Documents / FOIA release

FOIA on Martin Luther King

Central Intelligence Agency · 2025-06-12 · 295 pages · text by OCR

This Central Intelligence Agency FOIA release, dated 2025-06-12, collects 1976 CIA paperwork on Harold Weisberg's request (76-F-382) for records on Martin Luther King, Jr. It includes routing slips, an Operations Staff memorandum listing releasable press items and exempt cables, dispatches and memoranda, and a CI Staff reply citing a 1968 Office of Security memo on Coretta Scott King. It also contains a 16 May 1968 memo to the FBI reporting that Gerald Lee Richards, investigated in Japan, did not resemble suspect James Earl Ray.

  • p. 167 …mysterious autopsy photographs which the Warren Commission never saw—do they support the Commission's lone…
  • p. 169 …The Kent State incident had never been fully cleared up. But one subject seemed to loom…
  • p. 170 …I worked there years and never saw or heard any-suggesting the Agency was involved assassination…
  • p. 171 …There was occasional stress, but it never reached the high level I was finding in the…
  • p. 172 …The bullets never gained perfectly intact, as the one found the stretcher, they became twisted lumps…
  • p. 173 …The word "never" was a perfectly "trimmed hedge." "I have found nothing since that time." he…
  • p. 206 …and documents were destroyed through some catastrophe never resumed business or were permanently closed down within…
  • p. 250 …mysterious autopsy photographs which the Warren Commission never saw—do they support the Commission's lone…
  • p. 252 …The Kent State incident had never been fully cleared up. But one subject seemed to loom…
  • p. 253 …I worked there three years and never saw or heard anying suggesting the Agency was involved…
  • p. 254 …There was occasional stress, but it never reached the high level I was finding in the…
  • p. 255 …The bullets never mained perfectly intact, as the one found in the stretcher; they became twisted…
  • p. 256 …The word "never" was a perfectly "trimmed hedge." I have found nothing since that time." he…
  • p. 291 …Union member on 21 February 1968 but never shipped out. His Social Security Number is 562…
UNITED STATES G ERNMENT

Memorandum

TO : Mr. W. C. Sullivan

FROM : Mr. J. A. Sizoo

SUBJECT: MURKIN

DATE: April 22, 1968

At 6:35 pm 4/22/68, John Mapother, Clandestine Service, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), furnished the following information to Night Supervisor James F. McGuire by telephone:

CIA sources in Panama have reported two American citizens are being detained in Panama City, Panama, at the request of the Costa Rican authorities. Allegedly, they are being detained in connection with the assassination of Martin Luther King. These individuals are identified as Tom Wolman, born 7/17/44 in New York. Wolman has Passport Number J085474, issued 1/29/68, and his permanent residence is shown as 30 Larrys Lane, Pleasantville, New York. The other individual is identified as Douglas Harry Hulbard, Passport Number 330926. Hulbard is described as a former soldier who has returned to Panama to be married. CIA did not have any further descriptive data regarding Hulbard.

These two individuals were traveling in a Chevrolet, License Number 23GH19, Motor Number 13 387 13 113711. The vehicle and license plates could not be further described by CIA. According to CIA, Wolman's passport indicates he had entered and departed El Salvador and Honduras on 4/17/68; Nicaragua on 4/18/68.

Mr. Mapother advised he has no indication why the Costa Rican authorities have requested the detention of the above-described individuals. Further, he does not know of any factual connection of these individuals with the King case. He said CIA sources were trying to develop this matter further. He also advised that CIA would send the FBI a written communication concerning this matter on 4/23/68.

At 9:10 pm 4/22/68, Norman Poulin, CIA, orally advised that a check had been made with the Costa Rican authorities and determined that Costa Rica has no information regarding the above mentioned individuals; that Costa Rica did not request Panamanian authorities to hold these individuals, that they have no request from any American authorities to detain them; and that they have

JFM:chs (7)

1 - Mr. Sullivan

CONTINUED OVER

1 - Mr. Rosen

1 - Mr. Helgeson

1 - Mr. J.A.Sizoo

1 - Mr. Papich

APR 24 1968

66AFR3C1SGB

1 - Mr. J.F.McGuire

BRED A DIR 958 53

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About this file

FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 295 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.