoever had been achieved by the

analytic effort. No written reply was submitted.

Classifed by DiENEA/C70GS (N66/6S0M 3232)

Exempt from 623, EX 21022, 017--

Stal mi.

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

8097843.

Olms

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Para. 2. - NSA is uncertain as to what is precisely

meant by these comments, but we assume that the comments on

names refer to our biographic files which are maintained on

foreign personalities. of potential intelligence significance.

As the Committee knows, these biographic files are maintained

(now at CIA incidentally) as analytic support.

It is also

possible that the Commission was referring to

the fact that

names are frequently seen in traffic collected for foreign

intelligence purposes and therefore NSA might have access

to foreign names not otherwise available to the Intelligence

Community.

Para. 3. - It may well be that CIA did obtain such

transmissions

and pass them to NSA for analysis, but no one

presently working that analytic area recalls such a request.

Discussions with Dr. Tordella also failed to shed any light

on this subject.

There are no files or records which we have

been able to locate from that time frame which would sub-

stantiate such a claim. In fact, the only file the responsible

analytic group has been able to locate concerning a request

from the Warren Commission deals with a file compiled from

open sources citing major dates in the last months of Oswald's

Presumably the date file was to be compared with NSA

product on/about the key dates in the hope that something

could be deduced. The file does not contain any "hits."

The analysts who performed this effort have since retired.

Para. 4. - The informal request from Mr. Dulles is

investigation. The file discussed in Paragraph 3 is the only

file thus far recovered. There is no information which can

now be identified which was developed from Cuban or Soviet

transmissions relating to the assassination.

Para. 5. - We have no information on this subject

at all. However, pursuant to the subject raised during the

Tordella interview, we have searched our files manually,

and as Mr. Lowman agreed during the Tordella interview, we

have recovered three product reports (Inclosures 2 through

4) which show that Cuban military forces did go on alert

immediately after the assassination.

There is no SIGINT

evidence, however, that the Cuban forces were alerted prior

to the assassination, thereby suggesting that they had prior

knowledge of the event.

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

2

40 6 22244

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Ted Ane:

Serial: N0078

Para. 6. - No hard copy material of any kind was

provided to the Commission (see Para.

DAVID D. LOWMAI

Special Assistant

to the Director

for Congressional Reviews

4 Incls:

a/s

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

3

MANOES SEA DOM

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Serial:

N0078

CC :

DIR

(Less Incls)

D/DIR

ESS

ESS/R

ESS, Mr. Lowman

G, Mr.

Peksa

NCRDEF

A, Miss Caracristi (Less Incls)

L221

M/R:

Inclosures 2 through 4 are product reports numbered

2/0/CURUJ/R66-63, 2/0/CUN/R196-63

and 2/0/CUJ/R58-63.

Dorsten

for.

Frank Foster/0/ESS/3161s/26 Jan 76/kjb

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

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-TOP SECRET

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20301

1 0288

14 January 1976

MEMORANDUM FOR The Director, National Security Agency

The attached letter from Alton Quanbeck, Senate Select

Committee staff, dated 13 January 1976, is forwarded for your

action.

Please provide this office with a response to Mr. Quan-

beck's questions as soon as possible, but not later than

22 January 1976. Your response should include a proposed date

the Committee staff may have access to files mentioned in

paragraph 4.

Cornsel. Lateran

Latimer

Attachment

600484

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

TOP SECRET

UPON REMOVAL OF ATTACHWENTS THIS

DOCUMENT BECOMES UNCLASSIFIED

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REFERRED TO

OFFICE

11

SIGNATURE

TOP SECRET

CONTROL NO. -

208

R2132

RECEIVED

RELEASED

SEEN BY

DATE TIME

DATE TIME

NAME & OFFICE SYMBOL

DATE

Handle Via Indicated Controls

COMINT

Access to this document will be restricted to those persons

cleared for the specific projects;

WARNING

This document contoins information affecting the nationol security of the United Slates within the meaning of

the espionage lows U.S. Code Title 18, Sections 793, 794 and 798.

The low prohibits its transmission or the

revelation of its contents in any monner to an unouthorized person, os well as its use in ony manner prejudicial

lo the safely or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government lo the detriment of.

the United Stares. It is to be seen only by personnel especially indoctrinated and outlorized to receive in-

formation in the designated control chonnels. Iis securily must be mointained in accordance with regulations

pertaining to the BYEMAN ond Communications Inelligence Controls. No oction is lo be token on any com-

munications intelligence which moy be contoined herein, regordless of the advantoge to be gained, if such

action mighe hove the ellect of revcoling the existence and nolure of the source, unless such action is first

approved by the appropriate authority.

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES.

JFK,

SEN. REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

-SECRET

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WALTER:, MONDALE. MINN.

WILTER D. HUDDLESTON, KY.

новені минали, пи.

*FART HARD COLD.

JOHN G. TOWER, TEXAS, VICE CHAIRMAN

HOWAND H. HAKER. JR.. TENN.

BARRY GOLOWATER, ARIZ.

CHANLES MC C. MATHIAS, JR., MD.

МІСЛАНО ЗА БЕНТЕНКИ РАА

WILLIAM C. MILLER, STAFF DIRECTOR

FREDENICK A. O. SCHWARZ, JR., CHIEF COUNSEL

CURTIS H. SMOTHERS, MINORITY COUNSEL

10288

United States Senate

SELECT COMMITTEE TO

STUDY GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS WITH

RESPECT TO INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES

(PURSUANT TO S. AES. 21, P4TH CONGRESS)

WASHINGTON, D.C.

20510

January 13, 1976

Mr. Thomas K. Latimer

Special Assistant to the Secretary

U. S. Department of Defense

Washington, D. C. 20301

Dear Tom:

In connection with the Select Committee's investigation of

the assassination of President Kennedy, we earler received

answers to certain questions put to NSA.

Since then we have

examined other material pertaining to NSA's contribution to

the Warren Commission's investigation and we desire further in-

formation from NSA.

By way of background for this request, we note the Warren

Commission provided NSA various documents and asked NSA to re-

view them for any cryptological significance.

NSA found no

cryptological significance and its report of this fact was pub-

1.

By letter of July 10, 1964, (a copy of which is attached)

Mr. Rankin provided General Blake a copy of certain documents

requested by Dr. Tordella for NSA's files. Since NSA's analysis

of the documents was apparently completed at the time of Rankin's

letter, we wish to know why NSA wanted to keep these documents

for its file.

Further, we wish to know what use, if any, was

made of these documents

and what results relevant to the assassina-

tion were obtained from such use.

In a Commission staff internal memorandum, discussing

documents provided NSA, it is reported that NSA is "primarily

interested in names," and NSA claims it has "information on names

which the CIA does not have." Assuming these statements are ac-

curate, we wish to know what significance such names would have

HEAD TEAM GONERAL DECLASSIRCATION

§ Saili:

AOTOMATIGALY DECLASSIRNRO ON

impissile to betessene

raniano reprisorale, vaself date or event)

HANDLE VIÀ 6A4

NELS

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

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he Late an

Mr. Thomas K. Latimer

January 13, 1976

Page Two

HE MA COMINI

to NSA and what information on names NSA had that CIA did not.

If names had significance, what names did NSA use in its analysis?

3.

We are informed that CIA obtained transmissions from the

Soviet Embassy in Mexico City for November or December 1963 and

that it may have passed these to NSA for analysis.

Did NSA re-

ceive these transmissions or any transmissions relevant to the

assassination inquiry?

Did it analyze them?

What were the re-

sults of its analysis?

4.

We are interested in learning the extent of NSA's role in

assisting in the investigation of the assassination.

In that

connection, please inform the Committee the extent of NSA files

relating to the assassination. Please provide the staff of the

Committee access to those files.

Please provide the staff with

a summary of all information NSA developed from Cuban or Soviet

We have been informed that after the assassination the

Cuban government instructed its embassies and consulates to re-

turn all files on Oswald to Cuba.

What information does NSA

have on whether such instructions were issued?

6.

In connection with the answers to questions 4 and 5, please

indicate whether such material was provided the Warren Commission

and provide copies of all documents evidencing that fact.

We would appreciate receiving a response to these questions

as soon as possible and to expedite this inquiry we are sending

a copy of this letter to Mr. Foster of NSA.

Sincerely,

al

Alton H. Quanbeck

CC: Frank Foster

• to roostle one or more)

Impossette to Exter mure...

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS

REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

ALK, JXo Oxer 14276, DECLASS, OF RECOROS CONC. FAR ASSASIMATIONS OF PRES, JER, SEN

LANDIE MA COURT QUANNES

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fir.

NSA

7/7/64

fir

JUL 1 0 1954

Ileutenant,

ble on conal sourse one see t

Furt George T. leade, Maryland

Deas General Blake:

In regard to Dr. Tordello's request, the lational

S curity Agency 13 authorized to keep for 1ls

file the following

photographic copies of Itons which have been used by the

Comicsion 1n 1ts Investigation:

(1)

Commission Exhiolt 31

(2) Conmiesion Exhlbit 15

(3) Commission Exhlbit 104

(4) Commission Exhibit i8

(5)

Typewritten versicn of Conmission Whibit 24

(6) F. B. I. Items A-2, A-6

(7) P. B. I. Items 137, 152

Thank you for the cooperation and assistance sou

have rendered the Commission.

Sincerels,

SIGHED

J. Lee Rankin

General Counsel

RECT

cc: Mr. Rankin

Mr. Willens

Mr. Hosk

Released

pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK,

SEN.

RFK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

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TO

1

N52

4

1103

APPROV

CONCURPICE

REMARKS:

ROUTING

NAME AND ADDRESS

Doc Ref ID: A4268794

DATE

INITIALS

10288

ad door dad and deed

TOP SECRET

SERIE

CONDIDEOTAL

DIRECT REPTY

PHICH

iNFORMATION

PREPEDE REPLI

ET

SIGNATURE

FROM: NAME. ADDRESS. AND PHONE NO

DATE

DIA SSO

CONTROL. NO.

$00484

DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENOV

APPENDED DOCUMENT CONTAINS

SPECIAL INTELLIGENCE MATERIAL

Access to this document sill be restricted to

those individuals approved for Special Intelligence.

Warning Notice

Sensitive Intelligence Sources and Methods Involved

NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

Unauthorized Disclosure Subject to Criminal Sanctions

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE

ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN. REK, AND THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

DIA FORM 567 (10-74) S1 COVER SHEET

Previous editions of this fom are obsolete:

TOr sPener

SICKEY

DENTIAL

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