Gerald Ford Library & 'CIA in Dallas 1963'

[Robert Howard]

In the ARRB Final Report there is a portion of the document which states the following, with regards to their holdings of JFK Assassination Related Documents.

c. The Gerald R. Ford Library.

The Ford Library had substantial holdings that were relevant under the JFK Act, including files of the President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States (the Rockefeller Commission) and papers of former President Gerald R. Ford relating to his work on the Warren Commission. The Ford Library first identified assassination records from among materials that were already open to researchers, including records from Gerald Ford's Congressional and Vice-Presidential papers and records of Ford Administration officials.8 As a result of these searches, the Ford Library transmitted approximately six cubic feet of records to the JFK Collection in August 1993. The Ford Library also searched its unprocessed or closed "national security collections." This encompassed a review of the Rockefeller Commission files, as well as files of President Ford's National Security Advisor and the Presidential Counsel to the extent the files related to intelligence investigations of the mid-1970s (i.e., the Rockefeller Commission and Church Committee investigations). The Ford Library reviewed approximately 240,000 pages from more than 20 different closed or unprocessed collections, and the Library selected approximately 1,400 documents (11,500 pages) for processing under the JFK Act. The Ford Library worked with the Review Board to have relevant agencies release these assassination records.

The Ford Library submitted its Final Declaration of Compliance dated August 12, 1998.

While I do not have the article in my possession, recently I came upon a website of a JFK Researcher, who went into a rather lengthy account of how he had discovered the existence of a File entitled something to the effect of, CIA Activities - Dallas 1963 after looking for quite some time for this document in the National Archives, he learned that this document was not in the Archives at all, but was filed along with other documents at the Gerald R. Ford Library. At that point, he contacted the administrator/curator and said he wanted to look at this document. What happened next ostensibly, was that this individual said that the Document was 'the possession' of the Gerald Ford Library, and as such, was not subject to the provisions of [the] F.O.I.A.

While the term 'forget about it' makes for an appropriate line in say, the Soprano's, when it comes to a Library curator, displaying contempt for the American people's 'right to know,' I can think of several individuals whose collective reaction if, this situation still exists is 'get ready for a lawsuit,' not to mention that such shenanigan's do not strike me as being in compliance with the aforementioned JFK Act.

I would appreciate it if anyone familiar with this story, could update me [and the rest of the Forum members who feel that it is of interest] as to the status of this document as of 2006, to determine if it was ever resolved, and if any action needs to be taken.

[William Kelly]

Robert,

I had the hardest time squeezing the Castillo file from the Ford Library.

There's also the records of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, the Rockefeller Commission and Ford's Warren Commission records there.

A JFK researcher Todd Vaughan lived near the library some yeras ago and did a lot of work there.

BK