LETTER TO BARBARA ENNIS FROM GENE F. WILSON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92B01283R000100110006-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 14, 2013
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: March 16, 1978
• Content Type: LETTER

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/14 : CIA-RDP92B01283R000100110006-8
-
.CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCYnEHT OF ST::
WASHINGTON. D.C. 2O5O
11 10 02 i;*:
:
Ms. Barbara Ennis
Director, Freedom of Information Staff
Bureau of Public Affairs
Department of State
Room 2811, New State
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Ms. Ennis:
16 MARSVPULi()
FREEDOM OF I O. ST:
EEFATIMENT OF SNIE
Cureva Cr id;Ifiilci? rill Pcv.ireli
-17)7' r .1 r% e--
/.
Office of 141ellpfiCg 11.21S171
This letter solicits Department of State guidance on
CIA handling of several aspects of the foreign biographic
program and related materials under FOIA and related rules.
The CIA can, if such action is desired by the Department,
assume somewhat more responsibility which will relieve the
Department of some presumably burdensome work. Before so
doing, however, written Department agreement and generalized
instructions are necessary. In addition, the Agency wishes
assurance that (assuming reasonable performance on the part
of the implementing units within the Agency) actions in
accord with this agreement and the generalized instructions
will be vigorously supported by the Department before the
Attorney General, the courts, and whatever other bodies grow
from legislation or Executive orders. The Agency can carry
more of this FOIA and related burden in two specific areas.
First, you will recall that from the end of World War
II to mid-1961, the Department of State had a Goveinment-
wide responsibility for biographic report writing on foreign
political figures. In 1961 the responsibility for all civil
foreign biographic report writing was consolidated into the
Office of Central Reference-of the CIA. The files-and many--
of the people of the INR biographic program were transferred,
and under DCID 1/9, the Office of Central Reference assumed
a service of common concern in this area for the Federal
Government at large.
FOIA or Executive Order 11652 request ? that require
action on old biographic sketches are now arriving almost
daily. Practice in OCR to date has been to review the
document to be declassified (searching the files first if
necessary to find it) and to make recommendations on dispos
tion of biographic reports involved. Those originated by
State before the transfer are then forwarded to your office
for action, either directly or via Presidential libraries.
nprlacsifiAn in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/14: CIA-RDP92B01283R000100110006-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/14: CIA-RDP92B01283R000100110006-8
OCR attempts to look at the source material for the report--
if it can be quickly recovered--and to determine the current
status of the subject individual before making its recommendation.
If State wishes, OCR will assume full responsibility
for processing under FOIA, etc., these pre-1962 documents.
This proposal, again, concerns only biographic sketches
written in INR and does not encompass any other State De-
partment document.
For this proposal, Department views are needed on the
criteria used to review the classified biographic sketch.
OCR practice has been to remove material that reflects
sensitive sources and methods, and information provided by
foreign governments. In these areas guidance is not re-
quired?OCR practice, also, is to delete derogatory data
for any foreign person if release of that data might be
ill-regarded by the government or the press of the subject's
home country. ?Evaluative data--even favorable--is generally
removed if the person is still alive. Curritula vitae have
generally been released. The removal of the derogatory and
evaluative data has been justified by 5(B)(3) of Executive
Order 11652 as it refers to foreign relations.
The second area of concern relates to classification
review of biographic reports or sketches on foreign persons
that are currently important in a foreign country or international
organization. FOIA and other requests levied on CIA and
concerning such persons are generally processed as follows.
Unclassified reports-_-done at_the_request_of_the Protocol
Offite, Congressional requests, at the behest of the
Secretariat or for press packages--are released. The Agency
can finfl no grounds for the denial and most, if not all, are
initially, written to go into the public domain. Classified
packages are generall denied in toto STAT
e groun or this denial is again
e ra onale for use of 5(B)(3) is that even
partial release, i.e., documents with parts razored out, can
create impediments to successful-diplomatic-performance-as? ---
well as limit the ability of U.S. officials to acquire even
basic data on foreign officials with whom any foreign activities
must be conducted. OCR has frequently acted on such docu-
ments in the FOIA context without reference to the Department.
Some have been transmitted for Department concurrence. The
growing number of such requests and the increasing probability
that legal action will result requires that the Agency and
the Department achieve ?a common policy-in this area, hopefully
before we must together approach a judicial bench. The
actions here are basically:
-2-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/14: CIA-RDP92B01283R000100110006-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/14 : CIA-RDP92B01283R000100110006-8
?
STAT
Does the Department wish to review those
classified biographic sketches that are denied
% under a 5(B)(3) foreign policy ground and
will the Department support the rather
sweeping generalization that classified
sketches on foreign personages currently
important in their countries should be
denied in total?
I recognize that this letter asked several difficult
questions. It is not intended to pass the buck, however.
It is, on the other hand, intended to see if we can arrive
at a condition whereby paper shuffling can be eliminated and
a mutually beneficial uniform approach. to these problems can
be reached.
We would prefer a considered response to a speedy one,
if that bethe choice,- but the sooner a resolution is reached,
the easier the work load on both agencies. .
SincerelAr
Gene F.'Wilson
Information and Privacy Coordinator
_ ;rs Cond. - Ca niti7Pri Cony Approved for Release 2013/08/14 : CIA-RDP92B01283R000100110006-8