LETTER TO DR, CLARENCE W. MORRIS FROM J. FRED BUZHARDT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00793R000200130023-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 3, 2005
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: March 17, 1973
• Content Type: LETTER

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Approved For Rose 2005/01/04: CIA-RDP75-007930.@,0 J? Release of
GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20301
17 MICR ?373
I refer to your request to the President on December 21, 1972
that the Oleg Peakovskiy special collection of documents be
declassified and to the subsequent correspondeacee relative to a
review of its security classification.
On July 17, 1972, the United States District Court for the Southern
District of Illinois dismissed a request that the Department of
Defense release the Penkovskiy collection of documents. hn M.
Ashbro k at ; Y. Melvin R. Laird al. , (S. R. . Civil Action
No F, wit-7Z-40). The Court concluded that :"the withholding
action was required under the stendsids and criteria of Executive
Order 10501 and within the statutory exemption from disclosure
prescribed by the Congress *** and establish* 4 that the agency
action in withholding the documents was not arbitrary and
capricious ****" This ruling has been aappes.J-ad to the Circuit
Court of Appeals, but a Court of Appeals decision has not been
rendered.
Inasmuch as the issue of release of the documents is still in litiga-
tion it would not be appropriate to conduct an administrative review
for declassification purposes. This is particularly so because of the
District Court's decision that the Department's withholding of the
document was legally justified.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed). J.
J. Fred Bushaardt
cc: SA/IC
Asst to the DCI Thuermer
per JDM 3/22/73
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