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@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ born: 1895-01-29
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died: 1971-02-17
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location: New York, NY / Washington, DC / Rio de Janeiro
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created: 2026-06-05
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updated: 2026-06-05
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updated: 2026-10-15
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---
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Adolf Augustus Berle Jr. (January 29, 1895 - February 17, 1971) was one of the most consequential and least-publicized architects of US Cold War Latin American policy. A Harvard Law-trained academic and corporate lawyer, Berle served as assistant secretary of state for Latin American affairs under President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] from 1938 to 1944, built the State Department's wartime intelligence coordination apparatus, served as US ambassador to [[Brazil]] from 1945 to 1946, and in retirement remained active in the [[Rockefeller]] network as a lawyer, political operator, and coup coordinator until his death in 1971. His Manhattan townhouse was the site from which he monitored the 1964 Brazilian coup by shortwave radio as it unfolded alongside coup conspirator [[Alberto Byington]].[^1]
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@ -23,75 +23,76 @@ Berle was a founder of the New Deal brain trust and co-author (with [[Gardiner M
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### Early Career and the Brain Trust
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Berle entered Harvard College at age 14, earning his bachelor's degree in 1913 and master's degree in 1914, then graduated from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1916 at age 21, reportedly the second youngest graduate in the school's history after [[Louis Brandeis]]. He served as an intelligence officer in [[World War I]] and attended the [[Paris Peace Conference]] in 1919 as a junior delegate, resigning over the treaty's terms. He subsequently joined the law firm Berle, Berle and Brunner in [[New York City]] and was appointed professor of corporate law at [[Columbia University]] in 1927, a position he held until 1964.
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Berle entered Harvard College at age 14, earning his bachelor's degree in 1913 and master's degree in 1914, then graduated from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1916 at age 21, reportedly the second youngest graduate in the school's history after [[Louis Brandeis]]. He served as an intelligence officer in [[World War I]] and attended the [[Paris Peace Conference]] in 1919 as a junior delegate, resigning over the treaty's terms. He subsequently joined the law firm Berle, Berle and Brunner in [[New York City]] and was appointed professor of corporate law at [[Columbia University]] in 1927, a position he held until 1963, when he became professor emeritus.[^3] After the war he assisted such foundations as the Fund for the Republic, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Committee on Human Ecology during the 1950s and 1960s, and from 1948 to 1963 he was a trustee of the [[Free Europe Committee]].[^3]
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From 1934 to 1938 he served as Chamberlain of New York City under Mayor [[Fiorello LaGuardia]], while simultaneously advising Roosevelt's presidential campaign in 1932 and helping draft New Deal legislation as a member of the original "Brains Trust."[^3]
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From 1934 to 1938 he served as Chamberlain of New York City under Mayor [[Fiorello LaGuardia]], while simultaneously advising Roosevelt's presidential campaign in 1932 and helping draft New Deal legislation as a member of the original "Brains Trust."[^4]
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### The State Department and Intelligence Architecture
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Berle joined the Roosevelt administration's State Department on March 7, 1938, appointed Assistant Secretary of State on March 5, and quickly established himself as the dominant figure on Latin American policy. By 1941 he had charge of intelligence coordination for the State Department, working with the FBI in Latin America and with the [[OSS]] in Europe.
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He was the principal State Department advocate for the [[FBI Special Intelligence Service]] (SIS), which Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized on June 24, 1940 by presidential directive. The SIS extended FBI counterintelligence operations throughout Latin America as a counter to the German [[Abwehr]] and, by design, a counterweight to any future [[CIA]] encroachment on the Western Hemisphere. Under Berle's authority, SIS personnel were designated as "legal attaches" in nearly every US embassy in Latin America by the end of 1942, creating a network that placed over 340 undercover agents across the region.[^4]
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He was the principal State Department advocate for the [[FBI Special Intelligence Service]] (SIS), which Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized on June 24, 1940 by presidential directive. The SIS extended FBI counterintelligence operations throughout Latin America as a counter to the German [[Abwehr]] and, by design, a counterweight to any future [[CIA]] encroachment on the Western Hemisphere. Under Berle's authority, SIS personnel were designated as "legal attaches" in nearly every US embassy in Latin America by the end of 1942, creating a network that placed over 340 undercover agents across the region.[^5]
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Berle and [[J. Edgar Hoover]] jointly backed [[Nelson Rockefeller]]'s [[CIAA]] in its 1941 turf war with [[William J. Donovan]]'s Coordinator of Information, ensuring that Donovan's future OSS was restricted to Europe and Asia.[^5] Berle's appointment as assistant secretary terminated December 19, 1944 when Rockefeller took the position, but Berle's institutional creations remained.
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Berle and [[J. Edgar Hoover]] jointly backed [[Nelson Rockefeller]]'s [[CIAA]] in its 1941 turf war with [[William J. Donovan]]'s Coordinator of Information, ensuring that Donovan's future OSS was restricted to Europe and Asia.[^6] Berle's appointment as assistant secretary terminated December 19, 1944 when Rockefeller took the position, but Berle's institutional creations remained.
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The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), the State Department's permanent intelligence analysis organization, formally emerged in September 1945 when [[Harry S. Truman]]'s Executive Order 9621 dissolved the OSS and transferred its Research and Analysis Branch to State. Berle's wartime coordination role was the institutional predecessor to this structure.[^6]
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The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), the State Department's permanent intelligence analysis organization, formally emerged in September 1945 when [[Harry S. Truman]]'s Executive Order 9621 dissolved the OSS and transferred its Research and Analysis Branch to State. Berle's wartime coordination role was the institutional predecessor to this structure.[^7]
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### Brazil Appointment and the 1945 Coup
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When Rockefeller became assistant secretary of state in December 1944, he arranged for Berle to replace the existing US ambassador to Brazil, [[Jefferson Caffery]]. Berle was appointed January 18, 1945, presented his credentials to the Brazilian government on January 30, 1945, and took over the Rio de Janeiro embassy.
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On September 28, 1945, Berle sent a lengthy telegram to Washington reporting on the political situation under [[Getulio Vargas]] and characterizing Vargas as endeavoring to keep things "on track" toward democratic elections. The following day he delivered a speech to the Associacao Brasileira de Imprensa in which he praised Brazil's promise of free elections. The opposition press immediately read the speech as a US warning to Vargas's queremista supporters, and Vargas later blamed Berle for encouraging the forces that moved against him.[^7]
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On September 28, 1945, Berle sent a lengthy telegram to Washington reporting on the political situation under [[Getulio Vargas]] and characterizing Vargas as endeavoring to keep things "on track" toward democratic elections. The following day he delivered a speech to the Associacao Brasileira de Imprensa in which he praised Brazil's promise of free elections. The opposition press immediately read the speech as a US warning to Vargas's queremista supporters, and Vargas later blamed Berle for encouraging the forces that moved against him.[^8]
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On October 29, 1945, [[General Pedro Goes Monteiro]] and the military high command forced Vargas to resign, ending his Estado Novo dictatorship. Berle's mission ended February 27, 1946. The episode is characterized in Brazilian historical scholarship as Latin America's first Cold War coup: the first postwar case in which the United States worked through diplomatic manipulation and military channels to remove a government pursuing economic nationalism rather than explicitly communist policies.[^8]
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On October 29, 1945, [[General Pedro Goes Monteiro]] and the military high command forced Vargas to resign, ending his Estado Novo dictatorship. Berle's mission ended February 27, 1946. The episode is characterized in Brazilian historical scholarship as Latin America's first Cold War coup: the first postwar case in which the United States worked through diplomatic manipulation and military channels to remove a government pursuing economic nationalism rather than explicitly communist policies.[^9]
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### The Kennedy Years
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After his formal ambassadorship, Berle returned to Columbia and his law practice, but remained available for government service. In 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] named him Chairman of the Task Force on Latin America, an interdepartmental body that shaped US policy responses to [[Cuba]] and the broader hemispheric challenge. Berle attended the State Department planning meeting at which Kennedy asked [[William Fulbright]] to repeat his opposition to the [[Bay of Pigs]] invasion plan, with Berle and [[Thomas C. Mann]] in attendance and neither opposing the operation. He served as a consultant to the Secretary of State from 1961 to 1962.[^9]
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After his formal ambassadorship, Berle returned to Columbia and his law practice, but remained available for government service. In 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] named him Chairman of the Task Force on Latin America, an interdepartmental body that shaped US policy responses to [[Cuba]] and the broader hemispheric challenge. Berle attended the State Department planning meeting at which Kennedy asked [[William Fulbright]] to repeat his opposition to the [[Bay of Pigs]] invasion plan, with Berle and [[Thomas C. Mann]] in attendance and neither opposing the operation. He served as a consultant to the Secretary of State from 1961 to 1962.[^10]
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His oral history interview, conducted July 6, 1967 as part of the [[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library]]'s oral history program, covers his views on Latin American relations, the Bay of Pigs, and the [[Alliance for Progress]] during the Kennedy administration.[^10]
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His oral history interview, conducted July 6, 1967 as part of the [[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library]]'s oral history program, covers his views on Latin American relations, the Bay of Pigs, and the [[Alliance for Progress]] during the Kennedy administration.[^11]
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### Advisory Role and the 1964 Coup
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After his formal government service, Berle continued to operate as an adviser to Rockefeller and as a private intermediary with Brazilian political and military figures. He was a founding trustee of the [[Institute for International Labor Research]], a Cold War anti-communist labor institution funded through [[AIFLD]] and other Rockefeller-network channels.[^11]
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After his formal government service, Berle continued to operate as an adviser to Rockefeller and as a private intermediary with Brazilian political and military figures. He was a founding trustee of the [[Institute for International Labor Research]], a Cold War anti-communist labor institution funded through [[AIFLD]] and other Rockefeller-network channels.[^12]
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On the night of March 30-31, 1964, as the Brazilian military began its coup against President [[Joao Goulart]], Berle was in his Manhattan townhouse monitoring the coup's progress by shortwave radio alongside Alberto Jackson Byington Jr. (1902-1964), a Sao Paulo businessman and Harvard graduate (class of 1924) who had been working to forestall a "Goulart dictatorship" and had, according to Berle's diary, "bought on his own credit a shipload of oil to make sure the Brazilian Navy would be able to function."[^12]
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On the night of March 30-31, 1964, as the Brazilian military began its coup against President [[Joao Goulart]], Berle was in his Manhattan townhouse monitoring the coup's progress by shortwave radio alongside Alberto Jackson Byington Jr. (1902-1964), a Sao Paulo businessman and Harvard graduate (class of 1924) who had been working to forestall a "Goulart dictatorship" and had, according to Berle's diary, "bought on his own credit a shipload of oil to make sure the Brazilian Navy would be able to function."[^13]
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Berle's diary entry of April 2, 1964, published in *Navigating the Rapids, 1918-1971: From the Papers of Adolf A. Berle* (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, edited by Beatrice Bishop Berle and Travis Beal Jacobs), documents Byington's role in securing fuel for the navy and describes how Berle monitored the coup's unfolding. The published diary entry and its context appear on pages 788-789 of *Navigating the Rapids* and are cited in footnote 3 of FRUS 1964-68, Volume XXXI, Document 187, a March 28, 1964 telegram from Ambassador A. Lincoln Gordon to the Department of State and senior US officials.[^13]
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Berle's diary entry of April 2, 1964, published in *Navigating the Rapids, 1918-1971: From the Papers of Adolf A. Berle* (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, edited by Beatrice Bishop Berle and Travis Beal Jacobs), documents Byington's role in securing fuel for the navy and describes how Berle monitored the coup's unfolding. The published diary entry and its context appear on pages 788-789 of *Navigating the Rapids* and are cited in footnote 3 of FRUS 1964-68, Volume XXXI, Document 187, a March 28, 1964 telegram from Ambassador A. Lincoln Gordon to the Department of State and senior US officials.[^14]
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The FRUS Document 187 identifies Colonel [[J.C. King]] (Joseph Caldwell King, October 5, 1900 - January 27, 1977) as a recipient of Gordon's sensitive reporting. King was Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division of the CIA during the 1950s and 1960s. Before joining the CIA, King had served as vice-president at [[Johnson and Johnson]] in charge of Brazil and Argentina, and had then joined Nelson Rockefeller's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, establishing his Brazil connections in the same CIAA network where Berle had operated.[^14]
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The FRUS Document 187 identifies Colonel [[J.C. King]] (Joseph Caldwell King, October 5, 1900 - January 27, 1977) as a recipient of Gordon's sensitive reporting. King was Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division of the CIA during the 1950s and 1960s. Before joining the CIA, King had served as vice-president at [[Johnson and Johnson]] in charge of Brazil and Argentina, and had then joined Nelson Rockefeller's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, establishing his Brazil connections in the same CIAA network where Berle had operated.[^15]
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### The Berle-King-Rockefeller Triangle
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A persistent operational triangle linked Berle (the diplomatic and political coordinator), J.C. King (the CIA's Western Hemisphere clandestine operations chief), and Nelson Rockefeller (the political principal). All three had been active in Brazil since the CIAA years. Their combined assets, diplomatic relationships, intelligence infrastructure, corporate holdings, and personal military contacts built over two decades, made the 1964 coup possible without requiring direct US military intervention. Alongside the covert network, the Johnson administration's military contingency planning (Operation Brother Sam, authorized March 31, 1964, with a naval task force, aerial convoy, and tanker fleet positioned to support the new government) provided the material backstop.[^15]
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A persistent operational triangle linked Berle (the diplomatic and political coordinator), J.C. King (the CIA's Western Hemisphere clandestine operations chief), and Nelson Rockefeller (the political principal). All three had been active in Brazil since the CIAA years. Their combined assets, diplomatic relationships, intelligence infrastructure, corporate holdings, and personal military contacts built over two decades, made the 1964 coup possible without requiring direct US military intervention. Alongside the covert network, the Johnson administration's military contingency planning (Operation Brother Sam, authorized March 31, 1964, with a naval task force, aerial convoy, and tanker fleet positioned to support the new government) provided the material backstop.[^16]
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His career demonstrates how informal personal networks, rather than formal institutional hierarchies, drove US Latin American policy, and how a single well-connected individual could move between government and private roles while maintaining operational continuity across administrations and decades.
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### Primary Sources
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Berle kept detailed diaries throughout his career. The complete Adolf A. Berle Papers, 1912-1974, held at the [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library]] in Hyde Park, New York, comprise 247 boxes arranged in 29 series and were donated between 1972 and 1982 by Mrs. Beatrice Berle. The collection covers his early career files, general and personal correspondence, State Department work, Brazil embassy files, and later advisory roles. The diaries for 1937-1971 form the core of the published volume *Navigating the Rapids* (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973).[^16]
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Berle kept detailed diaries throughout his career. The complete Adolf A. Berle Papers, 1912-1974, held at the [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library]] in Hyde Park, New York, comprise 247 boxes arranged in 29 series and were donated between 1972 and 1982 by Mrs. Beatrice Berle. The collection covers his early career files, general and personal correspondence, State Department work, Brazil embassy files, and later advisory roles. The diaries for 1937-1971 form the core of the published volume *Navigating the Rapids* (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973).[^17]
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The State Department's biographical entry confirms his appointment and departure dates for both the assistant secretaryship and the Brazil ambassadorship.[^17]
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The State Department's biographical entry confirms his appointment and departure dates for both the assistant secretaryship and the Brazil ambassadorship.[^18]
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FRUS 1964-68, Volume XXXI (South and Central America; Mexico) contains the primary declassified diplomatic record of the period surrounding the 1964 coup, including Gordon's March 28, 1964 telegram (Document 187) with its footnote citation to Berle's diary; Dean Rusk's March 31, 1964 telegram authorizing contingency measures (Document 198); and related documents covering the period January through April 1964.[^18]
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FRUS 1964-68, Volume XXXI (South and Central America; Mexico) contains the primary declassified diplomatic record of the period surrounding the 1964 coup, including Gordon's March 28, 1964 telegram (Document 187) with its footnote citation to Berle's diary; Dean Rusk's March 31, 1964 telegram authorizing contingency measures (Document 198); and related documents covering the period January through April 1964.[^19]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Adolf A. Berle diary, April 2, 1964, published in *Navigating the Rapids, 1918-1971: From the Papers of Adolf A. Berle*, ed. Beatrice Bishop Berle and Travis Beal Jacobs (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973), pp. 788-789. Also cited in Gerard Colby and Charlotte Dennett, *Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon* (HarperCollins, 1995), Ch. 29 ("Operation Brother Sam").
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[^2]: Colby and Dennett, Introduction (2017); Ch. 8. Adolf A. Berle and Gardiner Means, *The Modern Corporation and Private Property* (New York: Macmillan, 1932).
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[^3]: History.state.gov, "Adolf Augustus Berle Jr.," Office of the Historian biographical entry, https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/berle-adolf-augustus; Spartacus Educational, "Adolf Berle," https://spartacus-educational.com/SPYberle.htm.
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[^4]: FBI Special Intelligence Service authorized June 24, 1940 by President Roosevelt; Berle's role as State Department overseer: FBI, "Special Intelligence Service," fbi.gov/history/brief-history/special-intelligence-service; "Special Intelligence Service of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," University of Florida Archives; Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8.
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[^5]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8 ("Nelson's Grand Alliance").
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[^6]: State Department, "Department of State Intelligence," https://1997-2001.state.gov/about_state/history/intel/intro2.html; introduction to FRUS 1945-50, Intelligence series.
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[^7]: Search result citing HAHR article: Stanley Hilton, "The Overthrow of Getulio Vargas in 1945: Diplomatic Intervention, Defense of Democracy, or Political Retribution?" *Hispanic American Historical Review* 67, no. 1 (1987): 1-37. Berle September 28, 1945 telegram to Washington cited therein.
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[^8]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 13 ("Latin America's First Cold War Coup"). Coup date: October 29, 1945.
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[^9]: JFK Library, "Berle, Adolf A.: Oral History Interview - JFK #1, 7/6/1967," https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkoh-aab-01; search results citing Kennedy School case study on Bay of Pigs; Powerbase.info, "Adolf A. Berle."
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[^10]: JFK Library Oral History, interview conducted July 6, 1967, interviewer Joseph E. O'Connor.
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[^11]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 28-29.
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[^12]: Berle diary, April 2, 1964, in *Navigating the Rapids*, pp. 788-789. Colby and Dennett, Ch. 29 (Byington's role and ALCOA connection).
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[^13]: FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, Document 187: Telegram from Ambassador A. Lincoln Gordon (Rio de Janeiro) to the Department of State, March 28, 1964. Footnote 3 of that document cites Berle diary, April 2, 1964, *Navigating the Rapids*, pp. 788-789. Full text at https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v31/d187.
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[^14]: J.C. King career: George W. Cullum, *Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy*, Supplement Vol. 8, No. 6992 (Class of 1923); Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8 (OCIAA role) and Ch. 29 (CIA Western Hemisphere Division); listed as addressee in FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, Document 187.
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[^15]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8; Ch. 13; Ch. 29. Operation Brother Sam: FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, Document 198 (Dean Rusk to Embassy Brazil, March 31, 1964, 2:29 p.m.), authorizing naval tanker, task force, and ammunition airlift as contingency measures.
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[^16]: FDR Presidential Library finding aid summary: Adolf A. Berle Papers, 1912-1974, 247 boxes, 29 series, donated by Beatrice Berle 1972-1982. Finding aid PDF: https://www.fdrlibrary.org/documents/356632/390886/findingaid_berle.pdf/14404a65-cb54-4e46-bc5d-063088cda701.
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[^17]: History.state.gov, "Adolf Augustus Berle Jr.": Assistant Secretary of State appointed March 5, 1938, entry on duty March 7, 1938, terminated December 19, 1944; Ambassador to Brazil appointed January 18, 1945, credentials presented January 30, 1945, mission ended February 27, 1946.
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[^18]: FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, South and Central America; Mexico. Chapter 5 covers Brazil, Documents 181-244, spanning January through April 1964. Full volume index: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v31.
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[^3]: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, finding aid, Adolf A. Berle papers, biographical note (associate professor and professor of corporation law at Columbia, 1927-63; professor emeritus, 1963-71). https://www.fdrlibrary.org/documents/356632/390886/findingaid_berle.pdf/14404a65-cb54-4e46-bc5d-063088cda701
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[^4]: History.state.gov, "Adolf Augustus Berle Jr.," Office of the Historian biographical entry, https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/berle-adolf-augustus; Spartacus Educational, "Adolf Berle," https://spartacus-educational.com/SPYberle.htm.
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[^5]: FBI Special Intelligence Service authorized June 24, 1940 by President Roosevelt; Berle's role as State Department overseer: FBI, "Special Intelligence Service," fbi.gov/history/brief-history/special-intelligence-service; "Special Intelligence Service of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," University of Florida Archives; Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8.
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[^6]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8 ("Nelson's Grand Alliance").
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[^7]: State Department, "Department of State Intelligence," https://1997-2001.state.gov/about_state/history/intel/intro2.html; introduction to FRUS 1945-50, Intelligence series.
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[^8]: Search result citing HAHR article: Stanley Hilton, "The Overthrow of Getulio Vargas in 1945: Diplomatic Intervention, Defense of Democracy, or Political Retribution?" *Hispanic American Historical Review* 67, no. 1 (1987): 1-37. Berle September 28, 1945 telegram to Washington cited therein.
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[^9]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 13 ("Latin America's First Cold War Coup"). Coup date: October 29, 1945.
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[^10]: JFK Library, "Berle, Adolf A.: Oral History Interview - JFK #1, 7/6/1967," https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkoh-aab-01; search results citing Kennedy School case study on Bay of Pigs; Powerbase.info, "Adolf A. Berle."
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[^11]: JFK Library Oral History, interview conducted July 6, 1967, interviewer Joseph E. O'Connor.
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[^12]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 28-29.
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[^13]: Berle diary, April 2, 1964, in *Navigating the Rapids*, pp. 788-789. Colby and Dennett, Ch. 29 (Byington's role and ALCOA connection).
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[^14]: FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, Document 187: Telegram from Ambassador A. Lincoln Gordon (Rio de Janeiro) to the Department of State, March 28, 1964. Footnote 3 of that document cites Berle diary, April 2, 1964, *Navigating the Rapids*, pp. 788-789. Full text at https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v31/d187.
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[^15]: J.C. King career: George W. Cullum, *Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy*, Supplement Vol. 8, No. 6992 (Class of 1923); Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8 (OCIAA role) and Ch. 29 (CIA Western Hemisphere Division); listed as addressee in FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, Document 187.
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[^16]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 8; Ch. 13; Ch. 29. Operation Brother Sam: FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, Document 198 (Dean Rusk to Embassy Brazil, March 31, 1964, 2:29 p.m.), authorizing naval tanker, task force, and ammunition airlift as contingency measures.
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[^17]: FDR Presidential Library finding aid summary: Adolf A. Berle Papers, 1912-1974, 247 boxes, 29 series, donated by Beatrice Berle 1972-1982. Finding aid PDF: https://www.fdrlibrary.org/documents/356632/390886/findingaid_berle.pdf/14404a65-cb54-4e46-bc5d-063088cda701.
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[^18]: History.state.gov, "Adolf Augustus Berle Jr.": Assistant Secretary of State appointed March 5, 1938, entry on duty March 7, 1938, terminated December 19, 1944; Ambassador to Brazil appointed January 18, 1945, credentials presented January 30, 1945, mission ended February 27, 1946.
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[^19]: FRUS 1964-68, Vol. XXXI, South and Central America; Mexico. Chapter 5 covers Brazil, Documents 181-244, spanning January through April 1964. Full volume index: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v31.
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@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Aldrich Hazen Ames (born May 26, 1941) was a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]
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### Background and CIA Career
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Ames grew up in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Virginia]], son of [[Carleton Ames]], a CIA officer. He joined the CIA in 1962, following his father into the agency. His career trajectory was unremarkable: he served in [[Turkey]], [[Mexico City]], and [[New York]] in various Soviet-related capacities, developing expertise in Soviet intelligence tradecraft but advancing slowly. Colleagues described him as intelligent but undisciplined, a heavy drinker who had difficulty managing administrative responsibilities. Despite periodic poor performance reviews, the CIA retained him.
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Ames grew up in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Virginia]], son of [[Carleton Ames]], a CIA officer. He joined the CIA in 1962, following his father into the agency. His career trajectory was unremarkable: he served in [[Turkey]], [[Mexico City]], and [[New York City|New York]] in various Soviet-related capacities, developing expertise in Soviet intelligence tradecraft but advancing slowly. Colleagues described him as intelligent but undisciplined, a heavy drinker who had difficulty managing administrative responsibilities. Despite periodic poor performance reviews, the CIA retained him.
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In 1981, Ames was assigned to a CIA counterintelligence position handling Soviet sources - ironically, the exact role in which a Soviet penetration agent would have maximum damage potential. He married [[Maria del Rosario Casas Dupuy]], a [[Colombia|Colombian]] national he had recruited as a CIA informant. Her expensive tastes created financial pressure he used to justify his subsequent decisions.[^1]
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@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ On July 17 and October 11, 1918, [[William Johnson]], an assistant to the New Yo
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In his statement of October 11, 1918, as summarized by Agent [[Frank X. O'Donnell]] of the Bureau of Investigation, Crowley said he had earlier tried to become associated with the British Secret Service, "detailing his dealings with Commodore Gaunt [[Guy Gaunt]] of the British Intelligence Office but admitted that he never succeeded in obtaining any official recognition." He described Reuss, the head of the Order, as an "out and out German" who had left England with the German ambassador and was reported to be running the [[Continental Times]] in [[Berlin]], and said that the Order's funds were deposited with the [[Title Guarantee and Trust Company]] in New York and had come through the law firm of [[Lord, Day and Lord]] from the sale of his property in [[Scotland]].[^14]
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On September 6, 1939 Crowley wrote a letter applying for employment, addressed to an unknown recipient, in which he stated that at the end of 1914 he had gone to [[New York]], where he saw "Captain (later) Commodore Gaunt R.N.," to whom he "reported directly or indirectly until the Armistice"; that his work was to supply Viereck, [[Hugo Münsterberg]] and Count [[Johann von Bernstorff]] "with false information, and to wreck their propaganda by inducing them to commit psychological blunders"; that afterward he "was able to work directly for their Department of Justice, principally in discovering spy activities"; and that "In 1927 I began work for the [[Special Branch]], this time to watch and report on Communist activities, especially in Berlin, where I lived almost continuously for three years." An undated draft memorandum enclosed with it states that he had pretended to be a "rebel Irishman," that he confided the secret only to Gaunt and the Hon. [[Everard Feilding]], that Lieutenant Colonel [[John Carter]], then head of the Special Branch, had investigated and vindicated his conduct after he was publicly attacked on his return, and that on the outbreak of the war in 1939 he offered his services to the [[Naval Intelligence Department]], which refused.[^15]
|
||||
On September 6, 1939 Crowley wrote a letter applying for employment, addressed to an unknown recipient, in which he stated that at the end of 1914 he had gone to [[New York City|New York]], where he saw "Captain (later) Commodore Gaunt R.N.," to whom he "reported directly or indirectly until the Armistice"; that his work was to supply Viereck, [[Hugo Münsterberg]] and Count [[Johann von Bernstorff]] "with false information, and to wreck their propaganda by inducing them to commit psychological blunders"; that afterward he "was able to work directly for their Department of Justice, principally in discovering spy activities"; and that "In 1927 I began work for the [[Special Branch]], this time to watch and report on Communist activities, especially in Berlin, where I lived almost continuously for three years." An undated draft memorandum enclosed with it states that he had pretended to be a "rebel Irishman," that he confided the secret only to Gaunt and the Hon. [[Everard Feilding]], that Lieutenant Colonel [[John Carter]], then head of the Special Branch, had investigated and vindicated his conduct after he was publicly attacked on his return, and that on the outbreak of the war in 1939 he offered his services to the [[Naval Intelligence Department]], which refused.[^15]
|
||||
|
||||
Reports by Agent O'Donnell of July 8 to 19, 1919 (case 365985, radical activities, opened after an anonymous letter forwarded on June 6, 1919) reproduce a confidential report from the "British Secret Service Bureau" dated July 8, 1919. It states that he had "claimed to be on a British Mission," that "He has never been in the army," that "His claim has also been that he joined up with Viereck in order to obtain information for the British government. This is of course absurd," and that in July 1915 he, [[Leila Waddell]] and others went to the [[Statue of Liberty]], described themselves as the "Secret Revolutionary Committee of Public Safety of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic," and he tore up his passport and renounced allegiance to the "alien tyrant." A further extract from a British file in the New York Attorney General's papers, reported July 18, 1919, states: "Crowley has never had anything whatever to do with any British official in this country. His offers of service have always been rejected, and he has been regarded as a harmless neurotic."[^16] A memorandum for [[J. Edgar Hoover]] dated January 7, 1920, signed [[T. E. Haynes]], summarizes the file and quotes a letter that Crowley wrote to [[J. W. Norwood]] of the [[International Magian Society]] in [[Louisville]]: "I was employed by the Secret Service, my main object being to bring America into the War, my main method to get the Germans to make asses of themselves by increasing their frightfulness until even the Americans kicked." It adds that British Military Intelligence denied that he was a member of the British Mission and stated that he would be detained if he returned to England.[^17]
|
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|
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|
|
|
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|
|
@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ summary: "Alexander Acosta is the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District
|
|||
born: 1969-01-16
|
||||
location: "Miami, Florida (born)"
|
||||
created: 2026-06-20
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-12
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
relations:
|
||||
- type: head_of
|
||||
with: "[[United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida]]"
|
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|
|
@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ relations:
|
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fn: 7
|
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---
|
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|
||||
Alexander Acosta (born January 16, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as [[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida|Southern District of Florida]] from 2005 to 2009 and as United States Secretary of Labor from 2017 to 2019. As US Attorney he supervised the office that negotiated the [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|2008 non-prosecution agreement]] with [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein]], an arrangement under which Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida, served a 13-month jail term with work release, and obtained federal immunity for himself and named co-conspirators. A federal judge later ruled that prosecutors violated the [[Crime Victims' Rights Act|Crime Victims' Rights Act]] by concealing the deal from victims, and Acosta resigned as Secretary of Labor in July 2019 amid renewed scrutiny of the agreement.[^1][^2]
|
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Alexander Acosta (born January 16, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida|United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida|Southern District of Florida]] from 2005 to 2009 and as United States Secretary of Labor from 2017 to 2019. As US Attorney he supervised the office that negotiated the [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement|2007 non-prosecution agreement]] with [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein]], an arrangement under which Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida, served a 13-month jail term with work release, and obtained federal immunity for himself and named co-conspirators. A federal judge later ruled that prosecutors violated the [[Crime Victims' Rights Act|Crime Victims' Rights Act]] by concealing the deal from victims, and Acosta resigned as Secretary of Labor in July 2019 amid renewed scrutiny of the agreement.[^1][^2]
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|
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### Early Career and Kirkland & Ellis
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|
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|
@ -58,71 +58,71 @@ Acosta was born in [[Miami]] to Cuban refugee parents and received his undergrad
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|
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As U.S. Attorney he oversaw the 2006 prosecution of the [[Cali Drug Cartel]] leaders [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela]] and [[Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela]], who pleaded guilty on September 26, 2006 and received thirty-year sentences; under the plea agreements 28 relatives gave up their interests in the family's businesses and the government agreed not to prosecute six of them.[^5]
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|
||||
### The 2008 Non-Prosecution Agreement
|
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### The 2007 Non-Prosecution Agreement
|
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|
||||
Federal investigators in the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida|Southern District of Florida]] identified roughly 30, and ultimately more than 30, minors whom Epstein was alleged to have sexually abused, after the [[Palm Beach Police Department]] referred the case to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] on concerns that the local prosecution would be too lenient. By May 2007 government lawyers had prepared an 82-page prosecution memorandum and a 53-page draft federal indictment charging Epstein with multiple federal sex offenses; the Justice Department later described the draft as a 60-count indictment. Acosta decided in 2007 to negotiate with Epstein's defense team rather than seek that indictment. At a July 31, 2007 meeting with Epstein's lawyers, his office offered to end the investigation if Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges, served at least two years, registered as a sex offender, and agreed to a damages mechanism for victims. Acosta did not sign the agreement but, according to the Justice Department's later review, "participated in its drafting and approved it, with knowledge of its terms."[^1][^6][^7]
|
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Federal investigators in the Southern District of Florida identified roughly 30, and ultimately more than 30, minors whom Epstein was alleged to have sexually abused, after the [[Palm Beach Police Department]] referred the case to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] on concerns that the local prosecution would be too lenient. By May 2007 government lawyers had prepared an 82-page prosecution memorandum and a 53-page draft federal indictment charging Epstein with multiple federal sex offenses; the Justice Department later described the draft as a 60-count indictment. Acosta decided in 2007 to negotiate with Epstein's defense team rather than seek that indictment. At a July 31, 2007 meeting with Epstein's lawyers, his office offered to end the investigation if Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges, served at least two years, registered as a sex offender, and agreed to a damages mechanism for victims. Acosta did not sign the agreement but, according to the Justice Department's later review, "participated in its drafting and approved it, with knowledge of its terms."[^1][^6][^7] The agreement was signed on September 24, 2007, and the state plea followed on June 30, 2008.[^8]
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|
||||
The non-prosecution agreement, negotiated through 2007 and executed in stages, required Epstein to plead guilty in Palm Beach County court, which he did in June 2008, to state charges including soliciting prostitution and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months, of which he served roughly 13, under conditions that allowed extensive work release. The Justice Department's review recorded that from October 2008 he spent "12 hours a day purportedly working at the '[[Florida Science Foundation]],' an entity Epstein had recently incorporated that was co-located at the West Palm Beach office of one of Epstein's attorneys"; later reporting on sheriff's records described him leaving the jail for up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. The foundation paid the [[Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office]] 128,136 dollars during his incarceration. Epstein's defense team included high-profile lawyers such as [[Alan Dershowitz|Alan Dershowitz]], [[Kenneth Starr|Kenneth Starr]], and [[Roy Black|Roy Black]], who pressed the office for concessions.[^1][^6][^7][^8][^9][^10]
|
||||
The non-prosecution agreement, negotiated through 2007 and executed in stages, required Epstein to plead guilty in Palm Beach County court, which he did in June 2008, to state charges including soliciting prostitution and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months, of which he served roughly 13, under conditions that allowed extensive work release. The Justice Department's review recorded that from October 2008 he spent "12 hours a day purportedly working at the '[[Florida Science Foundation]],' an entity Epstein had recently incorporated that was co-located at the West Palm Beach office of one of Epstein's attorneys"; later reporting on sheriff's records described him leaving the jail for up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. The foundation paid the [[Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office]] 128,136 dollars during his incarceration. Epstein's defense team included high-profile lawyers such as [[Alan Dershowitz|Alan Dershowitz]], [[Kenneth Starr|Kenneth Starr]], and [[Roy Black|Roy Black]], who pressed the office for concessions.[^1][^6][^7][^9][^10][^11]
|
||||
|
||||
The agreement extended immunity from federal prosecution to Epstein, to four named co-conspirators, and to unnamed "potential co-conspirators," language read as shielding others who helped recruit or conceal the abuse. The terms were not disclosed to the identified victims while the deal was being finalized, and the agreement was sealed. The breadth of the immunity provisions, the sealing, and the leniency of the sentence became the basis for years of subsequent litigation and official review. The attorney [[Bradley Edwards|Bradley Edwards]], representing victims, led the legal challenge to the agreement.[^1][^11]
|
||||
The agreement extended immunity from federal prosecution to Epstein, to four named co-conspirators, and to unnamed "potential co-conspirators," language read as shielding others who helped recruit or conceal the abuse. The terms were not disclosed to the identified victims while the deal was being finalized, and the agreement was sealed. The breadth of the immunity provisions, the sealing, and the leniency of the sentence became the basis for years of subsequent litigation and official review. The attorney [[Bradley Edwards|Bradley Edwards]], representing victims, led the legal challenge to the agreement.[^1][^12]
|
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|
||||
### The Negotiators and the Breakfast
|
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|
||||
Epstein's lead negotiator was [[Jay Lefkowitz]], a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Acosta's former firm, and a former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. On August 19, 2005 Bush had named Lefkowitz the first Special Envoy for Human Rights in [[North Korea]], a part-time post he held while practicing law in New York until January 2009, so that he represented Epstein in 2007 and 2008 while serving in the administration that had appointed Acosta. Starr was also a Kirkland & Ellis partner.[^12][^13]
|
||||
Epstein's lead negotiator was [[Jay Lefkowitz]], a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Acosta's former firm, and a former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. On August 19, 2005 Bush had named Lefkowitz the first Special Envoy for Human Rights in [[North Korea]], a part-time post he held while practicing law in New York until January 2009, so that he represented Epstein in 2007 and 2008 while serving in the administration that had appointed Acosta. Starr was also a Kirkland & Ellis partner.[^13][^14]
|
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|
||||
The agreement's terms were settled in September 2007 in email between Lefkowitz and the line prosecutor, [[Ann Marie Villafana|A. Marie Villafaña]]. On September 21, three days before signing, Palm Beach State Attorney [[Barry Krischer]] wrote to her: "Glad we could get this worked out for reasons I won't put in writing." On September 24, as the agreement was executed, Lefkowitz asked her to "do whatever you can to keep this from becoming public," and she reported that she had forwarded his message "only to [United States Attorney] Alex, Andy, and Roland."[^14]
|
||||
The agreement's terms were settled in September 2007 in email between Lefkowitz and the line prosecutor, [[Ann Marie Villafana|A. Marie Villafaña]]. On September 21, three days before signing, Palm Beach State Attorney [[Barry Krischer]] wrote to her: "Glad we could get this worked out for reasons I won't put in writing." On September 24, as the agreement was executed, Lefkowitz asked her to "do whatever you can to keep this from becoming public," and she reported that she had forwarded his message "only to [United States Attorney] Alex, Andy, and Roland."[^15]
|
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|
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On October 10, 2007 Lefkowitz wrote to Acosta that "[n]either federal agents nor anyone from your Office should contact the identified individuals." Acosta then met him for breakfast, and Lefkowitz's follow-up letter thanked Acosta "for the commitment you made to me during our October 12 meeting in which you . . . assured me that your Office would not . . . contact any of the identified individuals, potential witnesses, or potential civil claimants." The breakfast followed the September 24 signing, and the Justice Department's later review found no evidence that it "led to the NPA, which had been signed weeks earlier, or to any other significant decision that benefited Epstein."[^7][^14]
|
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On October 10, 2007 Lefkowitz wrote to Acosta that "[n]either federal agents nor anyone from your Office should contact the identified individuals." Acosta then met him for breakfast, and Lefkowitz's follow-up letter thanked Acosta "for the commitment you made to me during our October 12 meeting in which you . . . assured me that your Office would not . . . contact any of the identified individuals, potential witnesses, or potential civil claimants." The breakfast followed the September 24 signing, and the Justice Department's later review found no evidence that it "led to the NPA, which had been signed weeks earlier, or to any other significant decision that benefited Epstein."[^7][^15]
|
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|
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On November 30, 2007 Acosta wrote to Starr: "I am directing our prosecutors not to issue victim notification letters until this Friday at 5 p.m., to provide you with time to review these options with your client." On December 19, 2007 he wrote to the defense lawyer [[Lilly Ann Sanchez]] that his office would provide notice of the federal resolution but would "defer to the discretion of the State Attorney regarding whether he wishes to provide victims with notices of the state proceedings." Epstein's lawyers then spent six months seeking review from the Criminal Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, which declined to intervene on June 23, 2008.[^7][^14]
|
||||
On November 30, 2007 Acosta wrote to Starr: "I am directing our prosecutors not to issue victim notification letters until this Friday at 5 p.m., to provide you with time to review these options with your client." On December 19, 2007 he wrote to the defense lawyer [[Lilly Ann Sanchez]] that his office would provide notice of the federal resolution but would "defer to the discretion of the State Attorney regarding whether he wishes to provide victims with notices of the state proceedings." Epstein's lawyers then spent six months seeking review from the Criminal Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, which declined to intervene on June 23, 2008.[^7][^15]
|
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|
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In a 2011 letter defending the agreement, Acosta wrote that Epstein's team had waged "a year-long assault on the prosecution and the prosecutors," that "[d]efense counsel investigated individual prosecutors and their families," and that they would "obtain concessions as part of a negotiation and agree to proceed, only to change their minds, and appeal the office's position to Washington."[^8]
|
||||
In a 2011 letter defending the agreement, Acosta wrote that Epstein's team had waged "a year-long assault on the prosecution and the prosecutors," that "[d]efense counsel investigated individual prosecutors and their families," and that they would "obtain concessions as part of a negotiation and agree to proceed, only to change their minds, and appeal the office's position to Washington."[^9]
|
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|
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On his retirement from Kirkland & Ellis in March 2026, Lefkowitz said: "Although I believe everyone is entitled to representation no matter how heinous their crimes, knowing what we all know now, I would not have taken on the Epstein matter." A Kirkland spokesperson said: "To say the least, we deeply regret the firm's 2007 representation of Jeffrey Epstein."[^15]
|
||||
On his retirement from Kirkland & Ellis in March 2026, Lefkowitz said: "Although I believe everyone is entitled to representation no matter how heinous their crimes, knowing what we all know now, I would not have taken on the Epstein matter." A Kirkland spokesperson said: "To say the least, we deeply regret the firm's 2007 representation of Jeffrey Epstein."[^16]
|
||||
|
||||
### The Prosecutors' Chronology
|
||||
|
||||
A 51-page "Epstein Investigation Timeline," marked privileged and as containing grand jury material and stamped Exhibit A-1, logs Acosta's part in the negotiation document by document. In the summer of 2007 Criminal Division chief Matthew Menchel announced to the case team that Acosta would offer a two-year state plea, and in August the office told the defense that two years of incarceration was a non-negotiable minimum, that Acosta was not inclined to meet Epstein's counsel, and that Epstein had until August 17 to decide. In September 2007 Acosta, [[Drew Oosterbaan]], chief of the Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, First Assistant [[Jeffrey Sloman]], Villafaña and John McMillan met Starr, Lefkowitz and Lilly Ann Sanchez, and on September 11 a draft agreement incorporating Acosta's edits went to [[Gerald Lefcourt]]. On September 23 Acosta told Lefkowitz to deal directly with [[Andrew Lourie]] and Villafaña, and on September 24 he sent his final edits before the signing.[^16]
|
||||
A 51-page "Epstein Investigation Timeline," marked privileged and as containing grand jury material and stamped Exhibit A-1, logs Acosta's part in the negotiation document by document. In the summer of 2007 Criminal Division chief Matthew Menchel announced to the case team that Acosta would offer a two-year state plea, and in August the office told the defense that two years of incarceration was a non-negotiable minimum, that Acosta was not inclined to meet Epstein's counsel, and that Epstein had until August 17 to decide. In September 2007 Acosta, [[Drew Oosterbaan]], chief of the Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, First Assistant [[Jeffrey Sloman]], Villafaña and John McMillan met Starr, Lefkowitz and Lilly Ann Sanchez, and on September 11 a draft agreement incorporating Acosta's edits went to [[Gerald Lefcourt]]. On September 23 Acosta told Lefkowitz to deal directly with [[Andrew Lourie]] and Villafaña, and on September 24 he sent his final edits before the signing.[^17]
|
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|
||||
After the signing the chronology records a November 30, 2007 letter from Acosta to Starr asking for a statement signed by Epstein that he would abide by every term by December 14 or the office would proceed with prosecution, a companion letter saying the office stood ready to unwind the agreement if Epstein was dissatisfied with it, and a December 14, 2007 draft letter from Acosta to Krischer about Epstein registering as a sex offender. In early January 2008, according to the chronology, Lefkowitz admitted to Acosta in a telephone call that he had never intended Epstein to plead guilty to an offense requiring sex offender registration. After the Criminal Division rejected Epstein's appeal in May 2008, Villafaña asked to indict, and Sloman and Acosta advised that Epstein would be given the chance to perform. On May 16, 2008 Sloman told Villafaña, "We got approved," adding: "Alex called to tell me. He said the ltr needs to be tweaked which we'll do on Monday. I wouldn't call the FBI yet."[^16][^17]
|
||||
After the signing the chronology records a November 30, 2007 letter from Acosta to Starr asking for a statement signed by Epstein that he would abide by every term by December 14 or the office would proceed with prosecution, a companion letter saying the office stood ready to unwind the agreement if Epstein was dissatisfied with it, and a December 14, 2007 draft letter from Acosta to Krischer about Epstein registering as a sex offender. In early January 2008, according to the chronology, Lefkowitz admitted to Acosta in a telephone call that he had never intended Epstein to plead guilty to an offense requiring sex offender registration. After the Criminal Division rejected Epstein's appeal in May 2008, Villafaña asked to indict, and Sloman and Acosta advised that Epstein would be given the chance to perform. On May 16, 2008 Sloman told Villafaña, "We got approved," adding: "Alex called to tell me. He said the ltr needs to be tweaked which we'll do on Monday. I wouldn't call the FBI yet."[^17][^18]
|
||||
|
||||
The Office of Professional Responsibility recorded two recusal questions. In May 2008 the office's Professional Responsibility Officer asked the Department whether Acosta should step aside because he was considering a visiting professorship at [[Harvard Law School]] in 2009 while Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor, was representing Epstein "as a private, paying client"; the Department advised that there was no basis for recusal. In late 2008, "when Acosta anticipated leaving the USAO and was considering pursuing employment with Kirkland & Ellis," he told Sloman to stop copying him on Epstein emails, and the Department approved his recusal because he had "begun to discuss possible employment" with the firm that represented Epstein.[^18]
|
||||
The Office of Professional Responsibility recorded two recusal questions. In May 2008 the office's Professional Responsibility Officer asked the Department whether Acosta should step aside because he was considering a visiting professorship at [[Harvard Law School]] in 2009 while Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor, was representing Epstein "as a private, paying client"; the Department advised that there was no basis for recusal. In late 2008, "when Acosta anticipated leaving the USAO and was considering pursuing employment with Kirkland & Ellis," he told Sloman to stop copying him on Epstein emails, and the Department approved his recusal because he had "begun to discuss possible employment" with the firm that represented Epstein.[^19]
|
||||
|
||||
### Crime Victims' Rights Act Ruling
|
||||
|
||||
In the case styled [[Doe v. United States]], No. 08-80736, brought by victims including [[Courtney Wild|Courtney Wild]] and [[Jane Doe 2|Jane Doe 2]] to enforce their rights, United States District Judge [[Kenneth Marra|Kenneth Marra]] ruled on February 21, 2019, that the government had violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by failing to confer with the victims before entering the non-prosecution agreement. The opinion recorded that "[w]hile the Government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the NPA with Epstein's attorneys, scant information was shared with victims," and that "[t]he Court is not ruling that the decision not to prosecute was improper." After the ruling the Justice Department recused Acosta's former office from the litigation and assigned the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia to defend it. Marra wrote that "particularly problematic was the government's decision to conceal the existence of the" agreement and to "mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility," finding that prosecutors had counseled the victims to have "patience" after the deal had been signed.[^7][^14]
|
||||
In the case styled [[Doe v. United States]], No. 08-80736, brought by victims including [[Courtney Wild|Courtney Wild]] and [[Jane Doe 2|Jane Doe 2]] to enforce their rights, United States District Judge [[Kenneth Marra|Kenneth Marra]] ruled on February 21, 2019, that the government had violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by failing to confer with the victims before entering the non-prosecution agreement. The opinion recorded that "[w]hile the Government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the NPA with Epstein's attorneys, scant information was shared with victims," and that "[t]he Court is not ruling that the decision not to prosecute was improper." After the ruling the Justice Department recused Acosta's former office from the litigation and assigned the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia to defend it. Marra wrote that "particularly problematic was the government's decision to conceal the existence of the" agreement and to "mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility," finding that prosecutors had counseled the victims to have "patience" after the deal had been signed.[^7][^15]
|
||||
|
||||
In a later ruling on September 16, 2019, Marra declined to invalidate the non-prosecution agreement itself, noting that Epstein had died and that rescission would not restore the victims' position, and he held that the victims were not entitled to monetary damages from the government under the statute. He refused the victims' request to order Acosta to meet with them, writing: "The Court has no jurisdiction over Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. Attorney, who is now a private citizen." The decisions established the CVRA violation as a finding of fact while leaving the underlying agreement in place.[^19][^20]
|
||||
In a later ruling on September 16, 2019, Marra declined to invalidate the non-prosecution agreement itself, noting that Epstein had died and that rescission would not restore the victims' position, and he held that the victims were not entitled to monetary damages from the government under the statute. He refused the victims' request to order Acosta to meet with them, writing: "The Court has no jurisdiction over Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. Attorney, who is now a private citizen." The decisions established the CVRA violation as a finding of fact while leaving the underlying agreement in place.[^20][^21]
|
||||
|
||||
The victims' broader effort to overturn the agreement ultimately failed at the appellate level. In its brief to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]], the Justice Department argued that "the legal obligations under the CVRA do not attach prior to the government charging a case," while conceding at oral argument that the office had "made a mistake in causing her to believe that the case was ongoing when in fact the NPA had been signed." A three-judge panel adopted the government's position in April 2020, holding that CVRA rights do not attach before charges, but the full court vacated that opinion in August 2020. On April 15, 2021 the en banc court denied Wild's petition by seven votes to four on a narrower ground: the Act does not authorize a victim to seek judicial enforcement of her rights in a freestanding civil action when no charges have been filed. The majority stated that it "needn't decide" whether the rights to confer and to fair treatment attach before charges, and the dissenting judges faulted it for that omission. The ruling left the district court's finding of a conferral violation undisturbed while denying the victims any remedy, and the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] denied certiorari on February 22, 2022.[^7][^21][^22]
|
||||
The victims' broader effort to overturn the agreement ultimately failed at the appellate level. In its brief to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]], the Justice Department argued that "the legal obligations under the CVRA do not attach prior to the government charging a case," while conceding at oral argument that the office had "made a mistake in causing her to believe that the case was ongoing when in fact the NPA had been signed." A three-judge panel adopted the government's position in April 2020, holding that CVRA rights do not attach before charges, but the full court vacated that opinion in August 2020. On April 15, 2021 the en banc court denied Wild's petition by seven votes to four on a narrower ground: the Act does not authorize a victim to seek judicial enforcement of her rights in a freestanding civil action when no charges have been filed. The majority stated that it "needn't decide" whether the rights to confer and to fair treatment attach before charges, and the dissenting judges faulted it for that omission. The ruling left the district court's finding of a conferral violation undisturbed while denying the victims any remedy, and the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] denied certiorari on February 22, 2022.[^7][^22][^23]
|
||||
|
||||
### DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility Report
|
||||
|
||||
The review originated in a December 3, 2018 letter from Senator [[Ben Sasse]], chairman of a Senate Judiciary oversight subcommittee, citing the [[Miami Herald]] series; OPR opened its investigation on February 6, 2019. It recorded that a victims' attorney had raised allegations of improper influence in December 2010 and that OPR had declined to open an inquiry then in deference to the pending litigation. The Justice Department's [[Office of Professional Responsibility|Office of Professional Responsibility]] released a report on November 12, 2020, examining the conduct of Acosta and his subordinates in the Epstein matter. The report concluded that Acosta exercised "poor judgment" in resolving the federal investigation through a state plea agreement, but it did not find professional misconduct, stating that his decision to decline federal prosecution was within the scope of his authority and that there was no evidence the decision was based on corruption or other impermissible considerations.[^2][^7]
|
||||
|
||||
OPR located the "poor judgment" specifically in Acosta's failure to ensure that the state would notify the federally identified victims of Epstein's plea hearing, leaving victims uninformed about the proceeding that resolved an investigation about which the office had communicated with them for months. The report described the non-prosecution agreement as "a flawed mechanism for satisfying the federal interest" that had prompted the investigation, and it documented extensive concessions made to Epstein's lawyers. OPR found that Acosta's "application of federalism principles was too expansive, his view of the federal interest in prosecuting Epstein was too narrow, and his understanding of the state system was too imperfect to justify the decision to use the NPA," and that the three other supervisory subjects "left the USAO, were transitioning to other jobs, or were absent at critical junctures." It also concluded that the government's handling "gave victims and the public the misimpression that the government had colluded with Epstein's counsel to keep the NPA secret from the victims."[^7] The Executive Summary states that Acosta "made the pivotal decision to resolve the federal investigation of Epstein" through a state-based plea, and that he "participated in its drafting and approved it, with knowledge of its terms." It states that as United States attorney he had "plenary authority" to resolve the case as he deemed appropriate, and that he did not commit professional misconduct. It found that he exercised poor judgment both in choosing the non-prosecution agreement as the mechanism and in failing to make certain that the state would notify victims identified in the federal investigation of the state plea hearing.[^23] The summary records the agreement signed on September 24, 2007, the defense's request for review by the Criminal Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the June 23, 2008 determination that the deputy attorney general would not intervene, and the state plea of June 30, 2008.[^24] Before the report was final, the chief of the Public Corruption Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the [[Southern District of New York]] reviewed the draft and on August 21, 2020 asked for two wording changes, which OPR accepted: "at least one victim known to be a minor" became "at least one victim believed to be a minor," described as "more accurately reflect[ing] our position in the bail arguments regarding Epstein," and a statement that investigators "were aware" Epstein used hidden cameras in his New York residence became that they "had learned" it.[^25]
|
||||
OPR located the "poor judgment" specifically in Acosta's failure to ensure that the state would notify the federally identified victims of Epstein's plea hearing, leaving victims uninformed about the proceeding that resolved an investigation about which the office had communicated with them for months. The report described the non-prosecution agreement as "a flawed mechanism for satisfying the federal interest" that had prompted the investigation, and it documented extensive concessions made to Epstein's lawyers. OPR found that Acosta's "application of federalism principles was too expansive, his view of the federal interest in prosecuting Epstein was too narrow, and his understanding of the state system was too imperfect to justify the decision to use the NPA," and that the three other supervisory subjects "left the USAO, were transitioning to other jobs, or were absent at critical junctures." It also concluded that the government's handling "gave victims and the public the misimpression that the government had colluded with Epstein's counsel to keep the NPA secret from the victims."[^7] The Executive Summary states that Acosta "made the pivotal decision to resolve the federal investigation of Epstein" through a state-based plea, and that he "participated in its drafting and approved it, with knowledge of its terms." It states that as United States attorney he had "plenary authority" to resolve the case as he deemed appropriate, and that he did not commit professional misconduct. It found that he exercised poor judgment both in choosing the non-prosecution agreement as the mechanism and in failing to make certain that the state would notify victims identified in the federal investigation of the state plea hearing.[^24] The summary records the agreement signed on September 24, 2007, the defense's request for review by the Criminal Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the June 23, 2008 determination that the deputy attorney general would not intervene, and the state plea of June 30, 2008.[^25] Before the report was final, the chief of the Public Corruption Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the [[Southern District of New York]] reviewed the draft and on August 21, 2020 asked for two wording changes, which OPR accepted: "at least one victim known to be a minor" became "at least one victim believed to be a minor," described as "more accurately reflect[ing] our position in the bail arguments regarding Epstein," and a statement that investigators "were aware" Epstein used hidden cameras in his New York residence became that they "had learned" it.[^26]
|
||||
|
||||
The report also recorded internal dissent. The line prosecutor Ann Marie Villafana had objected to the access granted to Epstein's defense counsel and to meeting with them, and was overruled by supervisors; a footnote recorded her belief that an email from her supervisor [[Matthew Menchel|Matthew Menchel]] was meant to "put [her] in [her] place," while Menchel described her as having a history of resisting supervisory authority. OPR declined to refer Acosta or other prosecutors for disciplinary action on professional-responsibility grounds, a conclusion that victims' advocates characterized as a whitewash.[^26]
|
||||
The report also recorded internal dissent. The line prosecutor Ann Marie Villafana had objected to the access granted to Epstein's defense counsel and to meeting with them, and was overruled by supervisors; a footnote recorded her belief that an email from her supervisor [[Matthew Menchel|Matthew Menchel]] was meant to "put [her] in [her] place," while Menchel described her as having a history of resisting supervisory authority. OPR declined to refer Acosta or other prosecutors for disciplinary action on professional-responsibility grounds, a conclusion that victims' advocates characterized as a whitewash.[^27]
|
||||
|
||||
One of those supervisors was Matthew Menchel, chief of the office's Criminal Division, who left in August 2007, weeks before the agreement was signed, for the law firm [[Kobre & Kim]]. According to reporting on the full OPR report, Menchel had offered the 2007 plea terms to an Epstein lawyer he had formerly dated. Epstein estate records released by the [[House Oversight Committee]] in October 2025 show appointments, telephone calls, and dinners between Menchel and Epstein in 2011, 2013, and 2017. Menchel has said he had no business relationship with Epstein "at any point, not before, during or after my tenure," and has denied skiing with him, but did not deny meeting him after leaving the office.[^27]
|
||||
One of those supervisors was Matthew Menchel, chief of the office's Criminal Division, who left in August 2007, weeks before the agreement was signed, for the law firm [[Kobre & Kim]]. According to reporting on the full OPR report, Menchel had offered the 2007 plea terms to an Epstein lawyer he had formerly dated. Epstein estate records released by the [[House Oversight Committee]] in October 2025 show appointments, telephone calls, and dinners between Menchel and Epstein in 2011, 2013, and 2017. Menchel has said he had no business relationship with Epstein "at any point, not before, during or after my tenure," and has denied skiing with him, but did not deny meeting him after leaving the office.[^28]
|
||||
|
||||
### Secretary of Labor and Resignation
|
||||
|
||||
President [[Donald Trump|Donald Trump]] nominated Acosta as Secretary of Labor, and he was confirmed by the Senate on April 17, 2017 and sworn in that month, having previously chaired the National Labor Relations Board and served as dean of Florida International University's law school. The Florida agreement drew scrutiny during his 2017 confirmation but did not derail it; OPR recorded that at his March 2017 hearing he was "questioned only briefly about the Epstein case."[^1][^7]
|
||||
|
||||
After the November 2018 Miami Herald investigation "Perversion of Justice" by [[Julie K. Brown|Julie K. Brown]] revived attention to the agreement, and after Epstein's July 2019 federal arrest in New York on new sex-trafficking charges, Acosta held a July 10, 2019, press conference defending his handling of the case, arguing that the state alternative had at least secured Epstein's registration as a sex offender and some jail time, and saying that the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office "was ready to allow Epstein to walk free with no jail time, nothing." Krischer answered the same day that Acosta's "recollection of the matter is completely wrong" and that "Mr. Acosta should not be allowed to rewrite history." He resigned on July 12, 2019, two days later, saying he did not want the controversy to distract from the administration's work and that it would be "selfish" to remain.[^1][^28][^29]
|
||||
After the November 2018 Miami Herald investigation "Perversion of Justice" by [[Julie K. Brown|Julie K. Brown]] revived attention to the agreement, and after Epstein's July 2019 federal arrest in New York on new sex-trafficking charges, Acosta held a July 10, 2019, press conference defending his handling of the case, arguing that the state alternative had at least secured Epstein's registration as a sex offender and some jail time, and saying that the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office "was ready to allow Epstein to walk free with no jail time, nothing." Krischer answered the same day that Acosta's "recollection of the matter is completely wrong" and that "Mr. Acosta should not be allowed to rewrite history." He resigned on July 12, 2019, two days later, saying he did not want the controversy to distract from the administration's work and that it would be "selfish" to remain.[^1][^29][^30]
|
||||
|
||||
On September 19, 2025 Acosta sat for a voluntary transcribed interview with the [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Oversight Committee]] as part of its renewed inquiry into the federal handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases; the committee released the transcript on October 17, 2025, together with Epstein estate records. Chairman [[James Comer|James Comer]] said Acosta had cooperated, and the committee separately sought records and testimony from other former officials. Acosta told the committee that prosecutors had avoided trial partly because some underage victims did not want to testify and a conviction was not assured, and he said he did not recall reading Villafaña's recommendation of a 60-count indictment. Lawmakers questioned him about the records of Menchel's later contacts with Epstein and about a photograph said to show the two skiing, which was not produced.[^27][^30]
|
||||
On September 19, 2025 Acosta sat for a voluntary transcribed interview with the [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Oversight Committee]] as part of its renewed inquiry into the federal handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases; the committee released the transcript on October 17, 2025, together with Epstein estate records. Chairman [[James Comer|James Comer]] said Acosta had cooperated, and the committee separately sought records and testimony from other former officials. Acosta told the committee that prosecutors had avoided trial partly because some underage victims did not want to testify and a conviction was not assured, and he said he did not recall reading Villafaña's recommendation of a 60-count indictment. Lawmakers questioned him about the records of Menchel's later contacts with Epstein and about a photograph said to show the two skiing, which was not produced.[^28][^31]
|
||||
|
||||
### Intelligence Claim
|
||||
|
||||
In a July 2019 article for [[The Daily Beast|The Daily Beast]], journalist [[Vicky Ward|Vicky Ward]] reported that, according to an anonymous former senior [[White House]] official, Acosta had explained the lenient Epstein deal during his Labor Secretary vetting by saying he had been told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence" and to "leave it alone" because the matter was above his pay grade. Ward's report attributed the account to a single unnamed source, and commentators noted the source could not be independently confirmed. Ward had reported on Epstein for years and had earlier written a 2003 profile of him for Vanity Fair.[^31][^32]
|
||||
In a July 2019 article for [[The Daily Beast|The Daily Beast]], journalist [[Vicky Ward|Vicky Ward]] reported that, according to an anonymous former senior [[White House]] official, Acosta had explained the lenient Epstein deal during his Labor Secretary vetting by saying he had been told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence" and to "leave it alone" because the matter was above his pay grade. Ward's report attributed the account to a single unnamed source, and commentators noted the source could not be independently confirmed. Ward had reported on Epstein for years and had earlier written a 2003 profile of him for Vanity Fair.[^32][^33]
|
||||
|
||||
Acosta disputed the characterization. Asked about the reporting at his July 2019 press conference, he said he would "hesitate to take this reporting as fact." Under oath to Justice Department investigators he answered "no" when asked whether he had knowledge of Epstein being an intelligence asset, and the OPR review reported that none of the subjects it interviewed believed Epstein to have been an intelligence asset.[^33][^34]
|
||||
Acosta disputed the characterization. Asked about the reporting at his July 2019 press conference, he said he would "hesitate to take this reporting as fact." Under oath to Justice Department investigators he answered "no" when asked whether he had knowledge of Epstein being an intelligence asset, and the OPR review reported that none of the subjects it interviewed believed Epstein to have been an intelligence asset.[^34][^35]
|
||||
|
||||
At his September 19, 2025 transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee, Acosta again denied the intelligence account. Asked whether anyone had told him Epstein could not be prosecuted because he was an asset, he said "No one approached me and said that," and he stated that if there had been classified or secure information bearing on the case, established procedures would have been triggered that were never triggered. The intelligence claim remains an attributed, disputed assertion sourced to a single anonymous account rather than an established finding.[^30][^33]
|
||||
At his September 19, 2025 transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee, Acosta again denied the intelligence account. Asked whether anyone had told him Epstein could not be prosecuted because he was an asset, he said "No one approached me and said that," and he stated that if there had been classified or secure information bearing on the case, established procedures would have been triggered that were never triggered. The intelligence claim remains an attributed, disputed assertion sourced to a single anonymous account rather than an established finding.[^31][^34]
|
||||
|
||||
[[William Barr]], Attorney General at the time of Epstein's 2019 arrest and death, was asked about the account in an August 18, 2025 deposition before the same committee. Asked whether he was aware of Acosta saying he had been told Epstein "belongs to intelligence and to leave it alone," Barr answered: "No. Other than what's ever been reported in articles over the years." He said he had "no reason to believe he was working for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] or any intelligence agency, and I'm dubious about claims like that," offered the supposition that Epstein might, "like many other businessmen," have talked to intelligence officers who debrief well-connected people, and said that "if he was an American asset, as opposed to some businessman who shares stuff with the government, I would've heard about it from the intelligence agency."[^35]
|
||||
[[William Barr]], Attorney General at the time of Epstein's 2019 arrest and death, was asked about the account in an August 18, 2025 deposition before the same committee. Asked whether he was aware of Acosta saying he had been told Epstein "belongs to intelligence and to leave it alone," Barr answered: "No. Other than what's ever been reported in articles over the years." He said he had "no reason to believe he was working for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] or any intelligence agency, and I'm dubious about claims like that," offered the supposition that Epstein might, "like many other businessmen," have talked to intelligence officers who debrief well-connected people, and said that "if he was an American asset, as opposed to some businessman who shares stuff with the government, I would've heard about it from the intelligence agency."[^36]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -133,31 +133,32 @@ At his September 19, 2025 transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committ
|
|||
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, "Cali Cartel Leaders Plead Guilty to Drug and Money Laundering Conspiracy Charges," press release 06-646, September 26, 2006. https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2006/September/06_crm_646.html
|
||||
[^6]: "Jeffrey Epstein 2008 plea deal: poor judgment," *Global News,* November 2020. https://globalnews.ca/news/7460232/jeffrey-epstein-2008-plea-deal-poor-judgment/
|
||||
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, "Investigation into the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida's Resolution of Its 2006-2008 Federal Criminal Investigation of Jeffrey Epstein," November 2020. https://www.justice.gov/opr/page/file/1336471/dl
|
||||
[^8]: Conchita Sarnoff and Lee Aitken, "Jeffrey Epstein: How the Hedge Fund Mogul Pedophile Got Off Easy," *The Daily Beast,* March 25, 2011, quoting R. Alexander Acosta's 2011 letter. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-how-the-hedge-fund-mogul-pedophile-got-off-easy/
|
||||
[^9]: "Jeffrey Epstein paid Palm Beach Sheriff's Office $128,000 during incarceration for prostitution charges," *WPTV,* 2019. https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/new-jeffrey-epstein-paid-palm-beach-sheriffs-office-128-000-during-incarceration-for-prostitution
|
||||
[^10]: "Florida authorities find no evidence of criminal activity in state's handling of Jeffrey Epstein case," *NBC News,* May 2021, on the sheriff's work-release program allowing Epstein out up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-authorities-no-evidence-criminal-activity-state-s-handling-jeffrey-n1266888
|
||||
[^11]: "How Bradley Edwards fought Alex Acosta's nonprosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein," *Slate,* July 2019. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/bradley-edwards-jeffrey-epstein-alexander-acosta.html
|
||||
[^12]: U.S. Department of State, "Jay Lefkowitz, Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea," official biography, 2005. https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/66929.htm ; "Final Report of Jay Lefkowitz, U.S. Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea," January 2009. https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/senk/115268.htm
|
||||
[^13]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Disgraced Lawyer Jay Lefkowitz Who Secured Sweetheart Deal Leaves Firm," *The Daily Beast,* March 2026, on Lefkowitz's three decades at Kirkland & Ellis and his Bush White House service. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-disgraced-lawyer-jay-lefkowitz-who-secured-sweetheart-deal-leaves-firm/
|
||||
[^14]: Opinion and Order, *Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 v. United States*, No. 9:08-cv-80736-KAM (S.D. Fla. Feb. 21, 2019), ECF No. 435 (Marra, J.), reported at 359 F. Supp. 3d 1201, quoting ECF No. 407 at paragraphs 33, 37, 52, 61, 63, 83, 90, and the court's analysis at 27-33. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.317867/gov.uscourts.flsd.317867.435.0.pdf
|
||||
[^15]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Disgraced Lawyer Jay Lefkowitz Who Secured Sweetheart Deal Leaves Firm," *The Daily Beast,* March 2026, quoting Lefkowitz's retirement statement and a Kirkland & Ellis spokesperson. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-disgraced-lawyer-jay-lefkowitz-who-secured-sweetheart-deal-leaves-firm/
|
||||
[^16]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00224943, DataSet 9, "Epstein Investigation Timeline," Exhibit A-1, privileged chronology of the federal investigation, pp. 9 to 10, 12 to 13, 20, 24 to 29, 34. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00224943.pdf
|
||||
[^17]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00214486, DataSet 9, email chain, Jeff Sloman and Ann Marie Villafana, "Re: Did u hear?," May 16, 2008. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00214486.pdf
|
||||
[^18]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02847284, Prior DOJ Disclosures, Office of Professional Responsibility report on the Southern District of Florida's resolution of the Epstein investigation, November 2020, p. 152 and n. 224. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Prior%20DOJ%20Disclosures/Memos.%20&%20Correspondence/EFTA02847284.pdf
|
||||
[^19]: "Epstein accusers won't receive damages and plea deal won't be tossed, judge rules," *CNN,* September 16, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/16/us/jeffrey-epstein-florida-accusers-judge-ruling
|
||||
[^20]: Opinion and Order, *Doe v. United States*, No. 9:08-cv-80736-KAM (S.D. Fla. Sept. 16, 2019), ECF No. 478 (Marra, J.). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-flsd-9_08-cv-80736/pdf/USCOURTS-flsd-9_08-cv-80736-2.pdf
|
||||
[^21]: *In re Wild*, No. 19-13843, 994 F.3d 1244 (11th Cir. Apr. 15, 2021) (en banc), majority opinion at 2-3, 13; Branch, J., dissenting; Hull, J., dissenting. https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201913843.enb.pdf
|
||||
[^22]: Supreme Court of the United States, docket No. 21-351, order of February 22, 2022 denying certiorari. https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/21-351.html
|
||||
[^23]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, Executive Summary of the investigation into the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida's resolution of the 2006-2008 federal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein (November 2020), pp. 10-12. https://www.justice.gov/opr/page/file/1336471/dl
|
||||
[^24]: Same Executive Summary, pp. 2-3.
|
||||
[^25]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00077309, DataSet 9, email, Chief, Public Corruption Unit, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and the Office of Professional Responsibility, "RE: Draft OPR Report," August 21, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00077309.pdf
|
||||
[^26]: "US Attorney Alex Acosta showed 'poor judgment' when giving Jeffrey Epstein state-based plea deal in 2008: DOJ," *ABC News,* November 12, 2020. https://abcnews.com/US/us-attorney-alex-acosta-showed-poor-judgment-giving/story?id=74178029 ; the Villafaña footnote passage appears in the body of the full OPR report of November 2020, not in the executive summary cited at note 7.
|
||||
[^27]: Debra Cassens Weiss, "Jeffrey Epstein had dinners with top criminal prosecutor in years following favorable deal, documents show," *ABA Journal,* October 20, 2025. https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/jeffrey-epstein-had-dinners-with-top-criminal-prosecutor-in-years-following-favorable-deal-documents-show
|
||||
[^28]: "Trump's Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns after criticism over Epstein deal," *Euronews,* July 12, 2019. https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/12/trump-s-labor-secretary-alex-acosta-resigns-after-criticism-over-n1029226
|
||||
[^29]: "Former state's attorney pushes back against Acosta account of Epstein case," *The Hill,* July 10, 2019. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/452527-former-florida-state-attorney-pushes-back-against-acosta-account-of/
|
||||
[^30]: "Alex Acosta, former US attorney who negotiated Epstein's plea deal, appears before House Oversight Committee," *ABC News,* October 2025 (September 19, 2025 closed-door transcribed interview; transcript released October 17, 2025). https://abcnews.com/Politics/alex-acosta-former-us-attorney-negotiated-epsteins-plea/story?id=125731737
|
||||
[^31]: Vicky Ward, "Jeffrey Epstein's Sick Story Played Out for Years in Plain Sight," *The Daily Beast,* July 9, 2019. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-sick-story-played-out-for-years-in-plain-sight/
|
||||
[^32]: "Did Jeffrey Epstein 'Belong to Intelligence'?," *Skeptic,* analyzing Vicky Ward's July 2019 Daily Beast report. https://www.skeptic.com/article/did-jeffrey-epstein-belong-to-intelligence/
|
||||
[^33]: "Acosta once said Epstein 'belonged to intelligence,'" *Newsweek,* July 2019. https://www.newsweek.com/alex-acosta-epstein-sex-trafficking-department-labor-1448568
|
||||
[^34]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, full report of November 2020 on the Southern District of Florida's resolution of the Epstein investigation (report body; the passage does not appear in the executive summary cited at note 7). https://www.justice.gov/opr/page/file/1336471/dl
|
||||
[^35]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, deposition of William P. Barr, August 18, 2025, transcript released September 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Barr-Transcript.pdf
|
||||
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, Executive Summary of Report, *Investigation into the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida's Resolution of Its 2006-2008 Federal Criminal Investigation of Jeffrey Epstein,* November 2020 (NPA signed September 24, 2007; state plea June 30, 2008). https://www.justice.gov/opr/page/file/1336471/dl
|
||||
[^9]: Conchita Sarnoff and Lee Aitken, "Jeffrey Epstein: How the Hedge Fund Mogul Pedophile Got Off Easy," *The Daily Beast,* March 25, 2011, quoting R. Alexander Acosta's 2011 letter. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-how-the-hedge-fund-mogul-pedophile-got-off-easy/
|
||||
[^10]: "Jeffrey Epstein paid Palm Beach Sheriff's Office $128,000 during incarceration for prostitution charges," *WPTV,* 2019. https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/new-jeffrey-epstein-paid-palm-beach-sheriffs-office-128-000-during-incarceration-for-prostitution
|
||||
[^11]: "Florida authorities find no evidence of criminal activity in state's handling of Jeffrey Epstein case," *NBC News,* May 2021, on the sheriff's work-release program allowing Epstein out up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-authorities-no-evidence-criminal-activity-state-s-handling-jeffrey-n1266888
|
||||
[^12]: "How Bradley Edwards fought Alex Acosta's nonprosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein," *Slate,* July 2019. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/bradley-edwards-jeffrey-epstein-alexander-acosta.html
|
||||
[^13]: U.S. Department of State, "Jay Lefkowitz, Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea," official biography, 2005. https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/66929.htm ; "Final Report of Jay Lefkowitz, U.S. Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea," January 2009. https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/senk/115268.htm
|
||||
[^14]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Disgraced Lawyer Jay Lefkowitz Who Secured Sweetheart Deal Leaves Firm," *The Daily Beast,* March 2026, on Lefkowitz's three decades at Kirkland & Ellis and his Bush White House service. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-disgraced-lawyer-jay-lefkowitz-who-secured-sweetheart-deal-leaves-firm/
|
||||
[^15]: Opinion and Order, *Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 v. United States*, No. 9:08-cv-80736-KAM (S.D. Fla. Feb. 21, 2019), ECF No. 435 (Marra, J.), reported at 359 F. Supp. 3d 1201, quoting ECF No. 407 at paragraphs 33, 37, 52, 61, 63, 83, 90, and the court's analysis at 27-33. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.317867/gov.uscourts.flsd.317867.435.0.pdf
|
||||
[^16]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Disgraced Lawyer Jay Lefkowitz Who Secured Sweetheart Deal Leaves Firm," *The Daily Beast,* March 2026, quoting Lefkowitz's retirement statement and a Kirkland & Ellis spokesperson. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-disgraced-lawyer-jay-lefkowitz-who-secured-sweetheart-deal-leaves-firm/
|
||||
[^17]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00224943, DataSet 9, "Epstein Investigation Timeline," Exhibit A-1, privileged chronology of the federal investigation, pp. 9 to 10, 12 to 13, 20, 24 to 29, 34. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00224943.pdf
|
||||
[^18]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00214486, DataSet 9, email chain, Jeff Sloman and Ann Marie Villafana, "Re: Did u hear?," May 16, 2008. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00214486.pdf
|
||||
[^19]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02847284, Prior DOJ Disclosures, Office of Professional Responsibility report on the Southern District of Florida's resolution of the Epstein investigation, November 2020, p. 152 and n. 224. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Prior%20DOJ%20Disclosures/Memos.%20&%20Correspondence/EFTA02847284.pdf
|
||||
[^20]: "Epstein accusers won't receive damages and plea deal won't be tossed, judge rules," *CNN,* September 16, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/16/us/jeffrey-epstein-florida-accusers-judge-ruling
|
||||
[^21]: Opinion and Order, *Doe v. United States*, No. 9:08-cv-80736-KAM (S.D. Fla. Sept. 16, 2019), ECF No. 478 (Marra, J.). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-flsd-9_08-cv-80736/pdf/USCOURTS-flsd-9_08-cv-80736-2.pdf
|
||||
[^22]: *In re Wild*, No. 19-13843, 994 F.3d 1244 (11th Cir. Apr. 15, 2021) (en banc), majority opinion at 2-3, 13; Branch, J., dissenting; Hull, J., dissenting. https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201913843.enb.pdf
|
||||
[^23]: Supreme Court of the United States, docket No. 21-351, order of February 22, 2022 denying certiorari. https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/21-351.html
|
||||
[^24]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, Executive Summary of the investigation into the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida's resolution of the 2006-2008 federal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein (November 2020), pp. 10-12. https://www.justice.gov/opr/page/file/1336471/dl
|
||||
[^25]: Same Executive Summary, pp. 2-3.
|
||||
[^26]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00077309, DataSet 9, email, Chief, Public Corruption Unit, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and the Office of Professional Responsibility, "RE: Draft OPR Report," August 21, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00077309.pdf
|
||||
[^27]: "US Attorney Alex Acosta showed 'poor judgment' when giving Jeffrey Epstein state-based plea deal in 2008: DOJ," *ABC News,* November 12, 2020. https://abcnews.com/US/us-attorney-alex-acosta-showed-poor-judgment-giving/story?id=74178029 ; the Villafaña footnote passage appears in the body of the full OPR report of November 2020, not in the executive summary cited at note 7.
|
||||
[^28]: Debra Cassens Weiss, "Jeffrey Epstein had dinners with top criminal prosecutor in years following favorable deal, documents show," *ABA Journal,* October 20, 2025. https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/jeffrey-epstein-had-dinners-with-top-criminal-prosecutor-in-years-following-favorable-deal-documents-show
|
||||
[^29]: "Trump's Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns after criticism over Epstein deal," *Euronews,* July 12, 2019. https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/12/trump-s-labor-secretary-alex-acosta-resigns-after-criticism-over-n1029226
|
||||
[^30]: "Former state's attorney pushes back against Acosta account of Epstein case," *The Hill,* July 10, 2019. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/452527-former-florida-state-attorney-pushes-back-against-acosta-account-of/
|
||||
[^31]: "Alex Acosta, former US attorney who negotiated Epstein's plea deal, appears before House Oversight Committee," *ABC News,* October 2025 (September 19, 2025 closed-door transcribed interview; transcript released October 17, 2025). https://abcnews.com/Politics/alex-acosta-former-us-attorney-negotiated-epsteins-plea/story?id=125731737
|
||||
[^32]: Vicky Ward, "Jeffrey Epstein's Sick Story Played Out for Years in Plain Sight," *The Daily Beast,* July 9, 2019. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-sick-story-played-out-for-years-in-plain-sight/
|
||||
[^33]: "Did Jeffrey Epstein 'Belong to Intelligence'?," *Skeptic,* analyzing Vicky Ward's July 2019 Daily Beast report. https://www.skeptic.com/article/did-jeffrey-epstein-belong-to-intelligence/
|
||||
[^34]: "Acosta once said Epstein 'belonged to intelligence,'" *Newsweek,* July 2019. https://www.newsweek.com/alex-acosta-epstein-sex-trafficking-department-labor-1448568
|
||||
[^35]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, full report of November 2020 on the Southern District of Florida's resolution of the Epstein investigation (report body; the passage does not appear in the executive summary cited at note 7). https://www.justice.gov/opr/page/file/1336471/dl
|
||||
[^36]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, deposition of William P. Barr, August 18, 2025, transcript released September 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Barr-Transcript.pdf
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Boyak maintained contacts and performed legal work for former colleagues from hi
|
|||
|
||||
Boyak became involved with [[Robert Booth Nichols]] when one of his clients, [[Cap Kressop]], a technical wizard, was approached by Nichols to manufacture a prototype laser site for a rifle. Kressop became suspicious when Nichols offered to pay him $200,000 in cash. Boyak contacted Nichols at his Marina Del Rey home/office, and their meeting was continuously interrupted by telephone calls and telex messages. Boyak became convinced that Nichols was involved in large-scale illegal drug operations.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
After consulting with [[Dexter Leitenen]], then an assistant [[United States Attorney|U.S. Attorney]], Boyak went to the Los Angeles [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] office with his suspicions about Nichols' activities. However, an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] background check on Nichols, reportedly conducted by [[Ted Gunderson]], found him "squeaky clean." Boyak later discovered that [[Harold Okimoto]], whom Nichols referenced as a business associate and personal friend, was believed by some of Boyak's sources to be a top Japanese organized crime figure based in [[Hawaii]] and a top agent in the [[Yakuza]] overseas.[^1]
|
||||
After consulting with [[Dexter Lehtinen]], then an assistant [[United States Attorney|U.S. Attorney]], Boyak went to the Los Angeles [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] office with his suspicions about Nichols' activities. However, an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] background check on Nichols, reportedly conducted by [[Ted Gunderson]], found him "squeaky clean." Boyak later discovered that [[Harold Okimoto]], whom Nichols referenced as a business associate and personal friend, was believed by some of Boyak's sources to be a top Japanese organized crime figure based in [[Hawaii]] and a top agent in the [[Yakuza]] overseas.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
Over the next two years, after the Los Angeles [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] dropped its interest in Nichols, Boyak's friend [[Art Suchesk]] repeatedly encountered Nichols in places like [[Singapore]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Taiwan]]. Boyak stated that information developed during this period indicated that Nichols was indeed a "bigtime drug dealer" who operated exclusively overseas and was well-insulated from U.S. law enforcement problems. Boyak described Nichols' rum importing business as a cover for large-scale heroin trafficking from the [[Golden Triangle]]. Nichols was also named as "Mr. Big" in the [[Medellin Cartel]] in drug prosecutions in [[Utah]] and [[Los Angeles]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
created: 2026-05-15
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-14
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
title: Allen Dulles
|
||||
aliases:
|
||||
- Allen Welsh Dulles
|
||||
|
|
@ -27,12 +27,12 @@ relations:
|
|||
with: "[[American Committee on United Europe]]"
|
||||
start: 1949
|
||||
role: "vice-chairman"
|
||||
fn: 2
|
||||
fn: 4
|
||||
- type: member_of
|
||||
with: "[[Warren Commission]]"
|
||||
start: 1963-11-29
|
||||
end: 1964-09-24
|
||||
fn: 17
|
||||
fn: 19
|
||||
---
|
||||
Allen Welsh Dulles (April 7, 1893 - January 29, 1969) served as [[Director of Central Intelligence]] from February 26, 1953, to November 29, 1961 - the longest tenure of any DCI, the first civilian DCI, and the only brother of a sitting Secretary of State to hold the position. Dulles built the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] into the instrument of Cold War covert action that executed [[Operation AJAX]] in [[Iran]] (1953), [[Operation PBSUCCESS]] in [[Guatemala]] (1954), and the [[Bay of Pigs]] invasion of [[Cuba]] (1961). The Bay of Pigs disaster cost him his position - President [[John F. Kennedy]] forced his resignation, along with [[Richard Bissell]] and [[Charles P. Cabell|C.P. Cabell]] - and his subsequent appointment by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] to the [[Warren Commission]] investigating Kennedy's assassination placed him in the remarkable position of overseeing the investigation of the event that had ended both his patron's life and his own career.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Allen Welsh Dulles (April 7, 1893 - January 29, 1969) served as [[Director of Ce
|
|||
|
||||
Dulles was born in Watertown, [[New York]], to a Presbyterian minister. His maternal grandfather [[John Watson Foster]] had been Secretary of State under President Harrison; his uncle [[Robert Lansing]] served as Secretary of State under Wilson. His elder brother [[John Foster Dulles]] became Secretary of State under Eisenhower, making the Dulles brothers the only siblings simultaneously to head the CIA and State Department.
|
||||
|
||||
After [[Princeton University|Princeton]] and brief missionary work in [[India]], Dulles entered the diplomatic service and served at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as an intelligence analyst. He joined the law firm [[Sullivan & Cromwell]] - which also employed his brother [[John Foster]] - where Sullivan & Cromwell represented major corporate interests including [[United Fruit Company]]. This connection became significant two decades later when the Dulles brothers, now respectively CIA Director and Secretary of State, authorized operations against a Guatemalan government that had expropriated United Fruit's landholdings.
|
||||
After [[Princeton University|Princeton]] (B.A. 1914, M.A. 1916)[^2] and brief missionary work in [[India]], Dulles entered the diplomatic service and served at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as an intelligence analyst. He joined the law firm [[Sullivan & Cromwell]] - which also employed his brother [[John Foster]] - where Sullivan & Cromwell represented major corporate interests including [[United Fruit Company]]. This connection became significant two decades later when the Dulles brothers, now respectively CIA Director and Secretary of State, authorized operations against a Guatemalan government that had expropriated United Fruit's landholdings. He was a trustee of Princeton by August 1961.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
During World War II, Dulles served the [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]] as station chief in [[Bern]], [[Switzerland]] from 1942 to 1945 - the most significant OSS posting in Europe, given Switzerland's position as a neutral intelligence hub. His operational achievements included:
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ The unverifiable provenance of Gehlen's Soviet networks meant that the intellige
|
|||
|
||||
### American Committee on United Europe
|
||||
|
||||
Dulles was vice-chairman of the [[American Committee on United Europe]] (ACUE), which [[Richard Aldrich]] describes as formed to support [[Winston Churchill]] and the [[European Movement]] and officially incorporated in February 1949. [[William J. Donovan]] was its chairman, and [[Thomas W. Braden]], a former OSS officer, was its executive director.[^2] Aldrich reports Braden's assertion in the 1980s that ACUE funds originated with the CIA, and writes that the 1962 Oxford thesis of [[F. X. Rebattet]], son of the European Movement's secretary-general [[George Rebattet]], "confirms that most ACUE funds originated with the CIA."[^3] Dulles also corresponded with [[Max Ascoli]], whose papers index a photocopy of a typed letter from Dulles dated May 27 among the 1968 letters on the closing of [[The Reporter]].[^4] A February 7, 1958 letter to Dulles from the chairman of the President's Committee on Scientists and Engineers thanks him for addressing the Conference on America's Human Resources at [[Yale University]] and encloses a participant list that includes "Mr. Max Ascoli, Editor and Publisher, The Reporter."[^5] [[Hugh Wilford]] writes that The Reporter's deputy [[Philip Horton]] used contacts with Donovan, Dulles and James Jesus Angleton to enhance its foreign coverage.[^6]
|
||||
Dulles was vice-chairman of the [[American Committee on United Europe]] (ACUE), which [[Richard Aldrich]] describes as formed to support [[Winston Churchill]] and the [[European Movement]] and officially incorporated in February 1949. [[William J. Donovan]] was its chairman, and [[Thomas W. Braden]], a former OSS officer, was its executive director.[^4] Aldrich reports Braden's assertion in the 1980s that ACUE funds originated with the CIA, and writes that the 1962 Oxford thesis of [[F. X. Rebattet]], son of the European Movement's secretary-general [[George Rebattet]], "confirms that most ACUE funds originated with the CIA."[^5] Dulles also corresponded with [[Max Ascoli]], whose papers index a photocopy of a typed letter from Dulles dated May 27 among the 1968 letters on the closing of [[The Reporter]].[^6] A February 7, 1958 letter to Dulles from the chairman of the President's Committee on Scientists and Engineers thanks him for addressing the Conference on America's Human Resources at [[Yale University]] and encloses a participant list that includes "Mr. Max Ascoli, Editor and Publisher, The Reporter."[^7] [[Hugh Wilford]] writes that The Reporter's deputy [[Philip Horton]] used contacts with Donovan, Dulles and James Jesus Angleton to enhance its foreign coverage.[^8]
|
||||
|
||||
### DCI: Iran, Guatemala, and the Covert Action Doctrine
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -64,25 +64,25 @@ Dulles was named Deputy Director (Plans) in 1951 and became DCI on February 26,
|
|||
|
||||
Operation AJAX (August 1953): Working with British intelligence, Dulles's CIA executed the coup that overthrew Iranian Prime Minister [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]] and returned [[Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi|Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] to full power. The operation was designed and led in the field by [[Kermit Roosevelt|Kermit Roosevelt Jr.]], grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. Operation AJAX established the operational template that Dulles and Bissell believed could be replicated elsewhere.
|
||||
|
||||
Operation PBSUCCESS (June 1954): The CIA's overthrow of Guatemalan President [[Jacobo Arbenz]] was presented to Eisenhower as a vindication of covert action - a small paramilitary force, CIA air assets, and psychological warfare had collapsed a government with minimal U.S. exposure. Dulles and his team drew exactly the wrong lesson: that the model was transferable. The direct organizational line from PBSUCCESS to the Bay of Pigs ran through the same personnel - [[Howard Hunt]], [[Tracy Barnes]], [[David Atlee Phillips]] - applying the same framework to a target that had fundamentally different characteristics.[^7]
|
||||
Operation PBSUCCESS (June 1954): The CIA's overthrow of Guatemalan President [[Jacobo Arbenz]] was presented to Eisenhower as a vindication of covert action - a small paramilitary force, CIA air assets, and psychological warfare had collapsed a government with minimal U.S. exposure. Dulles and his team drew exactly the wrong lesson: that the model was transferable. The direct organizational line from PBSUCCESS to the Bay of Pigs ran through the same personnel - [[Howard Hunt]], [[Tracy Barnes]], [[David Atlee Phillips]] - applying the same framework to a target that had fundamentally different characteristics.[^9]
|
||||
|
||||
[[MKULTRA]]: Dulles authorized the CIA's human experimentation program in April 1953 under Technical Services Staff chief [[Sidney Gottlieb]]. The program used LSD and other substances on unconsenting subjects, including mental patients, prisoners, and unwitting CIA employees. Dulles's authorization memorandum noted concerns about Soviet brainwashing capabilities and framed the program as defensive research. The program's scope - eventually comprising 150 subprojects at 80 institutions - far exceeded what Dulles's authorization documents described.
|
||||
|
||||
On August 26, 1960 Dulles cabled the Leopoldville station that the station officer was to be given "wider authority," including "even more aggressive action if it can remain covert," and wrote that "we realize that targets of opportunity may present themselves to you."[^8] The cable authorized up to $100,000 "to carry out any crash programs on which you do not have the opportunity to consult HQS," and assured the station officer that the message had been "seen and approved at competent level" in the State Department.[^8] The Church Committee documented the cable as one of a sequence that began with Tweedy's cable of August 18, 1960 and Bissell's of August 19.[^8]
|
||||
On August 26, 1960 Dulles cabled the Leopoldville station that the station officer was to be given "wider authority," including "even more aggressive action if it can remain covert," and wrote that "we realize that targets of opportunity may present themselves to you."[^10] The cable authorized up to $100,000 "to carry out any crash programs on which you do not have the opportunity to consult HQS," and assured the station officer that the message had been "seen and approved at competent level" in the State Department.[^10] The Church Committee documented the cable as one of a sequence that began with Tweedy's cable of August 18, 1960 and Bissell's of August 19.[^10]
|
||||
|
||||
### Correspondence with Senator McCarthy, 1953
|
||||
|
||||
In July 1953 [[Joseph McCarthy]], as chairman of the [[Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]], wrote to Dulles about [[William P. Bundy]], an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, whom McCarthy linked to a $400 contribution to the defense of [[Alger Hiss]].[^9] McCarthy's letter of July 27, 1953 said the contribution "raises the gravest question as to his holding a sensitive post in an intelligence agency."[^10] The CIA reply of July 22, 1953, signed by [[Alba W. Doan]] as director, gave the agency's account of Bundy's disclosure on his March 1951 application and of the field investigation and loyalty determinations that followed. It deferred comment on the reasons Bundy gave for the contribution until a review was complete.[^9] A newspaper article by [[Allen Drury]] dated August 4, 1953 reported that Dulles had refused to tell McCarthy Bundy's explanation.[^11] McCarthy replied on August 3 that Bundy's contributions to Hiss predated his CIA employment and that Congress was entitled to information about improper conduct by the agency's top officers.[^12]
|
||||
In July 1953 [[Joseph McCarthy]], as chairman of the [[Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]], wrote to Dulles about [[William P. Bundy]], an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, whom McCarthy linked to a $400 contribution to the defense of [[Alger Hiss]].[^11] McCarthy's letter of July 27, 1953 said the contribution "raises the gravest question as to his holding a sensitive post in an intelligence agency."[^12] The CIA reply of July 22, 1953, signed by [[Alba W. Doan]] as director, gave the agency's account of Bundy's disclosure on his March 1951 application and of the field investigation and loyalty determinations that followed. It deferred comment on the reasons Bundy gave for the contribution until a review was complete.[^11] A newspaper article by [[Allen Drury]] dated August 4, 1953 reported that Dulles had refused to tell McCarthy Bundy's explanation.[^13] McCarthy replied on August 3 that Bundy's contributions to Hiss predated his CIA employment and that Congress was entitled to information about improper conduct by the agency's top officers.[^14]
|
||||
|
||||
On October 22, 1953 Dulles wrote to McCarthy that a check of the agency's reproduction facilities had found that "no classified CIA material is printed in the main GPO plant." The letter answered press reports that CIA classified material had been printed at the [[Government Printing Office]]. It said the agency's legislative counsel had informed the subcommittee's staff of these facts on August 12, 1953, and it asked that the letter be placed in the record.[^13]
|
||||
On October 22, 1953 Dulles wrote to McCarthy that a check of the agency's reproduction facilities had found that "no classified CIA material is printed in the main GPO plant." The letter answered press reports that CIA classified material had been printed at the [[Government Printing Office]]. It said the agency's legislative counsel had informed the subcommittee's staff of these facts on August 12, 1953, and it asked that the letter be placed in the record.[^15]
|
||||
|
||||
### MKULTRA: The Sandoz Panic and the Olson Death
|
||||
|
||||
Dulles approved MKULTRA on April 13, 1953, ten days after Richard Helms proposed a program for the "covert use of biological and chemical materials," with an initial $300,000 exempt from normal financial controls and payable blindly on the signatures of Gottlieb and TSS chief [[Willis Gibbons]]. Acting in a climate of Cold War urgency, that same month Dulles approved a $240,000 payment after an intelligence report claimed [[Sandoz]] wanted to sell 10 kilograms of [[LSD]] on the open market; CIA officers flew to Switzerland with a black bag of cash only to learn Sandoz had produced barely 40 grams in fifteen years, the entire panic stemming from a military attaché who confused milligrams with kilograms. When [[Frank Olson]] died in November 1953 after Gottlieb dosed him with LSD at [[Deep Creek Lodge]], Dulles ordered Inspector General [[Lyman Kirkpatrick]] to investigate; the resulting reprimands were softened through six drafts and placed in no personnel file.[^14]
|
||||
Dulles approved MKULTRA on April 13, 1953, ten days after Richard Helms proposed a program for the "covert use of biological and chemical materials," with an initial $300,000 exempt from normal financial controls and payable blindly on the signatures of Gottlieb and TSS chief [[Willis Gibbons]]. Acting in a climate of Cold War urgency, that same month Dulles approved a $240,000 payment after an intelligence report claimed [[Sandoz]] wanted to sell 10 kilograms of [[LSD]] on the open market; CIA officers flew to Switzerland with a black bag of cash only to learn Sandoz had produced barely 40 grams in fifteen years, the entire panic stemming from a military attaché who confused milligrams with kilograms. When [[Frank Olson]] died in November 1953 after Gottlieb dosed him with LSD at [[Deep Creek Lodge]], Dulles ordered Inspector General [[Lyman Kirkpatrick]] to investigate; the resulting reprimands were softened through six drafts and placed in no personnel file.[^16]
|
||||
|
||||
### Rockefeller's Special Group and the Human Ecology Front
|
||||
|
||||
Under Eisenhower, Dulles reported all CIA covert operations, including MKULTRA, the coups, and assassination planning, to the NSC "[[Special Group]]" chaired by [[Nelson Rockefeller]], the structure formalized by NSC 5412/2 in December 1955 that gave the president plausible deniability; in a 1955 "Family Jewels" briefing Dulles described the full range of covert programs to Rockefeller's board. When MKULTRA needed a research hospital, Dulles sought Rockefeller's approval for a scheme to channel CIA money through private foundations to win matching federal grants for a wing at [[Georgetown University Hospital]]. The program's primary funding front, the [[Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology]], was organized at Dulles's initiative through [[Harold Wolff]], the Cornell neurologist who had treated Dulles's brain-damaged son; Dulles attended one of its first board meetings. His relationship with [[D. Ewen Cameron]] predated the funding: in November 1945, still with the OSS, Dulles had sent Cameron to Nuremberg to assess whether [[Rudolf Hess]] was fit to stand trial.[^15]
|
||||
Under Eisenhower, Dulles reported all CIA covert operations, including MKULTRA, the coups, and assassination planning, to the NSC "[[Special Group]]" chaired by [[Nelson Rockefeller]], the structure formalized by NSC 5412/2 in December 1955 that gave the president plausible deniability; in a 1955 "Family Jewels" briefing Dulles described the full range of covert programs to Rockefeller's board. When MKULTRA needed a research hospital, Dulles sought Rockefeller's approval for a scheme to channel CIA money through private foundations to win matching federal grants for a wing at [[Georgetown University Hospital]]. The program's primary funding front, the [[Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology]], was organized at Dulles's initiative through [[Harold Wolff]], the Cornell neurologist who had treated Dulles's brain-damaged son; Dulles attended one of its first board meetings. His relationship with [[D. Ewen Cameron]] predated the funding: in November 1945, still with the OSS, Dulles had sent Cameron to Nuremberg to assess whether [[Rudolf Hess]] was fit to stand trial.[^17]
|
||||
|
||||
### Bay of Pigs and Forced Resignation
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -90,54 +90,56 @@ The Bay of Pigs invasion of April 17-19, 1961 was the catastrophic failure that
|
|||
|
||||
Kennedy publicly accepted responsibility but was privately furious. He reportedly told aide [[Ted Sorensen]] that he wanted to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds" - a remark almost certainly apocryphal in its precise wording but consistent with his documented anger. The Taylor Commission's findings and the classified Kirkpatrick IG report both pointed to fundamental CIA failures in planning, execution, and judgment.
|
||||
|
||||
Dulles submitted his resignation in September 1961; it was formally accepted November 29, 1961. He was replaced by [[John McCone]]. The CIA's own history states that a "humiliated President Kennedy did not wait for either report before cleaning house at CIA" and that he accepted resignations from Dulles and from Deputy Director for Plans Richard Bissell, who stayed at their posts until their successors were selected a few months later.[^16] Bissell and Cabell were also forced out. CIA veterans viewed their dismissal as Kennedy scapegoating the agency for a failure the [[White House]] had co-created by canceling the air strikes.[^1]
|
||||
Dulles submitted his resignation in September 1961; it was formally accepted November 29, 1961. He was replaced by [[John McCone]]. The CIA's own history states that a "humiliated President Kennedy did not wait for either report before cleaning house at CIA" and that he accepted resignations from Dulles and from Deputy Director for Plans Richard Bissell, who stayed at their posts until their successors were selected a few months later.[^18] Bissell and Cabell were also forced out. CIA veterans viewed their dismissal as Kennedy scapegoating the agency for a failure the [[White House]] had co-created by canceling the air strikes.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### The Warren Commission
|
||||
|
||||
On November 29, 1963 - exactly two years after Dulles's forced resignation - President Lyndon Johnson appointed the Warren Commission to investigate Kennedy's assassination. Among the seven commissioners Johnson named was Allen Dulles despite Kennedy’s firing of Dulles.[^17]
|
||||
On November 29, 1963 - exactly two years after Dulles's forced resignation - President Lyndon Johnson appointed the Warren Commission to investigate Kennedy's assassination. Among the seven commissioners Johnson named was Allen Dulles despite Kennedy’s firing of Dulles.[^19]
|
||||
|
||||
The investigation was examining whether CIA-connected parties (specifically the anti-Castro exile networks and organized crime figures that Dulles had directly overseen) had any role in the assassination. He was now in a position to shape what evidence the Commission sought, what witnesses it called, and what conclusions it reached regarding the CIA programs he had run.
|
||||
|
||||
Dulles was reportedly among the most active commissioners in shaping the investigation's scope. He briefed commissioners on CIA history and procedures. Book V of the Church Committee's final report states that, with the exception of Dulles, it is unlikely anyone on the Warren Commission knew of the CIA's assassination efforts, and that Dulles knew of the plots with underworld figures that had taken place during his tenure as Director of Central Intelligence.[^18] The Church Committee's 1975 interim report states that Dulles "did not inform the other members about the plots that had occurred during his term as DCI,"[^19] and also states that "it is not entirely certain that Dulles was ever made aware of the true nature of the underworld operation."[^20] The [[ZR/RIFLE]] assassination plotting program was, in the same period, not disclosed to the Commission at the agency level by [[Richard Helms]] as Deputy Director for Plans. Helms testified that Dulles "was sitting right there" in the Commission's deliberations and "knew about this," and that he did not know what Dulles had said to the Commission about the plots.[^21] The CIA's failure to disclose the assassination plots to the Warren Commission was documented by the Church Committee in 1975; Dulles's role as both a commissioner and the former DCI who had authorized the programs is the structural conflict of interest the Commission's composition created.
|
||||
Dulles was reportedly among the most active commissioners in shaping the investigation's scope. He briefed commissioners on CIA history and procedures. Book V of the Church Committee's final report states that, with the exception of Dulles, it is unlikely anyone on the Warren Commission knew of the CIA's assassination efforts, and that Dulles knew of the plots with underworld figures that had taken place during his tenure as Director of Central Intelligence.[^20] The Church Committee's 1975 interim report states that Dulles "did not inform the other members about the plots that had occurred during his term as DCI,"[^21] and also states that "it is not entirely certain that Dulles was ever made aware of the true nature of the underworld operation."[^22] The [[ZR/RIFLE]] assassination plotting program was, in the same period, not disclosed to the Commission at the agency level by [[Richard Helms]] as Deputy Director for Plans. Helms testified that Dulles "was sitting right there" in the Commission's deliberations and "knew about this," and that he did not know what Dulles had said to the Commission about the plots.[^23] The CIA's failure to disclose the assassination plots to the Warren Commission was documented by the Church Committee in 1975; Dulles's role as both a commissioner and the former DCI who had authorized the programs is the structural conflict of interest the Commission's composition created.
|
||||
|
||||
Angleton testified that Dulles consulted him before agreeing to President Johnson's request that he serve, that the two were in frequent contact, and that they informally discussed the progress of the investigation and what further work the CIA could do.[^22] At the January 22, 1964 executive session, the Commission took up a report that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] had been a paid FBI informant. Dulles asked whether the purpose of such a hire could have been to penetrate the [[Fair Play for Cuba Committee]]. He said that practically any American could obtain a passport good for anywhere, and that the Passport Bureau had no record of Oswald's defection. Near the end of the meeting, Dulles said: "I think this record ought to be destroyed."[^23] FBI Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]]'s files held an index card on Dulles that cross-referenced a November 29, 1963 memorandum.[^24]
|
||||
Angleton testified that Dulles consulted him before agreeing to President Johnson's request that he serve, that the two were in frequent contact, and that they informally discussed the progress of the investigation and what further work the CIA could do.[^24] At the January 22, 1964 executive session, the Commission took up a report that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] had been a paid FBI informant. Dulles asked whether the purpose of such a hire could have been to penetrate the [[Fair Play for Cuba Committee]]. He said that practically any American could obtain a passport good for anywhere, and that the Passport Bureau had no record of Oswald's defection. Near the end of the meeting, Dulles said: "I think this record ought to be destroyed."[^25] FBI Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]]'s files held an index card on Dulles that cross-referenced a November 29, 1963 memorandum.[^26]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] (1979) found that the Warren Commission's failure to investigate adequately the possibility of a conspiracy was "attributable in part to the failure of the Commission to receive all the relevant information that was in the possession of other agencies and departments of the Government," and that the CIA "was deficient in its collection and sharing of information both prior to and subsequent to the assassination."[^25] The report does not name Dulles in those findings. It states that the committee did not ignore the possibility that certain CIA officials who knew that close scrutiny of United States-Cuban relations could have exposed the CIA-Mafia plots might have tried to keep the CIA's or the Warren Commission's inquiry from the question of Cuban complicity, and that it determined that only Deputy Director Helms was in a position to have both the knowledge and the power to accomplish such a cover-up and was satisfied, on the basis of its investigation, that it was "highly unlikely he in fact did so."[^26] It found that the details of the AMLASH plot and the CIA-Mafia plots should have been provided to the Warren Commission.[^27]
|
||||
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] (1979) found that the Warren Commission's failure to investigate adequately the possibility of a conspiracy was "attributable in part to the failure of the Commission to receive all the relevant information that was in the possession of other agencies and departments of the Government," and that the CIA "was deficient in its collection and sharing of information both prior to and subsequent to the assassination."[^27] The report does not name Dulles in those findings. It states that the committee did not ignore the possibility that certain CIA officials who knew that close scrutiny of United States-Cuban relations could have exposed the CIA-Mafia plots might have tried to keep the CIA's or the Warren Commission's inquiry from the question of Cuban complicity, and that it determined that only Deputy Director Helms was in a position to have both the knowledge and the power to accomplish such a cover-up and was satisfied, on the basis of its investigation, that it was "highly unlikely he in fact did so."[^28] It found that the details of the AMLASH plot and the CIA-Mafia plots should have been provided to the Warren Commission.[^29]
|
||||
|
||||
### Death and Legacy
|
||||
|
||||
Dulles spent his post-CIA years writing, lecturing, and defending the covert action programs he had built. His book *The Craft of Intelligence* (1963) was the first major public account of CIA operations by a former director. He died in Washington on January 29, 1969, of influenza complicated by pneumonia, eighteen months before the full extent of MKULTRA and the assassination plots became public.
|
||||
|
||||
The 2022 report of the United Nations Eminent Person summarized the argument of Greg Poulgrain's 2020 book, *JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia*, which posits that Dulles formed a motive to remove [[Dag Hammarskjöld]] following a policy conflict over the United Nations' intended intervention in the dispute over the sovereignty of West New Guinea.[^28] The report recorded Poulgrain's proposition that the Operation Celeste documents, which refer to a plan to kill Hammarskjöld by causing his plane to crash, mention Dulles by name, stating: "UNO is becoming troublesome and it is felt that Hammarskjöld should be removed. Allen Dulles agrees and has promised full cooperation from his people."[^28] Poulgrain compared this with the Church Committee's account of Dulles expressing a "wish [to] give every possible support" to a plan to kill Lumumba.[^28] The report stated that it was not necessary at that stage to assess the probative value of Poulgrain's information, and that it underscored the importance of "proving or disproving the veracity of the Operation Celeste hypothesis and Dulles's alleged involvement (as relied on by Poulgrain)."[^29]
|
||||
The 2022 report of the United Nations Eminent Person summarized the argument of Greg Poulgrain's 2020 book, *JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia*, which posits that Dulles formed a motive to remove [[Dag Hammarskjöld]] following a policy conflict over the United Nations' intended intervention in the dispute over the sovereignty of West New Guinea.[^30] The report recorded Poulgrain's proposition that the Operation Celeste documents, which refer to a plan to kill Hammarskjöld by causing his plane to crash, mention Dulles by name, stating: "UNO is becoming troublesome and it is felt that Hammarskjöld should be removed. Allen Dulles agrees and has promised full cooperation from his people."[^30] Poulgrain compared this with the Church Committee's account of Dulles expressing a "wish [to] give every possible support" to a plan to kill Lumumba.[^30] The report stated that it was not necessary at that stage to assess the probative value of Poulgrain's information, and that it underscored the importance of "proving or disproving the veracity of the Operation Celeste hypothesis and Dulles's alleged involvement (as relied on by Poulgrain)."[^31]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Kinzer, Stephen. *The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War.* Times Books, 2013 (covers both brothers, the Sullivan & Cromwell connections, and the covert action programs). Grose, Peter. *Gentleman Spy: The Life of Allen Dulles.* Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
|
||||
[^2]: Richard J. Aldrich, "OSS, CIA and European Unity: The American Committee on United Europe, 1948-60," Diplomacy & Statecraft 8, no. 1 (1997), p. 192, DOI 10.1080/09592299708406035, https://text.www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/aldrich/publications/oss_cia_united_europe_eec_eu.pdf.
|
||||
[^3]: Aldrich (1997), pp. 211-212 (Braden's 1980s assertion at p. 211; Rabattet passage at p. 212), same URL.
|
||||
[^4]: Senato della Repubblica, Archivio storico, Max Ascoli fonds, sottofascicolo 15, index of names, https://patrimonio.archivio.senato.it/inventario/scheda/max-ascoli/IT-AFS-005-002785/letters-expressing-regrets-upon-closing-of-the-reporter-from-personal-friends-of-max-ascoli-1968.
|
||||
[^5]: Howard L. Bevis to Allen W. Dulles, February 7, 1958, CIA-RDP80B01676R003800020106-4, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80b01676r003800020106-4.
|
||||
[^6]: Hugh Wilford, The Mighty Wurlitzer (Harvard University Press, 2008), pp. 230-231.
|
||||
[^7]: Kornbluh, Peter, ed. *Bay of Pigs Declassified: The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba.* New Press, 1998. Church Committee. "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders." Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975. Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991. Chapter 4.
|
||||
[^8]: United States Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975, section on the Congo, quoting the CIA cables of August 18, August 19 and August 26, 1960. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94465.pdf
|
||||
[^9]: Letter from Alba W. Doan, Director, Central Intelligence Agency, to Joseph R. McCarthy, July 22, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP80M01009A000100080014-6. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80m01009a000100080014-6
|
||||
[^10]: Letter from Joseph R. McCarthy, Chairman, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, to Allen W. Dulles, July 27, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP80M01009A000100080022-7. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80m01009a000100080022-7
|
||||
[^11]: Allen Drury, "McCarthy Warns CIA Head Fight on Bundy Isn't Over," newspaper article, August 4, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP74-00297R000401370024-4. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp74-00297r000401370024-4
|
||||
[^12]: Letter from Joseph R. McCarthy to Allen W. Dulles, August 3, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP80M01009A000100080020-9. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80m01009a000100080020-9
|
||||
[^13]: Letter from Allen W. Dulles to Joseph R. McCarthy, October 22, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP86B00269R000100130103-2. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp86b00269r000100130103-2
|
||||
[^14]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapter 4; "Project MKULTRA, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification," Joint Senate Hearing, August 3, 1977.
|
||||
[^15]: Gerard Colby and Charlotte Dennett, *Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon*. HarperCollins, 1995, Ch. 18; John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapter 9.
|
||||
[^16]: Warner, Michael, "The CIA's Internal Probe of the Bay of Pigs Affair: Lessons Unlearned," *Studies in Intelligence*, Winter 1998-1999. https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Internal-Probe-Bay-Pigs.pdf
|
||||
[^17]: Executive Order 11130, "Appointing a Commission To Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," November 29, 1963. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-11130-appointing-commission-report-upon-the-assassination-president-john-f
|
||||
[^18]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies*, Book V, Final Report, April 23, 1976, pp. 67-68. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
|
||||
[^19]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975, p. 269, note 1. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
|
||||
[^20]: *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, p. 267. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
|
||||
[^21]: Book V, p. 70 (Helms testimony of July 18, 1975). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
|
||||
[^22]: Book V, p. 69 (note 134, Angleton testimony of February 6, 1976, pp. 31-34). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
|
||||
[^23]: Warren Commission, executive session transcript, January 22, 1964, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. https://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcexec/pdf/WcEx0122.pdf
|
||||
[^24]: U.S. Assassination Records Review Board, memorandum by Ronald G. Haron, "Assassination Records Among the Files of J. Edgar Hoover (FBI-36)," January 8, 1998. https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/jfkfiles/NARA-Oct2017/ARRB/RHARON/HARON/FBIMEM.002.pdf
|
||||
[^25]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), summary Findings I.D.4 and I.D.5(b) (p. 4). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
|
||||
[^26]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, p. 128. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
|
||||
[^27]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 112-116. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
|
||||
[^28]: A/76/892, report of the Eminent Person, August 25, 2022, paragraphs 241 to 244. https://documents.un.org/api/symbol/access?s=A%2F76%2F892&l=en&t=pdf
|
||||
[^29]: A/76/892, paragraph 246. https://documents.un.org/api/symbol/access?s=A%2F76%2F892&l=en&t=pdf
|
||||
[^2]: *Allen W. Dulles Papers*, Public Policy Papers, Princeton University Library (MC019), biography/history and acquisition information. https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/PRIN_MUDD_MC019
|
||||
[^3]: Allen W. Dulles to Hadley Cantril, August 28, 1961, replying to a letter of July 21, 1961. CIA reading room, CIA-RDP80B01676R003500040028-2. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80b01676r003500040028-2
|
||||
[^4]: Richard J. Aldrich, "OSS, CIA and European Unity: The American Committee on United Europe, 1948-60," Diplomacy & Statecraft 8, no. 1 (1997), p. 192, DOI 10.1080/09592299708406035, https://text.www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/aldrich/publications/oss_cia_united_europe_eec_eu.pdf.
|
||||
[^5]: Aldrich (1997), pp. 211-212 (Braden's 1980s assertion at p. 211; Rabattet passage at p. 212), same URL.
|
||||
[^6]: Senato della Repubblica, Archivio storico, Max Ascoli fonds, sottofascicolo 15, index of names, https://patrimonio.archivio.senato.it/inventario/scheda/max-ascoli/IT-AFS-005-002785/letters-expressing-regrets-upon-closing-of-the-reporter-from-personal-friends-of-max-ascoli-1968.
|
||||
[^7]: Howard L. Bevis to Allen W. Dulles, February 7, 1958, CIA-RDP80B01676R003800020106-4, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80b01676r003800020106-4.
|
||||
[^8]: Hugh Wilford, The Mighty Wurlitzer (Harvard University Press, 2008), pp. 230-231.
|
||||
[^9]: Kornbluh, Peter, ed. *Bay of Pigs Declassified: The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba.* New Press, 1998. Church Committee. "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders." Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975. Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991. Chapter 4.
|
||||
[^10]: United States Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975, section on the Congo, quoting the CIA cables of August 18, August 19 and August 26, 1960. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94465.pdf
|
||||
[^11]: Letter from Alba W. Doan, Director, Central Intelligence Agency, to Joseph R. McCarthy, July 22, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP80M01009A000100080014-6. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80m01009a000100080014-6
|
||||
[^12]: Letter from Joseph R. McCarthy, Chairman, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, to Allen W. Dulles, July 27, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP80M01009A000100080022-7. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80m01009a000100080022-7
|
||||
[^13]: Allen Drury, "McCarthy Warns CIA Head Fight on Bundy Isn't Over," newspaper article, August 4, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP74-00297R000401370024-4. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp74-00297r000401370024-4
|
||||
[^14]: Letter from Joseph R. McCarthy to Allen W. Dulles, August 3, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP80M01009A000100080020-9. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp80m01009a000100080020-9
|
||||
[^15]: Letter from Allen W. Dulles to Joseph R. McCarthy, October 22, 1953, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP86B00269R000100130103-2. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp86b00269r000100130103-2
|
||||
[^16]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapter 4; "Project MKULTRA, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification," Joint Senate Hearing, August 3, 1977.
|
||||
[^17]: Gerard Colby and Charlotte Dennett, *Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon*. HarperCollins, 1995, Ch. 18; John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapter 9.
|
||||
[^18]: Warner, Michael, "The CIA's Internal Probe of the Bay of Pigs Affair: Lessons Unlearned," *Studies in Intelligence*, Winter 1998-1999. https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Internal-Probe-Bay-Pigs.pdf
|
||||
[^19]: Executive Order 11130, "Appointing a Commission To Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," November 29, 1963. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-11130-appointing-commission-report-upon-the-assassination-president-john-f
|
||||
[^20]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies*, Book V, Final Report, April 23, 1976, pp. 67-68. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
|
||||
[^21]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975, p. 269, note 1. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
|
||||
[^22]: *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, p. 267. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
|
||||
[^23]: Book V, p. 70 (Helms testimony of July 18, 1975). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
|
||||
[^24]: Book V, p. 69 (note 134, Angleton testimony of February 6, 1976, pp. 31-34). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
|
||||
[^25]: Warren Commission, executive session transcript, January 22, 1964, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. https://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcexec/pdf/WcEx0122.pdf
|
||||
[^26]: U.S. Assassination Records Review Board, memorandum by Ronald G. Haron, "Assassination Records Among the Files of J. Edgar Hoover (FBI-36)," January 8, 1998. https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/jfkfiles/NARA-Oct2017/ARRB/RHARON/HARON/FBIMEM.002.pdf
|
||||
[^27]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), summary Findings I.D.4 and I.D.5(b) (p. 4). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
|
||||
[^28]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, p. 128. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
|
||||
[^29]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 112-116. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
|
||||
[^30]: A/76/892, report of the Eminent Person, August 25, 2022, paragraphs 241 to 244. https://documents.un.org/api/symbol/access?s=A%2F76%2F892&l=en&t=pdf
|
||||
[^31]: A/76/892, paragraph 246. https://documents.un.org/api/symbol/access?s=A%2F76%2F892&l=en&t=pdf
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ relations:
|
|||
start: 2021-12-10
|
||||
fn: 1
|
||||
created: 2026-09-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Annie Farmer is an American woman who was sixteen in 1996 when [[Jeffrey Epstein]] met her in [[New York City]], where her older sister [[Maria Farmer]] was working for him, and who was abused that year by Epstein and [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] at Epstein's ranch in [[New Mexico]]. She was the fourth and last accuser to testify for the government at Maxwell's 2021 trial in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]], and the only one of the four to testify under her own name; the others were identified as "Jane," "Kate," and "Carolyn." Her sister had reported Epstein and Maxwell to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] in August 1996, the same year.[^1][^2]
|
||||
|
|
@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ The jury convicted Maxwell on December 29, 2021 of five of six counts, including
|
|||
|
||||
### The 1996 Reports
|
||||
|
||||
In August 1996 Maria Farmer reported to the [[New York City Police Department|New York Police Department]]'s Sixth Precinct and then by telephone to the FBI that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually assaulted her, that she feared they had abused one of her minor sisters, and that Epstein and Maxwell had stolen nude images she had made of her two minor sisters for her artwork and carried them from [[Ohio]] to New York. According to Maria Farmer's 2025 lawsuit against the [[United States]], the FBI took no action, and federal agents did not interview her until 2006. The FBI's record of her 1996 report was released in December 2025 in the first wave of disclosures under the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]].[^2][^4]
|
||||
In August 1996 Maria Farmer reported to the [[New York City Police Department|New York Police Department]]'s Sixth Precinct and then by telephone to the FBI that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually assaulted her, that she feared they had abused one of her minor sisters, and that Epstein and Maxwell had stolen nude images she had made of her two minor sisters for her artwork. According to Maria Farmer's 2025 lawsuit against the [[United States]], Epstein and Maxwell carried the images by airplane from [[Ohio]] to New York, the FBI took no action, and federal agents did not interview her until 2006. The FBI's record of her 1996 report was released in December 2025 in the first wave of disclosures under the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]].[^2][^4]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-08
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
category: "Arms Dealers & Brokers"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
|
|
@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ Beaty and Gwynne describe Durrani, until his arrest, as the managing director of
|
|||
|
||||
### Sentence and Appeal
|
||||
|
||||
In May 1987 Chief Judge [[T.F. Gilroy Daly]] of the federal court in [[Connecticut]] sentenced Durrani to ten years in prison and a fine of 2 million dollars for illegally exporting HAWK missile parts to Iran in 1986, with a concurrent ten years and 1 million dollars for selling arms without registering with the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]. The judge told him his testimony was riddled with "greed, lies, money, perjury, avarice and conniving" and that "your behavior was bordering on treason."[^14] In December 1987 the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit]] rejected his defense that he had acted on the orders of Oliver North and [[John Poindexter]], the first use of what became known as the "Oliver North defense," and upheld the conviction (United States v. Durrani, 835 F.2d 410). A petition he filed in 2003, his fourth post-conviction attack on the sentence, was denied (Durrani v. United States, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204, D. Conn.).[^15][^16]
|
||||
In May 1987 Chief Judge [[T.F. Gilroy Daly]] of the federal court in [[Connecticut]] sentenced Durrani to ten years in prison and a fine of 2 million dollars for illegally exporting HAWK missile parts to Iran in 1986, with a concurrent ten years and 1 million dollars for selling arms without registering with the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]. The judge told him his testimony was riddled with "greed, lies, money, perjury, avarice and conniving" and that "your behavior was bordering on treason."[^14] In December 1987 the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit]] rejected his defense that he had acted on the orders of Oliver North and [[John Poindexter]], the first use of what became known as the "Oliver North defense," and upheld the conviction (United States v. Durrani, 835 F.2d 410). The opinion, written by Judge [[Irving R. Kaufman]], records that Durrani "claims to have been a cog in the wheel turned by Lt. Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter"; [[Alan Dershowitz|Alan M. Dershowitz]] argued the appeal for Durrani with Nathan Z. Dershowitz on the brief; the trial judge had excluded the report of the President's Special Review Board (the Tower report) and two memoranda contained in it as hearsay; and the court affirmed the conviction "on all counts."[^15] A petition he filed in 2003, his fourth post-conviction attack on the sentence, was denied (Durrani v. United States, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204, D. Conn.).[^16][^17]
|
||||
|
||||
He moved for a reduction of sentence under Rule 35 in July 1988, and the motion was denied on May 23, 1989. He filed a pro se petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255 on March 4, 1990, and on August 6, 1991 filed an amended petition with counsel, alleging that the government had withheld exculpatory material and that agents knew private individuals, including [[Manuel Pires]], were procuring weapons for Iran. On October 2, 1991, after in camera review, the district court ordered some documents produced by the Office of Independent Counsel to be disclosed to Durrani. On May 21, 1992 Durrani moved to dismiss the section 2255 petition voluntarily, saying he wanted to resolve his immigration proceedings first, and the court dismissed it without prejudice.[^16]
|
||||
He moved for a reduction of sentence under Rule 35 in July 1988, and the motion was denied on May 23, 1989. He filed a pro se petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255 on March 4, 1990, and on August 6, 1991 filed an amended petition with counsel, alleging that the government had withheld exculpatory material and that agents knew private individuals, including [[Manuel Pires]], were procuring weapons for Iran. On October 2, 1991, after in camera review, the district court ordered some documents produced by the Office of Independent Counsel to be disclosed to Durrani. On May 21, 1992 Durrani moved to dismiss the section 2255 petition voluntarily, saying he wanted to resolve his immigration proceedings first, and the court dismissed it without prejudice.[^17]
|
||||
|
||||
On September 9, 1991 the United States Attorney's Office in Bridgeport objected to each of seven requests for production in Durrani's second request for documents. The objection characterizes the claims as a fishing expedition and states that the government had searched for any connection between Pires and the government up to August 1, 1987 without result.[^17] It also reports that defense counsel had taken the depositions of [[Barbara Studley]] and [[John Singlaub]] in Washington in August 1991, and states that neither witness had any knowledge of Durrani's claims and that both had met Pires only within the last two years. The same page states that a deposition of former CIA official [[George Cave]] would offer no greater prospect of usefulness than the Studley-Singlaub examinations, citing Cave's relationship with the CIA and exposure to classified information.[^17]
|
||||
On September 9, 1991 the United States Attorney's Office in Bridgeport objected to each of seven requests for production in Durrani's second request for documents. The objection characterizes the claims as a fishing expedition and states that the government had searched for any connection between Pires and the government up to August 1, 1987 without result.[^18] It also reports that defense counsel had taken the depositions of [[Barbara Studley]] and [[John Singlaub]] in Washington in August 1991, and states that neither witness had any knowledge of Durrani's claims and that both had met Pires only within the last two years. The same page states that a deposition of former CIA official [[George Cave]] would offer no greater prospect of usefulness than the Studley-Singlaub examinations, citing Cave's relationship with the CIA and exposure to classified information.[^18]
|
||||
|
||||
From prison he told *[[Time (magazine)|Time]]* in 1991 that "Asaf is B.C.C.I.'s man in the weapons business," referring to Asaf Ali.[^18]
|
||||
From prison he told *[[Time (magazine)|Time]]* in 1991 that "Asaf is B.C.C.I.'s man in the weapons business," referring to Asaf Ali.[^19]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -48,7 +48,8 @@ From prison he told *[[Time (magazine)|Time]]* in 1991 that "Asaf is B.C.C.I.'s
|
|||
[^12]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 305.
|
||||
[^13]: Christopher Byron, "Did Convict Arif Durrani Help Set the Stage for Iran/Contra?," *New York*, December 16, 1991, pp. 38-44, GeoMiliTech passages on pp. 42-44. https://books.google.com/books?id=6ugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42
|
||||
[^14]: "Arms dealer sentenced to 10 years," United Press International, May 13, 1987. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/13/Arms-dealer-sentenced-to-10-years/6753547876800/
|
||||
[^15]: "Court rejects arms merchant's use of 'Oliver North defense,'" United Press International, December 4, 1987. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/12/04/Court-rejects-arms-merchants-use-of-Oliver-North-defense/3615565592400
|
||||
[^16]: *Durrani v. United States*, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204 (D. Conn. 2003), Background. https://www.ctd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/112503.SRU_.Durrani.pdf
|
||||
[^17]: Government's Objection to Arif Durrani's Second Request for Production of Documents, *United States v. Arif Durrani*, D. Conn., B-90-090 (TFGD) and B-86-59 (TFGD), September 9, 1991, pp. 1-11. CIA CREST document 0001474388. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/0001474388
|
||||
[^18]: "Scandals: Not Just a Bank," *Time,* September 2, 1991. https://time.com/archive/6718475/scandals-not-just-a-bank/
|
||||
[^15]: *United States v. Durrani*, 835 F.2d 410 (2d Cir. Dec. 3, 1987) (Kaufman, Pierce and Miner, JJ.), counsel block and opinion. https://static.case.law/f2d/835/cases/0410-01.json
|
||||
[^16]: "Court rejects arms merchant's use of 'Oliver North defense,'" United Press International, December 4, 1987. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/12/04/Court-rejects-arms-merchants-use-of-Oliver-North-defense/3615565592400
|
||||
[^17]: *Durrani v. United States*, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204 (D. Conn. 2003), Background. https://www.ctd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/112503.SRU_.Durrani.pdf
|
||||
[^18]: Government's Objection to Arif Durrani's Second Request for Production of Documents, *United States v. Arif Durrani*, D. Conn., B-90-090 (TFGD) and B-86-59 (TFGD), September 9, 1991, pp. 1-11. CIA CREST document 0001474388. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/0001474388
|
||||
[^19]: "Scandals: Not Just a Bank," *Time,* September 2, 1991. https://time.com/archive/6718475/scandals-not-just-a-bank/
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tags:
|
|||
- FourthAmendment
|
||||
- Attorney
|
||||
created: 2026-05-22
|
||||
updated: 2026-05-22
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
summary: "Ashley Gorski is a senior staff attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project who has led the organization's Fourth Amendment litigation against Section 702 backdoor searches, including joining the defense in United States v. Russell."
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ The ACLU's basis for inferring Section 702 collection was an [[ODNI]] document,
|
|||
|
||||
### United States v. Hasbajrami
|
||||
|
||||
Gorski and the ACLU National Security Project also represented [[Agron Hasbajrami]] in the extended constitutional litigation in the [[Second Circuit]] and the [[Eastern District of New York]] over whether Section 702 backdoor searches require a warrant. The Second Circuit's 2019 ruling in that case held that U.S. person queries constitute "separate Fourth Amendment events," and the subsequent January 2025 district court ruling (the first federal decision imposing a warrant requirement on Section 702 queries) was a direct product of the ACLU's litigation strategy in Hasbajrami.[^2]
|
||||
Gorski and the ACLU National Security Project also represented [[Agron Hasbajrami]] in the extended constitutional litigation in the [[Second Circuit]] and the [[Eastern District of New York]] over whether Section 702 backdoor searches require a warrant. The Second Circuit's 2019 ruling in that case held that U.S. person queries constitute "separate Fourth Amendment events," and the subsequent January 2025 district court ruling (the first federal decision imposing a warrant requirement on Section 702 queries) was a direct product of the ACLU's litigation strategy in Hasbajrami.[^2] The Second Circuit's opinion of December 18, 2019 lists Gorski and Patrick Toomey of the ACLU, with Mark Rumold and Andrew Crocker of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as counsel for amici curiae the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Michael K. Bachrach, Joshua L. Dratel and Steve Zissou appeared for Hasbajrami.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### ACLU v. NSA and Related FOIA Work
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -36,7 +36,5 @@ Gorski has led ACLU FOIA litigation seeking the public release of classified FIS
|
|||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Baltimore Banner, "ACLU Signs On to Defend Neo-Nazi Charged with Power Grid Plot." https://www.thebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/neo-nazi-baltimore-power-grid-aclu-national-security-defense-PA277N47ANCLPAMBKAFHXNZ45U/; Baltimore Sun, June 27, 2024. https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/06/27/prosecutors-will-say-in-secret-whether-they-used-controversial-spying-tool-against-neo-nazi-accused-in-baltimore-power-grid-plot/
|
||||
|
||||
[^2]: United States v. Hasbajrami, 945 F.3d 641 (2d Cir. 2019); United States v. Hasbajrami, 11-cr-00623-LDH (E.D.N.Y.), Memorandum and Order (declassified Jan. 21, 2025). ACLU press release: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/court-rules-warrantless-section-702-searches-violated-the-fourth-amendment
|
||||
|
||||
[^2]: United States v. Hasbajrami, 945 F.3d 641 (2d Cir. 2019); United States v. Hasbajrami, 11-cr-00623-LDH (E.D.N.Y.), Memorandum and Order (declassified Jan. 21, 2025). ACLU press release: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/court-rules-warrantless-section-702-searches-violated-the-fourth-amendment ; counsel block of the opinion, https://www.govinfo.gov/metadata/pkg/USCOURTS-ca2-17-02669/mods.xml
|
||||
[^3]: ACLU, "Government Releases New Court Opinions Highlighting Further Abuse of Warrantless FISA Surveillance Program," September 2023. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/government-releases-new-court-opinions-highlighting-further-abuse-of-warrantless-fisa-surveillance-program; ACLU v. United States (SDNY, filed April 2024). https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/04/2024-04-25-Complaint-Filed.pdf
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ relations:
|
|||
role: "chief science and technology adviser"
|
||||
fn: 4
|
||||
created: 2026-09-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Bill Gates (William H. Gates III, born October 28, 1955, in [[Seattle]], [[Washington]]) is the co-founder of [[Microsoft]] and co-chair of the [[Gates Foundation]].[^1] Beginning in 2011, three years after [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s Florida guilty plea, Gates met Epstein on numerous occasions, at least three times at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse.[^2] Epstein sought to bring Gates into a multibillion-dollar charitable fund he was trying to build with [[JPMorgan Chase]], and after Gates declined, Epstein wrote to him in 2017 in terms that implied knowledge of Gates's past relationship with a Russian bridge player whose training Epstein had paid for.[^3] Gates testified before the [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Oversight Committee]] in June 2026 that the meetings were "a grave error in judgment."[^1]
|
||||
|
|
@ -72,6 +72,12 @@ Gates appeared voluntarily for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight
|
|||
|
||||
The committee's ranking member, [[Robert Garcia]], said Gates had known of the conviction and "continued to interact with him to seek money for his foundation," which he called "a horrific judgment call." Representative [[Raja Krishnamoorthi]] called Gates "combative" and "not terribly forthcoming or candid"; Representative [[Melanie Stansbury]] said Gates described a "narrow relationship" he regarded as "an acceptable means to access wealthy donors"; Representative [[Tim Burchett]] called the questioning "intense."[^1] Comer said afterward that he would ask [[Alan Dershowitz]] to testify and was in talks with the Justice Department about testimony from the acting attorney general, [[Todd Blanche]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Microsoft Board Review
|
||||
|
||||
In May 2021 Microsoft said that it had received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000. "A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation," the company said, and it did not reach a conclusion because Gates had stepped down from the board before the inquiry was completed.[^12] [[Dow Jones]] had reported that directors found the involvement inappropriate and decided he should leave the board, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter; a Gates spokeswoman said "There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably" and that his "decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter."[^12] Gates had announced in March 2020 that he was leaving the board to devote more time to philanthropy.[^12]
|
||||
|
||||
In the same Bloomberg report, a spokeswoman for Gates said the "characterization of his meetings with Epstein and others about philanthropy is inaccurate," and a person familiar with the matter said Gates's dealings with Epstein "weren't a part of the scope of the Microsoft investigation," although "it was discussed by some board members."[^12] The *Times* had reported on October 12, 2019 that Gates met Epstein many times from 2011.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: "Gates testifies on Epstein: previous Fortune investigation reveals payments to his ex-girlfriend, $1M Microsoft deal." *Fortune,* June 10, 2026. https://fortune.com/2026/06/10/bill-gates-epstein-mistress-bankrolled-testifying-congress/
|
||||
|
|
@ -85,3 +91,4 @@ The committee's ranking member, [[Robert Garcia]], said Gates had known of the c
|
|||
[^9]: Farrow, Ronan. "How an Elite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein." *The New Yorker,* September 6, 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein
|
||||
[^10]: Goodwin Procter LLP. *Report Concerning Jeffrey Epstein's Interactions with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.* January 10, 2020. https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/20200121GoodwinProcterReport.pdf
|
||||
[^11]: *Al Jazeera,* May 10, 2021, summarizing the *Wall Street Journal* on Melinda French Gates and Epstein. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/5/10/melinda-gates-discussed-divorcing-bill-over-epstein-ties-wsj
|
||||
[^12]: Bass, Dina and Ian King, "Microsoft investigated Bill Gates's involvement with an employee," *Bloomberg,* May 17, 2021, as published by *Al Jazeera.* https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/5/17/bmicrosoft-investigated-bill-gatess-involvement-with-an-employee
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ The Bua Report, completed in March 1993, stated that "the physical evidence in C
|
|||
|
||||
The Bua report listed the tests it relied on: handwriting analysis confirming that Casolaro wrote the note found in the room; fingerprint analysis finding his prints and none other except a single print on an ash tray; hair and fiber analysis; an analysis of the bloodstains by Dr. Lee of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory consistent with suicide; and an autopsy finding hemorrhage from the wrist wounds as the cause of death and no evidence that he was unconscious or debilitated when cut. It addressed criticisms that the room was not sealed, that notification of next of kin was delayed while the body was embalmed, and that Martinsburg authorities discounted suspicions about his "sources," stating that "no credible evidence suggested that any of Casolaro's 'sources' played any role in his death." The report also records that Michael Riconosciuto, in a lawsuit against Bua, alleged that one of the FBI agents assigned to the investigation had murdered Casolaro; the district court dismissed the suit as patently frivolous (*Riconosciuto v. Bua*, No. 92 C 6217, N.D. Ill.).[^13]
|
||||
|
||||
The Bua report records that several months after the autopsy a group of Washington journalists asked Professor [[James E. Starrs]] of the [[George Washington University]] law school to review the autopsy report. In the *Washington Business Journal* of November 9 to 15, 1992, Starrs agreed that the wounds were self-inflicted, said that the contusions were caused by embalming fluid (criticizing the quick embalming) and said: "if this was a homicide, it would be the most singularly remarkable murder on record, either in fiction or nonfiction." The conclusion of the report prints his name as "James E. Starr."[^14]
|
||||
|
||||
FBI task force members assigned to examine Casolaro's death privately "questioned the conclusion of suicide" and recommended further investigation; expressing doubt about the ruling reportedly "risked one's career" within the Bureau as of December 1992. FBI documents related to Casolaro remain partially withheld from public release under national security exemptions, while the Bureau simultaneously claims the files are missing - a contradiction noted by MuckRock journalists who filed FOIA requests.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
In early 1994, the Department of Justice announced it was opening "a nationwide investigation" into Casolaro's death, ordered by associate attorney general [[Webster Hubbell|Webb Hubbell]]. Shortly thereafter, Hubbell pleaded guilty to crimes committed while an Arkansas lawyer and resigned from DOJ. Whether the Casolaro investigation proceeded or produced findings was never made public.[^3]
|
||||
|
|
@ -87,9 +89,9 @@ Casolaro's investigation intersected with the drug-trafficking networks document
|
|||
|
||||
### The research files
|
||||
|
||||
Casolaro's research files, photographed by Christian Hansen at the Missouri State Historical Society and published on the Internet Archive, include a folder labelled "Promotional Material" of corporate and weapons literature, hand-numbered "BD|AI|PM-01" onward. Its items are a brochure for the Inter-Probe modular energy transfer catalyzer (PM-01), a printed page numbered 207 on fuel air munitions (PM-02), a [[Brunswick Corporation]] defense division cover sheet and drawing for the Rifleman's Assault Weapon for urban warfare dated October 1976 (PM-03), a sales sheet of the defense division of the Chilean firm [[Industrias Cardoen]] (PM-04) and a fax of the resumes of the associates of [[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]], whose fax counters run 141 P01 to 141 P12 (PM-05) and whose page headers carry the date June 20, 1990 and times from 16:53 to 17:01.[^14] In the order of the photographs the folder runs PM-04, PM-02, PM-03, PM-05, PM-01.[^14] The packet names [[Carter Cornick]], [[Eugene Propper]], [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.|E. Lawrence Barcella]], [[Francis J. McNeil]], [[James B. Motley]] (a vice president of [[Wackenhut Advanced Technologies Corporation]]), [[Mayer Nudell]] and a former CIA counterterrorism chief whose entry carries no name.[^14] The files also contain a folder of 1980s newspaper and magazine material on [[Frank Terpil]] and [[Edwin Wilson]], folders of Wackenhut annual reports, correspondence, profiles and newsletters, and, in a folder of Department of Defense publications, a magazine article by David Corn on Barcella and the Pan Am 103 bombing.[^15]
|
||||
Casolaro's research files, photographed by Christian Hansen at the Missouri State Historical Society and published on the Internet Archive, include a folder labelled "Promotional Material" of corporate and weapons literature, hand-numbered "BD|AI|PM-01" onward. Its items are a brochure for the Inter-Probe modular energy transfer catalyzer (PM-01), a printed page numbered 207 on fuel air munitions (PM-02), a [[Brunswick Corporation]] defense division cover sheet and drawing for the Rifleman's Assault Weapon for urban warfare dated October 1976 (PM-03), a sales sheet of the defense division of the Chilean firm [[Industrias Cardoen]] (PM-04) and a fax of the resumes of the associates of [[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]], whose fax counters run 141 P01 to 141 P12 (PM-05) and whose page headers carry the date June 20, 1990 and times from 16:53 to 17:01.[^15] In the order of the photographs the folder runs PM-04, PM-02, PM-03, PM-05, PM-01.[^15] The packet names [[Carter Cornick]], [[Eugene Propper]], [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.|E. Lawrence Barcella]], [[Francis J. McNeil]], [[James B. Motley]] (a vice president of [[Wackenhut Advanced Technologies Corporation]]), [[Mayer Nudell]] and a former CIA counterterrorism chief whose entry carries no name.[^15] The files also contain a folder of 1980s newspaper and magazine material on [[Frank Terpil]] and [[Edwin Wilson]], folders of Wackenhut annual reports, correspondence, profiles and newsletters, and, in a folder of Department of Defense publications, a magazine article by David Corn on Barcella and the Pan Am 103 bombing.[^16]
|
||||
|
||||
The INSLAW folder of the research files includes a *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* report of February 19, 1991 that names Industrias Cardoen and its owner [[Carlos Cardoen]]. It states that [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], in an affidavit filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, said that Cardoen told him in January 1989 that Cardoen had brokered a deal between Earl Brian and an Iraqi military intelligence representative for the use of PROMIS, and that the sale was consummated in Santiago, Chile.[^16] Brian called the allegations "nonsense," according to the report.[^16] The report of Special Counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] dates the affidavit February 17, 1991.[^17]
|
||||
The INSLAW folder of the research files includes a *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* report of February 19, 1991 that names Industrias Cardoen and its owner [[Carlos Cardoen]]. It states that [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], in an affidavit filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, said that Cardoen told him in January 1989 that Cardoen had brokered a deal between Earl Brian and an Iraqi military intelligence representative for the use of PROMIS, and that the sale was consummated in Santiago, Chile.[^17] Brian called the allegations "nonsense," according to the report.[^17] The report of Special Counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] dates the affidavit February 17, 1991.[^18]
|
||||
|
||||
### Bibliography
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -110,7 +112,8 @@ The INSLAW folder of the research files includes a *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* rep
|
|||
[^11]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, pp. 159-160, 162. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 246-250 ("B. The Death of Joseph Daniel Casolaro").
|
||||
[^13]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 246-250 and p. 69. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^14]: Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," Internet Archive items casolaro-notebooks (PromotionalMaterial.pdf) and PromotionalMaterial, https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.
|
||||
[^15]: Danny Casolaro papers, folders "CIA Frank Terpil Renegades," "Wackenhut - Newsletters" and "DOD PUBLICATIONS," https://archive.org/details/ddosecrets_casolaro_files (the Corn item is headed "SPECIAL EDITION - TERRORISM / Did It Blow Up Flight 103?").
|
||||
[^16]: *St. Louis Post-Dispatch*, February 19, 1991, "Stolen Software Scattered: Affidavits Allege Sales To Iraqis And Israelis," clipping in the INSLAW folder, https://archive.org/download/casolaro-notebooks/InslawIi_djvu.txt.
|
||||
[^17]: Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General regarding the allegations of INSLAW, Inc. (March 1993), pp. 73-74.
|
||||
[^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.*, March 1993, p. 126 note 4 (citing *Washington Business Journal*, November 9-15, 1992, p. 13) and pp. 248-250. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^15]: Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," Internet Archive items casolaro-notebooks (PromotionalMaterial.pdf) and PromotionalMaterial, https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.
|
||||
[^16]: Danny Casolaro papers, folders "CIA Frank Terpil Renegades," "Wackenhut - Newsletters" and "DOD PUBLICATIONS," https://archive.org/details/ddosecrets_casolaro_files (the Corn item is headed "SPECIAL EDITION - TERRORISM / Did It Blow Up Flight 103?").
|
||||
[^17]: *St. Louis Post-Dispatch*, February 19, 1991, "Stolen Software Scattered: Affidavits Allege Sales To Iraqis And Israelis," clipping in the INSLAW folder, https://archive.org/download/casolaro-notebooks/InslawIi_djvu.txt.
|
||||
[^18]: Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General regarding the allegations of INSLAW, Inc. (March 1993), pp. 73-74.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
|
|||
- Donald Gregg
|
||||
- Donald Phinney Gregg
|
||||
created: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
category: "Intelligence & Government"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
|
|
@ -34,15 +34,15 @@ Gregg's most significant Iran-Contra connection was through [[Felix Rodriguez]]
|
|||
|
||||
Gregg testified before Congress that he had not known Rodriguez was involved in Contra resupply, stating that Rodriguez had briefed him on his activities but had not disclosed the specific Contra connection until after the Hasenfus shootdown. Congressional investigators questioned whether this was plausible given Rodriguez's documented communications with Gregg and a schedule notation in Gregg's files that appeared to reference a "resupply" operation. The discrepancy became a central issue in Gregg's Senate confirmation hearings for the Korea ambassadorship.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] confirmed Gregg's ambassadorial nomination in June 1989 after protracted hearings. Senator John Kerry, who was conducting a parallel investigation into Contra drug trafficking, had used the nomination hearings to press Gregg on his knowledge of Contra operations. Gregg maintained throughout that he had not known Rodriguez was running a covert supply network.[^1]
|
||||
The [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] acted on Gregg's ambassadorial nomination in June 1989 after protracted hearings, and the full Senate confirmed him on September 12, 1989, by 66 votes to 33.[^2] Senator John Kerry, who was conducting a parallel investigation into Contra drug trafficking, had used the nomination hearings to press Gregg on his knowledge of Contra operations. Gregg maintained throughout that he had not known Rodriguez was running a covert supply network.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### October Surprise Allegations
|
||||
|
||||
Arms dealer and self-described CIA contractor [[Richard Brenneke]] claimed that Donald Gregg had attended the October 1980 Paris meetings at which Reagan campaign officials allegedly negotiated a delay in the Iranian hostage release. Brenneke submitted a sworn affidavit to this effect in a Denver federal court in February 1988, at the sentencing hearing of convicted bank fraudster Heinrich Rupp, another self-described CIA contractor who also claimed to have been at the Paris meetings.[^2]
|
||||
Arms dealer and self-described CIA contractor [[Richard Brenneke]] claimed that Donald Gregg had attended the October 1980 Paris meetings at which Reagan campaign officials allegedly negotiated a delay in the Iranian hostage release. Brenneke submitted a sworn affidavit to this effect in a Denver federal court in February 1988, at the sentencing hearing of convicted bank fraudster Heinrich Rupp, another self-described CIA contractor who also claimed to have been at the Paris meetings.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
Gregg denied any participation in or knowledge of October Surprise negotiations. The claim that Gregg attended the Paris meetings was one of five counts of perjury for which Brenneke was indicted in December 1989. Brenneke was acquitted of all five counts in August 1990 by a Denver jury, a result that his supporters characterized as vindicating his credibility and that the government characterized as insufficient to prove false statements rather than affirmative proof that Gregg had attended the meetings.[^2]
|
||||
Gregg denied any participation in or knowledge of October Surprise negotiations. The claim that Gregg attended the Paris meetings was one of five counts of perjury for which Brenneke was indicted in December 1989. Brenneke was acquitted of all five counts in August 1990 by a Denver jury, a result that his supporters characterized as vindicating his credibility and that the government characterized as insufficient to prove false statements rather than affirmative proof that Gregg had attended the meetings.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
The House October Surprise Task Force (1992-1993) found Brenneke "totally lacking in credibility" and cleared Gregg of the Paris allegation. The Task Force's conclusions have been contested on methodological grounds by Robert Parry and others who investigated the investigation's handling of evidence.[^2]
|
||||
The House October Surprise Task Force (1992-1993) found Brenneke "totally lacking in credibility" and cleared Gregg of the Paris allegation. The Task Force's conclusions have been contested on methodological grounds by Robert Parry and others who investigated the investigation's handling of evidence.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### South Korea Ambassadorship
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -51,4 +51,5 @@ Gregg served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 1989 to 1993 under Pres
|
|||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, ambassadorial records; Clarridge, Duane R. *A Spy for All Seasons*. Scribner, 1997 (on CIA East Asia network context). Kerry-Brown Senate Report on Contra Drug Trafficking, 1989.
|
||||
[^2]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force. *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*. 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, January 1993. Sick, Gary. *October Surprise: America's Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan*. Times Books, 1991, pp. 143-148.
|
||||
[^2]: U.S. Senate, Roll Call Vote 174, 101st Congress, 1st session, September 12, 1989, on the nomination of Donald Phinney Gregg to be Ambassador to the Republic of Korea: Nomination Confirmed, 66 yeas, 33 nays. https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1011/vote_101_1_00174.htm
|
||||
[^3]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force. *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*. 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, January 1993. Sick, Gary. *October Surprise: America's Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan*. Times Books, 1991, pp. 143-148.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
|
|||
- Earl Brian
|
||||
- Earl W. Brian
|
||||
created: 2024-04-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-08
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
category: "Business & Finance"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- KeyFigure
|
||||
|
|
@ -58,7 +58,9 @@ Brian was never charged with any crime in connection with the PROMIS affair. His
|
|||
|
||||
### Financial News Network and UPI
|
||||
|
||||
In July 1993 the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] charged Brian and three others with fraudulently inflating the revenue and earnings of the [[Financial News Network]], the [[Los Angeles]] cable channel controlled with [[United Press International]] by his holding company Infotechnology, Inc.; he settled without admitting or denying the charges and consented to a permanent injunction. A federal grand jury in the Central District of California returned a 24-count indictment in June 1994, unsealed on September 5, 1995, charging Brian, then Infotechnology's chairman, and its chief operating officer John F. Berentson with lying to obtain 56 million dollars in loans from Security Pacific and Toronto-Dominion in 1989 by falsifying FNN's books through fictitious equipment leases and inter-company billings; FNN's chief financial officer C. Steven Bolen and Gary A. Prince pleaded guilty and cooperated. FNN, which lost 72.4 million dollars in fiscal 1990, and UPI, whose management rights Infotechnology had bought in February 1988, both entered Chapter 11 in 1991. On October 17, 1996, after a four-month trial in Los Angeles, a jury convicted Brian on ten counts including conspiracy and bank and securities fraud, deadlocking on the rest; he was ordered to report to prison on August 18 of the following year to serve a term reported as four and a half years, and appealed. On October 3, 2000, he moved to vacate his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in the Central District of California; the motion, assigned to Judge Ronald S. W. Lew, was closed on February 22, 2001.[^9] Hadron continued as a public company, was renamed Analex Corporation in 2002 and ceased reporting in 2007.[^10]
|
||||
In July 1993 the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] charged Brian and three others with fraudulently inflating the revenue and earnings of the [[Financial News Network]], the [[Los Angeles]] cable channel controlled with [[United Press International]] by his holding company Infotechnology, Inc.; he settled without admitting or denying the charges and consented to a permanent injunction. A federal grand jury in the Central District of California returned a 24-count indictment in June 1994, unsealed on September 5, 1995, charging Brian, then Infotechnology's chairman, and its chief operating officer John F. Berentson with lying to obtain 56 million dollars in loans from Security Pacific and Toronto-Dominion in 1989 by falsifying FNN's books through fictitious equipment leases and inter-company billings; FNN's chief financial officer C. Steven Bolen and Gary A. Prince pleaded guilty and cooperated. FNN, which lost 72.4 million dollars in fiscal 1990, and UPI, whose management rights Infotechnology had bought in February 1988, both entered Chapter 11 in 1991. On October 17, 1996, after a twelve-week trial in Los Angeles, a jury convicted Brian on ten counts including conspiracy and bank and securities fraud, deadlocking on the rest; he was ordered to report to prison on August 18 of the following year to serve a term of four years and nine months, reported that year as nearly five years, and appealed.[^9] On October 3, 2000, he moved to vacate his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in the Central District of California; the motion, assigned to Judge Ronald S. W. Lew, was closed on February 22, 2001.[^10] Hadron continued as a public company, was renamed Analex Corporation in 2002 and ceased reporting in 2007.[^11]
|
||||
|
||||
In 1990 Brian contacted [[Patricof and Company]] with a deal proposal regarding UPI. [[Patricia Cloherty]] told the Bua inquiry that she never met with Brian directly and sent an associate to look into the proposal, and that the firm decided not to pursue it.[^12]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -70,5 +72,7 @@ In July 1993 the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] charged Brian and three
|
|||
[^6]: U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. *The Inslaw Affair.* September 1989.
|
||||
[^7]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations. *The "October Surprise" Allegations and the Circumstances Surrounding the Release of the American Hostages Held in Iran: Report of the Special Counsel to Senator Terry Sanford and Senator James M. Jeffords,* S. Prt. 102-125, November 19, 1992, pp. v, 17 and appendix 22, "Earl Brian Passports," p. 287. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/pst.000021071829
|
||||
[^8]: *Brian v. Richardson,* 87 N.Y.2d 46, 660 N.E.2d 1126 (N.Y. 1995). https://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I95_0246.htm
|
||||
[^9]: *Earl W. Brian v. United States,* No. 2:00-cv-10607 (C.D. Cal.), docket and Federal Judicial Center Integrated Database record, CourtListener. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/11266534/earl-w-brian-v-united-states/ The disposition of the motion is recorded only as "Other".
|
||||
[^10]: "Former UPI execs charged with fraud," United Press International, September 6, 1995. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/09/06/Former-UPI-execs-charged-with-fraud/3824810360000/ ; Gersh, Debra, "SEC Accuses Former UPI Chief of Fraud," *Editor & Publisher,* July 10, 1993 (headline and date only); Fricker, Richard L., "Earl Brian: Reagan's 'Scandal Man' Off to Jail," *The Consortium,* 1997. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile11.html ; Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR filing history for Hadron, Inc., CIK 0000044800. Fricker gives the reporting date as "Aug. 18" without a year.
|
||||
[^9]: United Press International, "Ex-UPI chief gets prison term," May 20, 1997, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/05/20/Ex-UPI-chief-gets-prison-term/7027864100800/
|
||||
[^10]: *Earl W. Brian v. United States,* No. 2:00-cv-10607 (C.D. Cal.), docket and Federal Judicial Center Integrated Database record, CourtListener. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/11266534/earl-w-brian-v-united-states/ The disposition of the motion is recorded only as "Other".
|
||||
[^11]: "Former UPI execs charged with fraud," United Press International, September 6, 1995. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/09/06/Former-UPI-execs-charged-with-fraud/3824810360000/ ; Gersh, Debra, "SEC Accuses Former UPI Chief of Fraud," *Editor & Publisher,* July 10, 1993 (headline and date only); Fricker, Richard L., "Earl Brian: Reagan's 'Scandal Man' Off to Jail," *The Consortium,* 1997. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile11.html ; Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR filing history for Hadron, Inc., CIK 0000044800. Fricker gives the reporting date as "Aug. 18" without a year.
|
||||
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* (March 1993), p. 96, https://archive.org/download/InslawPROMISBuaReport/Inslaw%3APROMIS%20Bua%20Report_djvu.txt
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ A memorandum of February 13, 1963 by the embassy's science attache Robert Webber
|
|||
|
||||
Hersh wrote that Bergmann was a founding member of [[Rafi]] in 1965 and that "Ben-Gurion was quoting Bergmann all the time," according to an Israeli, about the dangers of not producing a nuclear arsenal.[^8] By the spring of 1966, he wrote, Bergmann resigned under pressure from the commission and his two defense science posts; a Defense Ministry official came to his apartment within the hour to retrieve his government car; Eshkol moved responsibility for the commission to the prime minister's staff and became its chairman; and Bergmann gave an interview to the newspaper Maariv, of which the New York Times reported that he spoke of the Eshkol government's lack of funds for research and "the risk of dependence on foreign sources." In that interview Bergmann said: "It's very important to understand that by developing atomic energy for peaceful uses, you reach the nuclear option. There are no two atomic energies."[^8][^9]
|
||||
|
||||
Hersh wrote that in the fall of 1966 Strauss used his influence at the Institute for Advanced Study at [[Princeton University]] to obtain for Bergmann a two-month visiting fellowship, although the institute rarely took chemists; that the institute's new director [[Carl Kaysen]] recalled that Strauss "had nudged me about Bergmann" and that Bergmann "was working on [the Israeli nuclear] weapons program. He was very relaxed about it"; and that neither Strauss's biographer nor his son knew the two had met.[^10] In 1968, Hersh wrote, Bergmann spoke at the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg on "the move toward international collaboration," saying of Israel and South Africa that "neither of us has neighbors to whom we can speak."[^11]
|
||||
Hersh wrote that in the fall of 1966 Strauss used his influence at the [[Institute for Advanced Study]] at [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] to obtain for Bergmann a two-month visiting fellowship, although the institute rarely took chemists; that the institute's new director [[Carl Kaysen]] recalled that Strauss "had nudged me about Bergmann" and that Bergmann "was working on [the Israeli nuclear] weapons program. He was very relaxed about it"; and that neither Strauss's biographer nor his son knew the two had met.[^10] In 1968, Hersh wrote, Bergmann spoke at the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg on "the move toward international collaboration," saying of Israel and South Africa that "neither of us has neighbors to whom we can speak."[^11]
|
||||
|
||||
### After his death
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ relations:
|
|||
start: 1992-07-29
|
||||
fn: 2
|
||||
created: 2026-09-23
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-23
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Faisal Saud al-Fulaij was a Kuwaiti businessman who acted as a nominee for the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]] (BCCI) in its secret acquisition of [[Financial General Bankshares]], later [[First American Bank|First American]], through the holding company [[Credit and Commerce American Holdings]] (CCAH). He was one of the four "persons of substance" named in the January 1978 memorandum of the BCCI officer [[Abdus Sami]], testified before the [[Federal Reserve Board|Federal Reserve]] in April 1981, and in July 1992 was indicted in New York with [[Clark Clifford]], [[Robert Altman]], [[Agha Hasan Abedi]], [[Swaleh Naqvi]] and [[Ghaith R. Pharaon]].[^1][^2]
|
||||
|
|
@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ At the Federal Reserve hearing of April 23, 1981, Fulaij followed [[Kamal Adham]
|
|||
|
||||
The Federal Reserve found in 1991 that Adham, Fulaij, [[A. R. (Abdul Raouf) Khalil|Khalil]] and the other Middle Eastern nominees "had secretly done precisely what the Federal Reserve had sought to assure they would not do." After the acquisition BCCI added capital to First American partly through loans to its nominees Fulaij, Khalil and Shorafa, and in later planning for the purchase of the Eagle Bank in Florida, Naqvi and BCCI's New York manager [[Abdur Sakhia]] discussed using Fulaij as the nominee in place of Pharaon, in Altman's presence.[^1][^5][^6]
|
||||
|
||||
The Senate report also recorded that the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] did not tell the Federal Reserve that Adham and Fulaij had been the subjects of a [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] inquiry under the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]] into arms sales to [[Saudi Arabia]] by [[Boeing]] and [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]].[^7]
|
||||
The Senate report also recorded that the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] did not tell the Federal Reserve that Adham and Fulaij had been the subjects of a [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] inquiry under the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]] into arms sales to [[Saudi Arabia]] by [[Boeing]] and [[Lockheed Aircraft Company|Lockheed]].[^7]
|
||||
|
||||
### Indictment
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -2,19 +2,23 @@
|
|||
title: George H.W. Bush
|
||||
aliases:
|
||||
- George H.W. Bush
|
||||
- George H. W. Bush
|
||||
- George Herbert Walker Bush
|
||||
- President Bush
|
||||
- Bush 41
|
||||
category: "Political Figure"
|
||||
created: 2024-04-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-21
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- KeyFigure
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
- Israel
|
||||
- DarkAllianceInvestigation
|
||||
- OctoberSurprise
|
||||
summary: "Vice President under Reagan and 41st U.S. President who dealt with Israel's nuclear program, the VELA incident, and sanctions discussions after Osirak bombing, while simultaneously overseeing anti-drug efforts as Contra-connected drug traffickers operated with impunity."
|
||||
- IranContra
|
||||
- Stargate
|
||||
- BCCI
|
||||
summary: "Director of Central Intelligence in 1976 and 1977, Vice President and 41st President, whose record includes Israel's nuclear program, the Vela incident, Iran-Contra, October Surprise, BCCI and BNL."
|
||||
born: 1924-06-12
|
||||
died: 2018-11-30
|
||||
location: "Milton, Massachusetts"
|
||||
|
|
@ -23,27 +27,453 @@ relations:
|
|||
with: "[[Gerald R. Ford]]"
|
||||
role: "Director of Central Intelligence"
|
||||
start: 1976-01-30
|
||||
fn: 5
|
||||
fn: 26
|
||||
- type: director_of
|
||||
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
|
||||
role: "Director of Central Intelligence"
|
||||
start: 1976-01-30
|
||||
end: 1977-01-20
|
||||
fn: 26
|
||||
- type: reported_to
|
||||
with: "[[Ronald Reagan]]"
|
||||
role: "Vice President"
|
||||
start: 1981-01-20
|
||||
end: 1989-01-20
|
||||
fn: 108
|
||||
- type: head_of
|
||||
with: "[[United States]]"
|
||||
role: "President of the United States"
|
||||
start: 1989-01-20
|
||||
end: 1993-01-20
|
||||
fn: 108
|
||||
- type: subject_of
|
||||
with: "[[October Surprise]]"
|
||||
start: 1993-01-03
|
||||
fn: 93
|
||||
- type: member_of
|
||||
with: "[[Skull and Bones]]"
|
||||
fn: 4
|
||||
- type: employed_by
|
||||
with: "[[The Carlyle Group]]"
|
||||
role: "Senior adviser on Asia"
|
||||
fn: 147
|
||||
- type: participant_in
|
||||
with: "[[South Florida Drug Task Force]]"
|
||||
start: 1982-01-28
|
||||
fn: 17
|
||||
---
|
||||
George H.W. Bush served as the Vice President under President [[Ronald Reagan]] and later as the 41st President of the United States. He was present at a meeting of Reagan's high command following the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]] in June 1981, where he agreed that some sanctions against [[Israel]] were essential.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
George H.W. Bush served as the Vice President under President [[Ronald Reagan]] and later as the 41st President of the United States. He was present at a meeting of Reagan's high command following the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]] in June 1981, where he agreed that some sanctions against [[Israel]] were essential.[^1] The same history of Israel's nuclear program includes the Vela incident of September 1979, the double flash recorded by an American Vela satellite over the South Atlantic.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
Bush directed the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] from January 1976 to January 1977. His name recurs in the record of the [[Iran-Contra Affair]], the [[October Surprise]] allegations, the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]], the Atlanta branch of [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]], and the [[Contras]] supply network.
|
||||
|
||||
### Early Life, Yale and Skull and Bones
|
||||
|
||||
Bush was the son of [[Prescott Bush]], an investment banker who represented Connecticut in the [[United States Senate]] from 1952 until 1963.[^2] He graduated from [[Phillips Academy]] on his eighteenth birthday in 1942 and enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] the same day. He became a naval pilot in July 1943, flew torpedo bombers in the Pacific, and was shot down on September 2, 1944 on a mission against a radio site; a submarine rescued him and he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He married [[Barbara Bush|Barbara Pierce]] on January 6, 1945, and after his discharge in September 1945 enrolled at [[Yale University]], where he completed an economics degree on an accelerated program by 1948, captained the baseball team, and joined the Skull and Bones society.[^2] The couple's children were [[George W. Bush|George Walker]] (born July 6, 1946, the eldest son and later the 43rd President), Robin (1949 to 1953), John Ellis ([[Jeb Bush]]), [[Neil Bush]], Marvin and Dorothy.[^2][^3]
|
||||
|
||||
The George H. W. Bush Presidential Library's response to a 2009 request for records on the [[Skull and Bones]] Society, filed as FOIA 2009-0116-F, describes the society as one "of which George H. W. Bush and his father Prescott Bush were both members."[^4] The same response describes a rumor about the skull of the Apache leader [[Geronimo]] and the society, and does not endorse it.[^4] The file contains correspondence from President Bush to [[William F. Buckley Jr.]] and [[Thomas W. Ludlow Ashley]] about a Buckley article in [[National Review]] answering [[Pat Buchanan]]'s characterization of Bush's foreign policy as "Skull and Bones foreign policy" during the 1992 campaign, and administrative forms for a Skull and Bones tea held at the White House on October 20, 1989.[^4]
|
||||
|
||||
On October 20, 1942 at Washington, the [[Alien Property Custodian]], Leo T. Crowley, signed Vesting Order No. 248, which vested the capital stock of the [[Union Banking Corporation]], a New York corporation, in the Custodian. The order was published in the [[Federal Register]] on November 7, 1942. It lists 4,000 shares. [[E. Roland Harriman]] held 3,991 of them and Prescott S. Bush held one. The order states that all of the shares were held for the benefit of [[Bank voor Handel en Scheepvaart]], N.V., of Rotterdam, "which bank is owned or controlled by members of the Thyssen family, nationals of Germany and/or Hungary."[^5]
|
||||
|
||||
### Zapata Petroleum and Zapata Off-Shore
|
||||
|
||||
Bush moved to Odessa, Texas in 1948, worked for Dresser Industries from 1950, and that year formed an oil development company in Midland that merged with another company three years later to create [[Zapata Petroleum]]. In 1954 he became president of the subsidiary Zapata Off-Shore Company and moved the company and his family to Houston.[^2] WhoWhatWhy reports that Zapata Petroleum began in 1953 "through joint efforts with Thomas J. Devine, a CIA staffer who had resigned his agency position that same year." The article quotes a CIA memorandum of November 29, 1975 that describes Devine as an "oil wild-catting associate of Mr. Bush."[^6] The same article quotes a 1968 memorandum that places Devine back in agency work under commercial cover from 1963.[^7] WhoWhatWhy also reports that the CIA documents were released in 1998 from a batch of records provided to the [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]].[^7]
|
||||
|
||||
The corporation that later carried the Zapata name filed with the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] under the former conformed names Zapata Off Shore Co, dated from January 15, 1969, and Zapata Norness Inc, dated from March 14, 1972. Its fiscal 1994 annual report states that "Zapata Corporation is a Delaware corporation organized in 1954."[^8] Electronic filings on EDGAR begin on February 8, 1994, and the company's record under Central Index Key 109177 starts from that period.[^9]
|
||||
|
||||
### The 1963 Hoover Memorandum
|
||||
|
||||
In 1997 the [[Assassination Records Review Board]] asked the CIA about a memorandum dated November 29, 1963 that carries the name of [[J. Edgar Hoover]]. The Review Board's letter of December 18, 1997 quotes the memorandum's statement that "the substance of the foregoing information [on the assassination of President Kennedy] was orally furnished to Mr. George Bush of the Central Intelligence Agency."[^10] The letter describes the document as "dated November 29,1963, prepared under the name of John Edgar Hoover."[^10]
|
||||
|
||||
The routing of the memorandum is recorded in two conflicting ways. A Review Board staff memorandum of January 8, 1998 describes it as concerning Hoover's conversation with President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] about the assassination, and says the memorandum is located in Johnson O&C File 92.[^11] A CIA memorandum by Michelle Combs to T. Jeremy Gunn, dated July 15, 1998, describes it as a memorandum from Hoover to the director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the State Department.[^12]
|
||||
|
||||
The Review Board's letter quotes the CIA as having confirmed that "the search query included George Herbert Walker Bush prior to 1970." The letter asks the agency to determine whether George Herbert Walker Bush is the person to whom the memorandum refers.[^10] A CIA memorandum from J. Barry Harrelson to Gunn, dated February 25, 1998, states that the search "determined the Agency has no record of any association with George Herbert Walker Bush during the 1963 time period."[^13]
|
||||
|
||||
The Combs memorandum records that the only other "George Bush" serving in the CIA in 1963 was a junior analyst who has repeatedly denied being the "George Bush" referenced in the memorandum. It also cites an entry in the calendar of Director [[Allen Dulles]] for October 4, 1961 that names an Army major general George Bush, with "no indication if this General Bush could be the referenced George Bush."[^12]
|
||||
|
||||
An undated Review Board draft request bearing Gunn's name refers to an affidavit of George William Bush dated September 21, 1988.[^14]
|
||||
|
||||
In 1988 Stephen Hart issued a statement answering a report by [[Joseph McBride]] that appeared in The Nation on July 16, 1988. WhoWhatWhy quotes the statement as concluding: "Must be another George Bush."[^15] McBride described the response as "rather detailed for a ritual non-denial."[^15]
|
||||
|
||||
The CIA's 1998 answer, the Review Board staff's account of it, the 1988 statement and the 1988 affidavit all concern the same name. The records do not establish which George Bush the memorandum means.
|
||||
|
||||
### The South Florida Drug Task Force and the Medellín Cartel
|
||||
|
||||
As Vice President, Bush oversaw anti-drug efforts as head of the South Florida Drug Task Force while the administration simultaneously protected [[Contras|Contra]]-connected drug traffickers. The contradiction between Bush's public anti-drug posture and the covert reality of the Contra supply chain became a recurring theme in the [[Dark Alliance]] narrative.[^2]
|
||||
As Vice President, Bush oversaw anti-drug efforts as head of the South Florida Drug Task Force while the administration simultaneously protected Contra-connected drug traffickers. The contradiction between Bush's public anti-drug posture and the covert reality of the Contra supply chain became a recurring theme in the [[Dark Alliance]] narrative.[^16]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín Cartel]] reportedly made a deal with Vice President Bush. Informant Allen Raul Rudd told federal officials that Pablo Escobar described "an agreement or relationship between Bush and the American government and members of the Medellín cartel which resulted in planes flying guns to the cartel in [[Colombia]]." Escobar claimed to have a picture of Bush posing with Medellín cartel leader [[Jorge Ochoa]] in front of suitcases full of money, held as blackmail to be released at "the appropriate time."[^2]
|
||||
Reagan's statement of January 28, 1982 announced the federal anticrime task force for southern Florida: "To coordinate this effort, I am today announcing the establishment of a special task force, headed by Vice President George Bush, to analyze the problems and determine what steps we must take during the period of aggravated crime incidence."[^17] In a statement to a 1988 Senate subcommittee, Admiral [[Daniel Murphy]] said: "The President appointed Vice President Bush to direct the task force comprised of the Secretaries of State, Defense, Transportation, Treasury, Health and Human Service, and the Attorney General."[^18]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Kerry Committee]] report, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy* (1988), states: "These cables led to a 1982 meeting between Vice President Bush, Admiral Daniel Murphy and Bahamian Prime Minister [[Lynden Pindling]], at which the Norman's Cay problem was raised. The Vice President chastised the Prime Minister for what was taking place."[^19]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín Cartel]] reportedly made a deal with Vice President Bush. Informant Allen Raul Rudd told federal officials that [[Pablo Escobar]] described "an agreement or relationship between Bush and the American government and members of the Medellín cartel which resulted in planes flying guns to the cartel in [[Colombia]]." Escobar claimed to have a picture of Bush posing with Medellín cartel leader [[Jorge Ochoa]] in front of suitcases full of money, held as blackmail to be released at "the appropriate time."[^16]
|
||||
|
||||
### Contra Connections and the War on Drugs
|
||||
|
||||
At the same time Reagan and Bush were publicly whipping the American public into a frenzy over street-corner crack dealers, [[Oliver North]] and other top administration officials were livid that Contra-connected drug trafficker General [[Jose Bueso Rosa]] had even been charged with a crime. North's computer messages about Bueso Rosa illustrated how skewed the Reagan administration's sense of justice had become regarding its "War on Drugs." [[Scott Weekly]], a figure connected to the CIA and the Hasenfus shootdown, claimed on tape that he reported to people who reported to Bush.[^3]
|
||||
At the same time Reagan and Bush were publicly whipping the American public into a frenzy over street-corner crack dealers, [[Oliver North]] and other top administration officials were livid that Contra-connected drug trafficker General [[Jose Bueso Rosa]] had even been charged with a crime. North's computer messages about Bueso Rosa illustrated how skewed the Reagan administration's sense of justice had become regarding its "War on Drugs." [[Scott Weekly]], a figure connected to the CIA and the Hasenfus shootdown, claimed on tape that he reported to people who reported to Bush.[^20]
|
||||
|
||||
On November 3, 1975 President [[Gerald R. Ford]] announced at a news conference that he intended to nominate Ambassador Bush, then the United States representative to the People's Republic of China, as Director of Central Intelligence, succeeding [[William Colby]].[^4] Bush was sworn in as Director of Central Intelligence on January 30, 1976.[^5] As director of central intelligence in 1976 Bush was briefed on the CIA's remote-viewing research at [[Stanford Research Institute]] after the agency learned that Soviet visitors were "questioning Puthoff and Targ at SRI," and left office before reacting. As vice president, in 1983 (the chronology's date reads as March 31 or August 3), he "was briefed for thirty minutes concerning [[Center Lane|CENTER LANE]] related activities by Dr. [[Jack Vorona]], DIA," the Army's remote-viewing unit, with "Adm. Murphy, C/S," and "Mr. Gregg" present; INSCOM's chronology records that "the briefing was well received and the Vice President was interested and impressed."[^6]
|
||||
### Political Career Before the CIA
|
||||
|
||||
Bush became Republican Party chairman in Harris County, Texas, lost the 1964 Senate race to Ralph Yarborough, won the House seat for Houston's Seventh District in 1966 and was reelected in 1968. He lost the 1970 Senate race to [[Lloyd Bentsen]]. In December 1970 President [[Richard Nixon]] nominated him as ambassador to the [[United Nations]]; in 1973 Nixon moved him to the chairmanship of the [[Republican National Committee]], which he held through the Watergate period until Nixon's resignation in August 1974. President [[Gerald R. Ford]] then made him chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, and in 1975 asked him to direct the CIA. After Ford lost in 1976, Bush offered to stay as director and [[Jimmy Carter]] declined.[^2] [[James C. Oberwetter]], the spokesman for [[Hunt Oil Company]] in a 1977 episode involving the FBI, had been press secretary to Congressman Bush.[^21]
|
||||
|
||||
### Out of Office, 1977 to 1981
|
||||
|
||||
In January 1977, as chairman of the [[National Foreign Intelligence Board]], Bush wrote to Vice Admiral [[Bobby Ray Inman]], then vice director of the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]], thanking him for a year of advice to the board.[^22] [[U.S. News & World Report]] stated on April 7, 1980 that Bush was a present or former member of the [[Trilateral Commission]]; the magazine reported that he "resigned from the organization in 1978" and quoted him as saying that "to suggest that those that belong to the commission . . . are involved in a conspiracy is absurd."[^23] Bush announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination on May 1, 1979.[^2] [[William H. Draper III]] was national cochairman of the finance committee for Bush's 1980 presidential campaign, according to the White House announcement of March 18, 1981 nominating Draper to head the [[Export-Import Bank of the United States]].[^24] Bush ran on the Reagan ticket and won the vice presidency in the November 1980 election.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Director of Central Intelligence, 1976 to 1977
|
||||
|
||||
On November 3, 1975 President Gerald R. Ford announced at a news conference that he intended to nominate Ambassador Bush, then the [[United States]] representative to the People's Republic of China, as [[Director of Central Intelligence]], succeeding [[William Colby]].[^25] Bush was sworn in as Director of Central Intelligence on January 30, 1976.[^26] As director of central intelligence in 1976 Bush was briefed on the CIA's remote-viewing research at [[Stanford Research Institute]] after the agency learned that Soviet visitors were "questioning Puthoff and Targ at SRI," and left office before reacting.[^27]
|
||||
|
||||
The Senate Armed Services Committee reported the nomination through Senator [[John Tower]]. Hearings were held on December 15 and 16, 1975. Bush told the committee that "I do feel we need a covert capability," and pledged to "faithfully try to testify before the appropriate oversight committees of the U.S. Congress."[^28] The committee's report of December 18, 1975 recommends confirmation "subject to the nominee's commitment to respond to requests to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee."[^28] The committee approved him 12 to four. The full United States Senate followed in January with a 64 to 27 vote, after a two-hour debate, according to [[Studies in Intelligence]].[^29]
|
||||
|
||||
In a memorandum to the recipients of National Intelligence Estimate 11-3/8-76, Bush called the estimate "the official appraisal of the Director of Central Intelligence." He wrote that "there is a negative aspect that is already clear and which concerns me deeply; namely, the selective leaks regarding the details of the process and, worse, the substantive conclusions developed by the 'Team B' panel that was concerned with Soviet strategic objectives." He added: "There is no truth to such allegations."[^30]
|
||||
|
||||
The Team B report, "Soviet Strategic Objectives: An Alternative View," describes the experiment as "undertaken by the DCI on behalf of the [[President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board]]." It names [[Richard Pipes]] as team leader and lists William Van Cleave, [[Daniel O. Graham]], Thomas Wolfe and John Vogt as members. An advisory panel included Foy Kohler, Paul Nitze, Seymour Weiss, Jasper Welch and Paul Wolfowitz. The report states that its views "do not represent either coordinated National Intelligence or the views of the Director of Central Intelligence."[^31]
|
||||
|
||||
William Beecher broke the Team B story in the [[Boston Globe]] on October 20, 1976, according to the editors' note in the Foreign Relations volume. A story by [[David Binder]] in the [[New York Times]] of December 26, 1976 reported the estimate's findings and drew in part on an interview with Bush.[^30] On January 19, 1977 Bush wrote to Cherne, chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, about Team B's recommendations.[^32]
|
||||
|
||||
On February 11, 1976 Bush announced new guidelines governing the agency's relations with the American press. The guideline states: "Effective immediately, CIA will not enter into any paid or contractual relationship with any full-time or part-time news correspondent accredited by any U.S. news service, newspaper, periodical, radio or television network or station."[^33] The report of the [[Church Committee]], chaired by [[Frank Church]], also states that the CIA had maintained covert relationships with about 50 journalists, and that Bush "undertook as one of his first actions to recognize the 'special status afforded the American media under our Constitution.'"[^34]
|
||||
|
||||
On February 10, 1976 the [[Washington Star]] reported that Bush, according to a CIA spokesman, "has urged executives of The New York Times and CBS news to support the agency's efforts to keep secret the names of journalists who have aided intelligence operations."[^35]
|
||||
|
||||
In June 1976 the Washington Star reported that U.S. District Judge [[June Green]] ordered CIA Director Bush "not to destroy the files gathered by the CIA." Green also granted an appeal that the files be "protected" pending a civil action by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]]. The files were part of [[Operation CHAOS]] and had been gathered by the CIA at the request of Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, who feared extensive foreign influence on domestic unrest.[^36]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Letelier assassination]] in Washington in September 1976 brought Chile into the Director's correspondence. On September 29, 1976 Senator [[Daniel Inouye]] wrote to Bush thanking him for a briefing, and noted that [[Orlando Letelier]] "was recently discussed at a high-level policy meeting within the Chilean government."[^37] On October 9, 1976 [[U.S. Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Edward Levi]] wrote to Bush that "the Central Intelligence Agency may be in a position to obtain information bearing on these violent activities."[^38] [[Brent Scowcroft]] endorsed the request on October 21, 1976.[^38]
|
||||
|
||||
A 1980 radio interview transcript in the CIA reading room quotes a speaker, identified only as "MAN," who refers to "our book" and says: "we've been able to establish that George Bush personally handled the information from Paraguay in this intervening week, and discussed it with [[Vernon Walters]], and together made the decision, first of all, to say, 'No, we have nothing to do with this mission.'"[^39] The transcript does not identify the speaker further.
|
||||
|
||||
The Paraguayan material concerned two Chileans traveling on Paraguayan passports under false names. A later Foreign Relations volume records that in July 1976 presidential adviser Conrado Pappalardo approached Ambassador [[George Landau|George W. Landau]] in Asunción about the two. Pappalardo said they would contact "then-U.S. Deputy Director of Central Intelligence General Vernon Walters."[^40] A memorandum by [[Eugene Propper|Propper]], quoted in the same volume, states that the CIA advised that Walters had retired from the agency on July 2, 1976.[^41]
|
||||
|
||||
On August 11, 1976 Bush wrote a memorandum headed "The Death of Roselli," concerning the murder of [[Johnny Roselli]]. In it he wrote, "I told him that I would like to see the FBI get into the Roselli case." He wrote that he was "most anxious to see the matter fully investigated so that the CIA would be officially exonerated."[^42]
|
||||
|
||||
The memorandum records that calls to Senators had suggested that the CIA was involved in the murder, and that he had asked Attorney General Levi to bring the FBI into the case.[^42]
|
||||
|
||||
On the Letelier investigation, Propper, Assistant Attorney General [[J. Stanley Pottinger]] and Bush met to decide how far the CIA could help with the Cuban exile side of the inquiry.[^43] Newspaper clippings that the defendants in *United States v. Sampol* filed to show prejudicial publicity described "a carefully worded agreement placing the Letelier case in a 'national security' status." Defense counsel for [[Guillermo Novo]] and others told the jury that "the CIA and not the Chilean government masterminded the Letelier assassination," and the appeal brief rested the theory on Michael Townley's CIA contacts and on a Fort Lauderdale firm, [[Audio Intelligence Devices]], where Townley spent the morning of September 21, 1976.[^44] The Washington Post reported on November 1, 1976 a belief at the CIA that Chilean operatives had not carried out the bombing, which Bush was said to have expressed to Secretary of State [[Henry A. Kissinger]] the week before.[^45] On November 5, 1976 Assistant Attorney General [[Richard Thornburgh]] asked the State Department to arrange interviews in Caracas of [[Orlando Bosch]], [[Luis Posada Carriles]] and two others held in connection with the [[Cubana Flight 455 bombing]], naming Propper and FBI special agents [[Carter Cornick]] and Raul Salinas as the investigators to be sent.[^46]
|
||||
|
||||
When Bosch entered the United States on February 18, 1988, Acting Associate Attorney General [[Joe D. Whitley]] ordered him excluded on January 23, 1989, writing that "For 30 years Bosch has been resolute and unwavering in his advocacy of terrorist violence." In 1990, over the Justice Department's objection, the Bush White House released him.[^47] The Bush administration also agreed in 1990 to lift sanctions on Chile if the new civilian government prosecuted [[Manuel Contreras]] and [[Pedro Espinoza]] for the Letelier murder, in which [[Ronni Moffitt]] also died; the two served their terms at [[Punta Peuco]].[^48]
|
||||
|
||||
The Foreign Relations volume on Panama prints a memorandum of conversation dated October 6, 1976 that is catalogued among the "DCI (Bush) Files on Noreiga." Its source note records "Three pages not declassified."[^49] The document concerns [[Manuel Noriega]], whose relations with the agency the volume documents.
|
||||
|
||||
On October 18, 1976 Bush wrote to Defense Secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]] on the subject of leaks, in a letter that refers to "where these vicious leaks came from."[^50]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Joseph Trento]] wrote in *Prelude to Terror* that in 1976, after the Church Committee hearings, [[Alexandre de Marenches]] of the French [[SDECE]] organized an informal consortium, the [[Safari Club]], in coordination with Bush. Trento lists its members as the SDECE, Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Directorate under [[Kamal Adham]], Egypt's [[Mukhabarat]], Morocco's DST under Ahmed Dlimi, and the CIA, with the purpose of continuing anti-Soviet covert operations in Africa and the [[Middle East]] that congressional restrictions had made difficult for the agency; he places Egypt's service in the group as the supplier of Soviet-compatible weapons for operations in the Horn of Africa.[^51] De Marenches maintained personal relationships with American directors including Bush and [[William J. Casey]].[^52]
|
||||
|
||||
In Angola the CIA's Operation IAFEATURE (1975 to 1976) supported [[UNITA]] and the [[FNLA]] against the [[MPLA]], with [[Congo|Zaire]] as the logistics base; the Church Committee and later writers record William Colby and then Bush as the directors who managed it. The program was ended by the [[Clark Amendment]], section 404 of Public Law 94-329, enacted June 30, 1976.[^53]
|
||||
|
||||
[[William Barr|William P. Barr]] worked at the agency from 1973 to 1977 while attending law school, and as assistant legislative counsel under Director Bush in 1976 worked against legislation of Representatives [[Michael Harrington]] and [[Bella Abzug]] that would have required notice to people whose mail the agency had opened under [[HTLINGUAL]]. Barr later joined the White House domestic policy staff, where he worked with [[C. Boyden Gray]], counsel to Vice President Bush, and in 1988 helped screen vice-presidential candidates through [[Robert Kimmitt]].[^54]
|
||||
|
||||
### Israel's Nuclear Program and Israeli Channels
|
||||
|
||||
In March 1976 [[Carl E. Duckett]] openly discussed Israel's nuclear weapons at an informal seminar, stating that Israel was estimated to have ten to twenty nuclear weapons "available for use." Hersh wrote that the disclosure forced Bush, the newly installed director, to issue a public statement assuming "full responsibility," and that it led to Duckett's retirement. Duckett later acknowledged that rumors of his drinking were the stated reason for his departure but insisted that the real issue was Bush's unwillingness to promote him. Hersh adds that Duckett's 1974 estimate remained the official American estimate until the early 1980s.[^55]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Ari Ben-Menashe]] wrote that he briefed [[Nachum Admoni]] in July 1986 on the Israeli intelligence network's arms sales to Iran for Vice President Bush.[^56] The Israeli arms dealer [[Al Schwimmer]], a special adviser to Prime Minister [[Shimon Peres]] from September 1984 at a salary of one shekel a year, met President Reagan and Vice President Bush in that capacity.[^57] Ben-Menashe also wrote that Israeli intelligence believed [[Amiram Nir]]'s death in 1988 to have been a CIA operation intended to keep his testimony from embarrassing Peres, Reagan or Bush.[^56]
|
||||
|
||||
On January 20, 1991 President Bush telephoned Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Shamir]] twice from Camp David, at 3 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Washington time, to thank Israel for its "restraint" in not retaliating for the Iraqi Scud attacks. The spokesman [[Marlin Fitzwater]] quoted the president as telling Shamir: "I understand the anguish of your people and your Government." [[Lawrence Eagleburger]] and [[Paul Wolfowitz]] were sent to Israel, and American crews arrived to operate [[Patriot]] missile batteries.[^58] According to the counterintelligence history "Decade of the Spy," Bush denied clemency to [[Jonathan Pollard]] in January 1993.[^59]
|
||||
|
||||
### Stargate, Center Lane, and the Army
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Stargate Project]] appears in the record through the agency's own accounts. [[Kenneth A. Kress]], writing in Studies in Intelligence for the winter of 1977, states that "During November of 1976, Director George Bush became aware that official Soviets were visiting and questioning Puthoff and Targ at SRI about their work in parapsychology. Mr. Bush requested and received a briefing on CIA's investigations into parapsychology. Before there was any official reaction, he left the Agency."[^27]
|
||||
|
||||
Kress also writes that Director [[Stansfield Turner]] stated publicly that the CIA "has had operational interest in parapsychology."[^60]
|
||||
|
||||
As vice president, in 1983 (the chronology's date reads as March 31 or August 3), Bush "was briefed for thirty minutes concerning [[Center Lane|CENTER LANE]] related activities by Dr. [[Jack Vorona]], DIA," the Army's remote-viewing unit, with "Adm. Murphy, C/S," and "Mr. Gregg" present ([[Donald Gregg]]). The [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command]] (INSCOM) chronology records that "the briefing was well received and the Vice President was interested and impressed."[^61] A memorandum for the record by Major Gerald Fox dated April 1, 1983 lists the three projects used on March 31, 1983 to brief the Vice President, among them Project 8034, described as a "[[KGB]] agent."[^62] Vorona of the DIA is the first-named member of the November 1978 oversight group of the [[Grill Flame]] committee and the first-listed attendee in February 1979.[^63]
|
||||
|
||||
According to an Air War College research report by Dolan M. McKelvy citing Ronald McRae's *Mind Wars* (1984), CIA director Bush in 1976 enthusiastically gave [[Edgar Mitchell]] "permission to organize high-level seminars at the CIA to discuss possible intelligence applications" of parapsychology; the report says that interest waned in 1977 when Stansfield Turner replaced Bush.[^64]
|
||||
|
||||
### The Vice President's Briefings and Travel
|
||||
|
||||
On April 2, 1982 Casey sent Secretary of State [[Alexander M. Haig, Jr.]] a "Quick Intelligence Assessment on Falkland Affairs" referring to "the Argentine invasion Friday," with a copy to Vice President Bush.[^65] In a letter to *Time* in January 1982, Assistant Secretary of State [[John H. Holdridge]] wrote that Bush had confirmed during a visit to Australia that there had been no CIA involvement in the [[Nugan Hand Bank]], and that Frank Church had said the Senate committee found no evidence implicating the agency. A CBS broadcast of September 22, 1982 quoted former bank executive [[Neil Evans]], who had immunity, as saying: "We were to become the paymasters for the CIA around the world."[^66] [[Michael Hand]] was the bank's co-founder.
|
||||
|
||||
On April 12, 1986 Vice President Bush flew to Marib in North Yemen and dedicated the refinery of the Alif field that Hunt Oil had found in 1984, the first oil discovered in the country. [[Ray Hunt]], head of the company, sat on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 2001.[^67]
|
||||
|
||||
On January 20, 1987 Bush said that an American "in terrorist hands is tortured and, in the case of William Buckley, killed," referring to the CIA's Beirut station chief [[William Buckley]].[^68] On August 17, 1988 he called the death of Pakistan's President [[Zia ul-Haq]] in a [[C-130]] explosion "a great tragedy."[^69] [[Celerino Castillo]] said that on or about January 14, 1986 he tried to alert Vice President Bush at a U.S. embassy party in Guatemala that "something funny" was going on at [[Ilopango Airbase]], and described what followed: "But he just shook my hand, smiled and walked away from me."[^70]
|
||||
|
||||
### Gregg, Rodriguez, and the Vice President's Office
|
||||
|
||||
At a February 1988 hearing on the testimony of [[Danilo Blandon]], Senator [[John Kerry]] addressed a call to Castro: "while Vice President Bush denied that he made the call, and I do accept his word, it also was learned last night on McNeil-Lehrer that a former NSC staffer admitted that, indeed, there was prior notice given to Castro."[^71]
|
||||
|
||||
Blandon also described [[Felix Rodriguez]] as "the liaison for providing weapons to the Contras in El Salvador."[^72] Walsh's chapter 29 states that Gregg "arranged for Rodriguez to meet Vice President Bush on January 22, 1985. According to Gregg, the purpose of the meeting was to inform Bush that Rodriguez wanted to work in El Salvador against the guerrillas."[^73] The meeting took place in the Old Executive Office Building, where Rodriguez was "watching a television report on the Bush family."[^73]
|
||||
|
||||
The 1988 hearing record gives the date of that meeting as February 22, a month later than Walsh's date. In the July 1988 hearings Rodriguez said that he had passed to the FBI and CIA, early in 1985, information from [[Ramon Milian Rodriguez]], whom he called a liar, and in later questioning by Kerry said he met Vice President Bush on February 22.[^74] Rodriguez also answered a question from Kerry: "No, sir. I didn't go there that often as people have publicized."[^74]
|
||||
|
||||
Part IX of Walsh's report states that Gregg "claimed that, notwithstanding the Administration's interest in the success of the contras, he never mentioned any information regarding contra resupply to Vice President Bush."[^75] The Kerry report says that before Murphy's 1987 trips to Panama he met with officials including "the Vice President's National Security Advisor, Donald Gregg."[^76]
|
||||
|
||||
### Iran-Contra and the Pardons
|
||||
|
||||
The executive summary of the final report of the [[Lawrence Walsh|Independent Counsel]] states that the investigation "did not develop evidence that proved that Vice President Bush violated any criminal statute. Contrary to his public pronouncements, however, he was fully aware of the Iran arms sales."[^77] The summary adds that "Bush was regularly briefed, along with the President, on the Iran arms sales, and he participated in discussions to obtain third-country support for the contras." It states that the Independent Counsel "obtained no evidence that Bush was aware of the diversion."[^77] The same summary says that the pardon of [[Caspar Weinberger]] on December 24, 1992 "pre-empted a trial in which defense counsel indicated that they intended to call Bush as a witness."[^77]
|
||||
|
||||
Chapter 28 of the report, headed "George Bush," records that Bush told the FBI in December 1986, and was deposed by the Independent Counsel on January 11, 1988, that he had been regularly informed of events connected with the arms sales, including the 1985 Israeli missile shipments. Walsh writes that these statements "conflicted with his more extreme public assertions that he was 'out of the loop' regarding the operational details of the Iran initiative."[^78] Walsh also writes that "The criminal investigation of Bush was regrettably incomplete."[^78]
|
||||
|
||||
In 1988 Bush told the [[Washington Post]], "The President and I cooperated fully with the various investigations, turned over thousands of documents and directed our staffs to do the same."[^79] In September 1992 he said, "I have nothing to explain."[^79]
|
||||
|
||||
Part IX of the report, on the White House investigations, states that the Independent Counsel "concluded that no criminal charges should be brought against President Reagan, Vice President Bush, Meese or Regan because the belated production of notes and other documents delayed the investigation beyond the point where it could be effective."[^80] The same part states that senior advisers including Vice President Bush "were informed in 1985 of presidential approval of the transactions." It also says that the Independent Counsel "found considerable evidence that the President and the Vice President knew about and, in some instances, directly participated in contra-funding efforts during this period."[^80]
|
||||
|
||||
The diary is the subject of a separate passage. Walsh writes that "[t]he personal diary of Vice President Bush was disclosed to Independent Counsel only in December 1992, despite early and repeated requests for such documents."[^81] On December 11, 1992 [[Chester Paul Beach]], associate counsel to President Bush, informed the Independent Counsel that a diary kept by Bush from his vice presidency had not been produced. The report describes it as consisting of "Bush's nightly dictation concerning the events of the day."[^81] The first entry, dated November 4, 1986, describes "the beginning of what I hope will be an accurate diary." An entry for November 5, 1986 reads: "I'm one of the few people that know fully the details."[^82]
|
||||
|
||||
The report records a document request that reached the vice president's office. C. Boyden Gray and John Schmitz told office heads that the request "covers all personal and official records of OVP staff members."[^83]
|
||||
|
||||
After the pardons, Bush refused to be interviewed unless the interview was limited to his non-production of the diary and personal notes. The Independent Counsel declined those conditions. In late February 1993 Bush's counsel set out six professed obstacles to a deposition.[^79] The report states that a grand jury subpoena was not issued because the office did not believe there was an appropriate likelihood of a criminal prosecution.[^81]
|
||||
|
||||
On December 24, 1992 Bush issued Proclamation 6518, granting pardons to Caspar Weinberger, [[Robert McFarlane]], [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Dewey Clarridge]], [[Clair George]] and [[Alan Fiers]]. In the proclamation Bush wrote that "the common denominator of their motivation ... was patriotism." He described the prosecutions as "a profoundly troubling development in the political and legal climate of our country: the criminalization of policy differences. ... The proper target is the President, not his subordinates; the proper forum is the voting booth, not the courtroom."[^84]
|
||||
|
||||
Walsh responded that the pardon of Weinberger "undermines the principle that no man is above the law."[^85] The Fourth Interim Report of February 8, 1993 includes the phrase "prevent full disclosure of some new key fact to the American people," and states that the pardon "thwarted the public airing of new and disturbing facts about the actions of Weinberger and other senior Executive Branch officials."[^86]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Tower Commission]] also examined the Vice President's contacts with Israeli channels. Its report records that "The Vice President was in Israel on July 29. While there, he met with Nir." The Vice President told the board that, before the meeting, he had been uneasy and tried to call [[John Poindexter]].[^87] Bush related that his discussion with Amiram Nir "was generally about counterterrorism. There was no discussion of specifics relating to arms going to the Iranians, e.g., the price of TOW missiles was never raised."[^87] The report also contains the phrase that the interests of the United States were "in the grip of the Israelis."[^87]
|
||||
|
||||
At the National Security Planning Group meeting of June 25, 1984, the minutes record Casey saying: "We need the legal opinion which makes clear that the US has the authority to facilitate third country funding for the anti-Sandinistas." Vice President Bush asked: "How can anyone object to the US encouraging third parties to provide help to the anti-Sandinistas under the finding? The only problem that might come up is if the United States were to promise to give these third parties something in return so that some people could interpret this as some kind of an exchange." Robert McFarlane proposed "that there be no authority for anyone to seek third party support for the anti-Sandinistas until we have the information we need," and Reagan said: "If such a story gets out, we'll all be hanging by our thumbs in front of the White House until we find out who did it." The meeting took place under the [[Boland Amendment]].[^88]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[The Enterprise (Iran-Contra)|Enterprise]] ran the Contra supply operation through the Ilopango Airbase in [[El Salvador]], where CIA Hangar No. 4 was turned over to its operations in 1985; Felix Rodriguez, who had connections to Gregg, then National Security Adviser to the Vice President, coordinated aircraft and logistics there.[^89]
|
||||
|
||||
In 1992 Bush asked former Attorney General [[Griffin Bell]] to assist in seeking the release of Bush's Iran-Contra deposition, and on December 30, 1992 the White House press secretary issued a statement on the investigation.[^90] Barr later said that at the end of the administration he advised Bush to pardon Weinberger "and about five others," and of the Iran-Contra pardons: "I certainly did not oppose any of them."[^91] [[Christopher Drogoul]], the Atlanta BNL manager, was indicted on February 28, 1991, the day after Bush ordered the ceasefire in the [[Gulf War]].[^92]
|
||||
|
||||
### The October Surprise
|
||||
|
||||
The October Surprise allegation concerns whether the 1980 Reagan campaign delayed the release of the American hostages held in Iran until after the election. The [[House October Surprise Task Force]] issued its joint report on January 3, 1993 as Calendar No. 634 of the 102d Congress.[^93]
|
||||
|
||||
In the task force's account of Ari Ben-Menashe's claims about the Paris meetings of October 1980, he remained in the foyer, and "[j]ust prior to the meeting Mehdi Karrubi arrived, followed shortly by George Bush and William Casey by way of an elevator reserved for this purpose."[^94] The report records that Ben-Menashe "had told reporters for [[Newsweek]] magazine that he was positive he had seen George Bush at the Paris meetings on both October 19 and October 20, 1980." The report also notes that Sukkot fell on September 25 in 1980.[^94]
|
||||
|
||||
The task force concludes that Ben-Menashe's account of the October meetings, "like his other October Surprise allegations, is a total fabrication."[^94] On Ben-Menashe's account of a meeting at the L'Enfant Plaza hotel in Washington, which he tied to the [[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]], the task force wrote that "Ben-Menashe's account is demonstrably false from beginning to end."[^95] It states that the personnel records supplied by the Government of Israel, with Ben-Menashe's contemporaneous handwritten answers to the questions he had to answer for the External Relations Department when traveling abroad, showed that he did not travel outside Israel in October 1980, and that exit stamps on his civilian passport indicated the same.[^94]
|
||||
|
||||
On Bush's whereabouts the task force reports that Secret Service records place him in Washington on October 19 and campaigning on October 20, 1980. It states that "these records and testimony conclusively prove candidate George Bush's whereabouts in October, 1980," and that "The Task Force has determined that Bush did not travel to Paris during the period of time in question as has been alleged by many October Surprise witnesses."[^96] The report generalizes the point: "In almost all instances, the evidence clearly establishes the presence of major alleged participants in Paris meetings to be someplace else, doing something else."[^97]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Richard Brenneke]] testified that a pilot, Rupp, flew Bush, Casey and others to Paris. The task force records that at Brenneke's trial in Oregon in 1990 he retracted his earlier testimony that he had seen Bush and Allen at the meeting.[^98] The task force states that "Brenneke's testimony that he was in Paris is false." Brenneke's 1980 daily calendar "indicates that he was in the Pacific Northwest when he claimed to have been in Paris."[^99] The report also says that Brenneke "played a central role in falsely propagating the October Surprise allegations for financial and personal reasons."[^99]
|
||||
|
||||
A 1988 Senate subcommittee report summarizes Brenneke's claims that he had "personally discussed the operation with members of the Vice President's staff." The subcommittee concluded that although Brenneke produced thousands of pages of documents relating to proposed arms deals, "there is no evidence that any of them ever came to fruition." It also found that Brenneke "received completely fabricated information about arms deals from undercover agents of the Customs Service."[^100]
|
||||
|
||||
The task force examined the calendar of William J. Casey. It records a July 30, 1980 entry for a 6:45 p.m. dinner with George Bush at the Alibi Club.[^101] The report's analysis of Casey's movements states that "The evidence strongly indicates that Casey departed the United States on July 27, arrived in London on July 28, and departed London for the United States on July 29."[^102] Loose calendar pages for July 26 and 27, October 21, October 29, November 3 through 11, and November 13 are listed as missing. The task force states that "[t]he dates July 26th and October 21st are of particular interest to the Task Force."[^103]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Robert Parry]] reported in 2011 on a memorandum for the record that Beach wrote on November 4, 1991. The memorandum records that State Department legal adviser Edwin D. Williamson told Beach that the department held material that included "a cable from the Madrid embassy indicating that Bill Casey was in town, for purposes unknown."[^104] Parry writes that "there's no indication that the White House told investigators about Williamson's information," and that the Bush library withholds nearly a quarter of its roughly 4,800 pages.[^104]
|
||||
|
||||
The task force also records Reagan's statements. In a June 15, 1991 interview Reagan said, "I did some things actually the other way, to try and be of help in getting those hostages." In a sworn written answer dated October 23, 1992 he wrote that "I and Reagan/Bush campaign officials made it clear by our conduct and statements during the campaign that we were supportive of the Carter administration efforts to secure the release of American hostages held in Iran."[^105]
|
||||
|
||||
Ben-Menashe's account of the Paris meeting names others besides Bush and Casey. He wrote that [[George Cave]], Robert McFarlane and Donald Gregg attended; that [[Simon Gabbay]] coordinated the October 1980 meeting between Israeli and Iranian delegations that included Bush, Casey and [[Mehdi Karrubi]], with the aim of eliminating direct contact between Israeli and Iranian embassy personnel; and that [[Uri Simchoni]] was part of the Israeli delegation.[^56] Cave also attended a meeting in [[Santiago]] in late 1986, according to Ben-Menashe, where American officials reaffirmed their intention to maintain arms channels to Iraq.[^56] [[Barbara Honegger]] published *October Surprise* (Tudor Publishing, 1989), one of the first extended accounts of the allegations; she alleged meetings in Madrid in July 1980 and in Paris in October 1980 involving Casey, Bush and European intermediaries including de Marenches.[^106]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Cheri Seymour]] wrote in *The Last Circle* that the attorney [[Paul Wilcher]] believed his client [[Gunther Karl Russbacher]] to be a political prisoner persecuted because he allegedly flew former President Bush to Paris to meet leading Iranians to make a deal to supply Iran with weapons in exchange for keeping the 52 American hostages until after the November election. On or about May 21, 1993 Wilcher hand-delivered a 100-page letter to Attorney General [[Janet Reno]] claiming that holdover Justice Department employees from the Reagan-Bush era were responsible for government cover-ups; he was interviewed by [[Carl Stern]], Reno's public relations officer, on or about June 11, and his body was found in his apartment on June 23, 1993. [[Sarah McClendon]], a White House correspondent and friend of Wilcher, wrote that Wilcher held the Russbacher belief.[^107] Seymour also wrote that [[Michael Riconosciuto]], a source of [[Danny Casolaro]]'s investigation of [[The Octopus]], claimed that he and an associate named Brian personally carried $40 million to Iranian officials for that purpose.[^107]
|
||||
|
||||
### The Presidency: Panama, Appointees and Executive Actions
|
||||
|
||||
Bush was inaugurated as the 41st President on January 20, 1989.[^108] [[Dick Cheney]] recalled in the Miller Center oral history of the Bush presidency that "Panama was a great training experience for us as an administration. We had the opportunity to have an objective, have to use force, coordinate with the Congress, deal with the public, all of those things that come with using the force." The invasion of [[Panama]] in December 1989 removed Manuel Noriega; [[Colin Powell]], then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in the same project: "Nobody even remembers the Panama war. You don't ever hear of it. But I viewed it as the template of how we should do things."[^109] Seymour wrote that the [[Cali Drug Cartel]] was contrasted with the Medellin Cartel, which Noriega chose to support, ultimately leading to his ousting by Bush; she wrote that the DEA's Centac 21 task force, which had targeted [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela]] and [[Jose Santacruz Londono]] in the 1978 indictments, was dismantled under the Reagan and Bush administrations, leaving disgruntled agents to suspect a CIA connection.[^107] Seymour added that Bush reportedly made secret visits to Damascus for hostage negotiations, and that after Desert Storm Bush and Secretary of State [[James A. Baker III]] encouraged [[Syria]] and Israel to recognize each other's Lebanese occupation zones under a 1990 accord that left Syria in control of the Bekaa Valley.[^107]
|
||||
|
||||
The Cox Committee counted twelve national-interest determinations for launches of commercial satellites on Chinese rockets between 1989 and early 1998, three by President Bush and nine by [[Bill Clinton]]; the last, of February 18, 1998, applied to the Loral-built [[Chinasat-8]] satellite, a company then headed by [[Bernard L. Schwartz]].[^110] [[National Security Directive 67]], signed by Bush on March 30, 1992, replaced the lettered programs of the [[National Reconnaissance Office]] with three functional directorates, and the existence of the office was declassified on September 18, 1992.[^111] Bush's report to Congress of September 1991 under the [[Iraq Sanctions Act of 1990]] stated that "United States suppliers did not contribute directly to Iraq's conventional or nonconventional weapons capability." Gonzalez said that after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, [[SerVaas Inc.]] renegotiated a brass-plant contract with its Iraqi counterparts and sold it through a foreign holding company to escape the president's order freezing Iraqi assets.[^112] The prime minister of [[Jamaica]], [[Michael Manley]], sworn in again on February 13, 1989, said that he planned to travel to Washington to meet Bush, congressional leaders and officials of the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]].[^113]
|
||||
|
||||
Richard Thornburgh continued as Attorney General under Bush through 1991, resigning in August 1991 to run for the Senate.[^114] [[Kenneth Starr]] was the 39th Solicitor General from 1989 to 1993 under Bush.[^115] [[Steve Forbes|Malcolm S. Forbes Jr.]], president of [[Forbes]] magazine, was renominated to the Board for International Broadcasting, which oversees [[Radio Free Europe]], by the Bush White House on January 4, 1990 and again on June 19, 1992, each time with designation as chairman.[^116] [[Jay Lefkowitz]] served under Bush as deputy executive secretary of the [[Domestic Policy Council]] and director of cabinet affairs.[^117] [[Loretta Preska]] was appointed a judge of the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York]] by Bush in 1992.[^118] Lawrence Eagleburger, president of [[Kissinger Associates]] from 1984 to 1989, was deputy secretary of state under Baker and secretary of state in the last weeks of the administration; Brent Scowcroft, vice chairman of the firm's Washington office, became national security adviser in January 1989.[^119]
|
||||
|
||||
### Iraq, Osirak, and the Teicher Declaration
|
||||
|
||||
The Teicher declaration of January 31, 1995, on the [[Iran-Iraq War]], filed in the Florida prosecution of [[Carlos Cardoen]] and others, states in paragraph 7 that a secret 1986 message from Reagan to [[Saddam Hussein]], urging a stepped-up air war against Iran, was delivered by Vice President Bush to [[Hosni Mubarak]], who passed it to Saddam Hussein. The declaration also states that Teicher wrote Bush's talking points for the 1986 meeting with Mubarak.[^120] A corrective declaration filed in October 1996 addresses paragraphs 15 through 18.[^121]
|
||||
|
||||
### The BNL and Iraqgate Record
|
||||
|
||||
The Atlanta branch of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro extended credits to [[Iraq]] that the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] examined in February 1993. The committee reports that a National Security Council Deputies Committee meeting on May 29, 1990 was held "to resolve the issue of the second $500 million tranche," and that [[Robert M. Gates]] chaired it.[^122] Barr and Richard opposed going forward with the second tranche, citing the prosecutor's intent to indict Iraqi officials who were involved in "significant criminal violations." The meeting's conclusion was "that the Iraqi government simply be advised that the U.S. would not go forward with the second tranche until the investigation in Atlanta was completed."[^122] The indictment in Atlanta was returned on February 28, 1991.[^122]
|
||||
|
||||
On October 2, 1989 Bush signed [[National Security Directive 26]], classified SECRET. It states that the government "should propose economic and political incentives for Iraq to moderate its behavior and to increase our influence with Iraq," and that "any illegal use of chemical and/or biological weapons will lead to economic and political sanctions."[^123]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Commodity Credit Corporation Iraq Program]] ran alongside the BNL loans. On October 6, 1989 Secretary of State Baker assured [[Tariq Aziz]] that American concern over proliferation was worldwide and not directed at Iraq; the department then offered Iraq 500 million dollars in guarantees, with a second 500 million to follow "after successful conclusion of the BNL investigation," a condition Iraq rejected.[^124] Friedman wrote in *Spider's Web* on the [[BNL Scandal]] that the House Banking Committee under Gonzalez documented the Reagan administration's and the early Bush administration's consistent support for Iraq's weapons procurement networks, including knowledge of chemical weapons use.[^125]
|
||||
|
||||
In a 1992 statement in the House, Representative [[Henry B. Gonzalez]] quoted the sentence "United States suppliers did not contribute directly to Iraq's conventional or nonconventional weapons capability." He added that "[s]everal Bush administration officials in a position to know the truth have testified before Congress about the United States role in enhancing Iraq's military capability."[^126] The White House's unclassified summary of September 1991 uses different language on the same question.[^127]
|
||||
|
||||
### BCCI and the Gulf Finance Network
|
||||
|
||||
The Senate report on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, prepared by Senators John Kerry and [[Hank Brown]] and published in December 1992, describes a figure named Lake who "received $200,000 in payments from Abu Dhabi last fall in connection with this work." The report says he was performing, "as a volunteer, in an unpaid position," the job of "deputy manager to President Bush's re-election campaign."[^128] Kerry, then subcommittee chairman, said at a hearing on March 18, 1992: "I do not believe that Mr. Lake should be sitting in on White House campaign strategy meetings while he is also providing strategy to Sheikh Zayed on how to deal with problems arising out of his ownership of BCCI."[^128]
|
||||
|
||||
The report's chapter on [[Ed Rogers]] quotes Rogers's resignation letter, which states that "The ethics atmosphere at the Bush White House was to go the extra mile...."[^129] The report places [[Sam Bamieh]] in Bush's Team 100 fundraising program in 1988.[^130] It also records that [[Richard Helms]] wrote to Vice President Bush on behalf of [[Mohammed Rahim Motaghi Irvani|Irvani]] on October 29, 1987.[^131]
|
||||
|
||||
The Justice Department's response to Kerry's inquiry about its February 1990 letters states that "The first letter by Mr. Saphos is obviously worded poorly."[^132] A July 24, 1990 letter from Deputy Assistant Attorney General [[Bruce Navarro]] to Kerry also appears in the record.[^133] The report asks whether the Customs undercover investigation of BCCI "is the kind of investigation that President Bush and the Congress desire."[^134]
|
||||
|
||||
### Stephens, Bath and the Gulf Financiers
|
||||
|
||||
[[Jackson Stephens]] of [[Stephens Inc.]] gave to Reagan, Bush and Clinton, and in 1977 introduced the Bank of Credit and Commerce International to the American bank it would secretly acquire.[^135] [[Peter Truell]] and [[Larry Gurwin]] wrote in 1992 that Stephens backed Bush that year while employees of Stephens Inc. gave more money to the Clinton campaign than the employees of all but two other firms; they also wrote that [[Hillary Clinton]], then Hillary Rodham, did legal work in 1978 for Systematics Inc. when it was sued over the stock accumulation for [[Agha Hasan Abedi]].[^136] The firm gave 100,000 dollars to a dinner for President Bush in May 1991, and family members and employees gave more than 83,000 dollars to Clinton by the summer of 1992; [[Worthen Bank]], whose chairman [[Curt Bradbury]] had been a Stephens officer, extended the Clinton campaign a 3.5 million dollar line of credit.[^137]
|
||||
|
||||
[[James R. Bath]] told *Time* in 1991 that his friendship with Bush dated from their service in the Guard and that he was only "slightly" acquainted with the then-President.[^138] [[Craig Unger]] wrote in *Salon* in 2004 that the second name on a Guard order, released earlier under the Freedom of Information Act to the researcher Marty Heldt, was Bath's, and that the White House redacted it when it released George W. Bush's military records in March 2004; Bath confirmed that he was the man named and said: "Geo did not use drugs."[^139] [[Lucy Komisar]] wrote in 2007 that in 1976, when Bush headed the CIA, the agency sold some planes of its proprietary airline [[Air America]] to Skyway, "a company owned by Bath and Bin Mahfouz"; she wrote that [[Khalid bin Mahfouz]]'s family bought 20 to 30 percent of BCCI for nearly one billion dollars, and that when [[Harken Energy]] got into financial trouble in 1987 Stephens helped it obtain 25 million dollars from [[Union Bank of Switzerland]] and a board seat went to the Harken shareholder [[Abdullah Taha Bakhsh]], "whose chief banker was BCCI shareholder Bin Mahfouz." Harken's proxy statement of April 25, 1994 listed Bakhsh with 6,935,364 shares, 11.66 percent of its common stock.[^140] *Time* described Bakhsh as the reclusive Saudi who bought an 11 percent stake in Harken, of which George W. Bush was a director.[^141]
|
||||
|
||||
### Hinckley
|
||||
|
||||
John W. Hinckley Jr. shot President Reagan on March 30, 1981. The [[Houston Post]] reported that Neil Bush, a son of Vice President Bush, had been scheduled to have dinner the day after the shooting with [[Scott Hinckley]], the brother of the gunman. WhoWhatWhy reports that the story was picked up by the Associated Press and UPI.[^142]
|
||||
|
||||
At a press conference the day after the shooting, Neil Bush acknowledged that Scott Hinckley had also been at his house "a couple of months earlier, at his surprise birthday party." Neil Bush said, "I have no idea."[^142]
|
||||
|
||||
The vice president's press secretary, [[Peter Teeley]], told a UPI reporter, as WhoWhatWhy quotes him: "I don't know a damn thing about it. All I know is what you're telling me." Teeley said that the vice president "made no mention of it whatsoever."[^142]
|
||||
|
||||
The diary of [[Chase Untermyer]], a Bush aide, records that "Neil and Sharon do know Hinckley's brother (in Denver) and were planning to have dinner with them tomorrow night."[^142]
|
||||
|
||||
WhoWhatWhy also reports, citing an Associated Press item of April 1, 1981, that the Department of Energy told the Hinckley family's oil business that it might be penalized about $2 million.[^143]
|
||||
|
||||
### Franklin Cover-Up Allegations
|
||||
|
||||
[[John DeCamp]] wrote on the Franklin matter in Nebraska. An advertisement for his book, reproduced in a compilation of material gathered by [[Ted Gunderson]], states that the book "contains numerous references to President George Bush."[^144]
|
||||
|
||||
The same compilation relays a 1989 report in the [[Washington Times]] by [[George Archibald]] that key Reagan and Bush administration officials were ensnared in a federal probe tied to an escort service and [[Craig Spence]].[^145]
|
||||
|
||||
### Allegations in the Casolaro and Mind-Control Literature
|
||||
|
||||
Seymour wrote that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police inquirer [[Sean McDade]] told her that Canadian officials might have bought the PROMIS software unlawfully from officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations, that the RCMP had traced banking transactions supporting this, and that a successful inquiry "could cause the entire U.S. Republican Party to be dismantled."[^107] In September 2001 Admiral Daniel Murphy, who had served as chief of staff to Vice President Bush during the first Reagan term when the PROMIS misappropriations began, told [[Bill Hamilton]] of [[INSLAW]] that he had a "hunch" that there was still another use of PROMIS that INSLAW had not yet discovered; Murphy died on September 21, 2001.[^107]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Project Monarch]] is described in a 1996 PROBE article by A.B.H. Alexander, which reports the claim of Cathy O'Brien that she delivered messages to foreign leaders including Mexican President [[Carlos Salinas]] on behalf of Vice President Bush, using keyword-triggered personality compartments.[^146]
|
||||
|
||||
### The Carlyle Group
|
||||
|
||||
In March 2002 Tim Shorrock wrote in [[The Nation]] that "Bush is Carlyle's senior adviser on Asia and makes his money by giving speeches at Carlyle's investment conferences."[^147] The article quotes [[William Conway]] of [[The Carlyle Group]] describing "the cast of ex-Presidents and former officials, including George H.W. Bush, James Baker III and Frank Carlucci, on its payroll."[^147]
|
||||
|
||||
### Appointees in the Epstein Record
|
||||
|
||||
Lefkowitz, who served under Bush at the Domestic Policy Council, was later the principal defense negotiator of the September 2007 [[Epstein non-prosecution agreement]] between [[Jeffrey Epstein]] and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida; he retired from [[Kirkland & Ellis]] in March 2026, saying he would not have taken the Epstein matter "knowing what we all know now."[^148] Starr was a partner at Kirkland before and after his service as Solicitor General.[^148] Preska, whom Bush appointed in 1992, took over [[Giuffre v. Maxwell]] after the death of Judge Robert W. Sweet in 2019 and ruled until 2026 on the release of its sealed discovery.[^149] Federal Election Commission records show a 1988 contribution to Bush by [[Philip Scaturro]], whose contributions otherwise went mostly to Democratic candidates.[^150]
|
||||
|
||||
### Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and the FBI Vault
|
||||
|
||||
A letter to FBI Director [[William S. Sessions]], held in the Bureau's vault, is quoted by [[Larry Holzwarth]] in a HistoryCollection article. The letter states that "President Bush (George H. W. Bush), when asked about UFOs, told the person asking 'You don't know the half of it.'" The letter writer reminds the director that Bush "was formerly with the CIA." Because the letter calls Bush "President," it can date only from January 1989 onward.[^151]
|
||||
|
||||
The astrophysicist [[Eric Davis]] recalled Bush telling him that humans made contact with aliens at a secretive New Mexico air base in 1964. The account was published by OK! Magazine on November 24, 2025 and carried by AOL, and is tied to the documentary *The Age of Disclosure*. When Bush asked for more details, he was told that he did not have a need-to-know.[^152]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.
|
||||
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends"
|
||||
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 20: "It is a sensitive matter"
|
||||
[^4]: The President's News Conference, November 3, 1975, including the statement announcing personnel changes. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-60
|
||||
[^5]: Remarks at the Swearing In of George Bush as Director of Central Intelligence, January 30, 1976. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-swearing-george-bush-director-central-intelligence
|
||||
[^6]: Kress, Kenneth A. "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," *Studies in Intelligence,* vol. 21, no. 4, winter 1977, declassified, document NSA-RDP96X00790R000100010031-3; reprinted with the author's postscript of January 1999 in *Journal of Scientific Exploration,* vol. 13, no. 1, 1999. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8.
|
||||
[^1]: Seymour M. Hersh, *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy* (Random House, 1991).
|
||||
[^2]: Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George H. W. Bush: Life Before the Presidency." Phillips Academy, Navy service 1942 to 1945, marriage of January 6, 1945, Yale economics degree by 1948, baseball captain, Skull and Bones, Prescott Bush's Senate service 1952 to 1963, the Texas oil years, the 1964 to 1974 political offices, the CIA appointment, the May 1, 1979 announcement, and the children's names and birth years. https://millercenter.org/president/bush/life-before-the-presidency
|
||||
[^3]: White House, "Biography of President George W. Bush" (archived, georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov). Born July 6, 1946, in New Haven; sworn in January 20, 2001 and January 20, 2005.
|
||||
[^4]: George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, FOIA response 2009-0116-F, records relating to the Skull and Bones Society. https://bush41library.gov/download/file/4777
|
||||
[^5]: Alien Property Custodian, Vesting Order No. 248, Washington, October 20, 1942, *Federal Register*, November 7, 1942, pp. 9097-9098.
|
||||
[^6]: Russ Baker, "CIA Helped Bush Senior In Oil Venture," WhoWhatWhy, January 7, 2007, quoting a CIA memorandum of November 29, 1975. https://whowhatwhy.org/2007/01/07/cia-bush-senior-oil-venture/
|
||||
[^7]: Russ Baker, "CIA Helped Bush Senior In Oil Venture," WhoWhatWhy, January 7, 2007, citing a 1968 memorandum and the 1998 release of CIA documents. https://whowhatwhy.org/2007/01/07/cia-bush-senior-oil-venture/
|
||||
[^8]: Zapata Corporation, annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 1994, filed December 29, 1994, accession 0000899243-94-000388, Item 1 and filer header (former conformed names), CIK 109177.
|
||||
[^9]: SEC EDGAR filing history for CIK 109177 (Zapata Corporation and successor names); start of electronic filings February 8, 1994.
|
||||
[^10]: Assassination Records Review Board, letter to John Pereira, December 18, 1997, CIA release 104-10336-10008.
|
||||
[^11]: Assassination Records Review Board staff memorandum by Haron, January 8, 1998 (FBIMEM.002).
|
||||
[^12]: CIA memorandum from Michelle Combs to T. Jeremy Gunn, July 15, 1998 (CIA-IR09).
|
||||
[^13]: CIA memorandum from J. Barry Harrelson to T. Jeremy Gunn, February 25, 1998, within release 104-10336-10008.
|
||||
[^14]: Assassination Records Review Board draft request, "George Bush," undated, bearing Gunn's name.
|
||||
[^15]: WhoWhatWhy, "Classic Who: GHW Bush and the JFK Assassination," October 24, 2017, reporting Stephen Hart's 1988 statement and Joseph McBride's report in *The Nation*, July 16, 1988. https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/10/24/classic-ghw-bush-jfk-assassination/
|
||||
[^16]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance* (Seven Stories Press, 1998), ch. 13, "The wrong kind of friends."
|
||||
[^17]: Ronald Reagan, "Statement Announcing the Establishment of a Federal Anticrime Task Force for Southern Florida," January 28, 1982. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-announcing-the-establishment-federal-anticrime-task-force-for-southern-florida
|
||||
[^18]: *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Hrg. 100-773, pt. 4 (July 1988), statement of Adm. Daniel J. Murphy, pp. 224-225. https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0009
|
||||
[^19]: Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (1988), p. 19. https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
|
||||
[^20]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance* (Seven Stories Press, 1998), ch. 20, "It is a sensitive matter."
|
||||
[^21]: FBI Headquarters file on H.L. Hunt, part 2 (FOIA release), Hunt Oil Company and Estate of H.L. Hunt press releases, March 4 and April 1, 1977, https://archive.org/details/foia_Hunt_H.L.-HQ-2 ; Marie Fagnant (Assassination Records Review Board staff), "Summary of Dallas Figures," memorandum, July 31, 1997; Bill Porterfield, "H.L. Hunt's Long Goodbye," *Texas Monthly*, March 1975. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/h-l-hunts-long-goodbye/
|
||||
[^22]: George Bush, Chairman, National Foreign Intelligence Board, letter to Vice Admiral Bobby R. Inman, January 1977 (DCI/IC 77-0402), CIA CREST copy CIA-RDP80M00165A002600030024-8. https://archive.org/details/CIA-RDP80M00165A002600030024-8
|
||||
[^23]: "We've Been Asked: What Is the Trilateral Commission?" *U.S. News & World Report*, April 7, 1980, p. 37, reprinted in Congressional Research Service, *The Trilateral Commission*, Issue Packet IP0092 (Library of Congress, 1981).
|
||||
[^24]: Ronald Reagan, "Nomination of William H. Draper III To Be President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States," March 18, 1981, The American Presidency Project. https://presidency.ucsb.edu/node/247393
|
||||
[^25]: "The President's News Conference," November 3, 1975. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-60
|
||||
[^26]: "Remarks at the Swearing In of George Bush as Director of Central Intelligence," January 30, 1976. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-swearing-george-bush-director-central-intelligence
|
||||
[^27]: Kenneth A. Kress, "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," *Studies in Intelligence* 21, no. 4 (winter 1977), p. 15. CIA reading room CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030040-0. Reprinted with the author's January 1999 postscript in *Journal of Scientific Exploration* 13, no. 1 (1999).
|
||||
[^28]: Senate nomination record for George H. W. Bush as Director of Central Intelligence, hearings of December 15-16, 1975, and committee report of December 18, 1975. CIA reading room CIA-RDP91-00901R000100050001-3.
|
||||
[^29]: Center for the Study of Intelligence, "Intelligence and Congress: The Nomination of George H. W. Bush as DCI," *Studies in Intelligence* 65, no. 4 (December 2021). https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Article_Intel_Congress_Nomination_ofGHWBush_as_DCI_Studies_65_4_December2021.pdf
|
||||
[^30]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976*, vol. XXXV, doc. 170, memorandum from Director of Central Intelligence Bush to recipients of National Intelligence Estimate 11-3/8-76, with editorial note citing William Beecher, *Boston Globe*, October 20, 1976, and David Binder, *New York Times*, December 26, 1976.
|
||||
[^31]: "Soviet Strategic Objectives: An Alternative View, Report of Team B." CIA reading room CIA-RDP91M00696R001000110006-8.
|
||||
[^32]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976*, vol. XXXV, doc. 174, Bush to Cherne, January 19, 1977.
|
||||
[^33]: Church Committee, *Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities*, Book I, p. 455 (1976). https://archive.org/details/finalreportofsel01unit
|
||||
[^34]: Church Committee, *Final Report*, Book I, p. 193. https://archive.org/details/finalreportofsel01unit
|
||||
[^35]: Norman Kempster, *Washington Star*, February 10, 1976. CIA reading room CIA-RDP99-00498R000100040124-3.
|
||||
[^36]: "'Operation Chaos' Files Ordered Held," *Washington Star*, June 16, 1976. CIA reading room CIA-RDP90-01208R000100170029-4.
|
||||
[^37]: Letter from Daniel K. Inouye to George Bush, September 29, 1976. CIA reading room 03303946.
|
||||
[^38]: Letter from Edward H. Levi to George Bush, October 9, 1976, with Scowcroft's endorsement of October 21, 1976. *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976*, vol. E-11, pt. 2, doc. 250.
|
||||
[^39]: CIA reading room document 05535911, 1980 radio interview transcript (speaker identified as "MAN").
|
||||
[^40]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980*, vol. XXIV, doc. 209.
|
||||
[^41]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980*, vol. XXIV, doc. 217, memorandum quoted in the volume.
|
||||
[^42]: Memorandum by George Bush, "The Death of Roselli," August 11, 1976. CIA reading room 00508811.
|
||||
[^43]: Timothy S. Robinson, "The Letelier Case," *The Washington Post*, May 21, 1978, p. A4, CIA Reading Room document CIA-RDP99-00498R000100050048-7, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp99-00498r000100050048-7.
|
||||
[^44]: Brief for Appellants, *United States v. Sampol*, Nos. 79-1541 and 79-1542 (D.C. Cir. 1979), https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/MNC/Letelier-appeal.pdf ; Petition of the United States for Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc, *United States v. Sampol* (D.C. Cir., October 29, 1980), https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/MNC/Letelier-rehearing.pdf.
|
||||
[^45]: "No New Leads Uncovered by Letelier Probe," *The Washington Post*, November 1, 1976, CIA Reading Room document CIA-RDP99-00498R000100020097-6. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp99-00498r000100020097-6
|
||||
[^46]: Secretary of State to American Embassy Caracas, "Interrogation of Bosch," telegram 1976STATE277225, November 11, 1976, quoting Richard L. Thornburgh's letter of November 5, 1976, Department of State, released 2006; Zach Dorfman, "Codename: Chilbom," *The Atavist Magazine*, no. 59, June 21, 2016. https://magazine.atavist.com/2016/codename-chilbom
|
||||
[^47]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Associate Attorney General, *In the Matter of Orlando Bosch-Avila*, decision of Acting Associate Attorney General Joe D. Whitley in exclusion proceedings, January 23, 1989; National Security Archive, "Bombing of Cuban Jetliner 30 Years Later," Electronic Briefing Book 202, October 5, 2006.
|
||||
[^48]: Peter Kornbluh, "A Modicum of Justice for Ronni Karpen Moffitt," *The Nation*, September 2026.
|
||||
[^49]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976*, vol. XXII, Panama, doc. 133, memorandum of conversation, October 6, 1976, source note.
|
||||
[^50]: Letter from George Bush to Donald H. Rumsfeld, October 18, 1976. CIA reading room CIA-RDP79-00498A000600090009-7.
|
||||
[^51]: Joseph Trento, *Prelude to Terror: The Rogue CIA and the Legacy of America's Private Intelligence Network* (Carroll & Graf, 2005), pp. 52-108; Alexandre de Marenches and David Andelman, *The Fourth World War* (Random House, 1992); Church Committee, S. Rept. 94-755, 1976.
|
||||
[^52]: Roger Faligot and Pascal Krop, *La Piscine: Les Services Secrets Français, 1944-1984* (Seuil, 1985); Alexandre de Marenches and Christine Ockrent, *Dans le Secret des Princes* (Stock, 1986).
|
||||
[^53]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, S. Rept. 94-465, 1975; Ludo De Witte, *The Assassination of Lumumba* (Verso, 2001); International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, Public Law 94-329, 90 Stat. 729 (June 30, 1976), sec. 404.
|
||||
[^54]: Miller Center, University of Virginia, "William P. Barr Oral History," interview of April 5, 2001, George H. W. Bush Oral History Project. https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/william-p-barr-oral-history
|
||||
[^55]: Seymour M. Hersh, *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy* (Random House, 1991), ch. 18.
|
||||
[^56]: Ari Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network* (Sheridan Square Press, 1992; TrineDay reprint, 2015).
|
||||
[^57]: *The Tower Commission Report: The Full Text of the President's Special Review Board* (New York: Bantam Books and Times Books, 1987), pp. 24-25, 30-31; Tom Tugend, "Al Schwimmer, Israel Air Force pioneer, dies at 94," *Jewish Journal* (Los Angeles), June 12, 2011; JTA Staff, "Pardoned American served Israel in 1948," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 28, 2001.
|
||||
[^58]: Maureen Dowd, "War in the Gulf: The President; Bush Urges Israeli Restraint in Phone Appeals to Shamir," *The New York Times*, January 20, 1991, p. 16. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/20/world/war-gulf-president-bush-urges-israeli-restraint-phone-appeals-shamir.html
|
||||
[^59]: "Decade of the Spy," undated counterintelligence history extract, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book 407, Doc. 14. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB407/docs/EBB-PollardDoc14.pdf
|
||||
[^60]: Kress, "Parapsychology in Intelligence," *Studies in Intelligence* 21, no. 4 (winter 1977), p. 16. CIA reading room CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030040-0.
|
||||
[^61]: US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," entry for 1983. CIA reading room CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8.
|
||||
[^62]: Memorandum for the record, "Briefing," Major Gerald Fox, April 1, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270002-4. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r001700270002-4
|
||||
[^63]: Defense Intelligence Agency, S-1004/DT-1, "Minutes of the Meeting, DoD Grill Flame Committee," November 28, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130006-1; "Minutes of the Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 14 Feb 79," CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130002-5.
|
||||
[^64]: Dolan M. McKelvy, *Psychic Warfare: Exploring the Mind Frontier*, Air War College research report, Air University, CIA-RDP96-00789R001001420001-3, citing Ronald M. McRae, *Mind Wars* (1984), p. 103. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00789r001001420001-3
|
||||
[^65]: William J. Casey to Alexander M. Haig, Jr., April 2, 1982, with "Quick Intelligence Assessment on Falkland Affairs (April 2, 1982)," CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780017-6. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp84b00049r000701780017-6
|
||||
[^66]: John H. Holdridge, letter, "Australian Intrigue," *Time*, January 3, 1982, CIA-RDP90-00806R000200820017-1, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00806r000200820017-1 ; CBS, "The Nugan Hand Bank," Evening News transcript, September 22, 1982, CIA-RDP90-00552R000201840002-6, https://archive.org/details/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201840002-6
|
||||
[^67]: "Vice President George Bush, completing a 10-day trip aimed...," United Press International, April 12, 1986, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/04/12/Vice-President-George-Bush-completing-a-10-day-trip-aimed/5692513666000/ ; "Top-secret cronies," *Salon*, November 17, 2005, https://www.salon.com/2005/11/17/pfiab/
|
||||
[^68]: Bill Gertz, "Vice President confirms Buckley was tortured and killed," *Washington Times*, January 21, 1987, CIA-RDP90-00965R000302310058-3. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00965r000302310058-3
|
||||
[^69]: Denholm Barnetson, "President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel and...," United Press International, August 17, 1988. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/08/17/President-Mohammad-Zia-ul-Haq-US-Ambassador-Arnold-Raphel-and/3467587793600/
|
||||
[^70]: Dennis Bernstein and Robert Knight (Pacific News Service), report published by *Salon*, October 8, 1996. https://www.salon.com/1996/10/08/news_555/
|
||||
[^71]: *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Hrg. 100-773, pt. 2 (February 1988), Senator Kerry, pp. 265-266.
|
||||
[^72]: *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Hrg. 100-773, pt. 2 (February 1988), testimony of Danilo Blandon, pp. 136-137.
|
||||
[^73]: Lawrence E. Walsh, *Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters*, vol. I, ch. 29, citing Gregg grand jury testimony of October 9, 1987 and Rodriguez grand jury testimony of December 4, 1987. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_29.htm
|
||||
[^74]: *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Hrg. 100-773, pt. 4 (July 1988), Rodriguez testimony, p. 344.
|
||||
[^75]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Part IX, p. 443. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/part_ix.htm
|
||||
[^76]: Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (1988), p. 96. https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
|
||||
[^77]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Executive Summary, p. xviii. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
|
||||
[^78]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 28, "George Bush," pp. 473-474. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_28.htm
|
||||
[^79]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 28, p. 479 and note 67 (*Los Angeles Times*, September 11, 1992; *Washington Post*, 1988).
|
||||
[^80]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Part IX, "Investigations of the White House," pp. 443-444. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/part_ix.htm
|
||||
[^81]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 28, pp. 474-475, on the diary, the pardons and the grand jury.
|
||||
[^82]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 28, p. 480 and note 74 (diary entries of November 4 and 5, 1986).
|
||||
[^83]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 28, p. 478.
|
||||
[^84]: Proclamation 6518, Granting Pardons, December 24, 1992, 107 *Stat.* 2606-2607.
|
||||
[^85]: Brown University, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, Iran-Contra materials, "The Pardons," quoting Walsh's response to the pardon of Caspar Weinberger. https://webhelper.brown.edu/cheit/
|
||||
[^86]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. II, Fourth Interim Report to Congress, February 8, 1993, pp. 585-587.
|
||||
[^87]: *The Tower Commission Report*, February 26, 1987, pp. 383-384. https://archive.org/details/towercommission00unit
|
||||
[^88]: National Security Planning Group minutes, June 25, 1984, "Central America," National Security Archive, *The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On*, EBB 210, document 2 (IC 00463), pp. 12, 14. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/2-NSPG%20minutes%206-25-84%20(IC%2000463).pdf ; Iran-Contra report, ch. 26, pp. 403-404.
|
||||
[^89]: Walsh, *Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters*, vol. I, ch. 29 (Gregg and Rodriguez); Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Narcotics, Terrorism and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (1989), p. 96.
|
||||
[^90]: George Bush, "Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the Iran-Contra Investigation," December 30, 1992, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-press-secretary-fitzwater-the-iran-contra-investigation ; U.S. Department of Justice, "Griffin Boyette Bell," Attorneys General biographies.
|
||||
[^91]: Miller Center, University of Virginia, "William P. Barr Oral History," interview of April 5, 2001, George H. W. Bush Oral History Project (remarks on Bua, Lacey, Civiletti, inherent authority, and the pardons). https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/william-p-barr-oral-history
|
||||
[^92]: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, *The Intelligence Community's Involvement in the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) Affair*, S. Prt. 103-12 (February 1993), pp. 4-5, 10; Lacey, Report of the Independent Counsel, Serial No. 103-95, pp. 344-345; "Drogoul gets 37 months in BNL bank scandal," United Press International, December 9, 1993; *United States v. Drogoul*, 1 F.3d 1546 (11th Cir. 1993).
|
||||
[^93]: *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*, 102d Cong., 2d sess., January 3, 1993, Calendar No. 634. https://archive.org/details/6199732-Joint-Report-of-the-October-Surprise-Task-Force
|
||||
[^94]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, p. 148.
|
||||
[^95]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, p. 110.
|
||||
[^96]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, pp. 172-173.
|
||||
[^97]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, p. 175.
|
||||
[^98]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, p. 149, citing the Rupp sentencing (D. Colo., September 23, 1988) and the Brenneke trial (D. Or., May 3, 1990).
|
||||
[^99]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, pp. 150-151.
|
||||
[^100]: Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (1988), pp. 131-132. https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
|
||||
[^101]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, p. 90, Casey calendar.
|
||||
[^102]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, p. 102.
|
||||
[^103]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, pp. 20-21, missing calendar pages.
|
||||
[^104]: Robert Parry, "October Surprise Evidence Surfaces," *Consortium News*, July 14, 2011. https://consortiumnews.com/2011/07/14/october-surprise-evidence-surfaces/
|
||||
[^105]: Joint Report of the October Surprise Task Force, pp. 173-174, Reagan statements.
|
||||
[^106]: Barbara Honegger, *October Surprise* (New York: Tudor Publishing, 1989).
|
||||
[^107]: Cheri Seymour, *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal* (TrineDay, 2010).
|
||||
[^108]: Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George H. W. Bush: Key Events." https://millercenter.org/president/bush/key-events
|
||||
[^109]: Miller Center, "Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team," "Proving ground: How the December 1989 invasion of Panama shaped the Bush 41 foreign policy team," quoting Richard Cheney and Colin Powell in the George H. W. Bush Oral History Project. https://millercenter.org/statecraftmovie/proving-ground
|
||||
[^110]: U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, Report (H. Rept. 105-851), vol. III, ch. 9, p. 50. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRPT-105hrpt851/pdf/GPO-CRPT-105hrpt851.pdf
|
||||
[^111]: Bruce Berkowitz, *The National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years: A Brief History* (Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance, September 2011), pp. 20-21, 23-26.
|
||||
[^112]: Henry B. Gonzalez, "Brass Factory in Iraq," *Congressional Record*, House, September 25, 1992, p. H9502; Gonzalez floor statement of August 10, 1992.
|
||||
[^113]: Gayle Young, "Socialists Take the Helm in Jamaica. Manley hopes to strengthen US ties by aiding war on drugs," *The Christian Science Monitor*, February 14, 1989. https://www.csmonitor.com/1989/0214/ojam.html
|
||||
[^114]: "Richard Lewis Thornburgh," Office of the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, *Attorneys General of the United States*; Miller Center, "Richard Thornburgh."
|
||||
[^115]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General, "Solicitor General: Kenneth W. Starr," historical biography (updated September 18, 2023). https://www.justice.gov/osg/bio/kenneth-w-starr
|
||||
[^116]: George Bush, "Nomination of Malcolm S. Forbes, Jr., To Be a Member of the Board for International Broadcasting, and Designation as Chairman," January 4, 1990, The American Presidency Project, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/264564 ; George Bush, "Digest of Other White House Announcements," June 19, 1992, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/391789
|
||||
[^117]: U.S. Department of State, "Jay Lefkowitz, Special Envoy, Human Rights in North Korea," biography, released May 25, 2006. https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/66929.htm ; The White House (George W. Bush archives), "Personnel Announcement," January 31, 2002.
|
||||
[^118]: Federal Judicial Center, "Preska, Loretta A.," Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges. https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/preska-loretta
|
||||
[^119]: Henry B. Gonzalez, "Kissinger Associates, Scowcroft, Eagleburger, Stoga, Iraq, and BNL," *Congressional Record*, House, April 28, 1992, pp. H2694-H2701. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/congress/1992_cr/h920428g.htm
|
||||
[^120]: Declaration of Howard R. Teicher, *United States v. Carlos Cardoen et al.*, No. 93-241-CR-Highsmith (S.D. Fla., January 31, 1995), para. 7. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq61.pdf
|
||||
[^121]: Corrective declaration of Howard R. Teicher, docket 679, *United States v. Cardoen* (October 31, 1996). Archive.org item utf-893cr-241-de-679.
|
||||
[^122]: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, *The Intelligence Community's Involvement in the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) Affair*, S. Prt. 103-12 (February 1993). https://intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/10312.pdf
|
||||
[^123]: National Security Directive 26, "U.S. Policy Toward the Persian Gulf," October 2, 1989, classified SECRET. George H. W. Bush Presidential Library copy.
|
||||
[^124]: General Accounting Office, report on Iraq's participation in the Commodity Credit Corporation's GSM-102 and GSM-103 export credit guarantee programs, GAO/NSIAD-91-76, November 1990, appendix I; Henry B. Gonzalez, "Continuing Saga of Attempts to Thwart BNL Investigation," *Congressional Record*, House, May 18, 1992, pp. H3370-H3373; "Bush's embarrassing Lavoro scandal," *The Baltimore Sun*, April 28, 1992.
|
||||
[^125]: Alan Friedman, *Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq* (Bantam Books, 1993).
|
||||
[^126]: Representative Henry B. Gonzalez, *Congressional Record*, 1992. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/congress/1992_cr/h920925g.htm
|
||||
[^127]: White House, unclassified summary of Iraq sanctions and weapons exports, September 1991.
|
||||
[^128]: Senate Foreign Relations Committee, *The BCCI Affair*, S. Prt. 102-140 (December 1992), p. 461. https://archive.org/details/thebcciaffair_202003
|
||||
[^129]: *The BCCI Affair*, S. Prt. 102-140, p. 542, chapter on Ed Rogers.
|
||||
[^130]: *The BCCI Affair*, S. Prt. 102-140, p. 538.
|
||||
[^131]: *The BCCI Affair*, S. Prt. 102-140, Helms letters to Vice President Bush, October 29, 1987.
|
||||
[^132]: *The BCCI Affair*, S. Prt. 102-140, Justice Department response on the February 1990 letters by Mr. Saphos.
|
||||
[^133]: *The BCCI Affair*, S. Prt. 102-140, letter of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bruce Navarro to Senator Kerry, July 24, 1990.
|
||||
[^134]: *The BCCI Affair*, S. Prt. 102-140, p. 508.
|
||||
[^135]: "Jackson Thomas Stephens (1923-2005)," *Encyclopedia of Arkansas*; *Financial General Bankshares, Inc. v. Metzger*, 523 F. Supp. 744 (D.D.C. 1981); 680 F.2d 768 (D.C. Cir. 1982).
|
||||
[^136]: Peter Truell and Larry Gurwin, *False Profits: The Inside Story of BCCI, the World's Most Corrupt Financial Empire* (Houghton Mifflin, 1992), ch. 18 and p. 428. https://archive.org/details/bypetertruellauthorlarrygurwinauthorfalseprofitsth
|
||||
[^137]: "Meet The Family That Bankrolled Clinton," *The Seattle Times*, January 31, 1993, https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930131&slug=1682819 ; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, *Investigation of Political Fundraising Improprieties and Possible Violations of Law*, H. Rept. 105-829 (1998), vol. 2; Roger Morris, *Partners in Power* (Henry Holt, 1996); Truell and Gurwin, *False Profits*, pp. 41 and 428.
|
||||
[^138]: Jonathan Beaty, "A Mysterious Mover of Money and Planes," *Time*, October 28, 1991. https://time.com/archive/6718843/a-mysterious-mover-of-money-and-planes/
|
||||
[^139]: Craig Unger, "Mystery man," *Salon*, April 28, 2004. https://www.salon.com/2004/04/28/james_bath/
|
||||
[^140]: Lucy Komisar, "Questions Linger About Bushes and BCCI," Inter Press Service, April 4, 2007, https://www.ipsnews.net/2007/04/finance-questions-linger-about-bushes-and-bcci/ ; Harken Energy Corporation, proxy statement (Schedule 14A), filed April 25, 1994, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/313478/0000950134-94-000454.txt
|
||||
[^141]: Richard Behar, "Global Intrigue: The Wackiest Rig in Texas," *Time*, October 28, 1991. https://time.com/archive/6718865/global-intrigue-the-wackiest-rig-in-texas/
|
||||
[^142]: WhoWhatWhy, "Bush Angle to Reagan Shooting Still Unresolved as Hinckley Walks," August 16, 2016, reporting the *Houston Post* story, Neil Bush's press conference, Peter Teeley's statement to UPI, and the Untermyer diary. https://whowhatwhy.org/2016/08/16/bush-angle-reagan-shooting-still-unresolved-hinckley-walks/
|
||||
[^143]: WhoWhatWhy (2016), citing an Associated Press item of April 1, 1981, on the Department of Energy notice to the Hinckley family business.
|
||||
[^144]: Ted L. Gunderson compilation, *FBI The Finders*, advertisement for John DeCamp's book. https://archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders
|
||||
[^145]: Ted L. Gunderson compilation, *FBI The Finders*, relaying a *Washington Times* report by George Archibald (1989).
|
||||
[^146]: A.B.H. Alexander, "Sex, Drugs, the CIA, MIND CONTROL and Your Children," *PROBE*, c. 1996.
|
||||
[^147]: Tim Shorrock, "Crony Capitalism Goes Global," *The Nation*, March 14, 2002. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/crony-capitalism-goes-global/
|
||||
[^148]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Disgraced Lawyer Jay Lefkowitz Who Secured Sweetheart Deal Leaves Firm," *The Daily Beast*, March 2026; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General, "Solicitor General: Kenneth W. Starr"; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02847284.
|
||||
[^149]: *Brown v. Maxwell; Dershowitz v. Giuffre*, 929 F.3d 41 (2d Cir. 2019), Nos. 18-2868, 16-3945-cv(L) (July 3, 2019). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4636340/brown-v-maxwell-dershowitz-v-giuffre/
|
||||
[^150]: Federal Election Commission, Schedule A individual contributions, API query contributor_name "SCATURRO, PHILIP" (41 results). https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/?contributor_name=SCATURRO%2C%20PHILIP
|
||||
[^151]: Larry Holzwarth, "FBI Files: Unexplained Phenomenon Files from the FBI's Vault," HistoryCollection, quoting an anonymous letter to FBI Director William S. Sessions. https://historycollection.com/unexplained-phenomenon-files-from-the-fbis-vault/6/
|
||||
[^152]: Allie Fasanella, "George H. W. Bush 'Knew' Humans Made Contact With Aliens in 1964," *OK! Magazine*, November 24, 2025, carried by AOL. https://www.aol.com/articles/george-h-w-bush-knew-161144400.html
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -14,5 +14,14 @@ Gerald Feinberg was a physics professor at [[Columbia University]]. He was worki
|
|||
|
||||
His work, along with that of [[Yakov Terletsky]], attracted the attention of [[Hal Puthoff]], who was interested in whether the tachyon flow could account for an "extra field" or force that physics couldn't yet see, potentially explaining [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] and other anomalous mental phenomena[^1].
|
||||
|
||||
### Columbia tachyon work and the SRI contracts
|
||||
|
||||
Feinberg was a physicist in Columbia's Department of Physics. In February 1970 [[Scientific American]] published his article "Particles That Go Faster Than Light," which describes a search for tachyons by a group at Columbia that examined bubble-chamber photographs for indirect evidence of neutral tachyons.[^2] A technical proposal dated October 1, 1973 for a "Perceptual Augmentation Techniques" program, prepared by Puthoff and [[Russell Targ]] at the [[Stanford Research Institute]], named Feinberg and [[Charles Tart]] as professors who "may be called upon to act as consultants."[^3] In 1974 Feinberg presented "Precognition: A Memory of Things Future?" at the twenty-third annual conference of the [[Parapsychology Foundation]] in Geneva. The paper suggested that precognition might be knowledge of a future state of the percipient's mind rather than of an objective state of the physical world.[^4] Later SRI remote-viewing documents attribute an "extradimensional hypothesis" to "Targ, Puthoff, and May (SRI), G. Feinberg (Columbia University), and E. Rauscher (University of California Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory)," and a December 1979 [[Grill Flame]] Scientific Evaluation Committee report reproduces the passage.[^5]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
|
||||
[^2]: Gerald Feinberg, "Particles That Go Faster Than Light," *Scientific American*, vol. 222, no. 2 (February 1970), CIA reading room copy CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030001-9.
|
||||
[^3]: Harold E. Puthoff and Russell Targ, *Perceptual Augmentation Techniques*, Part One, Technical Proposal, SRI No. ISH 73-146, October 1, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200210001-8.
|
||||
[^4]: Gerald Feinberg, "Precognition: A Memory of Things Future?", 23rd Annual International Conference of the Parapsychology Foundation, Geneva, August 26-27, 1974, CIA summary CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090021-0 (October 28, 1974).
|
||||
[^5]: Puthoff and Targ, research approaches document, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000010006-4 (undated); Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee report, December 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ born: 1910
|
|||
died: 1953-01-08
|
||||
location: New York, New York
|
||||
created: 2026-06-03
|
||||
updated: 2026-06-04
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
---
|
||||
Harold Blauer was a professional tennis player who died on January 8, 1953, after receiving a massive intravenous injection of EA-1298, a mescaline derivative (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, or MDA) designated by the [[U.S. Army|Army]] Chemical Corps as a candidate chemical warfare agent. Blauer had checked into the [[New York State Psychiatric Institute]] (NYSPI) in late 1952 seeking treatment for depression following a divorce. He was enrolled as a test subject in classified chemical warfare experiments conducted under an Army Chemical Corps contract with NYSPI, without his knowledge or consent. [[Paul Hoch]], director of experimental research at NYSPI, was the medical official in charge of administering the compound. The dose administered was approximately 450 milligrams, a massive quantity for a substance still in early development. Blauer died within two hours of the injection.[^1][^2]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -21,12 +21,18 @@ Harold Blauer was a professional tennis player who died on January 8, 1953, afte
|
|||
|
||||
Within 48 hours of Blauer's death, Army Chemical Corps contract officer Amedeo Marrazzi directed efforts to conceal the Army's involvement. At a July 1954 meeting attended by federal counsel, Hoch, and Marrazzi, those present expressed concern about anticipated malpractice claims. The death certificate listed the cause as "coronary arteriosclerosis; sudden death after intravenous injection of a mescaline derivative," omitting any reference to the Army Chemical Corps contract or the compound's experimental status.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
The full circumstances of Blauer's death remained hidden for 22 years. The Army, NYSPI, and the [[CIA]] all participated in concealing the cause of death from Blauer's family. An initial settlement of $18,000 was paid to the family in 1955, with the U.S. government covertly paying half. In August 1975, the Army first disclosed the true circumstances to Blauer's daughter Elizabeth Barrett, who filed a lawsuit. In 1987 a federal judge awarded over $700,000 to Blauer's estate.[^2][^3]
|
||||
The opinion in *Barrett* records that Blauer, 42, was admitted voluntarily to the institute in December 1952 for depression after shock therapy at another hospital had failed, that the institute's record described the drug study as "for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes," and that, according to the estate, the fatal injection was the fifth in a series to which he had reacted unfavorably and the estate was never told of the Army Chemical Corps' involvement.[^3] The administratrix of the estate sued the State of New York in the [[New York Court of Claims]] in April 1953. [[David Marcus]], then an assistant attorney general, was assigned to defend the case and his investigation uncovered the Army's role. On January 4, 1954 the court authorized production of the institute's records and examination of its doctors. A conference of federal counsel and medical personnel in early July 1954 recorded apprehension, expressed by Dr. Amedeo Marazzi of the Chemical Corps and by Hoch, about anticipated malpractice claims. At a meeting in Washington on July 12, 1954, Hoch stated that he would not have used the new compound for experimental purposes but for the institute's contract with the Army. An attorney in the Justice Department's Civil Division advised that the case was worth $60,000 to $75,000 if the full circumstances were revealed and should be settled to avoid disclosure of the Army's interest, and an Army Judge Advocate General attorney recommended moving the Chemical Corps contracts from New York to Maryland, where they would be "beyond subpoena power."[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals found in *Barrett v. United States* (798 F.2d 565, 1986) that Hoch "was well aware that the mescaline derivative was a new compound not being administered for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes but as an experiment to study its effect for chemical warfare purposes." James Cattell, who administered the injection, told Army investigators: "We didn't know whether it was dog piss or what it was we were giving him."[^1]
|
||||
The full circumstances of Blauer's death remained hidden for 22 years. The Army, NYSPI, and the [[CIA]] all participated in concealing the cause of death from Blauer's family. An initial settlement of $18,000 was paid to the family in 1955, with the U.S. government covertly paying half. In August 1975, the Army first disclosed the true circumstances to Blauer's daughter Elizabeth Barrett, who filed a lawsuit. In 1987 a federal judge awarded over $700,000 to Blauer's estate.[^2][^4]
|
||||
|
||||
A tentative settlement of $15,000 was raised to $18,000 after Marcus told the judge of the Army's involvement in an ex parte conference. The Court of Claims entered the order on July 7, 1955, and the Army had paid $9,000 of the sum to the State on June 9, 1955. The release covered the "governmental body or agency which furnished the drug."[^3] The Secretary of the Army disclosed the Army's role on August 12, 1975. A CIA inspector general's memorandum of August 13, 1975 found no CIA association with the death beyond funds the Agency transferred to the Army annually from fiscal year 1953, and records that the estate "sued New York State for $500 K" and that the claim "was settled out of court for $125 K."[^5] Blauer's daughter failed in an effort to reopen the Court of Claims case in 1976 and brought three actions in the Southern District of New York. On July 31, 1986 the Second Circuit upheld Marcus's absolute immunity and held that if the estate proved its allegations the four federal attorneys would not be entitled to absolute or qualified immunity.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
In *Barrett v. United States* (798 F.2d 565, 1986) the Second Circuit recited the estate's allegation that Hoch, who testified before the Court of Claims that the drug had been given for diagnostic purposes, "was well aware that the mescaline derivative was a new compound not being administered for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes but as an experiment to study its effect for chemical warfare purposes."[^3] According to Marks, James Cattell, who gave the injection, told Army investigators: "We didn't know whether it was dog piss or what it was we were giving him."[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: *Barrett v. United States*, 798 F.2d 565 (2d Cir. 1986); John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979. Chapter 4.
|
||||
[^2]: *Barrett v. United States*, 646 F.Supp. 1345 (S.D.N.Y. 1986).
|
||||
[^3]: *Los Angeles Times*, May 5, 1987; UPI Archives, May 5, 1987.
|
||||
[^3]: *Barrett v. United States,* 798 F.2d 565 (2d Cir. July 31, 1986). https://static.case.law/f2d/798/cases/0565-01.json
|
||||
[^4]: *Los Angeles Times*, May 5, 1987; UPI Archives, May 5, 1987.
|
||||
[^5]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of the Inspector General, memorandum to the Legislative Counsel, "Drug-Related Death of Harold Blauer," August 13, 1975, CIA Reading Room document 00146161. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00146161
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Brazil broke off relations with Cuba in July 1964 and joined the Johnson adminis
|
|||
|
||||
### Second Institutional Act
|
||||
|
||||
The Second Institutional Act, signed on October 27, 1965, came in response to the military government's poor showing in that year's gubernatorial elections, in which opposition candidates won two state contests. The act banned all existing political parties, provided for indirect election of the president, restricted the time Congress could consider legislation before it automatically became law, stipulated that persons accused of crimes against national security would be subject to military justice, and expanded the [[Supreme Court]] to secure favorable rulings, including the restoration of Hanna Mining's concessions.[^17]
|
||||
The Second Institutional Act, signed on October 27, 1965, came in response to the military government's poor showing in that year's gubernatorial elections, in which opposition candidates won two state contests. The act banned all existing political parties, provided for indirect election of the president, restricted the time Congress could consider legislation before it automatically became law, stipulated that persons accused of crimes against national security would be subject to military justice, and expanded the [[Supremo Tribunal Federal|Supreme Court]] to secure favorable rulings, including the restoration of Hanna Mining's concessions.[^17]
|
||||
|
||||
Ambassador Gordon reported on the act in a cable to Washington dated November 3, 1965, describing his private conversation with Castelo Branco about it. According to Gordon's account, Castelo Branco explained that Congress and some Supreme Court justices had misunderstood his commitment to constitutional normality as willingness to reverse the revolution, and determined by mid-October that corrective action was necessary. Gordon expressed concern about "arbitrary powers assumed through the act" and the risks of sliding toward military dictatorship rather than maintaining the armed forces' traditional moderating role.[^18]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ born: 1922-10-19
|
|||
died: 2005-12-17
|
||||
location: "Long Beach, California"
|
||||
created: 2026-10-09
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-09
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
relations:
|
||||
- type: employed_by
|
||||
with: "[[Drew Pearson]]"
|
||||
|
|
@ -120,11 +120,11 @@ On March 18, 1975 Anderson mentioned the [[Hughes Glomar Explorer]], the CIA sal
|
|||
|
||||
### FBI files and papers
|
||||
|
||||
After Anderson's death, agents of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] told his family that the Bureau wanted to review his files and to remove any documents it judged classified before they were opened to the public; the request became public in April 2006. The [[Federation of American Scientists]] reported the request.[^28] On April 20, 2006 an FBI assistant director, [[John Miller]], told NPR the bureau wanted access before the archive was made public. NPR reported that FBI agents had told the family that the papers included a document that could bear on a current espionage case involving pro-Israel lobbyists, and that 188 boxes were held by George Washington University.[^29]
|
||||
After Anderson's death, agents of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] told his family that the Bureau wanted to review his files and to remove any documents it judged classified before they were opened to the public; the request became public in April 2006. The [[Federation of American Scientists]] reported the request.[^28] On April 20, 2006 an FBI assistant director, [[John Miller]], told NPR the bureau wanted access before the archive was made public. NPR reported that FBI agents had told the family that the papers included a document that could bear on a current espionage case involving pro-Israel lobbyists, and that 188 boxes were held by George Washington University.[^29] A student newspaper report of October 27, 2008 quotes the university's University Archivist, [[Sylvia Augusteijn]], as stating that the library had been working since April 2006 to categorize and re-file the documents in 186 boxes bequeathed by the Anderson family.[^30]
|
||||
|
||||
When the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] asked under what law the FBI was proceeding, the Bureau replied that it had abandoned its effort. The Associated Press reported that the revelation came in a letter dated November 30, 2006 from Acting Associate Attorney General [[James H. Clinger]] to Chairman [[Arlen Specter]], which stated: "At this time, the FBI is not seeking to reclaim any documents." The AP reported that Anderson's son and his biographer said agents had expressed interest in documents that would aid the government's case against two former lobbyists for the [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee]]. The family then arranged for the papers to go to George Washington University for archiving.[^30][^31][^32]
|
||||
When the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] asked under what law the FBI was proceeding, the Bureau replied that it had abandoned its effort. The Associated Press reported that the revelation came in a letter dated November 30, 2006 from Acting Associate Attorney General [[James H. Clinger]] to Chairman [[Arlen Specter]], which stated: "At this time, the FBI is not seeking to reclaim any documents." The AP reported that Anderson's son and his biographer said agents had expressed interest in documents that would aid the government's case against two former lobbyists for the [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee]]. The family then arranged for the papers to go to George Washington University for archiving.[^31][^32][^33]
|
||||
|
||||
In 2008 the FBI released its files on Anderson to the [[Associated Press]] under a Freedom of Information Act request, a collection of more than 2,000 heavily redacted documents tracing Hoover's attempts to catch the reporter. Feldstein planned to add the collection to the university's Anderson papers.[^33]
|
||||
In 2008 the FBI released its files on Anderson to the [[Associated Press]] under a Freedom of Information Act request, a collection of more than 2,000 heavily redacted documents tracing Hoover's attempts to catch the reporter. Feldstein planned to add the collection to the university's Anderson papers.[^30]
|
||||
|
||||
### Death
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ Anderson died at his home in [[Bethesda, Maryland]] on December 17, 2005, at the
|
|||
[^27]: National Security Archive, "The CIA's Declassified History of the Glomar Explorer," Electronic Briefing Book No. 305, February 12, 2010, introduction. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb305/index.htm
|
||||
[^28]: Steven Aftergood, "FBI Seeks Access to Jack Anderson Files," Federation of American Scientists, April 19, 2006. https://fas.org/publication/fbi_seeks_access_to_jack_ander
|
||||
[^29]: David Folkenflik, "FBI Defends Request for Columnist's Papers," NPR, *All Things Considered*, April 20, 2006. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/5353604
|
||||
[^30]: "FBI Abandons Its Effort to Obtain Jack Anderson's Files," Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, January 4, 2007. https://rcfp.org/?p=39395
|
||||
[^31]: "FBI Drops Demands For Jack Anderson Papers," Associated Press, January 4, 2007. https://cbsnews.com/news/fbi-drops-demands-for-jack-anderson-papers
|
||||
[^32]: Niketa Kumar, "FBI ends pursuit of GW housed Jack Anderson documents," *The GW Hatchet*, January 18, 2007. https://www.gwhatchet.com/2007/01/18/fbi-ends-pursuit-of-gw-housed-jack-anderson-documents/
|
||||
[^33]: Lauren French, "Gelman Library to receive FBI files on columnist Jack Anderson," *The GW Hatchet*, October 27, 2008. https://www.gwhatchet.com/2008/10/27/gelman-library-to-receive-fbi-files-on-columnist-jack-anderson/
|
||||
[^30]: Lauren French, "Gelman Library to receive FBI files on columnist Jack Anderson," *The GW Hatchet*, October 27, 2008. https://www.gwhatchet.com/2008/10/27/gelman-library-to-receive-fbi-files-on-columnist-jack-anderson/
|
||||
[^31]: "FBI Abandons Its Effort to Obtain Jack Anderson's Files," Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, January 4, 2007. https://rcfp.org/?p=39395
|
||||
[^32]: "FBI Drops Demands For Jack Anderson Papers," Associated Press, January 4, 2007. https://cbsnews.com/news/fbi-drops-demands-for-jack-anderson-papers
|
||||
[^33]: Niketa Kumar, "FBI ends pursuit of GW housed Jack Anderson documents," *The GW Hatchet*, January 18, 2007. https://www.gwhatchet.com/2007/01/18/fbi-ends-pursuit-of-gw-housed-jack-anderson-documents/
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: Jack Blum
|
|||
aliases:
|
||||
- Jack Blum
|
||||
created: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-14
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
category: "Law Enforcement & Legal"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
|
|
@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Jack Blum is a former Senate investigator and special counsel to [[Senator John
|
|||
|
||||
Blum began his career in Washington in 1965 after graduating from Columbia Law School, working as an investigator for Senator [[Phil Hart]]'s antitrust subcommittee. His work gained the attention of Senator [[J. W. Fulbright]], who moved him to the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]. By the mid-1970s, Blum had established himself as a counsel to Senator [[Frank Church]]'s subcommittee on multinational corporations.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
His investigations during this period were far-reaching, contributing to the downfall of a Japanese government and the imprisonment of Japanese Prime Minister [[Kakuei Tanaka]] due to the [[Lockheed payoff scandals]]. He also played a key role in exposing [[ITT]]'s improper activities in [[Chile]], identifying [[Robert Vesco]] and the $3-billion global [[IOS (Investors' Overseas Services)|Ponzi scheme]] as central figures, and was a driving force behind the creation of the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]]. Notably, his questioning led to the indictment of former [[Central Intelligence Agency]] Director [[Richard Helms]] for perjury.[^1]
|
||||
His investigations during this period were far-reaching, contributing to the downfall of a Japanese government and the imprisonment of Japanese Prime Minister [[Kakuei Tanaka]] due to the [[Lockheed bribe scandal|Lockheed payoff scandals]]. He also played a key role in exposing [[ITT]]'s improper activities in [[Chile]], identifying [[Robert Vesco]] and the $3-billion global [[IOS (Investors' Overseas Services)|Ponzi scheme]] as central figures, and was a driving force behind the creation of the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]]. Notably, his questioning led to the indictment of former [[Central Intelligence Agency]] Director [[Richard Helms]] for perjury.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Kerry Committee and Contra Drug Trafficking
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ The CIA's Soviet division eventually concluded Nosenko was genuine. [[Tennent Ba
|
|||
|
||||
### HT/LINGUAL: Twenty-One Years of Illegal Mail Opening
|
||||
|
||||
From 1952 to 1973, Angleton ran HT/LINGUAL, a covert CIA program that intercepted and opened first-class mail between the [[United States]] and the Soviet Union, operating from facilities at Idlewild (later JFK) Airport in [[New York]]. The program was illegal under the Fourth Amendment and Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which criminalized opening sealed mail without a warrant.
|
||||
From 1952 to 1973, Angleton ran HT/LINGUAL, a covert CIA program that intercepted and opened first-class mail between the [[United States]] and the Soviet Union, operating from facilities at Idlewild (later JFK) Airport in [[New York City|New York]]. The program was illegal under the Fourth Amendment and Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which criminalized opening sealed mail without a warrant.
|
||||
|
||||
Over its operation, HT/LINGUAL opened approximately 215,820 letters and photographed the exterior envelopes of nearly 2.7 million pieces of mail. Recipients and senders included U.S. senators, journalists, academics, and private citizens with no intelligence connection. [[Richard Helms]] was briefed and approved continuation on multiple occasions. The Postmaster General was kept uninformed or given misleading characterizations of the program's scope. CIA lawyers repeatedly warned the program was illegal; it continued anyway.
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ relations:
|
|||
role: "state solicitation charges"
|
||||
fn: 34
|
||||
- type: prosecuted
|
||||
with: "[[Southern District of New York]]"
|
||||
with: "[[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York]]"
|
||||
reverse: true
|
||||
start: 2019
|
||||
end: 2019
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -12,7 +12,10 @@ location: "Scranton, Pennsylvania"
|
|||
|
||||
Joe Biden was a United States President and Senator from Delaware whose political career was closely tied to the [[DuPont]] family. Biden's first senatorial campaign was fully funded and staffed by DuPont employees in the early 1970s. His victory party was held and celebrated in a DuPont ballroom, and soon after his family moved into an old DuPont family mansion. As Biden put it himself in the 1980s, he prostituted himself to these people. When a member of the DuPont family raped his three-year-old daughter, Biden's son Beau as district attorney decided not to prosecute the case.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
The DuPont chemical firm maintained cartel arrangements with the Nazi chemicals conglomerate I.G. Farben throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Alfred P. Sloan was personally involved in the patent transfer of Ethyl lead to I.G. Farben during that period, a compound used to improve the engine efficiency of planes and automobiles. As late as 1938 Sloan had authorised the transfer of 500 tons of the stuff to the Luftwaffe. The DuPont-controlled [[Business Plot]] of 1934 was designed to relegate the Presidency to a purely ceremonial role like that played by Biden in 2023. The largest tank manufacturer in Nazi Germany was a wholly-owned subsidiary of [[General Motors]] called Opel, which persisted its operations under the GM umbrella throughout World War II where its factories had been mostly spared during Allied bombing raids.[^1]
|
||||
The DuPont chemical firm maintained cartel arrangements with the Nazi chemicals conglomerate I.G. Farben throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Alfred P. Sloan was personally involved in the patent transfer of Ethyl lead to I.G. Farben during that period, a compound used to improve the engine efficiency of planes and automobiles. As late as 1938 Sloan had authorised the transfer of 500 tons of the stuff to the Luftwaffe. The DuPont-controlled [[Business Plot]] of 1934 was designed to relegate the Presidency to a purely ceremonial role like that played by Biden in 2023. S. Dovey wrote in 2023 that the largest tank manufacturer in Nazi Germany was a wholly owned subsidiary of [[General Motors]] called Opel, which persisted its operations under the GM umbrella throughout World War II where its factories had been mostly spared during Allied bombing raids.[^1] General Motors' own 1974 correspondence states that the Nazi government took over the Opel works before the war and that American management was reassigned in the autumn of 1939.[^2] The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission recorded that Opel's main plant at Russelsheim "sustained severe war damage as a result of allied bombing raids in 1942 and 1944."[^3] A 1974 Senate report by [[Bradford C. Snell]] states, as quoted in a GM reply, that GM "was in complete management control of its Russelsheim war plane factory for nearly a full year after Germany's declaration of war against the United States on December 11, 1941."[^4]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
|
||||
[^2]: Copelin, Philip W., letter to Richard C. Gerstenberg, April 5, 1974, Exhibit 2, pp. 2386-2387; Mooney, Michael M., letter to Senator Philip A. Hart, Exhibit 3, p. 2388; *The Industrial Reorganization Act: Hearings on S. 1167, Part 4, Ground Transportation Industries* (1974), https://archive.org/details/industrialreorga04unit.
|
||||
[^3]: Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States, *Annual Report to the Congress for the Period January 1-December 31, 1967*, excerpt re General Motors Corporation and General Motors Overseas Corporation, Exhibit 9, *Hearings on S. 1167, Part 4*, p. 2396, https://archive.org/details/industrialreorga04unit.
|
||||
[^4]: Stradella, C. G., letter to Richard C. Gerstenberg, April 10, 1974, Exhibit 4, *Hearings on S. 1167, Part 4*, pp. 2390-2392, quoting the Snell report, p. 22, https://archive.org/details/industrialreorga04unit.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ born: 1888-02-25
|
|||
died: 1959-05-24
|
||||
location: "Washington, D.C."
|
||||
created: 2025-08-05
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-22
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
relations:
|
||||
- type: member_of
|
||||
role: "trustee"
|
||||
|
|
@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ John Foster Dulles served as the Secretary of State under President [[Dwight D.
|
|||
|
||||
John Foster Dulles was born on February 25, 1888, in Washington, D.C. He died on May 24, 1959, at [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]], Washington, D.C., from colon cancer. Funeral services were held on May 27, 1959, at [[Washington National Cathedral]]. He is buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].[^bio1]
|
||||
|
||||
He graduated from [[Princeton University]] in 1908, a member of Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate he attended the Second Hague Conference in 1907 with his grandfather [[John Watson Foster]], who had served as Secretary of State under President Benjamin Harrison. After a year at the [[Sorbonne]], he completed a law degree at [[George Washington University Law School]] in two years, graduating in 1911. He was admitted to the New York bar the same year and joined [[Sullivan and Cromwell]], then New York's preeminent international corporate law firm, where he would remain for over four decades.[^bio2]
|
||||
He graduated from [[Princeton University]] in 1908, a member of Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate he attended the Second Hague Conference in 1907 with his grandfather [[John Watson Foster]], who had served as Secretary of State under President Benjamin Harrison. After a year at the [[Sorbonne]], he completed a law degree at [[George Washington University Law School]] in two years, graduating in 1911.[^mc016] He was admitted to the New York bar the same year and joined [[Sullivan and Cromwell]], then New York's preeminent international corporate law firm, where he would remain for over four decades.[^bio2]
|
||||
|
||||
At the [[Paris Peace Conference]] of 1919, Dulles served as chief legal adviser to [[Bernard Baruch]] on the [[Reparations Commission]], drafting treaty clauses that sought to limit German compensation obligations. He predicted the punishing reparations imposed by the European powers would produce another war. Baruch later paid Dulles $10,000 to ghostwrite his account of the negotiations, *The Making of the Reparation and Economic Sections of the Treaty*.[^bio3]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -121,3 +121,4 @@ The FRUS volume *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, Guatemala* (
|
|||
[^arch1]: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, "John Foster Dulles Papers: Scope and Content Note," finding aid, Abilene, Kansas, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/finding-aids/pdf/dulles-john-foster-papers/scope-and-content.pdf. Telephone Conversations Series finding aid, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/finding-aids/pdf/dulles-john-foster-papers/telephone-conversations-series.pdf.
|
||||
[^arch2]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, Guatemala*, ed. Susan Holly (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003), 287 documents, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54Guat. *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951-1954, Iran*, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951-54Iran.
|
||||
[^rfar]: The Rockefeller Foundation. *Annual Report 1951,* "President's Review," pp. 95-96, https://archive.org/details/the-rockefeller-foundation-annual-report-1951; *Annual Report 1952,* "President's Review," https://archive.org/details/the-rockefeller-foundation-annual-report-1952; *Annual Report 1960,* on Rusk's resignation, https://archive.org/details/the-rockefeller-foundation-annual-report-1960; *Annual Report 1935,* list of trustees, https://archive.org/details/the-rockefeller-foundation-annual-report-1935. The 1947 report lists Walter W. Stewart as chairman of the board, with Dulles a trustee, https://archive.org/details/the-rockefeller-foundation-annual-report-1947.
|
||||
[^mc016]: Princeton University Library, John Foster Dulles papers, Mudd Manuscript Library, finding aid MC016, biographical note (LL.B., George Washington University Law School, 1911; Sullivan and Cromwell 1911 to 1949; secretary to his grandfather John Watson Foster at the Second Hague Conference, 1907). https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/PRIN_MUDD_MC016
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ Adham was the CIA's principal liaison for the Middle East from the mid-1960s thr
|
|||
|
||||
### Intelligence Background
|
||||
|
||||
The Senate report recorded that the CIA, asked about the CCAH shareholders, told the Federal Reserve it had no derogatory information on them, without telling it that Adham and Abdul Raouf Khalil were "the past and then-current Saudi intelligence liaisons to the United States," or that Adham and Fulaij had been the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act into arms sales to Saudi Arabia by Boeing and [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]]. Paul Volcker, who as chairman of the Federal Reserve signed the 1981 approval, testified in 1991 that he "wasn't aware" of Adham's intelligence background and that it "might send an eyebrow or two up." The Virginia bank regulator Sidney Bailey asked the [[State Department]] and the CIA for information on the shareholders and received none; "at the time," the report found, "the CIA knew precisely who Adham was."[^17][^23]
|
||||
The Senate report recorded that the CIA, asked about the CCAH shareholders, told the Federal Reserve it had no derogatory information on them, without telling it that Adham and Abdul Raouf Khalil were "the past and then-current Saudi intelligence liaisons to the United States," or that Adham and Fulaij had been the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act into arms sales to Saudi Arabia by Boeing and [[Lockheed Aircraft Company|Lockheed]]. Paul Volcker, who as chairman of the Federal Reserve signed the 1981 approval, testified in 1991 that he "wasn't aware" of Adham's intelligence background and that it "might send an eyebrow or two up." The Virginia bank regulator Sidney Bailey asked the [[State Department]] and the CIA for information on the shareholders and received none; "at the time," the report found, "the CIA knew precisely who Adham was."[^17][^23]
|
||||
|
||||
### Plea
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ aliases:
|
|||
- Christopher Canfield Green
|
||||
- Richard Kennett
|
||||
created: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-05
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
category: "Intelligence & Government"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
|
|
@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ His later General Motors positions, as listed in the CV, were director of resear
|
|||
|
||||
The same CV lists Army and academy advisory service: member of the Army Science Board, 1985 to 1995; member of the National Research Council's Board on Army Science and Technology from 1988, with the CV giving chairmanships of the board as 1990 to 1999 in one entry and 1997 to 1999 in another; chairman of the Committee on Biotechnology in the Year 2020 (STAR/BAST), 1989 to 1992; chairman of an Independent Science Panel in the Office of the Undersecretary of the Army, Operations Research, from 1989; member of the Air Force Studies Board (1995 to 1997); member of the Institute of Medicine commission on Persian Gulf mystery illness (1998); and scientific advisor to the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence and to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. It also lists chairmanship of the Science Advisory Board of the [[National Institute for Discovery Science]] (1995 to 1999), membership of the Committee for Frontier Medicine of the [[Fetzer Institute]] (1995 to 1998), and, among current clients in 2007, the Department of Defense, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, General Motors, Ford, the Fetzer Institute, the [[Institute for Advanced Physics]], [[EarthTech International]] and the [[Potomac Institute for Policy Studies]].[^6]
|
||||
|
||||
The report *STAR 21* (National Academy Press, 1992) of the Board on Army Science and Technology lists Green, of General Motors Research Labs, as lead expert of the Biotechnology and Biochemistry Technology Group, with Joseph F. Soukup of [[Science Applications International Corporation]], Bertram W. Maidment Jr. of the Midwest Research Institute and Gregory A. Petsko of [[Brandeis University]], and as one of the members of the Study Committee on STAR chaired by Walter B. LaBerge, formerly of [[Lockheed Corporation]].[^10]
|
||||
The report *STAR 21* (National Academy Press, 1992) of the Board on Army Science and Technology lists Green, of General Motors Research Labs, as lead expert of the Biotechnology and Biochemistry Technology Group, with Joseph F. Soukup of [[Science Applications International Corporation]], Bertram W. Maidment Jr. of the Midwest Research Institute and Gregory A. Petsko of [[Brandeis University]], and as one of the members of the Study Committee on STAR chaired by Walter B. LaBerge, formerly of [[Lockheed Aircraft Company|Lockheed Corporation]].[^10]
|
||||
|
||||
### UFO-Related Contacts, 1986 to 1997
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ In 2021 Guzel Ganieva, a Russian former model, publicly accused Black of years o
|
|||
|
||||
In November 2022 [[Cheri Pierson]], a [[New Jersey]] woman represented by the [[Wigdor]] law firm, sued Black and Epstein's estate under her own name in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that Black assaulted her in early 2002 at Epstein's townhouse after Epstein arranged for her to give Black a massage. The suit was discontinued with prejudice in February 2024 without any payment by Black, who said, "I have never met Ms. Pierson."[^22][^23]
|
||||
|
||||
A separate federal lawsuit, Doe v. Black, No. 1:23-cv-06418 in the [[Southern District of New York]], filed by Wigdor in July 2023, alleged that Black had raped a then-16-year-old girl with autism at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2002. Black's lawyer, [[Susan Estrich]], said Black had never met the accuser and called the suit a fabrication by Wigdor. In April 2025 Wigdor asked to withdraw as the plaintiff's counsel days before a hearing on whether it should be sanctioned, and Judge [[Jessica Clarke]] granted the request. Black has denied every allegation of sexual misconduct.[^22][^24]
|
||||
A separate federal lawsuit, Doe v. Black, No. 1:23-cv-06418 in the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]], filed by Wigdor in July 2023, alleged that Black had raped a then-16-year-old girl with autism at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2002. Black's lawyer, [[Susan Estrich]], said Black had never met the accuser and called the suit a fabrication by Wigdor. In April 2025 Wigdor asked to withdraw as the plaintiff's counsel days before a hearing on whether it should be sanctioned, and Judge [[Jessica Clarke]] granted the request. Black has denied every allegation of sexual misconduct.[^22][^24]
|
||||
|
||||
### The Virgin Islands Settlement
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Law Enforcement & Legal"
|
||||
created: 2024-04-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-09
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
- PROMIS
|
||||
|
|
@ -207,25 +207,25 @@ Danny Casolaro, a self-styled free-lance author and investigative reporter, inve
|
|||
|
||||
The report found "nothing unusual" in DOJ's decision not to investigate a private citizen's death, which it described as a state or local matter. It found no evidence of federal government influence on the local investigation. "[T]he physical evidence in Casolaro's hotel room strongly supports the conclusion of the local authorities that the death was a suicide." That evidence included no sign of forced entry or struggle, a note found in the room, and the absence of footprints or other evidence that others were present when the wrists were slashed.[^83] The tests and analyses cited were handwriting analysis confirming that Casolaro wrote the note; fingerprint analysis finding his prints and no others except a single print on an ash tray; hair and fiber analysis; a blood analysis by Dr. Lee of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory consistent with suicide; and an autopsy that found hemorrhage from the wrist wounds as the cause of death and no evidence that he was unconscious or debilitated when cut.[^84]
|
||||
|
||||
The report stated, as the fifth of its points, that "there was ample reason to believe Casolaro had a motive to commit suicide." It noted that he had been unemployed for months, was dependent on financial assistance from his family, faced a balloon mortgage on his home, and had been told shortly before his death by a prospective publisher that it would not advance him any money on his proposed book about the "Octopus."[^85] The report also noted that [[James E. Starr]], a professor of law and forensic sciences at George Washington University, reportedly reached the same opinion in an independent review of the autopsy. It addressed criticisms that the room was not sealed, that notification of next of kin was delayed while the body was embalmed, and that Martinsburg authorities gave insufficient weight to suspicions about Casolaro's "sources," and stated that "no credible evidence suggested that any of Casolaro's 'sources' played any role in his death."[^86]
|
||||
The report stated, as the fifth of its points, that "there was ample reason to believe Casolaro had a motive to commit suicide." It noted that he had been unemployed for months, was dependent on financial assistance from his family, faced a balloon mortgage on his home, and had been told shortly before his death by a prospective publisher that it would not advance him any money on his proposed book about the "Octopus."[^85] The report also noted that [[James E. Starrs]], a professor of law and forensic sciences at [[George Washington University]], reportedly reached the same opinion in an independent review of the autopsy.[^86] It addressed criticisms that the room was not sealed, that notification of next of kin was delayed while the body was embalmed, and that Martinsburg authorities gave insufficient weight to suspicions about Casolaro's "sources," and stated that "no credible evidence suggested that any of Casolaro's 'sources' played any role in his death."[^87]
|
||||
|
||||
### House Judiciary Committee report, 1992
|
||||
|
||||
The House Committee on the Judiciary issued "The INSLAW Affair" as House Report 102-857 on September 10, 1992, under Chairman [[Jack Brooks]].[^87] The committee's report described the Department's handling of the matter in terms that stand against the Bua report's conclusions. It wrote that Attorneys General Meese and [[Dick Thornburgh]] "blocked or restricted congressional inquiries into the matter, ignored the findings of two courts and refused to ask for the appointment of an independent counsel."[^8]
|
||||
The House Committee on the Judiciary issued "The INSLAW Affair" as House Report 102-857 on September 10, 1992, under Chairman [[Jack Brooks]].[^88] The committee's report described the Department's handling of the matter in terms that stand against the Bua report's conclusions. It wrote that Attorneys General Meese and [[Dick Thornburgh]] "blocked or restricted congressional inquiries into the matter, ignored the findings of two courts and refused to ask for the appointment of an independent counsel."[^8]
|
||||
|
||||
The committee wrote that it had "no reason to doubt the commitment of Judge Bua or Attorney General Barr to do a thorough investigation of this matter," but that "as long as the investigation of wrongdoing by former and current high level Justice officials remains under the control of the Department, there will always be serious doubt about the objectivity and thoroughness of the work." The committee's position was that "the only way the INSLAW allegations can be adequately and fully investigated is by the appointment of an independent counsel," and that the independent counsel should investigate all matters related to the allegations, "including Mr. Casolaro's death and its possible link to individuals associated with organized crime."[^8] On Casolaro, the committee wrote that it had not included the death in its formal investigation, that local authorities had ruled it a suicide a second time on January 25, 1992, after more than 1,000 man-hours, and that the controversy continued to be discussed in the press and the Martinsburg Police Department's investigation had been criticized.[^88]
|
||||
The committee wrote that it had "no reason to doubt the commitment of Judge Bua or Attorney General Barr to do a thorough investigation of this matter," but that "as long as the investigation of wrongdoing by former and current high level Justice officials remains under the control of the Department, there will always be serious doubt about the objectivity and thoroughness of the work." The committee's position was that "the only way the INSLAW allegations can be adequately and fully investigated is by the appointment of an independent counsel," and that the independent counsel should investigate all matters related to the allegations, "including Mr. Casolaro's death and its possible link to individuals associated with organized crime."[^8] On Casolaro, the committee wrote that it had not included the death in its formal investigation, that local authorities had ruled it a suicide a second time on January 25, 1992, after more than 1,000 man-hours, and that the controversy continued to be discussed in the press and the Martinsburg Police Department's investigation had been criticized.[^89]
|
||||
|
||||
### DOJ review, September 1994
|
||||
|
||||
Reno ordered a senior-level Justice Department review of Bua's report and of INSLAW's analysis of it, including INSLAW's July 12, 1993, "Analysis and Rebuttal of the Bua Report" and its February 14, 1994, Addendum. The review was issued on September 27, 1994, with the Bua report attached as Addendum A.[^89] Its summary recommended that the Attorney General "adopt the Special Counsel's report in its entirety," along with specified conclusions that the review described as "fully supported by the available evidence."[^90]
|
||||
Reno ordered a senior-level Justice Department review of Bua's report and of INSLAW's analysis of it, including INSLAW's July 12, 1993, "Analysis and Rebuttal of the Bua Report" and its February 14, 1994, Addendum. The review was issued on September 27, 1994, with the Bua report attached as Addendum A.[^90] Its summary recommended that the Attorney General "adopt the Special Counsel's report in its entirety," along with specified conclusions that the review described as "fully supported by the available evidence."[^91]
|
||||
|
||||
The review restated that there was no credible evidence of a conspiracy with anyone to steal PROMIS or to injure Inslaw. It found no credible evidence that the [[Office of Special Investigations]] was engaged in covert intelligence activities, in illegal trafficking of PROMIS software, or in the death of Casolaro. It stated that the Martinsburg conclusion that Casolaro's death was a suicide "is fully supported by the facts surrounding his death," and that there was "no credible evidence that Mr. Casolaro was murdered."[^90] The review devoted pp. 107 to 168 to Casolaro's death, covering the death scene, hotel employees, coroner, embalming, notification of next of kin, autopsy, further police investigation and the review's own interviews.[^91]
|
||||
The review restated that there was no credible evidence of a conspiracy with anyone to steal PROMIS or to injure Inslaw. It found no credible evidence that the [[Office of Special Investigations]] was engaged in covert intelligence activities, in illegal trafficking of PROMIS software, or in the death of Casolaro. It stated that the Martinsburg conclusion that Casolaro's death was a suicide "is fully supported by the facts surrounding his death," and that there was "no credible evidence that Mr. Casolaro was murdered."[^91] The review devoted pp. 107 to 168 to Casolaro's death, covering the death scene, hotel employees, coroner, embalming, notification of next of kin, autopsy, further police investigation and the review's own interviews.[^92]
|
||||
|
||||
The review found "no basis for the appointment of an independent prosecutor" and recommended against waiving statutory time bars on INSLAW's monetary claims. It recommended that the Attorney General "take those steps necessary to bring this entire affair to closure from the Department's perspective," and wrote that the Special Counsel concluded, and the review concurred, that virtually all of the allegations "were based on nothing more than uncorroborated conjecture, on hearsay information from anonymous sources or on information received from patently unreliable sources."[^92]
|
||||
The review found "no basis for the appointment of an independent prosecutor" and recommended against waiving statutory time bars on INSLAW's monetary claims. It recommended that the Attorney General "take those steps necessary to bring this entire affair to closure from the Department's perspective," and wrote that the Special Counsel concluded, and the review concurred, that virtually all of the allegations "were based on nothing more than uncorroborated conjecture, on hearsay information from anonymous sources or on information received from patently unreliable sources."[^93]
|
||||
|
||||
On the Johnson contact, the review wrote that Johnson had at first failed to recall the contact with Lamberth. It stated that Lamberth had already been nominated to the federal bench when he was sworn in on November 16, 1987, and it concurred "with the opinion of the Special Counsel that there is no evidence of any effort by the Justice Department to improperly influence the bankruptcy judge selection process."[^93]
|
||||
On the Johnson contact, the review wrote that Johnson had at first failed to recall the contact with Lamberth. It stated that Lamberth had already been nominated to the federal bench when he was sworn in on November 16, 1987, and it concurred "with the opinion of the Special Counsel that there is no evidence of any effort by the Justice Department to improperly influence the bankruptcy judge selection process."[^94]
|
||||
|
||||
On May 3, 1995, by S. Res. 114, the Senate referred S. 740, a bill for the relief of INSLAW, to the Chief Judge of the Court of Federal Claims as Congressional Reference No. 95-338X, and Hearing Officer [[Christine Odell Cook Miller|Christine Cook Miller]] described the two Justice Department inquiries as the "Bua and Dwyer investigations": Bua's investigation on behalf of Barr, and a second investigation, in response to INSLAW's criticisms of Bua's report, that Reno asked the Assistant Associate Attorney General to undertake.[^44] Miller's report of July 31, 1997, was reviewed by a panel of the court, whose report is dated May 11, 1998.[^94]
|
||||
On May 3, 1995, by S. Res. 114, the Senate referred S. 740, a bill for the relief of INSLAW, to the Chief Judge of the Court of Federal Claims as Congressional Reference No. 95-338X, and Hearing Officer [[Christine Odell Cook Miller|Christine Cook Miller]] described the two Justice Department inquiries as the "Bua and Dwyer investigations": Bua's investigation on behalf of Barr, and a second investigation, in response to INSLAW's criticisms of Bua's report, that Reno asked the Assistant Associate Attorney General to undertake.[^44] Miller's report of July 31, 1997, was reviewed by a panel of the court, whose report is dated May 11, 1998.[^95]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -314,12 +314,13 @@ On May 3, 1995, by S. Res. 114, the Senate referred S. 740, a bill for the relie
|
|||
[^83]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, p. 247. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^84]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 247-248. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^85]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, p. 248. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^86]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 249-250. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^87]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, title page.
|
||||
[^88]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 69-72, Part IV.C.1.
|
||||
[^89]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 1-4. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^90]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 7-9, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^91]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 107-168, V. The Weight of the Evidence Indicates That J. Daniel Casolaro Committed Suicide. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^92]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 9-10, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^93]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 101-102. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^94]: U.S. Court of Federal Claims. *INSLAW, Inc. v. United States*, No. 95-338X, Report of the Review Panel, May 11, 1998, 40 Fed. Cl. 843. https://static.case.law/fed-cl/40/cases/0843-01.json
|
||||
[^86]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.*, March 1993, p. 126 note 4, naming "Professor James E. Starrs, a noted forensic pathology expert at the George Washington University law school" (citing *Washington Business Journal*, November 9-15, 1992, p. 13); the conclusion at pp. 248-250 prints the surname as "Starr." https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^87]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 249-250. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^88]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, title page.
|
||||
[^89]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 69-72, Part IV.C.1.
|
||||
[^90]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 1-4. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^91]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 7-9, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^92]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 107-168, V. The Weight of the Evidence Indicates That J. Daniel Casolaro Committed Suicide. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^93]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 9-10, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^94]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 101-102. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
|
||||
[^95]: U.S. Court of Federal Claims. *INSLAW, Inc. v. United States*, No. 95-338X, Report of the Review Panel, May 11, 1998, 40 Fed. Cl. 843. https://static.case.law/fed-cl/40/cases/0843-01.json
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ Knutsson wrote in 2019 that Beckstead "was one of the grant investigators for th
|
|||
|
||||
On November 19, 2022 the charity reported to the [[Charity Commission for England and Wales|Charity Commission]] that FTX and affiliated entities, among its funders, had filed for bankruptcy, that it held 3.3 million pounds and 300,000 dollars in funding from them, and that two of its trustees were connected with FTX, one as chief executive of the FTX Foundation and the other as an unpaid adviser to the Future Fund. The Commission opened a statutory inquiry on December 19, 2022. Its report, published May 22, 2024, does not name the trustees. It records that the charity ringfenced the funds, obtained a defence against money laundering from the [[National Crime Agency]], and returned 4,246,503.16 dollars to FTX under a settlement; that the two FTX-connected trustees had been excluded from decisions on the bankruptcy and resigned during the inquiry; that their connections had produced "a lack of clarity as to whether they were acting for the charity or on behalf of FTX Foundation at any given time"; that trustees had not been required to disclose potential conflicts on joining the board until October 2022; and that there was nonetheless no evidence of unmanaged conflicts regarding funds received from the FTX Foundation.[^9]
|
||||
|
||||
*[[Civil Society]]* reported in April 2024, citing the charity's accounts, that Effective Ventures Foundation bought [[Wytham Abbey]], near [[Oxford]], in April 2022 after receiving 17 million pounds from Open Philanthropy to support the purchase.[^10] *[[Third Sector]]* reported on February 18, 2026 that the charity had paid almost 15 million pounds for the abbey, recorded an impairment loss of 8.6 million pounds as of June 30, 2025, and sold it to an unnamed buyer for 6 million pounds in November 2025.[^11] The charity's announcement of March 25, 2024 stated that the Wytham Abbey Project had not met "the funding bar of our major funders" and that the board had decided to sell the property; an update of November 11, 2025 recorded completion of the sale.[^12] Beckstead was recorded as a director of the charity from July 2021 through the purchase and until August 2023.[^1]
|
||||
*[[Civil Society]]* reported in April 2024, citing the charity's accounts, that Effective Ventures Foundation bought [[Wytham Abbey]], near [[Oxford, England|Oxford]], in April 2022 after receiving 17 million pounds from Open Philanthropy to support the purchase.[^10] *[[Third Sector]]* reported on February 18, 2026 that the charity had paid almost 15 million pounds for the abbey, recorded an impairment loss of 8.6 million pounds as of June 30, 2025, and sold it to an unnamed buyer for 6 million pounds in November 2025.[^11] The charity's announcement of March 25, 2024 stated that the Wytham Abbey Project had not met "the funding bar of our major funders" and that the board had decided to sell the property; an update of November 11, 2025 recorded completion of the sale.[^12] Beckstead was recorded as a director of the charity from July 2021 through the purchase and until August 2023.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### The FTX Foundation
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ aliases:
|
|||
- Dick Bissell
|
||||
- Richard Bissell Jr.
|
||||
created: 2026-05-15
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-09
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
category: "Intelligence & Government"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
|
|
@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ His first association with the agency came in late 1953 with a contract study of
|
|||
|
||||
### The U-2 and the Development Projects Staff
|
||||
|
||||
On November 26, 1954 Dulles told Bissell that [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] had approved a secret program and that Bissell was to run it; on December 3 Bissell and Herbert Miller of the Office of Scientific Intelligence went to the Pentagon for the first interagency meeting. Dulles had no answer to the questions who would run the project or pay for it ("You'll have to work that out"). Bissell built a self-sufficient project staff, Project AQUATONE, with its own contracting, finance, logistics, communications and security personnel and funds kept separate from the agency's regular accounts, and reported directly to the DCI, though the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, General [[Charles Pearre Cabell]], supervised its daily affairs. On April 29, 1955 he signed an agreement with the [[U.S. Air Force]] and, to keep work moving at [[Lockheed]], wrote Kelly Johnson's company an advance check. The first test flight was in August 1955.[^1]
|
||||
On November 26, 1954 Dulles told Bissell that [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] had approved a secret program and that Bissell was to run it; on December 3 Bissell and Herbert Miller of the Office of Scientific Intelligence went to the Pentagon for the first interagency meeting. Dulles had no answer to the questions who would run the project or pay for it ("You'll have to work that out"). Bissell built a self-sufficient project staff, Project AQUATONE, with its own contracting, finance, logistics, communications and security personnel and funds kept separate from the agency's regular accounts, and reported directly to the DCI, though the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, General [[Charles Pearre Cabell]], supervised its daily affairs. On April 29, 1955 he signed an agreement with the [[U.S. Air Force]] and, to keep work moving at [[Lockheed Aircraft Company|Lockheed]], wrote Kelly Johnson's company an advance check. The first test flight was in August 1955.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
The first flights over the Soviet Union began on Wednesday, July 4, 1956 (a June 20, 1956 mission had covered Poland and East Germany). Bissell gave the "Go" decision at the project headquarters just before midnight Washington time on July 3. When Dulles asked on July 5 whether the overflights of Moscow and Leningrad had been wise the first time, Bissell replied: "Allen, the first is the safest." The program continued, with Bissell bringing maps of proposed routes to Eisenhower in the Oval Office, until [[Francis Gary Powers]] was shot down near Sverdlovsk on May 1, 1960; the Paris summit that opened on May 16 ended when Eisenhower refused [[Nikita Khrushchev]]'s demand for an apology.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -43,9 +43,9 @@ relations:
|
|||
with: "[[United States v. Halkbank]]"
|
||||
role: "presiding judge"
|
||||
start: 2019
|
||||
fn: 9
|
||||
fn: 10
|
||||
created: 2026-09-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-25
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Richard M. Berman (born 1943, in [[New York City]]) is a senior judge of the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York]], appointed by [[Bill Clinton]] in 1998. He presided over [[United States v. Epstein]], the 2019 sex-trafficking indictment of [[Jeffrey Epstein]], ordering Epstein detained on July 18, 2019 and, after Epstein's death in federal custody, holding a public hearing on August 27, 2019 at which victims spoke before he dismissed the indictment. In 2025 he first refused and then, after the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]], granted the government's motions to unseal the case's grand jury record. He also presided over the Iran-sanctions prosecution of the Turkish state-owned bank [[Halkbank]]. He is not related to [[Geoffrey Berman]], the U.S. Attorney whose office brought the Epstein case.[^1][^2][^3]
|
||||
|
|
@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ After the Epstein Files Transparency Act became law, the government renewed its
|
|||
|
||||
### Halkbank
|
||||
|
||||
In 2019 the [[United States]] indicted Türkiye Halk Bankası, a bank majority-owned through the Turkish Wealth Fund by the Republic of [[Turkey]], for a multi-year conspiracy to evade sanctions on [[Iran]]; the indictment alleged that the bank, "with the assistance of high-ranking Turkish government officials, laundered billions of dollars of Iranian oil and gas proceeds through the global financial system." The prosecution proceeded before Berman in the case captioned United States v. Zarrab. On October 1, 2020 he denied Halkbank's motion to dismiss, reasoning that the [[Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act]] "does not appear to grant immunity in criminal proceedings." The Second Circuit affirmed on October 22, 2021 (16 F.4th 336), and on April 19, 2023 the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] held that the Act does not apply to criminal cases but remanded on common-law immunity, Justice [[Neil Gorsuch]] writing in partial dissent that the decision "overcomplicates the law for no good reason." The Second Circuit ruled again on October 22, 2024 (120 F.4th 41).[^9]
|
||||
In 2019 the [[United States]] indicted Türkiye Halk Bankası, a bank majority-owned through the Turkish Wealth Fund by the Republic of [[Turkey]], for a multi-year conspiracy to evade sanctions on [[Iran]]; the indictment alleged that the bank, "with the assistance of high-ranking Turkish government officials, laundered billions of dollars of Iranian oil and gas proceeds through the global financial system." The prosecution proceeded before Berman in the case captioned United States v. Zarrab. On October 1, 2020 he denied Halkbank's motion to dismiss, reasoning that the [[Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act]] "does not appear to grant immunity in criminal proceedings." The Second Circuit affirmed on October 22, 2021 (16 F.4th 336), and on April 19, 2023 the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], in an opinion by Justice [[Brett Kavanaugh]], held that the Act does not apply to criminal cases and remanded the common-law immunity question; Justice [[Neil Gorsuch]], joined by Justice [[Samuel Alito]], concurred in part and dissented in part, writing that the decision "overcomplicates the law for no good reason."[^9] The Second Circuit ruled again on October 22, 2024 (120 F.4th 41).[^10]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -88,4 +88,5 @@ In 2019 the [[United States]] indicted Türkiye Halk Bankası, a bank majority-o
|
|||
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02733081, Court Records (CA Florida Holdings, LLC, Publisher of the Palm Beach Post v. Aronberg, No. 50-2019-CA-014681-XXXX-MB (Fla. 15th Cir. Ct. 2019)), appendix item 11, transcript of hearing, United States v. Jeffrey Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 (RMB) (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 27, 2019), beginning at EFTA02733613. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/CA%20Florida%20Holdings%2C%20LLC%2C%20Publisher%20of%20the%20Palm%20Beach%20Post%20v.%20Aronberg%2C%20No.%2050-2019-CA-014681-XXXX-MB%20(Fla.%2015th%20Cir.%20Ct.%202019)/EFTA02733081.pdf
|
||||
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02810827, Court Records (Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904), Expert Report of Jorge Amador, June 16, 2023, Document 238-31, n. 53. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02810827.pdf
|
||||
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00030338, DataSet 8, internal U.S. Attorney's Office email chain, "RE: The Prince and the Proffer | New York Law Journal," May 6, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%208/EFTA00030338.pdf ; duplicate at EFTA00018735. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%208/EFTA00018735.pdf
|
||||
[^9]: Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, No. 21-1450, 598 U.S. 264 (April 19, 2023), slip op. at 1-3, and Gorsuch, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-1450_5468.pdf ; United States v. Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S., No. 20-3499, 16 F.4th 336 (2d Cir. Oct. 22, 2021), on appeal from the Decision and Order of Oct. 1, 2020 (Berman, J.). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5291813/united-states-v-bankasi/ ; United States v. Zarrab (Turkiye Halk Bankasi), No. 20-3499, 120 F.4th 41 (2d Cir. Oct. 22, 2024). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10152619/united-states-v-zarrab-turkiye-halk-bankasi/
|
||||
[^9]: Supreme Court of the United States, docket No. 21-1450, *Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States*, argued January 17, 2023; decided April 19, 2023 (Kavanaugh, J., for the Court; Gorsuch, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, joined by Alito, J.). https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/21-1450.html
|
||||
[^10]: Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, No. 21-1450, 598 U.S. 264 (April 19, 2023), slip op. at 1-3, and Gorsuch, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-1450_5468.pdf ; United States v. Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S., No. 20-3499, 16 F.4th 336 (2d Cir. Oct. 22, 2021), on appeal from the Decision and Order of Oct. 1, 2020 (Berman, J.). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5291813/united-states-v-bankasi/ ; United States v. Zarrab (Turkiye Halk Bankasi), No. 20-3499, 120 F.4th 41 (2d Cir. Oct. 22, 2024). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10152619/united-states-v-zarrab-turkiye-halk-bankasi/
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
|
|||
- Robert Byck
|
||||
- Dr. Robert Byck
|
||||
created: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
category: "Medicine & Psychology"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
|
|
@ -17,7 +17,11 @@ born: 1933-01-01
|
|||
died: 1999-08-09
|
||||
location: "Newark, New Jersey"
|
||||
---
|
||||
Dr. Robert Byck was a [[Yale University]] cocaine expert who testified before Congress in 1979 to warn of an impending drug epidemic from smokable cocaine, seven years before the 1986 crack panic. His warnings were completely ignored.[^1]
|
||||
Dr. Robert Byck was a [[Yale University]] cocaine expert who testified before Congress in 1979 to warn of an impending drug epidemic from smokable cocaine, seven years before the 1986 crack panic. [[Gary Webb]] wrote that Byck's warnings were ignored.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### The 1979 hearing
|
||||
|
||||
Byck testified as a member of the Department of Pharmacology, [[Yale University]] School of Medicine, before the [[House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control]] at its hearings on cocaine published as *Cocaine: A Major Drug Issue of the Seventies*. He testified on Thursday, July 26, 1979, where the record also describes him as a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale who had just returned from an international conference on cocaine in Peru. He opened by stating that, as then used in the United States, cocaine was not dangerous in the usual sense. His prepared statement, printed in the volume, says that freebase smoking "can represent the same threat that the speed epidemics of the 1960's represented in their time," that there was "a danger of a drug abuse epidemic of cocaine because of a new route of administration rather than because of new properties of the drug" and, "The possibility is strong that this might occur. It is occurring in the countries of South America."[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### 1979 Warning
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -34,3 +38,4 @@ Byck later criticized the 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder
|
|||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 15: "This thing is a tidal wave"
|
||||
[^2]: *Cocaine: A Major Drug Issue of the Seventies*, Hearings before the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, July 24, 26 and October 10, 1979, testimony of Robert Byck, M.D. NCJ 65411. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/65411NCJRS.pdf
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ Collins wrote that his FTD assignment began in the summer of 1985 and that he ha
|
|||
|
||||
Collins wrote that FTD led him to ask about stories of bodies stored at Wright-Patterson, and so to retired Lieutenant Colonel [[Ernie Kellerstrauss|Ernie Kellerstrass]], whose last assignment had been FTD and who in 1985 worked for [[Systems Research Laboratories]] in [[Dayton, Ohio|Dayton]]. According to Collins, Kellerstrass named [[Anthony J. Cacioppo]], then chief FTD scientist, and [[Dale Graff]], reassigned from FTD to the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]], as informed, and described a meeting at a ski lodge north of [[Albuquerque]] in 1968 about a wave of sightings.[^1] In the spring of 1986, on a temporary duty trip to consult the technical staff of [[TRW]] in [[Los Angeles]], Collins met Moore in his motel room for about an hour; Moore mentioned a "Mr. X" who had contacted him in 1980.[^1] Collins wrote that from 1986 onward Moore, [[Jaime Shandera]], Kellerstrass, Doty, [[Hal Puthoff]] (from 1987), [[Kit Green]] (from 1989) and he held a series of meetings, referring to MJ-12 as "the Committee," while the introduction to the same book dates the group's coming together to 1985.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
In the fall of 1987, he wrote, Kellerstrass hosted Moore, Shandera, Puthoff, Colonel [[John B. Alexander]], "Scott Jones (assistant for Senator Pell)" ([[C.B. Scott Jones]], aide to [[Claiborne Pell]]) and Collins at dinner at his house in [[Beavercreek, Ohio]].[^1] The bird names, by his account, were Doty "the surrogate 'Falcon' when the real Falcon (DIA's, Dale Graff?) couldn't be found," Kellerstrass "Hawk," Puthoff "Partridge," Jones "Hummingbird," Green "Blue Jay," Alexander "Chickadee," and himself "Condor."[^1] He also wrote of "Heron ([[Jerry Miller]])."[^1] In the references he wrote that "in June/July 2012 the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] Falcon was disclosed as none other than" [[Harry Rositzke]], who died on November 4, 2002 in [[Warrenton, Virginia]]; that "very few people were in a position to know who the real Falcon was," the two he knew of being Moore and Doty; that Moore "provided a name to his friend [[Greg Bishop]] in 2005"; that [[Brian Parks]], who had known Moore closely from the early 1980s until he left UFO research around 1994, "gave Brian the very same name as Bishop had"; and, in another reference, that "according to Bill Moore and known by Rick Doty it's Harry August Rositzke, born in [[New York]], 1910." He added a redacted 1961 [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] memorandum on Rositzke supplied by Parks and Parks's statement of "07-20-012." The name is Collins's report of what Moore said to others; Moore did not publish it.[^1] Moore had said in 1989 that he and Jaime Shandera invented the name Falcon in 1984 and that hints in 1987 that Doty was Falcon were a diversion.[^4] Pilkington asked whether Colonel [[Barry Hennessey]], who ran the AFOSI special projects unit at the [[Pentagon]] during the MJ-12 release and the Bennewitz affair and later directed Air Force counterintelligence and special program security, was Falcon, and wrote that Hennessey and Moore had both denied it.[^3]
|
||||
In the fall of 1987, he wrote, Kellerstrass hosted Moore, Shandera, Puthoff, Colonel [[John B. Alexander]], "Scott Jones (assistant for Senator Pell)" ([[C.B. Scott Jones]], aide to [[Claiborne Pell]]) and Collins at dinner at his house in [[Beavercreek, Ohio]].[^1] The bird names, by his account, were Doty "the surrogate 'Falcon' when the real Falcon (DIA's, Dale Graff?) couldn't be found," Kellerstrass "Hawk," Puthoff "Partridge," Jones "Hummingbird," Green "Blue Jay," Alexander "Chickadee," and himself "Condor."[^1] He also wrote of "Heron ([[Jerry Miller]])."[^1] In the references he wrote that "in June/July 2012 the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] Falcon was disclosed as none other than" [[Harry Rositzke]], who died on November 4, 2002 in [[Warrenton, Virginia]]; that "very few people were in a position to know who the real Falcon was," the two he knew of being Moore and Doty; that Moore "provided a name to his friend [[Greg Bishop]] in 2005"; that [[Brian Parks]], who had known Moore closely from the early 1980s until he left UFO research around 1994, "gave Brian the very same name as Bishop had"; and, in another reference, that "according to Bill Moore and known by Rick Doty it's Harry August Rositzke, born in [[New York City|New York]], 1910." He added a redacted 1961 [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] memorandum on Rositzke supplied by Parks and Parks's statement of "07-20-012." The name is Collins's report of what Moore said to others; Moore did not publish it.[^1] Moore had said in 1989 that he and Jaime Shandera invented the name Falcon in 1984 and that hints in 1987 that Doty was Falcon were a diversion.[^4] Pilkington asked whether Colonel [[Barry Hennessey]], who ran the AFOSI special projects unit at the [[Pentagon]] during the MJ-12 release and the Bennewitz affair and later directed Air Force counterintelligence and special program security, was Falcon, and wrote that Hennessey and Moore had both denied it.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Howe and Lear, November 1987
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -10,15 +10,30 @@ tags:
|
|||
- RemoteViewing
|
||||
summary: "Deputy under secretary of defense for research and advanced technology who in 1978 set the managerial questions for the Pentagon's remote-viewing oversight and in 1979 widened the Gale Committee's mandate to the whole department."
|
||||
location: "Washington, D.C."
|
||||
relations:
|
||||
- type: employed_by
|
||||
with: "[[Department of Energy]]"
|
||||
start: 1979-09
|
||||
role: "nominated September 12, 1979 as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Resource Applications"
|
||||
fn: 6
|
||||
created: 2026-09-22
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-22
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Ruth M. Davis was Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (Research and Advanced Technology) in 1978 and 1979. On October 25, 1978, Representative [[Charlie Rose]], chairman of the evaluation subcommittee of the [[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]], wrote to her that he had "recently had occasion to become acquainted with some interesting research involving paranormal phenomena, specifically that relating to remote viewing," that "we have a strong obligation also to learn what Soviet research is underway," and that "I would therefore like to see the Department of Defense undertake those efforts deemed necessary and appropriate to investigate remote viewing and other related phenomena." On November 20, 1978, ahead of a [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] meeting on the subject set for November 28, she sent [[Jack Vorona]] eight "topics or issues that appear to me to demand immediate attention from the oversight groups you will establish": "a clear cut statement of objectives sought by the Intelligence Community"; "a rationale for continued exploration of remote viewing phenomena, e.g., in terms of understanding the impact of success by others on U.S. vulnerabilities"; "the scientific status of remote viewing experiments treating such issues as the apparent non-reproducibility of results, the lack of documented and/or accepted scientific protocols, the seeming lack of consistent criteria for accepting and treating subjects"; measures of progress "developed by other than the current experimenters" that "ensure that the magicians' processes of deception, feedback to subjects, etc. are not inadvertantly allowed"; evaluation "by other than the experimenters"; "a past, present and future funding profile justifiable in terms of DoD objectives"; "a stark clear statement of events, data, etc. that will justify termination of continued funding of the project"; and "the related legal issues of individual privacy, controlled surveillance, etc." "As you know, I have had highlighted to me both the potential afforded by success in remote viewing as well as the current scientific skepticism about the ongoing activity." Copies went to [[Walter LaBerge]], Jill Wine-Volner and Major General [[Edmund Thompson]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
She sat on the Grill Flame steering committee at its first meeting on February 13, 1979, with the service intelligence chiefs, LaBerge and Vorona, and "in early July 1979, Dr. Ruth Davis recommended that because of the special interest of the Secretary of Defense, that the Committee review the total DOD posture and report directly to the GRILL FLAME Oversight Committee," which set the mandate of the [[Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee]].[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
Davis's name appears in the Grill Flame file again in 1979. In a memorandum of July 9, 1979, signed as deputy under secretary of defense for research and engineering (research and advanced technology), she proposed inviting [[Frank Press]] to be advised of the Grill Flame work.[^3] The steering committee minutes of October 30, 1979 list "Dr. Ruth Davis (DOE)" among the attendees and record that "Dr. Perry wants little to do with the subject."[^4] A note in the same file, undated, records that Davis could not attend a meeting because she had to meet Mr Duncan in DOE.[^5]
|
||||
|
||||
On September 12, 1979 the White House announced the President's intention to nominate Ruth M. Davis, then Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Advanced Technology, as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Resource Applications.[^6] On December 26, 1979 [[R. S. Hawke]] wrote to Dr. Ruth M. Davis, whom he identified as "Assistant for Research Applications, Department of Energy."[^7]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Davis, Ruth M., Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (Research and Advanced Technology), memorandum for Dr. Jack Vorona, "'Remote Viewing' Project," November 20, 1978, with the letter of Charlie Rose, Chairman, Subcommittee on Evaluation, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to Davis, October 25, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500240017-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
|
||||
[^2]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
|
||||
[^3]: Davis, Ruth M., memorandum, July 9, 1979, signed as deputy under secretary of defense for research and engineering (research and advanced technology), CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230005-0.
|
||||
[^4]: Minutes of steering committee meeting, October 30, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000100007-3 and CIA-RDP96-00788R002000250021-1.
|
||||
[^5]: Stoner note, undated, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000250019-4.
|
||||
[^6]: Jimmy Carter, "Department of Energy: Nomination of Ruth M. Davis To Be an Assistant Secretary," announcement of September 12, 1979, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/department-energy-nomination-ruth-m-davis-be-assistant-secretary
|
||||
[^7]: R. S. Hawke to Dr. Ruth M. Davis, letter EMS79-0117, December 26, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100100003-7.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ The relationship drew criticism inside Texas Republican politics because Thiel p
|
|||
|
||||
Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign was the first major American political operation to deploy Cambridge Analytica, the data-analytics firm whose primary investor was the hedge-fund executive Robert Mercer and whose vice president was [[Steve Bannon]]. [[Federal Election Commission]] records show the Cruz campaign paid Cambridge Analytica more than 5.8 million dollars for data analysis and online advertising during the 2016 cycle, with an additional 570,000 dollars paid by the pro-Cruz super PAC Keep the Promise II. Mercer donated approximately eleven million dollars to super PACs supporting Cruz's presidential bid.[^2][^5]
|
||||
|
||||
The firm built psychographic voter profiles, dividing the electorate into psychological categories, work later tied to the harvesting of data from tens of millions of [[Facebook]] users. After Cruz dropped out in 2016, Mercer, Bannon, and Cambridge Analytica shifted to the Trump campaign. When the [[Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal]] broke in March 2018, Cruz said the firm had assured his campaign its methods were legal: "Cambridge Analytica represented to the campaign that all data in their possession were legally obtained and that they were in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and the campaign relied on those representations." His spokeswoman, Catherine Frazier, said the campaign had included explicit contractual language requiring lawful conduct.[^2][^5][^6]
|
||||
The firm built psychographic voter profiles, dividing the electorate into psychological categories, work later tied to the harvesting of data from tens of millions of [[Facebook]] users. After Cruz dropped out in 2016, Mercer, Bannon, and Cambridge Analytica shifted to the Trump campaign. When the [[Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal]] broke in March 2018, Cruz said the firm had assured his campaign its methods were legal: "Cambridge Analytica represented to the campaign that all data in their possession were legally obtained and that they were in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and the campaign relied on those representations." His spokeswoman, Catherine Frazier, said the campaign had included explicit contractual language requiring lawful conduct.[^2][^5][^6]
|
||||
|
||||
### The 2026 Dialog Leak
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,30 +1,30 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Law Enforcement & Legal"
|
||||
created: 2026-05-01
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-14
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-15
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
- PROMIS
|
||||
- INSLAW
|
||||
- Lawyer
|
||||
- Judge
|
||||
summary: "Thomas A. Flannery was U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1967 to 1970, commissioned the system that became PROMIS in 1969, and was a federal district judge from 1970 until 1993."
|
||||
born: 1918-01-05
|
||||
died: 1993-06-25
|
||||
summary: "Thomas A. Flannery was U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1969 to 1971, commissioned the system that became PROMIS in 1969, and was a federal district judge from December 1971."
|
||||
born: 1918-05-10
|
||||
died: 2007-09-20
|
||||
location: "Washington, D.C."
|
||||
---
|
||||
Thomas A. Flannery was born January 5, 1918, in Washington, D.C. He served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1967 to March 1970, appointed under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. In that capacity, he directed the formation of the team that designed the [[PROMIS|Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS)]], the case management software that became the center of the [[PROMIS Software Scandal|INSLAW affair]] a decade later.[^1]
|
||||
Thomas A. Flannery was born May 10, 1918, in Washington, D.C. He was an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1950 to 1962, in private practice from 1962 to 1969, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1969 to 1971, appointed under President [[Richard Nixon]].[^1] In that capacity, he directed the formation of the team that designed the [[PROMIS|Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS)]], the case management software that became the center of the [[PROMIS Software Scandal|INSLAW affair]] a decade later.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Role in PROMIS Development
|
||||
|
||||
In 1969, Flannery commissioned a team from [[Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co]] to design a computer-based case management system for the [[U.S. Attorney's office|DC U.S. Attorney's Office]], funded by a $60,000 grant (70-DF-047) from the [[Office of Crime Analysis of the District of Columbia]] administered through the [[LEAA|Law Enforcement Assistance Administration]]. The team was co-directed by [[Joan E. Jacoby]] (Director of the Office of Crime Analysis) and [[Charles R. Work]] (Deputy Director of the Superior Court Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office), with [[Bill Hamilton]] serving as project manager.[^1][^3] The system, named the Prosecutor's Management Information System, was deployed on January 1, 1971.[^3]
|
||||
In 1969, Flannery commissioned a team from [[Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co]] to design a computer-based case management system for the [[U.S. Attorney's office|DC U.S. Attorney's Office]], funded by a $60,000 grant (70-DF-047) from the [[Office of Crime Analysis of the District of Columbia]] administered through the [[LEAA|Law Enforcement Assistance Administration]]. The team was co-directed by [[Joan E. Jacoby]] (Director of the Office of Crime Analysis) and [[Charles R. Work]] (Deputy Director of the Superior Court Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office), with [[Bill Hamilton]] serving as project manager.[^2][^3] The system, named the Prosecutor's Management Information System, was deployed on January 1, 1971.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Judicial Career
|
||||
|
||||
President [[Richard Nixon]] nominated Flannery to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in July 1970. He was confirmed by the Senate and began judicial service in December 1970. He served as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1977 until approximately 1987, and continued as a senior judge thereafter. He died June 25, 1993.[^2]
|
||||
President Nixon nominated Flannery to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on November 18, 1971. The Senate confirmed him on December 1, 1971, and his commission issued on December 6, 1971. He assumed senior status on May 10, 1985 and died on September 20, 2007.[^1] He served as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1977 until approximately 1987, and continued as a senior judge thereafter.
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* House Report 102-857, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, September 10, 1992.
|
||||
[^2]: Federal Judicial Center. "Thomas A. Flannery." History of the Federal Judiciary. fjc.gov.
|
||||
[^1]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, entry for Flannery, Thomas Aquinas (assistant U.S. attorney, D.C., 1950 to 1962; U.S. attorney, D.C., 1969 to 1971; nominated November 18, 1971; senior status May 10, 1985; died September 20, 2007). https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/flannery-thomas-aquinas
|
||||
[^2]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* House Report 102-857, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, September 10, 1992.
|
||||
[^3]: Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., *System Overview and Report Formats for PROMIS* (May 1971), prepared for the District of Columbia Government Office of Crime Analysis under LEAA Grant No. 70-DF-047, note 1 to the passage on the design team, NCJ 32469. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/32469NCJRS.pdf
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
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Reference in a new issue