HISTORY OF THE RECORDS REVIEW BRANCH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP93B01194R001200150004-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 28, 2002
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: January 1, 1978
• Content Type: REPORT

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History of the Records Review Branch
The Records Review Branch was created to administer the Agency's
program for the systematic review of its classified records. The
Branch, and the program, did not spring into being fully grown, like
Athena from the head of Zeus, but, like the great pyramid of Cheops,
was built a stone at a time as a result of considerable effort. Also
like the great pyramid, the creation of both was inspired from above.
Whether they endure equally well must await the passage of time.
Executive Order 11652 of 10 March 1972 automatically declassified
all national security classified documents over 30 years old unless
they were specifically certified as requiring continued protection by
the head of the originating agency or its successor. The Archivist of
the United States was given the responsibility for the systematic review
of such records and all agencies of the Executive Branch were directed
to develop procedures for taking appropriate action on records over which
they exercised on inal or final jurisdiction. The basic requirement
of the review was gland remains) the identification of those documents
containing information still deemed sensitive enough to warrant continued
protection. Under the Order there were only two criteria for such pro-
tection: national security sensitivity and the threat of immediate
jeopardy to an individual. The unique aspect of the ordered review was
the systematic approach which it required. Unlike an FOIA review, which
is essentially an examination of an assortment of documents randomly
gathered from a variety of files in response to an individual request,
a systematic review examines documents as parts of complete, organic
file units (i.e., records maintained in a predetermined physical arrange-
ment in accordance with an overall plan of organization) with logical
points of beginning and end. In a systematic review, decisions are based
not upon ad hoc judgments but upon the provisions of officially promul-
gated review guidelines issued by the originator of the classified
material or functional successor.
Because of its responsibilities in the area of federal records
programs its enormous holdings of classified documents, the National
Archives and Records Service (NARS) served as the focal point for
organizing implementation of EO 11652 among the agencies of the
Executive Branch in 1972. The Archivist of the United States,
Dr. James B. Rhoads, on 11 April 1972, formally requested the then-
DCI, Richard Helms, to send a representative to the initial planning
meeting to be held at the National Archives on 28 April. John Coffey,
the then-Deputy Director for Support was so designated and he duly
attended this initial meeting. On 20 June, Executive Director-
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Comptroller William Colby informed the Archivist that
had been designated chief focal point officer for dealing with NARS
on declassification matters. After this hopeful beginning, only slight
progress was made on developing a broad Agency-wide program. Proposals
for an internal program had been discussed as early as 1971-1972 and
on 3 August 1973 a proposal kfora a declassification unit of 15 was
presented by Deputy Director^'rownman. DCI Colby's comment was: "Ye
Gods. Let's keep it a coordinating office and count on part-time
consultation from the DD's when needed." The major effort in the
Agency in these years wac_instituted b the DDO, which established a
team of annuitant eventuall,ytotalling _1 in 1972 to review OSS records
still in Agency usto y..-Three members ol` this team were seconded to
NARS after May 1 73 to review the approximately 900 cubic feet of OSS
Research and Anal sis Branch records held th ee were later
supplemented by two prepresentatives of IPS- and STATINTL
d
I-who reviwed randomly identifiea 055 material locate
roug ou holdings.
Only as the Agency's thirtieth anniversary approached did the
problem of systematic review become one of increased moment. Further
avoidance of the issue was precluded by Executive Order 11905 of
19 February 1976 which stated that the DCI" "Shall... establish a
vigorous program to downgrade and declassify foreign intelligence
information as appropriate and consistent with Executive Order 11652."
Politically, the Agency was required to move as far as possible in the
direction of "openness" as was consistent with individual rights and
the legitimate needs of national security. The DDO ordered the estab-
lishment of a "Classification Review Branch" in August 1976 within ISS EP"FICBJC
on records holdings and designated a senior intelligence;
as chief. Impetus for an Agency-wide program, however,
came rom a A. A proposed plan of organization was prepared in the
Al's office in the latter part of the year and widely discussed. On STATINTL
1 November 1976, the AC/ISAS, submitted a paper
requesting authority to begin -wide review program
to the AI and DDA. Both approved on 2 November and 4 November respec-
tively. Before his replacement as C/ISAS in the following month,
brought in F- 1~ a veteran administrative STATINTL
support er, to supervise a program and recruited from NARS
David F. Rudgers, an archivist with four years experience in the declas-
sification program of that Agency. Both were attached to RAB/ISAS but
reported to C/ISAS directly.
The establishment of a systematic records review program was a
new departure of the CIA. Unlike nearly all other government agencies,
in which any foreign intelligence operations are only a modest portion
of broader official responsibilities, the CIA mission is devoted entirely
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to the craft of intelligence. Information relating to intelligence
sources and methodology has always required particularly careful
handling and the DCI is specifically charged by law with protecting
such information. Because it is politically impossible to exempt the
Agency from the systematic review requirements of EO 11652, the new
program had to meet the letter and spirit of the legal requirements,
adhere to proper NARS records regulations, and safeguard such important
intelligence interests as the identity of sources, technical intel-
ligence collecting systems, the financing of intelligence efforts,
foreign liaison arrangements, compartmented material, and the overall
plans and capabilities of the American foreign intelligence and counter-
intelligence effort.
As in any new program, many initiatives had to be taken simultan-
eously. The basic question requiring resolution was whether the program
would be organized on a "centralized" basis with a unit drawn from all
components or on a "decentralized" basis with each component having its
own review staff under general oversight from ISAS. The DDI and DDS&T
favored the former and the DDO and (initially) the DDA favored the
latter. The first general meeting on the program, held on 18 January,
and a smaller follow-up gathering on 21 January witnessed highly animated
discussion on the subject between DDI and DDO representatives. ODCI
representatives had opted for the centralized approach on 25 January
and the DDA also chose this method on 16 February, but the issue was
not finally resolved until the Executive Advisory Group meeting of
1 March. A detailed briefing on the two alternatives was given by the
Chief, ISAS and after brief discussion, the EAG unanimously adopted the
centralized approach. The DDO, William Wells, was particularly explicit
in his approval of the centralized system. The upshot of the EAG
meeting was the Action Plan, prepared in ISAS, submitted on 4 April,
and approved by DDCI E.H. Knoche on 2 May. The Action Plan established
the Records Review Branch (RRB), with a projected strength STATINTL
including 30 reviewers from the directorates and the ODCI.
called for the designation of senior focal point officers from each
directorate, the initiation of surveys to determine the nature and time
period of files in the Archives and Records Center, and the establishment
of liaison with other federal agencies. The Action Plan explicitly gave
RRB responsibility for final review decisions on documents and infor-
mation originated by or clearly attributable to the CIA and its
predecessors and on information over which the CIA has exclusive or
final authority. Although the review mission was originally viewed
in terms of 30 years, RRB learned unofficially in March 1977 that a
new Executive Order would drop the time period to 20 years and organized
its efforts accordingly. STATINTL
Thp annnintment of senior focal point officers followed:
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a considerable delay an experienced administrative
support officer assigns to RRIT was named DDA focal point officer on
17 November. These officers were "to aid and assist. . .in promptly
solving unique problems" arising from the review.
Important in the conduct of a systematic review program was the
preparation of written guidelines spelling out those categories of
information requiring continued protection. These would be used by
reviewers to identify such material and thus had to be explicit and
comprehensive. Each directorate approached the preparation problem in
a slightly different fashion. In the DDA, each component was called upon
to designate a focal point officer. These officers were briefed on the
review program and the requirements for guidelines on 18 April. They
then prepared papers describing what categories of information their
offices felt should be protected. These were incorporated into a compS-PA-TINTL
hensive guideline which, after extensive revision and coordination, was
approved by the ADDA, Michael J. Malanick, on 1 December. In DDI an
orientation meeting was held on 24 June, chaired by and
was attended by component focal point officers, However, q cause of
the functional similarity of DDT components, a draft guideline was pre-
pared by nd coordinated with those components. When this
was compl~TMG d T1 ed draft was presented to the DDI, Dr. Sayre Stevens,
for signature. Dr. Stevens approved on 26 September. In the DDO, drafting
of guidelines became the unique responsibility of Mr. Murray of ISS, in
close coordination with RRB. A finalized draft was submitted to DepuATINTL
Director Wells on 2 December by the C/ISS and approved
on 16 December. Preparing DDS& gui a Ines was particularly difficult,
primarily because of the highly technical responsibilities of the direc-
torate and the autonomous nature of such components as n and NPIC.STATSPEC
Therefore, preparing a unitary guideline was not consideredpractical. A
briefing session of directorate focal point officers was held on 8 July
and individual component guidelines were received by RRB in the following
months but no finalized package approved by Deputy Director Dirks has
yet appeared.
In initiating the program, it soon became necessary to determine the
nature and quantity of the records requiring review. Not only had this
not been done in any systematic fashion, one directorate official claimed
most 30-year old material of that directorate had been purged years earlier
and the statement could not be disputed. In February, Mr. Rudgers made a
preliminary examination of the records in the AARC based on the then-existing
finding aids. Although some provisional determinations on quantity and time
frame were made, the documentation on record holdings was scattered and
incomplete, so no clear evaluation was possible. Therefore, in March,
Mr. Rudgers was authorized to undertake a systematic survey of the permanent
Archives holdings containing material over 20 years of age. The survey
involved the services of three Archives personnel'and was completed in
June 1977. Approximately eleven thousand cubic feet of records (50% of
Archives holdings) was examined on a systematic basis and the nature of
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entire file series was described. This survey was used for planning
and organizing review work and indicated the real scope of Agency record
holdings for the first time. It also served as the forerunner of an
extensive project initiated by order of John Blake, as ADDCI in August
1977, to screen files designated as permanent under records control
schedules, remove temporary material, and prepare automated shelf lists.
as Acting Branch Chief, was active during this formative
peribu ing the branch to life as an administrative entity. Despite
considerable difficulty? temporary office space was obtained in June in
6C-25 and larger, more permanent quarters were occupied in GG-14 on 29
November. Many individuals sounded out 0 concernin a positiot TATINTL
with RRB and the first regular reviewer, from theSTATINTL
NFAC Operations Center, reported on 3 October. An important requirement
for any branch was satisfied when became the RRB se(TINTL
tary on 22 August. Another impor u filled when RRB obtained
a 30-cup coffee pot in late October. Other reviewers began to report and
the first regular review projects, on ORE and OCR records, were begun in
November 1977. A ceremony for marking the first declassification of an
Agency document by the ADDA was held on 18 November. To establish intel-
lectual control over documents reviewed, approval to establish a computer-
ized data retrieval system was received from the ODDA on 17 June and
71 an ODP systems analyst, was assigned to ISAS'to create such a
system on 18 July. While all this was under way, served as aSTATINTL
major CIA spokesman on the inter-agency task force assigns to rewrite
Executive Order 11652. In this capacity he actively represented Agency
interests against those spokespersons from other government agencies A INTL
lacked knowledge of intelligence methodology and thus put forward proposals
harmful to the Agency. Another important administrative task was completed
in the late summer of 1977 when a draft regulation modifying by
formally establishing RRB was submitted to RCB/ISAS for coon Ina ion.
(Final approval of this regulation is pending.) STATINTL
Since the Action Plan authorized RRB to establish liaison with other
government agencies, this responsibility was assigned to
detailed for that purpose from AARC on 17 May. The liaison contacts (by
visit, correspondence, and telephone) involved locating Agency records
held by other Executive Branch components and discussions for the possible
exchange of guidelines. Important contacts were made with the State and
Defense Departments, NSA, and the FBI in particular. As these contacts
developed, it became clear that none of the agencies contacted had developed
any sort of program for meeting the requirements to be set forth in the
upcoming executive order. The State Department, in particular, came to the
CIA for advise and several of its high officials received a briefing from
the C/ISAS and AC/RRB on the Agency's program on 14 December.
One of the most important liaison relationships developed was with
the National Archives and Records Service (NARS) and most particularly
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with the staff of its Records Declassification Division (NND) headed
by Mr. Edwin A. Thompson. There were several important reasons for
this. MARS is the agency which sets all records policies throughout
the executive branch. In addition, NARS is the sole legal repository
for permanently valuable noncurrent federal records and the end result
of Agency review efforts is inevitably, unclassified offerings to NARS.
Also, thousands of documents originated by the Agency or containing
Agency-derived information had been located by NND reviewers in their
examination of files retired by other federal agencies. Finally, the
Archivist of the United States has been given broad responsibilities
in the area of records declassification by current and forthcoming
executive orders. Therefore, it was good policy to adapt Agency proce-
dures to standard archival practices and become one of the first federal
establishments to do so. This relationship was initiated with a meeting
by and Mr. Rudgers with Dr. James E. O'Neill, Deputy Archivist
of a united States on 19 May. Because Mr. Thompson was the focal
point officer for federal declassification programs and a key adviser
to the Archivist on this subject, he was kept closely informed. He
received a visit to the AARC in March 1977 and he and his senior staff
were given a briefing on the development of the Agency program. Mr.
coordinated his ADP system planning with the NARS computerized
document retrieval system. New RRB staff members were given tours of
NND facilities at the National Archives building and the Washington
National Records Center. Finally, in January 1978, arrangements were
made to assign three RRB reviewers to the NND branch at the records
center to examine Agency material located there. The one early positive
accomplishment of this liaison was the orwardinc to MARS of the first
Agency declassification guideline I I on 23 August. STATSPEC
All problems in the development of the Agency's review program
have not been solved but all are being attacked. As more records are
processed by component RMO's, an increasing volume of review actions
are being taken and procedures are becoming formalized. Eventually
files of declassified records will become available for transfer to
MARS and the CIA will have lived up to the intent of EO 11652.
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