Washington is having another fight about being open with information, following accusations that CIA staff took sensitive files from the office of Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. The intelligence community completely denies this happened. The files in question are records many people have wanted for a long time, relating to the JFK assassination and the CIA’s MKUltra program from the Cold War.
Allegations ignite a political fight
The problem began with a television news report during a popular viewing time; it said ‘agents’ took ‘dozens of boxes’ from Gabbard’s office. The report said these materials were JFK assassination files and MKUltra documents that were about to be made available to the public.
Andrew Kolvet, a commentator who is very active on social media, repeated the accusation, adding that the JFK assassination and MKUltra files were being opened to the public. The news report also included James Eardman III, a whistleblower who testified at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing that these documents were going to be released, but the CIA stopped it.
Swift denial from intelligence office
The Director of National Intelligence’s office completely rejected all of this. Olivia Coleman, who speaks for DNI Tulsi Gabbard, said the story about the CIA taking files was false and that nothing like that happened at ODNI headquarters.
The denial is an attempt to calm a growing problem that has started arguments again about just how far the U.S. government has gone in releasing old, important intelligence files and who is in charge of that process.
Congress escalation and preservation push
Anna Paulina Luna, a Congresswoman from the Republican party, increased the pressure by saying her office had been told about the alleged removal. She warned that she would legally require the CIA to appear in court (subpoena them) if they didn’t return the files in and that the boxes supposedly contained ‘JFK related files and MKUltra documents’.
Luna tied this trouble to orders to make historically important records public, mentioning a President’s order to completely reveal all JFK material and arguments about MKUltra files that were supposedly released or destroyed before. She also said that members of Congress are sending out ‘preservation notices’ (requests to keep the files safe) and asking for more information from the White House and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Key claims now under dispute
Here is what both sides are clashing over:
– Whether CIA personnel removed records from ODNI
– Whether ‘dozens of boxes’ were taken
– Whether the files included JFK and MKUltra
– Whether declassification was already underway
– Whether ODNI’s denial is definitive
The transparency backdrop
Those who want easier access to information are seeing this event as a test of Donald Trump’s push to declassify (make public) things. Last year, Gabbard told people to release over 230,000 pages of documents connected to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader.
This release happened at the same time as the FBI, CIA, Department of Justice and National Archives released documents, because of a President’s Executive Order to allow the public to see material that had been kept secret for a long time.
Why JFK and MKUltra files still matter
For many years, files about assassinations and MKUltra have been particularly important to the public. The television discussion said that during the Church Committee investigations in 1975, William Colby, who was then the CIA Director, ordered most MKUltra records to be destroyed. The report claimed 85 percent were destroyed and he was found to be in contempt of Congress.
The news report said that the remaining files represent 15 percent of everything and should be declassified. MKUltra was a program during the Cold War that involved using psychological manipulation and experiments with drugs, including LSD, as many people have said over the years and later investigations have found evidence of.
What comes next
Now there are two possibilities. If people believe the ODNI’s denial, the argument might die down quickly. But if they don’t, Congress’s threats to subpoena and demand preservation of the files could lead to official meetings, lists of the documents, or official statements from the agencies.
This renewed interest brings up a bigger question that has lasted through many administrations: have all remaining files related to JFK, Robert F Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and MKUltra really been released, or are there still gaps in what the government has in its archives?
Why the outcome matters beyond Washington
The difference between what people are saying and actually being able to look at the files in an archive is hugely important for researchers and families who are looking for peace of mind. For the intelligence agencies, it’s about being believed, following the rules for declassification, and how they handle history.
And for the public, knowing if any boxes were moved and if those records were going to be released will show how much trust to have in the government’s current promises to be more open.
