Morley: DIA Destroyed Records

[Benjamin Cole]

The Latest From JFK Facts

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New JFK File: DIA Destroyed All of Its Assassination Records

Military intelligence officials 'attempted to sanitize the historical record'

JEFFERSON MORLEY MAY 28

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Another nugget of insight from recently released JFK assassination files: The Defense Intelligence Agency obtained information about the world’s reaction to the death of President John F. Kennedy from diplomatic wiretaps — and destroyed it all, leaving investigators with only a “sanitized” statement of what military intelligence knew about the murder of a sitting president.

The fact of the destruction has been known since the 1970s. What was made public recently was the diplomatic origin of the DIA’s JFK intelligence.

The redacted June 1978 memo

was not fully declassified until December 2022.

An Expanding Agency

Writing in Wall Street Window, a financial news site, JFK researcher Carmine Savastano puts this story in its historical context, detailing the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency during Kennedy’s presidency.

“During the summer of 1961, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was convinced the United States military required a unified military group to represent and collate information from the several military intelligence groups.[v] Through McNamara’s influence, and with the approval of President Kennedy and support from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his department established the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to “combine a number of intelligence functions heretofore carried out independently by the separate military departments.” Among its “principal objectives” was “obtaining greater unity of effort among all components of the Department of Defense in developing military intelligence and as strengthening the over-all capacity of the Department for collection, production and dissemination of Defense intelligence information.”[vi]

“The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was apprehensive regarding the DIA’s creation due to its absorbing the collective military’s intelligence functions. That “inevitably was of concern,” likely due to the CIA’s use of military assets and bases across the globe. During early 1963, notable Agency officer Lyman Kirkpatrick informed his superiors of a conversation with DIA leader Joseph Carroll regarding “clandestine collection” and “current intelligence production.” Multiple later CIA leaders, including Deputy Director of Science and Technology Albert Wheelon, would additionally perform reviews of CIA and DIA relations and criticize its military minded approach to intelligence collection. 

As the DIA was growing, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. “This quickly expanding agency,” Savastano writes, “would have amassed a sizable collection of files regarding military intelligence that may have offered a wealth of information regarding the history of that era.”

‘Destroyed All Files’

Savastano doesn’t mention it, but in May 1963 the Joint Chiefs of Staff had approved Operation Northwoods, a false flag scheme to stage a spectacular crime on U.S. soil and arrange for the blame to fall on Cuba. The plans called for the use of only the “most trusted covert personnel,” which would have included CIA and DIA officers. 

But for decades JFK investigators knew nothing of Northwoods, which was only uncovered by the Assassination Records Review Board in 1997. Savastano goes on to note that 

… most later investigators of President Kennedy’s assassination were instead concerned with files destroyed or concealed by the FBI and CIA. While officials had legitimate and sometimes verified reasons to focus on those and a few other related groups such as the Secret Service, it was not until much later officials finally questioned the DIA and sought missing pieces of the historical record it might provide. With the massive expansion of the DIA and its resources by the late 1970’s the group finally came to the attention of House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) investigators.

“Official congressional requests to obtain related files from National Security Agency (NSA) and Defense Intelligence Agency employees offered a startling admission, which changes the landscape of the evidentiary record. 

DIA official Mr. Roger Denk informed congressional officials the DIA “has destroyed all of its files which might (be) related to the assassination and that, therefore, he had nothing to offer.”

Excerpt from a 1978 NSA memo.

Thus, the collection efforts of … this key military intelligence agency and even any extraneous file that might relate to the assassination was purged without higher approval, nor was there any explanation for what motivated such action. Additionally, we do not know exactly when this purge occurred and how many potentially thousands or tens of thousands of files were destroyed. Despite several investigations by the U.S. legislature concerning the assassination of President Kennedy, the DIA took it upon itself to decimate the record and provided no sufficient explanation for its actions. While the CIA, FBI, and other intelligence groups were often derided in the media for covering up potential connections and files of interest, the DIA exceeded all of them in its hubris by deciding to permanently damage the historical record for reasons unknown.

Savastano’s conclusion: Military intelligence officials “attempted to sanitize the historical record” of JFK’s assassination. 

“The destruction of all related evidence held by the DIA is no mere conspiracy theory, it is a confirmed fact by officials themselves. There is no beneficial purpose that such abrogations of duty and law have occurred, only potentially illegal ones. The question as ever remains, why and to what specific end?”---

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Seems to me the Dallas office of Army Intel also destroyed all their records....

 

[Joseph Backes]

There's a lot to unpack here.

First, Carmine Savastano does give the RIF # for the document, RIF #144-10001-10263 for the 15 June 1978 Memo, while Jefferson Morley cannot be bothered to do so.  Always cite the RIF# Jeff!  I am becoming more and more convinced the Morley is not a great writer. He inserts the topic of Operation Northwoods for no apparent reason into the topic of the destruction of records by the DIA. Savatano doesn't mention it, Jeff, because it wasn't a DIA plan and it had nothing to do with the main thrust of the article.  

Second, in reading the document, 144-10001-10263, the name Denk lept out at me. There was a young woman, Laura Denk, who worked for the ARRB and I wonder if there is a relation? She eventually rose to become the Executive Director of the ARRB.  

Third, you really should read Carmine Savastano's article first. He's not a great writer either.  The idea of limiting oneself to one idea per sentence seems to be out of fashion with some writers.  They somehow feel the need to put in more than one. Why I don't know. And when they do they often leave out words that would improve the narrative flow.  Vince Palamara will interrupt himself with 15 brackets, 38 subbrackets, 811 endnotes, 2,308 footnotes, 597,842,003 endnotes, and 3.14 to the infinite power of parentheses before he finishes the first sentence he started with. 

Wow, is this a mess:

"Even in modern times the illegal possession, loss, or destruction of government files has appeared in recent news and has been a consistent means of depriving the public access to documents that may incriminate or embarrass leading bureaucrats. Over the last five decades hundreds of thousands pages of documents have been released concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, nevertheless thousands of documents were by intent or ignorance destroyed or lost. Whether you consider the dozens of files lost within Lee Harvey Oswald’s 201 file or those destroyed by at least one medical expert that conducted the autopsy, some officials have desired that feasibly important files never reach public eyes. Upon this lack of knowledge some reasonable ideas turn and the illegal destruction or loss of files leaves but two unsavory possible reasons reasons, malfeasance or ignorance. The destruction of documents by officials has rendered public claims that were scoffed at or diminished by those who support the official version of events greater credibility. Yet, more recent less redacted files support the contention that the amount of documents destroyed has been largely underestimated despite the claims of several government leaders." 

Guys, please proofread.  You spend years doing the reading and research spend one hour proofreading.  

In my opinion, references to the former guy's illegal possession of classified government records distracts and dilutes the topic of destruction of records relating to the assassination of JFK.  So, don't bring it up.  Stay focused on JFK, please.  

Thanks to the JFK Act and the Assassination Records Review Board ( ARRB ) millions of pages of once classified documents were declassified and released to the American public beginning in the 1990's.  The ARRB went out of business in 1998 but left instructions for the National Archives that all classified records and all redactions in released records were to be removed and everything was to be open in full on October 26, 2017.  Well, it didn't turn out that way. There's still a fight to get records fully released.  One such record, 144-10001-10263, released in 2022 tells an interesting story.  In the 1970's there was a congressional investigation into the assassinations of JFK and MLK known as the House Select Committee on Assassinations, the HSCA.  Their chief counsel Robert Blakey asked the National Security Agency for records.  It's clear the NSA didn't want to give any. At first a Judy Miller says a review of records three months before the assassination would mean reviewing thousands of records and that would take approximately 150 manhours to do. Well in comes Mr. Roger Denk to say the DIA destroyed all of its files which might relate to the assassination.  

Now I think that was clearly a lie.  Mr. Denk or others would have had to have done some kind of search under some unspecified parameters to even find records relating in some fashion to the JFK assassination in the DIA's possession and destroy them, and their microfilmed copies, as well as references to what you want to destroy in surviving records.  That effort and there's no actual proof that happened, and thus no actual proof any documents really were destroyed, would surely take more than 150 manhours which is 20 work days to complete.  Much easier to say, ( without proof ) "We destroyed everything you're asking for. Goodbye."

What we do learn is that Blakey really wanted a check of every Cuban intercept from 1959 to 1964 as well as a general characterization of the chatter itself. So, according to T12 who maintain the microfilm that would be about 200,000 reports to look through.  And you'd have to double that as you're doing a translation from Spanish to English. You'd need someone fluent in both just to QC they got the translation right. And they would have to have clearances as they would be made aware of the sources and methods used to acquire the intercepts. And then they'd have to read them all.  And unless that reviewer was HSCA staffer Ed Lopez or Dan Hardway chances are that relevant info would still not be caught.  

So, what did the ARRB ask the DIA to do?  Well, I can tell you the ARRB did get some DIA records.  They are RIF numbers that start with 144. I should explain what a RIF number is.  A Record Identification Form ( RIF ) is a 13 digit code.  It is a form attached to every document in the JFK Records Collection. It helps you to find a specific document.  It is broken down into three sections, three numbers, then five numbers, then the second set of five numbers. The first three numbers is a code for the agency of origin, who created the document.  The first set of five numbers is the subject. The last set of five numbers tells how many records on that subject that agency has.

Now, and this is important, NARA once had an online database of RIF numbers.  It was taken offline while I was using it.  It was replaced with a large Excel database broken down into 6 sections on May 17, 2021.  On April 29th, 2021 I appeared on Len Osanic's Black Op Radio program talking about RIFs and gave out a copy of my Excel database ( as it existed then ) on how many RIFs there should be. Then almost in response NARA released on May 17, 2021 their Excel database.  I also gave a presentation to the British research group, Dealey Plaza U.K., ( DPUK ) on how many RIF numbers there are supposed to be on Saturday, Sept 26,2020. So, it went offline I think before I went on Len's show, either that or before the DPUK talk. 

NARA claims its database contains all the RIF numbers in the collection.  Well, that's a lie, and I can prove it.  For the last couple of years, I have been working on creating a database trying to figure out how many RIF numbers there are or should be in the JFK Records Collection based on the RIF listings created by the ARRB.  I went and got them all. Many were published in The Federal Register.  The ARRB had a sunset provision in the legislation that created it so it was going to go out of business in 1998.  So, in April of 1998 they were allowed to summarize what they were releasing instead of listing each individual RIF number.  However, they did create these lists. They only exist in the ARRB's files in NARA. Additionally, there have been six releases in 2017, one in 2018, one in 2021, one in 2022, and three so far this year.  So, my column A has the RIF numbers and column B onwards has all of the ARRB notices and NARA releases. So, when you do all of that work you know what should be there.  

And now we return to RIF numbers starting with 144. There are no RIF numbers starting with 144 in NARA's May 17, 2021 Excel database.  They go from 137 to 155.  They skip right over them. There are in actuality 378 documents starting with RIF 144-10001, 144-10001-10000 to 144-10001-10378.  Only 253 of them are online at MFF. If in actuality there are any 144 RIFs where the first set of five numbers is 10002 or higher and how many documents per subject therein is unknown. There may exist there may not exist. I don't know. 

RIFs that start with 145 are missing too. They are National Security Council / Dept. of Defense records.  There are 274 of those. 145-10001-10000 to 145-10001-10274.  

There are documents that start with 154 that are missing. These are Secret Service documents. All documents that start 154-10001 are missing.  How many of them are unknown, I only have evidence of RIFs starting with 154-10002, and there are 430 of them.  154-10002-10430 shows up in the Feb 21, 1997 ARRB notice in The Federal Register. There are 154-10003 as well and should be at least 44, maybe 65 of those.     

These are not the only RIFs missing from the May 17, 2021 Excel database.

Now when I say missing I mean only from NARA's May 17,2021 Excel database. They exist. Some are online at MFF. They exist if you go to Archives II in person to look for them. But, if the listing of everything that the May 17, 2021 Excel database claims to be is woefully, ridiculously incomplete you would have no idea to even look for them because you would have no idea they exist.  

Maybe I should start a substack account.  

Joe

[Calvin Ye]

The book Man Who Knew Too Much explain that ex-OAS members worked with DIA in the past. I believe that this could explain why DIA destroyed files because the files may exposed their links to the OAS

[Steve Thomas]

In his 1991 study, entitled, Reforming Military Intelligence Reserve Components: 1995-2005, Colonel, Thomas Cagley showed that half of the Military Intelligence Detacments (MID's) reported directly to the DIA.

see Table II2, page 14 of his study

 

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a233391.pdf

Steve Thomas

[Benjamin Cole]

24 minutes ago, Steve Thomas said:

In his 1991 study, entitled, Reforming Military Intelligence Reserve Components: 1995-2005, Colonel, Thomas Cagley showed that half of the Military Intelligence Detacments (MID's) reported directly to the DIA.

see Table II2, page 14 of his study

 

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a233391.pdf

Steve Thomas

ST-

If memory serves, there was move decades back to somewhat broaden the intel community beyond the CIA. And, of course, everything got steroids after 9/11. 

The study you cite is 30 years old. Has the CIA been able to re-assert itself? 

[Larry Hancock]

Ben, I think I've said this before but in answer to  your question it would be best to look at the current position of the CIA in the context of the whole intelligence community and for that I seriously recommend:  The US Intelligence Community  by Jeffrey Richelson Seventh Edition, 2016.  Conversations about the position of the various agencies and their influence really need this sort of concrete reference to be credible.  And yes, being really informed is expensive grin.

https://www.amazon.com/U-S-Intelligence-Community-Jeffrey-Richelson/dp/0813349184

The U.S. Intelligence Community 7th Edition

[Ron Bulman]

Wow Ben.  Five posts on five different topics in thirty-nine minutes. You're on a roll.

[W. Niederhut]

 

5 hours ago, Calvin Ye said:

The book Man Who Knew Too Much explain that ex-OAS members worked with DIA in the past. I believe that this could explain why DIA destroyed files because the files may exposed their links to the OAS

I didn't read the book, but I saw the movie.

Doris Day sang, "Que Sera, Sera."  🤥

Edited July 7, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[Benjamin Cole]

1 hour ago, Larry Hancock said:

Ben, I think I've said this before but in answer to  your question it would be best to look at the current position of the CIA in the context of the whole intelligence community and for that I seriously recommend:  The US Intelligence Community  by Jeffrey Richelson Seventh Edition, 2016.  Conversations about the position of the various agencies and their influence really need this sort of concrete reference to be credible.  And yes, being really informed is expensive grin.

https://www.amazon.com/U-S-Intelligence-Community-Jeffrey-Richelson/dp/0813349184

The U.S. Intelligence Community 7th Edition

Thanks Larry.

If I can read the book, I will. Living offshore, no credit cards, it is tough to get books, even e-books.

If there is a reasonable summary of the recommended book, please advise. 

[Larry Hancock]

I wish there was Paul, the problem is the book is extremely comprehensive and while it gives a summary of the whole community - which post 9/11 is huge - it explores each group in terms of its org chart, divisions, functions and tasking so its immense.  You can't get a full feel for the relative role the CIA plays in the whole apparatus these days without comparing it to the whole apparatus. 

I did try to capture some of that transition in my book Shadow Warfare, where I show how the to some extent CIA was compartmentalized into JSOC and other military operations in a support role.  It still does HUMINT but so do other agencies like NSA, it still does analysis but so do others.

You get a bit of a feel for it when you look at the office of Director of National Intelligence and realize that the groups in that office alone sit on top of 18 other agencies:

https://www.dni.gov/

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Larry Hancock

[James DiEugenio]

Who is Paul?

 

[Bob Ness]

I'm not certain how many here are aware of this section of the NSA site but it's pretty interesting:

 

National Security Agency/Central Security Service > Helpful Links > NSA FOIA > Declassification & Transparency Initiatives > Historical Releases > JFK