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.

Open the PDF at page 67 Original source ↗

“Nevers”14 pages

  • 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…
# CONFIDENTIAL

(g) Memorandum, dated 16 May 1968; Subject: Investigation in Japan of Report of Suspicious Action of Another Subject who was Originally Described as Resembling Suspected Assassin; contains information provided by the Japanese National Police Agency; exempt under (b)(3)(a), (b)(6), and (b)(1)5B(1).

(h) Memorandum for the Record, dated 19 April 1968; Subject: Unknown Subject, possibly identifiable with Eric Starvo Galt; the information was based on clandestine photography of the Cuban embassy in Mexico City; exempt under (b)(3)(a); (b)(6) and (b)(1)(5)B(1).

3. the following documents concern the James Earl Ray case but do not mention the Subject by name. All are exempt under (b)(3)(a) and (b)(6).

381-388 thought to be associated with the Ray case. (a) Eight biographic sketches on individuals

(b) Memorandum, dated 17 April 1968; Subject: Gerald Lee Richards.

(c) The Hague-4137 (IN-94424), dated 19 April 1968; station and liaison traces provided no evidence that Subject had ever been in the Netherlands; exemptions (b)(1)5B(1) also applies.

(d) La Paz-4228 (IN-94482), dated 19 April 1968; La Paz morning papers carried photos of FBI Wanted Posters.

(e) Caracas-9414 (IN-94487), dated 19 April 1968; requests photo be pouched.

(f) San Jose-0157 (IN-94496), dated 19 April 1968; requests photo be pouched.

(g) Director-93306, dated 19 April 1968; states that two copies of photo sent 19 April.

(h) Director-92897, dated 19 April 1968; states two copies of photos sent.

(1) Director-92895, dated 19 April 1968; states two copies of photos sent.

Not linked to a story yet.

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.