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. 104-10330-10044)

2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

SECRET

OCC-95-149

08 DEC 1995

MEMORANDUM FOR: JEK Assassination Records Review Board

VIA:

FROM:

SUBJECT:

Associate Deputy Director for Operations

Associate Deputy Director for Operations/Human

Resources

and Programs

‹Eric i. Qualkenbush,

Chief,

Office of Central Cover

Proposed CIA Name Release

1. The Agency strongly objects to the release of names of

individuals presently under cover, whether active employees or

separated employees.

As described below, this action would

breach Agency commitments to these individuals who agreed to work

under cover in addition to breaching our obligations to the cover

providers.

2. Employees sign a secrecy agreement (Attachment A) upon

entering on duty with the Agency. This agreement pledges the

employee's secrecy to information which is classified and has not

been publicly acknowledged by the Agency and requires the

employee to protect such information from unauthorized

disclosure.

This secrecy agreement, as long as it remains

in 4

force by mutual agreement, obliges CIA to protect the identities

of Agency employees, our cover providers and covert activities.

3. Because this secrecy agreement creates

a moral

as well

as legal bond between the Agency and the employee, it is Agency

policy to protect the names of former employees

separated under cover unless the Agency and the employe sa

agree to remove the cover. Identifying as CIA those

e employees

who are mandated by the Agency to use a cover story

Department of Statelor the "ABC" Corporation, for their entire

Agency career as well as into their years after separation from

the Agency, jeopardizes:-

• the personal safety of former employees;

WARNING NOTICE

INTELLIGENCE SOURCES

OR METHODS INVOLVED

CL (0489932-

CL REASON:

:1.5 (c)

DECL ON: X1

DRV FROM: COV 2-87

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SUBJECT: Memo to JEK Assassination Records Review Board

• the second careers of former employees;

the cover and identity of other employees who worked

with the covert employee whose name is released as

CIA; and,

the protection of sources and methods (what

individual would agree to a clandestine relationship

with American intelligence knowing the secret

association would become public knowledge?).

Examples of how identifying covert employees as CIA will

affect individuals follows:

• Mr. Walter McCabe' retired under, Department of State.

cover and is currently working in Russia and several

Eastern European countries for a private firm which

converts "wartime" factories into peacetime use.

Revealing his name would damage his relationship

with his current employer, his position with the

firm and would be awkward

at best regarding the host

countries. Attachment B is Mr. McCabe's

acknowledgement that he was aware he would be denied

as a CIA employee and Attachment C is his signed

secrecy agreement.

• Attachment D is a signed ackowledgement from Mr.

John Whitten who retired under cover in 1970 which

shows that he was aware that he would be denied as

an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency from

the date he entered on duty through the date of his

departure.

Attachment E is a personal letter

received from Mr. Whitten after he was notified that

his name might be released in connection with

declassification of CIA documents. Attachment F is

MI. Whitten's signed secrecy agreement. It should

be noted that Mr. Whitten resides; in Austria.

• Attachment G is a Summary of Agency Employment (SAE)

written by Mr. Morton M. Palmer; and approved by the

Agency. Attachment H is a certification by Mr.

Palmer that he will abide by what is contained in

. his SAE and understands disclosure of other

information would be in violation of his secrecy

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"SUBJECT: • Memo to JEK Assassination Records Review Board

in t

agreement. Attachment I is MI. Palmer's signed

secrecy agreement. It should be noted that Mr.

(Palmer) resides in Mexico.

5. Our relationship with cover providers would be

jeopardized if it became publicly known that they were providing

cover to CIA employees. The Department of State could very well

raise objections to our future use of State. cover. Of increasing

importance to the Agency at this time is the critical use of

private sector (nonofficial) cover providers.

would no doubt drop contact

and avoid future dealings with us if

we reveal a covert relationship. Identirying covert

relationships with cover providers would paralyze Agency

operations which in turn could severely damage national security.

In addition,

in the past it has exposed CIA to legal liabilities

and substantial monetary damages.

6.

Headquarters Regulation (HR) 240-1 is the Agency's

regulation on cover.

It states that "cover is required for all

Agency operations, activities and installations abroad, including

personnel in PCS or TDY status."

HR 240-2, the Agency's

regulation on cover after separation, states that "the

determination that an employee will retain all or a part of his

or her cover after separation from the Agency will be based upon

the judgment that separation in an overt status could result in

damage to the national security by compromising intelligence?"

sources, methods, activities, and/or information, or cause harm

to foreign relations.

This determination will be made on a case-

by-case basis." Please note that all Agency employees

who retire

abroad must retire under cover f

Agency cover program vulnerable and

detract from our continuing efforts to enhance cover and conduct

Agency's mission.

sometimes dangerous activities necessary to carry out they

Assass ion Records an eat to desse cente ros

public consumption; however, we

submit that the release of true.

names of former Agency employees adds no value to the documents

in addition to risking physical harm to these individuals!

"from

our public detractors.

We propose and emphatically encourage

that pseudonyms, aliases or generic job descriptions such as desk

officer be used in place of true names which would not diminish

the impact of the documents.

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•SUBJECT:. Memo to JFK Assassination Records Review Board

8. After your review and consideration of the

above

intormation, we would appreciate notification of your final

decision prior to taking any action.

Eutualkental

Eric L. Qualkenbush

Attachments:

As stated above

CONCUR:

8 Dec't5

Date

Associate

Deputy Director for

Operations/Human Resources

and Programs

Hamit Why

Associate Deputy Director for

Operations

8 X95

Date

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.. SUBJECT:

Memo to JFK Assassination Records Review Board

DC/OCC/OSG/EMathias: 1ae/37076 (6 Dec 95)

Distribution:

Orig & 1 - JFK Assassination Records Review Board

1 - IMS/HRS

1 - ADDO

1

- ADDO/ HRP

2

- DDO Secretariat

- DO/ IRO

- OGC/LD - Linda Cipriani

1

1

1

- OCC Chron

- OCC/OSG Chron

- OCC/OSG File 785-120-034

5

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