Central Intelligence Agency Kai Bird and Max Holland
Washington, D.C. 20505June 8, 2000
Center for International Policy
Suite 308
110 Maryland Avenue, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002Reference: F-1984-00609
Dear Messrs. Bird and Holland:
This is in response to your 18 October 1985 letter in which you appealed the 9 September 1985 determination of this Agency in response to your 3 June 1984 Freedom of Information Act request for finished intelligence reports, dating from March to September 1952, concerning the "Stalin Note" campaign and reactions to it.
Specifically, you appealed our determination to deny you access to portions of three documents and the denial of one document in its entirety on the basis of Freedom of Information Act exemptions (b)(1) and (b)(3).
Your appeal has been presented to the appropriate member of the Agency Release Panel, the Information Review Officer for the Directorate of Intelligence. Pursuant to the authority delegated under paragraph 1900.43 of Chapter XIX, Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), the Information Review Officer has reviewed the documents, the determinations made with respect to them, and the propriety of the application of the Freedom of Information Act exemptions asserted with respect to these documents. It has been determined that portions of documents 2 through 4 previously denied must continue to be denied on the basis of Freedom of Information exemptions (b)(1) and (b)(3). Further, one document, a report dated 8 April 1952, previously denied in its entirety must continue to be denied in its entirety on the basis of Freedom of Information Act exemptions (b)(1) and (b)(3). Please not that some of the redactions made were of material not relevant to your request.
Further, in regard to your appeal and in accordance with CIA regulations appearing at 32 C.F.R. paragraph 1900.41(c)(2), the Agency Release Panel has affirmed this determination.
Exemption (b)(1) pertains to matters which are specifically authorized under criteria established by Executive Order 12958 to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and which are currently and properly classified.
Exemption (b)(3) pertains to information exempt from disclosure by statute. The relevant statutes are Subsection 103(c)(6) of the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, 50 U.S.C. §403-3(c)(6), which makes the Director of Central Intelligence responsible for protecting intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized disclosure and Section 6 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949, as amended, 50 U.S.C. §403g, which exempts from the disclosure requirement information pertaining to the organization, functions, names, official titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed by the Agency.
In accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, you have the right to seek judicial review of these determinations in a United States district court.
We wish to apologize for the delay in processing your appeal. Despite our efforts to process requests as quickly as possible, on occasion individual cases fail to progress expeditiously. Your request was identified recently as such a case and immediately moved to completion. We sincerely regret the delay and appreciate your patience.
Sincerely,
Edmund Cohen
Chairman
Agency Release Panel