Note: These documents were unsealed and released publicly, and not forced through FOIA or a state “Sunshine Law.” They are added to The Black Vault due to the public domain nature of the records, and the immense public interest in the case. Credit to Axios for their reporting which aided in the below summary.

Central to these documents are mentions of roughly 150 people in previously redacted parts of the suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced last year to 20 years for her role in aiding Epstein’s abuse of teenage girls.

* Inclusion in these documents does not imply any accusation of wrongdoing.

Among the names, several prominent figures are noted, although their mention does not suggest illegal activities. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield, and Stephen Hawking are referenced in various contexts, but without evidence of illegality. For instance, an Epstein accuser recalled a remark about Clinton and young girls, while a witness mentioned a casual reference to Trump. Allegations involving Prince Andrew are also detailed, though he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The documents’ release, orchestrated by Judge Loretta Preska of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, sheds light on various aspects of the case. This includes the 2017 settlement terms in the suit against Maxwell, initiated by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most vocal accusers.

Recognizing the public interest and the need for accessible information, The Black Vault is hosting these unsealed documents. This ensures that the documents are readily available to the public, especially given the frequent crashes and accessibility issues encountered on other platforms.

###

The Unsealed Records Released Late January 3, 2024

Unsealed Court Documents in Jeffrey Epstein Case [943 Pages, 23MB]

SEE ALSO THESE DOCUMENTS RELATING TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN

The post Unsealed Court Documents in Jeffrey Epstein Case; Roughly 150 Names Unredacted first appeared on The Black Vault.

Throughout the decades, there have been many scandals involving the White House and our U.S. Presidents.  Scandals have shook the nation, as stories of mistresses and infidelities plague many administrations.

Below, you will find the files that have been received on those alleged to have been directly involved.

Declassified FBI Files

Appleton, Durie – FBI Release #1 – [307 Pages, 170.4MB]  Appleton, Durie – FBI Release #2 – [15 Pages, 1.2MB] – Mrs. Appleton is known to have been married four times. But she was perhaps best known for rumors of a secret marriage to John F. Kennedy – an allegation she reportedly denied and often refused to publicly discuss. A brief marriage was alleged to have occurred between the two at some point between 1938 and 1947, before Kennedy’s marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier.

Douglas, Helen Gahagan – [475 Pages, 24.7 MB] – Helen Gahagan Douglas (November 25, 1900 – June 28, 1980) was an American actress and politician. She was the third woman and first Democratic woman elected to Congress from California; her election made California one of the first two states (along with Illinois) to elect female members to the House from both parties.  In the 1940s, Gahagan Douglas entered politics. She was elected to the United States House of Representatives from California’s 14th congressional district as a Democrat in 1944, and served three full terms. During this time she openly had a love affair with then Congressman (and afterwards U.S. President) Lyndon B. Johnson. Douglas was mentioned in the song “George Murphy” by satirist Tom Lehrer. The song begins, “Hollywood’s often tried to mix / show business with politics / from Helen Gahagan / to Ronald Reagan …”  (Additional records may exist, which I have requested. I will update this page when that request is processed)

Exner, Judith – [527 Pages, 32.3 MB] – Judith Exner (January 11, 1934 – September 24, 1999) was an American woman who claimed to be the mistress of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Mafia leaders Sam Giancana and John Roselli. She was also known as Judith Campbell Exner.  According to Michael O’Brien of the Washington Monthly, on February 7, 1960, Frank Sinatra and Campbell were in Las Vegas, where Sinatra introduced her to John F. Kennedy, then a senator and presidential candidate. In her 1977 memoir, she said that she became one of JFK’s mistresses for a period of about two years, frequently visiting him in the White House after he was elected president. Her account was supported by phone records and other documentation, although Kennedy staff and supporters attacked her veracity when she published her memoir. A few months later in 1960, Sinatra introduced Campbell to “Sam Flood,” who was actually Sam Giancana, the leading figure in the Chicago Mafia. She also became involved with him and knew his associate John Roselli.

Summersby, Kay – [112 Pages, 14.8MB] – Kay Summersby (23 November 1908 – 20 January 1975) was a member of the British Mechanized Transport Corps during World War II, who served as chauffeur to Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force Dwight D. Eisenhower, later as his secretary. They were together a great deal until the war ended, when Eisenhower cut his ties and returned to the United States. It is generally agreed that Summersby and Eisenhower became extremely close during the war. Some later writers suggest there were sexual relations between the two, but a number of the people who knew both of them at the time have denied it, as have most of Eisenhower’s biographers.

Tripp, Linda – [98 Pages, 5MB] – Although not a mistress of any President, Linda Tripp played a prominent role in the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal, and her files are archived here, for reference. Linda Tripp (1949-2020) was a former U.S. government employee who gained notoriety for her role in the Monica Lewinsky scandal that engulfed the Clinton administration in the late 1990s. Tripp, a former White House and Pentagon employee, secretly recorded conversations with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern, discussing her affair with President Bill Clinton. These recordings played a pivotal role in the subsequent investigation and impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. Linda Tripp’s actions and disclosures made her a controversial figure, sparking debates about privacy, ethics, and the intersection of personal and political matters.

The post FBI Files: U.S. Presidential Mistresses first appeared on The Black Vault.

From 2017 to 2019, the Committee held hearings, conducted interviews, and reviewed intelligence related to Russian attempts in 2016 to access election infrastructure. The Committee sought to determine the extent of Russian activities, identify the response of the U.S. Government at the state, local, and federal level to the threat, and make recommendations on how to better prepare for such threats in the future. The Committee received testimony from state election officials, Obama administration officials, and those in the Intelligence Community and elsewhere in the U.S. Government responsible for evaluating threats to elections.

Document Archive

Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election – Volume 1: Russian Efforts Against Election Infrastructure [67 Pages, 25MB]

Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election – Volume 2: Russia’s Use of Social Media with Additional Views [85 Pages, 7.4MB]

Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election – Volume 3: U.S. Government Response to Russian Activities [55 Pages, 4.5MB]

Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election – Volume 4: Review of the Intelligence Community Assessment with Additional Views [158 Pages, 26.1MB]

Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election – Volume 4: Additional Declassified Pages June 2020 [11 Pages, 3.1MB]

Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election – Volume 5: Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities [966 Pages, 50.2MB]

The post Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report on Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election first appeared on The Black Vault.

During the war in Iraq that began in March 2003, personnel of the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency committed a series of human rights violations against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. These violations included physical and sexual abuse, torture, rape, sodomy, and murder.  The abuses came to widespread public attention with the publication of photographs of the abuse by CBS News in April 2004. The incidents received widespread condemnation both within the United States and abroad, although the soldiers received support from some conservative media within the United States.

The administration of George W. Bush asserted that these were isolated incidents, not indicative of general U.S. policy. This was disputed by humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. These organizations stated that the abuses at Abu Ghraib were not isolated incidents, but were part of a wider pattern of torture and brutal treatment at American overseas detention centers, including those in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. Several scholars stated that the abuses constituted state-sanctioned crimes.

The United States Department of Defense removed seventeen soldiers and officers from duty, and eleven soldiers were charged with dereliction of duty, maltreatment, aggravated assault and battery. Between May 2004 and March 2006, these soldiers were convicted in courts-martial, sentenced to military prison, and dishonorably discharged from service. Two soldiers, Specialist Charles Graner and PFC Lynndie England, were sentenced to ten and three years in prison, respectively. Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, the commanding officer of all detention facilities in Iraq, was reprimanded and demoted to the rank of colonel. Several more military personnel who were accused of perpetrating or authorizing the measures, including many of higher rank, were not prosecuted. It is reported that most inmates were innocent of the crimes they were accused of and were simply detained due to them being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Documents popularly known as the Torture Memos came to light a few years later. These documents, prepared shortly before the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States Department of Justice, authorized certain enhanced interrogation techniques, generally held to involve torture of foreign detainees. The memoranda also argued that international humanitarian laws, such as the Geneva Conventions, did not apply to American interrogators overseas. Several subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), have overturned Bush administration policy, and ruled that Geneva Conventions apply.

Many of the torture techniques used were developed at Guantánamo detention centre, including prolonged isolation; the frequent flier program, a sleep deprivation program whereby people were moved from cell to cell every few hours so they couldn’t sleep for days, weeks, even months, short-shackling in painful positions; nudity; extreme use of heat and cold; the use of loud music and noise and preying on phobias.

Document Archive

The Taguba Report

The Taguba Report (May 2004) is the common name of an official Army Regulation 15-6 military inquiry conducted in 2004 into the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse by United States military forces in Iraq.

In his Findings of Fact, Major General Taguba wrote:

“That between October and December 2003, at the Abu Ghraib Confinement Facility (BCCF), numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses were inflicted on several detainees. This systemic and illegal abuse of detainees was intentionally perpetrated by several members of the military police guard force (372nd Military Police Company, 320th Military Police Battalion, 800th MP Brigade), in Tier (section) 1-A of the Abu Ghraib Prison (BCCF). The allegations of abuse were substantiated by detailed witness statements (ANNEX 26) and the discovery of extremely graphic photographic evidence…In addition to the aforementioned crimes, there were also abuses committed by members of the 325th MI Battalion, 205th MI Brigade, and Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center (JIDC). Specifically, on 24 November 2003, [name redacted], 205th MI Brigade, sought to degrade a detainee by having him strip and returned to cell naked. (ANNEXES 26 and 53)”.

The Taguba Report [3,367 Pages] – PDF 1 | PDF 2 | PDF 3 | PDF 4 | PDF 5 | PDF 6

The Taguba Report – Annexes (Partial release)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Documents

 Records pertaining to: FBI’s Abu Ghraib Investigation of its agents and their potential knowledge of what happened inside the prison FBI Release #1 [56 Pages, 20.9MB]

 Records pertaining to: FBI’s Abu Ghraib Investigation of its agents and their potential knowledge of what happened inside the prison FBI Release #2 [4 Pages, 0.6MB]

Donald Rumsfeld Visit to Abu Ghraib

On May 13, 2004, then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Abu Ghraib prison.  He stated during this time that whomever was responsible for the atrocities at the prison, would be brought to justice.

Intrigued by the event, I was interested in documents relating to this. So, on May 18, 2004, I requested all documents from the Department of Defense, related to Rumsfeld’s visit.

I did not know it then, but I would wait more than 11 YEARS for the documents to be reviewed and released.  But, what I also did not realize, was that it would be another 15 MONTHS before I would find out that the DOD sent my response to the wrong address.

I did check in from time to time asking for updates relating to my request. However, I never got any updates. When I finally stopped asking, and requested the FOIA Case Processing notes on September 14, 2016, I was contacted by the DOD with the following note:

Good morning Mr. Greenewald,

We have received your request for the case processing notes for 04-F-1563. I was concerned by your statement that you never received a response, particularly because I recall signing this case. It was one of our ten oldest last year so I remember it fairly well.

We did close you request in June of 2015, however, it appears your final response was mailed to the incorrect address. The AO for the case will send you a copy of the response letter and the responsive documents electronically.

Please accept our apologies and let me know if we can do anything else for you on this matter.

Thankfully, the office at the DOD sent me the responsive documents electronically (now available below). And by looking at their letter — they sent these records to the Associated Press (AP) in June of 2015.  I am glad I kept pushing for answers – or I would’ve been a REALLY old man before I figured out what happened.

Although not the longest I have waited for documents to come, it’s up there. But what is strange, is why would it take so long? There were only 12 pages that required review. That is almost 1 YEAR PER PAGE by the time I got the documents in my hands. In addition, the redactions are all (b)(6) exemptions, which means they are names or it’s information redacted that is an invasion of personal privacy, if released. Those are pretty easy to determine, and should not take a year per page for review.

I also obtained the case processing notes, and once I did, there were excessive (b)(5) redactions. I appealed that, and received a second release two years later. All the records are available below.

Declassified DOD Documents

Donald Rumsfeld Visit to Abu Ghraib Documents [15 Pages, 2.7MB]

FOIA Case 04-F-1563 Processing Notes (Post-Appeal Release) [42 Pages, 5.9MB] – Since the case took 11+ years to process, it’s always interesting to see the progression of how the documents were handled and ultimately declassified. I appealed the release below, based on the fact I got excessive (b)(5) exemptions. They released a bit more of the case processing notes, based on that appeal. This is the post-appeal response.

FOIA Case 04-F-1563 Processing Notes (Original Release) [45 Pages, 12.1MB] – This is the original release of case processing notes. I appealed this released, and two years later, received the above link. This released is archived here for reference.

The post Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal first appeared on The Black Vault.

Background

Wikipedia offers the following summary of the Watergate scandal, and it is republished here, in part, for reference.  You will find the declassified documents obtained below.

The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s as a result of the June 17, 1972, break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement. When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the U.S. Congress, the Nixon administration’s resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis. The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of clandestine and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. Those activities included such “dirty tricks” as bugging the offices of political opponents and people of whom Nixon or his officials were suspicious. Nixon and his close aides ordered harassment of activist groups and political figures, using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The scandal led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration, articles of impeachment, and the resignation of Richard Nixon, the President of the United States. The scandal also resulted in the indictment of 69 people, with trials or pleas resulting in 48 being found guilty and incarcerated, many of whom were Nixon’s top administration officials.

The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the DNC headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP), the official organization of Nixon’s campaign. In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the President’s staff, including testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations. After a protracted series of bitter court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators; he eventually complied. Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up the questionable goings-on that had taken place after the break-in. Facing near-certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and equally certain conviction by the Senate, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974. On September 8, 1974, his successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him.

Declassified Documents

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Files

 Barker, Bernard Leon (FBI File) – [ 352 Pages, 23.57 MB ]
 Barker, Bernard Leon (Secret Service File) – [ 18 Pages, 0.9 MB ]- Bernard Leon Barker (March 17, 1917 – June 5, 2009) was a Watergate burglar. He had a long career as an undercover operative.

 Hunt, E Howard – [ 169 Pages, 9.3MB ] – Everette Howard Hunt, Jr. (October 9, 1918 – January 23, 2007) was an American intelligence officer and writer. From 1949 to 1970, Hunt served as a CIA officer. Along with G. Gordon Liddy and others, Hunt was one of the Nixon White House “plumbers” — a secret team of operatives charged with fixing “leaks” (real or perceived causes of confidential Administration information being leaked to outside parties). Hunt and Liddy engineered the Watergate burglaries and other undercover operations for the Nixon Administration. In the ensuing Watergate scandal, Hunt was convicted of burglary, conspiracy, and wiretapping, eventually serving 33 months in prison.

 Mitchell, John – [ 2,729 Pages, 157MB ] – John Newton Mitchell (September 15, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was the Attorney General of the United States from 1969 to 1972 under President Richard Nixon. Prior to that, he was a noted New York municipal bond lawyer, director of Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign, and one of Nixon’s closest personal friends; after his tenure as Attorney General, he served as director of Nixon’s 1972 presidential campaign. Due to his involvement in the Watergate affair, he was sentenced to prison in 1977, serving 19 months. As Attorney General, Mitchell was noted for personifying the “law-and-order” positions of the Nixon administration, amid several high-profile anti-war demonstrations.

 Sturgis, Frank (Watergate Burgler) – [ 112 Pages, 57.4MB ]
 Sturgis, Frank (Watergate Burgler) Release #2, October 2015 – [ 62 Pages, 17.5MB ] – Frank Anthony Sturgis (December 9, 1924 – December 4, 1993), born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the five Watergate burglars whose capture led to the end of the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He served in several branches of the United States military, aided Fidel Castro in the Cuban revolution of 1958, and worked as an undercover operative.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Files

CIA Inspector General Report on Watergate, Denial Letter [2 Pages, 0.5MB] – For whatever reason, after all these years, the CIA is still withholding, in it’s entirety, the CIA’s Office of the Inspector General’s Report on Watergate. Here is their official denies letter sent to me on 7 April 2015.

CIA Inspector General Report on Watergate, Appeal Denial [1 Page, 0.5MB]

National Security Agency (NSA) Files

Watergate [5 Pages, 0.9MB | a/o 12/2013]

Richard Helms Collection References

Clarify points and Ervin Watergate Committee

“Special Watergate prosecutor Cox’s staff focused on”

Helms on Watergate

Dismissal, Nixon, politicization, Watergate

Watergate, Nixon, Dismissal

DCI’s knowledge of “Family Jewels” OXCART, Watergate, Laos

re Laurence Stern story “Not Watergate Material”

Helms for Warner re Watergate trial closing

See Also: Operation 40

The post The Watergate Scandal first appeared on The Black Vault.

The aim on Operation Flicker was to shut down child pornography on the internet, but in the process, they found that many government and military personnel were viewing and downloading child pornography on their work computers.  This operation has been kept fairly quiet, for obvious reasons.

The following is a write-up by Voice of America on the government investigation known as “Operation Flicker.”

Federal investigators have identified members of the U.S. military and defense contractors who allegedly bought and downloaded child pornography, at times on government computers.  Some of the individuals have high-level security clearances.

The Pentagon released 94 pages of documents related to investigations that date back to 2002. Many names and details are blacked out, but the facts that remain are disturbing.

A contractor with top secret clearance, tasked with providing support to the National Security Agency, was charged with possessing child pornography.  Investigators say he tampered with his work computer after agents searched his home.  He fled the country and is believed to be in Libya.  The case is closed until he is arrested and extradited.

A National Reconnaissance Office contract employee acknowledged he regularly viewed sexually explicit images of children.  

One sailor admitted to accessing child pornography while stationed on the Naval destroyer U.S.S. Mason.  He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.

The findings come from a wider investigation conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  That probe, dubbed Operation Flicker, identified more than 5,000 individuals who subscribed to child pornography websites.   An assistant U.S. attorney general requested that the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the auspices of the Pentagon’s Inspector General, assist in identifying Pentagon-affiliated individuals.

The above article was written when only the DCIS investigation was released, which is found below. Since then, I have managed to get quite a few more pages declassified, which can also be downloaded here:

Declassified Documents

 Report of Investigation, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, 20 November 2009 [94 Pages, 4.9MB]

 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Documents, Released July 15, 2016 [932 Pages, 182.5MB]

 Department of Defense / Office of Inspector General [2 Pages, 0.2MB] – As of July of 2015, the DOD/IG is denying all records associated with this request, and will not release them.

The Black Vault currently has other open FOIA requests, and the responses will be posted, when available.

The post Operation Flicker – Child Pornography Found At High Levels of Government first appeared on The Black Vault.

Based on the fact that leaker Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the information, they felt to be more transparent with the public, they would release the following information.

U.S. Court Rulings

 Federal Judge Ruling, 12/13/2013, that the NSA spying on domestic phone records is “unconstitutional” [68 Pages, 2.94MB]

Department of Defense – Inspector General

Requirements for the TRAILBLAZER and THINTHREAD Systems –  [165 Pages, 13.6MB] – This is the official DOD/IG Investigation into the TRAILBLAZER and THINTHREAD programs.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Surveillance Warrants submited to FISA by the FBI in 2001 [5 Pages, 1.63MB] – FBI will not accept these requests due to the fact that each warrant is in an individual file, and requires consent under the Privacy Acts.  They are not centralized file in one location, or available as requested.

Electronic Surveillance at the Department of Justice, 1966-1967 File 62-HQ-318 [735 Pages, 33.7 MB](Source: GovernmentAttic.org)

Ultrasonic Listening Devices / Wiretapping, 1945 – 1989 File 80-HQ-760 [1,076 Pages, 61.87 MB] (Source:GovernmentAttic.org)

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Telecom Complaints about NSA Cooperation [30 Pages, 5.3MB] –

National Security Agency (NSA)

NSA Contract with NARUS, allegedly the software firm that wrote the software for tapping  [17 Pages, 0.8 MB]

Order for Business Records Collection Under the USA PATRIOT Act, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court [17 Pages, 5.64 MB]

Declassified FISA court documents on intelligence collection, 2008-2009 [379 Pages, 25.28MB] – Director of National Intelligence James Clapper declassified documents about intelligence collection under Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on Sept. 10, 2013.

2009 Report on the NSA Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization [7 Pages, 3.78 MB]

2011 Report on the NSA Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorizations Report Collection[9 Pages, 4.33 MB]

 FTC Complaints Regarding NSA and Telecom Cooperation for Surveillance, 2013 [30 Pages, 5.21 MB]

 Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities and Recent Developments, April 1, 2014 [20 Pages, 0.4MB] – Beginning in the summer of 2013, media reports of foreign intelligence activities conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA) have been widely published. The reports have focused on two main NSA collection activities approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. The first is the bulk collection of telephony metadata for domestic and international telephone calls. The second involves the interception of Internet-based communications and is targeted at foreigners who are not within the United States, but may also inadvertently acquire the communications of U.S. persons. As public awareness of these programs grew, questions about the constitutionality of these programs were increasingly raised by Members of Congress and others. This report provides a brief overview of these two programs and the various constitutional challenges that have arisen in judicial forums with respect to each.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)

Remarks as delivered by James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence at an Open Hearing on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Authorities, 9/26/13 [4 Pages, 0.2 MB]

08/6/2014 Release

Following a declassification review by the Executive Branch, the Department of Justice released on August 6, 2014, in redacted form, 38 documents relating to the now-discontinued NSA program to collect bulk electronic communications metadata pursuant to Section 402 of the FISA (“PRTT provision”).  These documents are also responsive to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Under the program NSA was permitted to collect certain electronic communications metadata such as the “to,” “from,” and “cc” lines of an email and the email’s time and date.  This collection was done only after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved the government’s applications, and pursuant to court order generally lasting 90 days.  NSA was not permitted to collect the content of any electronic communications.  Like NSA’s bulk telephony metadata program under FISA section 501, this program was subject to several restrictions approved by the FISC, such as:

• The information could be used only for counterterrorism purposes.
• The information had to be stored in secure databases.
• The databases could be queried using an identifier such as an email address only when an analyst had a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the email address was associated with certain specified foreign terrorist organizations that were the subject of FBI counterterrorism investigations.  The basis for that suspicion had to be documented in writing and approved by a limited number of designated approving officials identified in the Court’s Order.  Moreover, if an identifier was reasonably believed to be used by a United States person, NSA’s Office of General Counsel would also review the determination to ensure that the suspected association was not based solely on First Amendment-protected activities.
• NSA was required to destroy the bulk metadata after a set period of time.

The information released on August 6, 2014, together with documents previously released, demonstrates the extent to which the IC sought and received FISC approval to collect electronic communications metadata under the PRTT provision, the oversight regime of internal checks over the program, and that Congress was kept fully apprised of the status of NSA’s electronic metadata collection.  The documents released include several associated with government applications and FISC orders authorizing the collection of metadata under the PRTT program.  Other documents included in this release include the report of an end-to-end review of the PRTT program undertaken by the Executive Branch, DOJ’s letter to the FISC seeking clarification on the FISC’s authorization to collect metadata, and correspondence from the NSA Inspector General.

After the 2009 discovery of certain compliance issues associated with NSA’s electronic communications and telephony bulk metadata collection programs, the Government took measures to strengthen compliance and oversight.

As previously stated, this Internet communications metadata bulk collection program has been discontinued.  The Intelligence Community regularly assesses the continuing operational value of all of its collection programs.  In 2011, the Director of NSA called for an examination of this program to assess its continuing value as a unique source of foreign intelligence information.  This examination revealed that the program was no longer meeting NSA’s operational expectations.  Accordingly, after careful deliberation, the Government discontinued the program, and the metadata collected pursuant to this program has been purged.

In addition, the DOJ also released four documents that do not directly relate to bulk collection under the PRTT provision but are responsive to EPIC’s FOIA request.  Like the documents relating to the bulk collection, these documents demonstrate the FISC’s judicial oversight of PRTT collection under the FISA.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence Public Affairs Office

Judicial Oversight

 FISC Opinion and Order

 FISC Primary Order

 FISC Primary Order

 FISC Order and Supplemental Order

 FISC Supplemental Order

 FISC Primary Order

 FISC Memorandum Opinion Granting in Part and Denying in Part Application to Reinitiate, in Expanded Form, Pen Register/Trap and Trace Authorization

 Declaration of NSA Chief, Special FISA Oversight and Processing, Oversight and Compliance, Signals Intelligence Directorate, the National Security Agency

 Government’s Response to the FISC’s Supplemental Order

 Declaration of NSA Chief, Special FISA Oversight and Processing, Oversight and Compliance, Signals Intelligence Directorate, the National Security Agency

 Supplemental Declaration of Chief, Special FISA Oversight and Processing, Oversight and Compliance, Signals Intelligence Directorate, the National Security Agency

 Government’s Response to the FISC’s Supplemental Order Requesting a Corrective Declaration

 Government’s Response to a FISC Order 

 Declaration of Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, U.S. Army, Director, NSA, Concerning NSA’s Compliance with a FISC Order

 Preliminary Notice of Potential Compliance Incident

 Notice of Filing

 Government’s Application for Use of Pen Register/Trap and Trace Devices for Foreign Intelligence Purposes

 Memorandum of Law and Fact in Support of Application for Pen Registers and Trap and Trace Devices for Foreign Intelligence Purposes

 Declaration of General Keith B. Alexander, U.S. Army, Director, NSA, in Support of Pen Register/Trap and Trace Application

 Exhibit D in Support of Pen Register/Trap and Trace Application

 First Letter in Response to FISC Questions Concerning NSA bulk Metadata Collection Using Pen Register/Trap and Trace Devices

 Second Letter in Response to FISC Questions concerning NSA bulk Metadata Collection Using Pen Register/Trap and Trace Devices

 Third Letter in Response to FISC Questions Concerning NSA Bulk Metadata Collection Using Pen Register/Trap and Trace Devices

 Application for Pen Register/Trap and Trace Devices for Foreign Intelligence Purposes

 Memorandum of Law and Fact in Support of Application for Pen Registers and Trap and Trace Devices for Foreign Intelligence Purposes

 Declaration of General Michael V. Hayden, U.S Air Force, Director, NSA, in Support of Pen Register/Trap and Trace Application

 Application for Use of Pen Register/Trap and Trace Devices for Foreign Intelligence Purposes

 Declaration of NSA Chief, Special FISA Oversight and Processing, Oversight and Compliance, Signals Intelligence Directorate

 Declaration Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, U.S. Army, Director, NSA, Concerning NSA’s Implementation of Authority to Collect Certain Metadata

 NSA’s Pen Register Trap and Trace FISA Review Report

 DOJ Report to the FISC NSA’s Program to Collect Metadata

 Government’s First Letter to Judge Bates to Confirm Understanding of Issues Relating to the FISC’s Authorization to Collect Metadata

 Government’s Second Letter to Judge Bates to Confirm Understanding of Issues Relating to the FISC’s Authorization to Collect Metadata 

 Tab 1 Declaration of NSA Chief, Special Oversight and Processing, Oversight and Compliance, Signals Intelligence

 Verified Memorandum of Law in Response to FISC Supplemental Order

 Memorandum of Law in Response to FISC Order

Congressional Oversight

 Government’s Motion to Unseal FISC Documents in Order to Brief Congressional Intelligence and Judiciary Committees

 Order Granting the Government’s Motion to Unseal FISC Documents in Order to Brief Congressional Intelligence and Judiciary Committees

 April 27, 2005 Testimony of the Attorney General and Director, FBI Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 

Internal Oversight

 NSA IG Memo Announcing its Audit of NSA’s Controls to Comply with the FISA Court’s Order Regarding Pen Register/Trap and Trace Devices

 NSA IG Memo Suspending its Audit of NSA after the NSA’s PRTT Metadata Program Expired

The post U.S. Government Phone Surveillance Programs first appeared on The Black Vault.

Below, you will find the documents released to date on the topic.

September 21, 2015 Release

The Department of Justice has released additional information contained within Inspectors General reports on the President’s Surveillance Program (PSP). The additional information concerns the presidential documents that authorized the inception and implementation of the program.

The release today supplements the IC on the Record posting of April 25, 2015, wherein the ODNI posted statutorily mandated, detailed reviews of the PSP by the Inspectors General of five different agencies—DoJ, DoD, NSA, the Central Intelligence Agency, and ODNI—as well as a joint report signed by the IGs of each of these agencies.

Today’s posting was made in response to requests made by the Department of Justice Inspector General to the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and in response to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Volume I

 PSP Vol IA |    PSP Vol IB |  PSP Vol IC

Volume II

 PSP Vol IIA |  PSP Vol IIB |    PSP Vol IIC |    PSP Vol IID  |  PSP Vol IIE |  PSP Vol IIF  |  PSP Vol IIG

Volume III

Volume III is oddly not available in the press releases by the Director of National Intelligence, though it is referenced and “linked.” However, the “links” are broken.

I have filed a FOIA request for Volume III, and once received, I will add it here.

April 25, 2015 Release

On December 21, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence declassified the existence of surveillance activities originally authorized by President George W. Bush shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, referred to as the President’s Surveillance Program (PSP).  In furtherance of this declassification, and in response to requests made by the Department of Justice Inspector General to the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as well as in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act, DoJ, in coordination with ODNI and other elements of the Intelligence Community, is today releasing several partially redacted Inspectors General reports that detail the PSP.  The Inspectors General reports were completed in July 2009.

On October 4, 2001, President Bush issued the first in a series of classified authorizations under the PSP to the Secretary of Defense directing him to employ the capabilities of the Department of Defense, including the National Security Agency, to collect certain foreign intelligence in order to detect and prevent acts of terrorism within the United States.

The PSP authorized the NSA to collect three “baskets” of information:  (1) the contents of certain international communications, an activity which was later referred to as the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP); (2) telephony metadata; and (3) internet metadata.  President Bush issued authorizations approximately every 30-60 days.  Although the precise terms changed over time, each presidential authorization required the minimization of information collected concerning American citizens to the extent consistent with the mission of detection and prevention of acts of terrorism within the United States.  NSA also applied additional internal constraints on presidentially authorized activities.

The collection of communications content under the TSP ended in 2007 when the U.S. Government transitioned the program to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act  authority.  The internet and telephony metadata components of the PSP were transitioned to FISA authorities in 2004 and 2006, respectively, and the internet metadata component of the program was discontinued in 2011.

The documents released consist of statutorily mandated, detailed reviews of the PSP by the Inspectors General of five different agencies—DoJ, DoD, NSA, the Central Intelligence Agency, and ODNI—as well as a joint report signed by the IGs of each of these agencies.  The reports describe the White House’s initiation of the PSP through presidential authorization; DoJ’s role in analyzing the legality of the PSP; NSA’s implementation of the presidential authorizations through PSP collection, analysis, and reporting processes; CIA’s and FBI’s use of PSP-derived intelligence in their counterterrorism efforts; the ODNI’s support of the program in providing periodic threat assessments; and the Intelligence Community’s assessment of the value of the program in identifying and combating terrorist threats.

The IG reports describe deliberations surrounding the evaluation of the legal basis for certain aspects of the PSP and the transition of the PSP, in stages, from presidential authority to statutory authority under FISA.  The reports describe the utility of the PSP information in counterterrorism investigations, including assessments by a number of senior government officials that the PSP filled gaps in intelligence collection.  The reports also highlight the complexity of evaluating the precise contribution of the PSP to countering specific terrorist threats due to the fact that the PSP was one source among many available analytic and intelligence gathering tools.

The documents released will deepen the historical understanding of the origins of the PSP in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the ensuing need for immediate steps to prevent and detect further attacks, and the transition of the program to FISA authority.  Today’s release is consistent with the efforts of the Department of Justice and the Intelligence Community to provide increased transparency into our surveillance activities.

 2009 Joint IG Report on the PSP Vol. I

Annex Volume 2

 Part 1   |    Part 2   |    Part 3

Annex Volume 3

 Part 1   |    Part 2   |    Part 3   |    Part 4   |    Part 5   |    Part 6

May 6, 2014 Release

Yesterday the Director of National Intelligence released additional documents related to the intelligence-gathering activities authorized by President George W. Bush shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11 and subsequently transitioned to authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

On Dec. 20, 2013, the DNI declassified and acknowledged the presidentially-authorized activities, and his public statement on Dec. 21, 2013, provided the previously classified history of the program, which authorized the National Security Agency to collect: (1) the contents of certain international communications, a program that was later referred to as the Terrorist Surveillance Program, and (2) telephony and Internet non-content information (referred to as “metadata”) in bulk, subject to various conditions.

After President Bush acknowledged the TSP in December 2005, two suits were filed against the United States and U.S. government officials challenging alleged NSA activities authorized by President Bush after 9/11. Those suits are still pending in the Northern District of California. In response, the U.S. government, through classified and unclassified declarations by the DNI and NSA, asserted the state secrets privilege and the DNI’s authority under the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, to protect intelligence sources and methods. Following the unauthorized and unlawful release of classified information about the Section 215 and Section 702 programs in June 2013, the court directed the U.S. government to explain the impact of declassification decisions since June 2013 on the national security issues in the case, as reflected in the U.S. government’s state secrets privilege assertion. The court also ordered the U.S. government to review for declassification prior classified state secrets privilege and intelligence sources and methods declarations in the litigation, and to file redacted, unclassified versions of those documents with the court.

On Dec. 20, 2013, the DNI declassified and publicly released eight previously classified DNI and NSA declarations that were filed in support of the U.S. government’s prior assertions of the state secrets privilege and sources and methods privilege in the above-mentioned litigation. Yesterday the DNI released an additional 10 previously classified DNI, NSA, and attorney general declarations, which are posted on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence website and ICOntheRecord.tumblr.com, the public website dedicated to fostering greater public visibility into the intelligence activities of the U.S. government. Some information has been redacted from the declarations to protect information that remains properly classified for national security reasons and because of the great harm to national security if disclosed.
  DNI Negroponte 2006 Hepting State Secrets Declaration

  DNI Negroponte 2006 Hepting Supplemental State Secrets Declaration

  DNI McConnell 2007 MCI & Hepting State Secrets Declaration

  DNI Clapper 2013 Jewel/Shubert State Secrets Declaration

  NSA Alexander 2006 Hepting Declaration

  NSA Black 2006 Hepting Declaration

  NSA Alexander 2007 MCI & Verizon Declaration

  NSA Fleisch 2013 Jewel/Shubert Declaration

  NSA Shea 2014 Jewel/First Unitarian Declaration

  AG Mukasey 2008 Declaration

The post Department of Justice – Collection Activities Authorized by President George W. Bush post 9/11/01 first appeared on The Black Vault.

Air Force Academy cadets are no longer required to say “so help me God” at the end of the Honor Oath, school officials said Friday. The decision came after a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, that the words violated the constitutional concept of religious freedom. The oath states: “We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and to live honorably, so help me God.” Cadets must take the oath once, when they formally enter the school as freshmen after boot camp, an academy spokesman said.

Shortly thereafter, I requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) all records that pertain to this change, correspondence relating to the words “so help me God” being removed, etc.

It took over a year, but hundreds of pages were released in response to my FOIA request.  Below, you will find the archive of documents, with some highlights.

 Documents Relating to the Air Force Academy’s removal of “So Help Me God” from the Honor Oath, Released November of 2014 [ 335 Pages, 49.64MB ]

The post Air Force Honor Oath Makes “So Help Me God” Optional first appeared on The Black Vault.

A New York Times article written in March 1992, during the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign, reported that the Clintons had invested and lost money in the Whitewater development project. The article stimulated the interest of L. Jean Lewis, a Resolution Trust Corporation investigator who was looking into the failure of Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan, owned by McDougal.

She looked for connections between the savings and loan company and the Clintons, and on September 2, 1992, she submitted a criminal referral to the FBI naming Bill and Hillary Clinton as witnesses in the Madison Guaranty case. Little Rock U.S. Attorney Charles A. Banks and the FBI determined that the referral lacked merit, but she continued to pursue it. Between 1992 and 1994 she issued several additional referrals against the Clintons and repeatedly called the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Little Rock and the Justice Department about the case. Her referrals eventually became public knowledge, and she testified before the Senate Whitewater Committee in 1994.

David Hale, the source of criminal allegations against President Clinton in the Whitewater affair, claimed in November 1993 that Clinton, while governor of Arkansas, pressured him to provide an illegal $300,000 loan to Susan McDougal, the partner of the Clintons in the Whitewater land deal. Clinton supporters regarded Hale’s allegations as questionable, as Hale had not mentioned Clinton in reference to this loan during the original FBI investigation of Madison Guaranty in 1989. Only after coming under indictment for this in 1993 did Hale make allegations against the Clintons.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation did result in convictions against the McDougals for their role in the Whitewater project, but the Clintons themselves were never prosecuted, as three separate inquiries found insufficient evidence linking them with the criminal conduct of others related to the land deal. Bill Clinton’s successor as Arkansas Governor, Jim Guy Tucker, was also convicted and served time in prison for his role in the fraud. Susan McDougal later served 18 months in prison for contempt of court for refusing to answer any questions relating to Whitewater, and was later granted a pardon by President Clinton just before leaving office.

The term Whitewater is also sometimes used to include other controversies from the Bill Clinton administration, especially those such as Travelgate, Filegate, and the circumstances surrounding Vince Foster’s death, that were investigated by the Whitewater Independent Counsel.  (Special thanks: Wikipedia)

Declassified Documents

 FINAL REPORT of the Special Committee to Investigate Whitewater Development Corporation and Related Matters, June 17, 1996 [ 690 Pages, 2.39MB ]

The post The Whitewater Scandal first appeared on The Black Vault.