[Editor’s Note: The next time a talking head assures you that there is nothing in the JFK records of any significance, you might want to ask what they can tell you about exactly what’s not in the JFK records. Courtesy of Bill Simpich, Bill Kelly, and AARC Board member Malcolm Blunt. This new feature is a work in progress.]
1. Despite the specific requests of the Assassination Records Review Board, very few assassination-related documents have been provided by NSA. The bulk of them were from their counsel’s office. While the CIA and FBI turned over hundreds of thousands of documents, only a few hundred were provided by NSA. NSA flatly asserted that none of their intelligence documents contained anything of investigatory significance to the JFK assassination. This statement is nonsensical, and should be given no weight.
2. In the same vein, all of the military intelligence agencies provided very few documents in comparison to the CIA and the FBI. One minor but illustrative example is the failure to find any records for the Director of ONI from 1959-1964. There are very few records of their handling of anti-Castro assets, agents, and informants. Their collective response is equally nonsensical to that of the NSA, and should be construed as a non-response.
3. LIFEAT records (listening posts not the embassies/consulates – generally on the homes and offices of targets) from December 1962-December 3, 1963 are missing. Note from 1977 to “Chris”, presumably Latin American Division chief Chris Hopkins, asks: “What is going on?” 104-10307-10055: FORM: PPD PHOTOGRAPHIC REQUISITION/HANDWRITTEN NOTES RE LIMITED, LIONION, LIFEAT, LIOMEN, LITAINT
4. At least 18 Staff D dispatches to NSA during autumn 1963 are missing from the files. On a couple of occasions, including 8/31/78, these specific Staff D documents were requested. The HSCA was told that the eighteen documents directed to Staff D remained unretrievable, because no “file number” was assigned to them. The logical conclusion is that these dispatches received no “file number” precisely because they involve Staff D.
5. The daily “resumen” (wiretap summary) provided by the LIENVOY base-house monitors for the period from 9/15/63 to 10/15/63 has not been provided despite a specific HSCA request – a full response as required by the JFK Act would have demanded all relevant resumen for a much longer period of time.
Bill Simpich