October 2019 HPSCI Subpoena of Mark Esper And Preservation Notice Issued to NSA

April 8, 2024

This FOIA release obtained by The Black Vault contains a partially redacted email involving National Security Agency (NSA) Director General Paul M. Nakasone, dated October 17, 2019. The email, marked “UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY,” is addressed to General Nakasone, Mr. Barnes, the Executive Director, Members of the Board of Directors (BoD), and senior leaders. The subject of the email is “(U) Preservation Notice regarding HPSCI Subpoena,” referring to a subpoena issued by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). The email notifies the recipients that they may possess records relevant to ongoing Congressional requests for materials formalized in a Congressional Subpoena, which is attached to the email. Recipients are instructed to search for, identify, and preserve all such materials, with the NSA Office of General Counsel (OGC) identified as the point of contact for any questions regarding the notice. The specific method for acknowledging receipt of the message is redacted.

The subpoena, issued by the HPSCI, demands various categories of records from January 1, 2019, to the present, concerning President Trump’s telephone conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meetings involving U.S. and Ukrainian officials, and efforts by Trump Administration members or associates to induce Ukrainian officials to investigate matters related to Burisma Holdings Ltd., among other topics. The subpoena also seeks information on the withholding, freezing, or delaying of foreign assistance to Ukraine, including security assistance, and the communication of this information to Congress. The email and the attached subpoena are heavily redacted, with several sections obscured under exemptions (b)(3) and (b)(5) of the FOIA, which pertain to information specifically protected from disclosure by statute and inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters, respectively.