Gang of Eight Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: The Historic Record

Notwithstanding the continuing debate over the merits of such notifications, what remains less
clear is the historic record of compliance with Gang of Eight provisions set out in statute.
Questions include: have such notifications generally been limited to covert actions, ones that
conform to congressional intent that such covert actions be highly sensitive and involve the risk
to life? When prior notification is limited to the Gang of Eight, has the executive branch provided
an explanatory statement as to why it limited notification to the Gang of Eight? If the Gang of
Eight is not provided prior notice, has the executive branch then informed the intelligence
committees at a later date and provided a reason why prior notification was not provided? Has the
Gang of Eight, once notified, ever then made a determination to notify the intelligence
committees, a prerogative envisioned by its congressional sponsors? Have the congressional
intelligence committees, at any time since they were established, attempted to develop procedures
to guide Gang of Eight notifications, as envisioned by the sponsors of the Gang of Eight
provision?

Comments

MKULTRA Proposal - Subproject 133

Proposal entitled [redacted] Submitted on behalf of [redacted] June 1962 DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY June 14, 1962 Purpose of Study: The purpose of this proposal is a request for financial support to continue an investigation of microbial action on marine manganese nodules and terrigenous mineral sulfides, which the principal investigator has been pursuing since 1958. Very intensive work on these materials is being carried on by him, with fruitful results, during the current year, 1961-62, under a grant from the [...] of Stanford University, California. Since relatively little is known about microbial mineral transformation, and in view of current academic and practical interest of microbiologists, geologists, mining engineers, soil scientists, oceanographers, etc., in the subject, this research should make a valuable contribution to science. Summary of Past Work: a. Bacteriology of mineral sulfides. Attempts were made to evaluate the microbial flora isolable from unsterilized, crushed sulfi

CIA Domestic Activities Timeline - March 1973

1 March 1973 Maury related that former Director Richard Helms has been asked by Senator Fulbright to reappear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Maury said that Mr. Helms would probably be queried on the Watergate incident, Agency training of police, and ITT and went on to describe Mr. Helms' anticipated response. Maury reported that Congressman Holifield's staff is anxiously awaiting a letter from the Director in response to the Congressman's written inquiry on police training. The Director noted plans to forward it. 2 March 1973 Maury highlighted yesterday's LIG meeting at the White House and his recommendation that we not provide examples of Congressional leaks of classified information for White House use in reacting to Congressional criticism of the Administration's "indiscretions." The DDS advised that the Office of Security is keeping a reasonably complete record of obvious leaks of intelligence information in the press and elsewhere. 5

Further Reading: CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties

For readers wanting to dive into topics covered in the fascinating CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill with Dan Piepenbring, here is a compendium of books used as sources as part of this 20-year investigative effort. It makes for a great reading list for those interested in the 1960s, FBI, CIA, the counter-culture and the history of the United States of the past century. Choose a topic (organized here by the CHAOS's chapters and each book's first appearance therein) and dive in further down the rabbit hole. CHAPTER 1: The Crime of the Century Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry, 1974 Will You Die For Me? The Man Who Killed For Charles Manson Tells His Own Story by Tex Watson as told to Chaplain Ray, 1978 My Life with Charles Manson by Paul Watkins with Guillermo Soledad, 1979 CHAPTER 2: An Aura of Danger Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The B

Secrets of the CIA

Search This Blog