CIA Mockingbird Final Response Letter and “Family Jewels” Attachment

Jul 6, 2026

Final response letter from the Central Intelligence Agency addressing a Freedom of Information Act request related to “Project Mockingbird.” The agency reports no records located for the requested time range, while noting previously released materials that mention the subject, including multiple document references and a limited excerpt from a longer 702-page record. The attached “Family Jewels” list summarizes items such as the use of a Mafia figure in an attempted assassination of Fidel Castro, phone-tapping during March–June 1963, and surveillance and support activities, alongside equipment support to local police.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

Freedom of Information Act Response

Search result and appeal rights

Previously released materials and provided pages

Attachment A: “Family Jewels”

Listed historical incidents and activities

29 MAY 2010 Central Intelligence Agency Washington.D.C.20505 21 May 2010 Mr.John Young251 West 89"StreetNew York,NY 10024 Reference:F-2010-01008 Dear Mr.Young: This is a final response to your 18 April 2010 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)request for information or records related to“Project Mockingbird.”We processed yourrequest in accordance with the FOIA,5U.S.C.§552,as amended,and the CIAInformation Act,50 U.S.C.§431,as amended.Our processing included a search forrecords as described in our 28 April 2010 acceptance letter existing through the date of thatletter. We did not locate any records responsive to your request.Although our searcheswere thorough and diligent,and it is highly unlikely that repeating those searches wouldchange the result,you nevertheless have the legal right to appeal the finding of no recordsresponsive to your request.As the CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator,I am theCIA official responsible for this determination.You have the right to appeal this responseto the Agency Release Panel,in my care,within 45 days from the date of this letter.Pleaseinclude the basis of your appeal. However,in an effort to assist you,we also searched our database of previouslyreleased records and located two documents(C00016408,C00016682)and a portion of athird document (C01283341),consisting of five pages that mention the subject of yourrequest.Please note that document C01283341 consists of two pages that were extractedfrom a larger document consisting of 702 pages,the remainder of which was not deemedresponsive to your request.These documents were located and released to earlierrequesters in connection with requests for records relating to other topics.Since you areentitled to the first 100 pages free,they are being provided free of charge. Sincerely, Duru Delores M.NelsonInformation and Privacy Coordinator Enclosures C00016408.sBSJEC7:Projece cczieseD,PzoJeet CEDS I ene ExⅡ.sp=ctntelBCUMEMT AS REFERRED ID-O5APPROVED FOR RELEASEDATE: mar1980 2.D03ADM CO0016682: # Coku ZAttachment A"FAMILY JEWELS" 1. 2.Johnny Roselli--The use of a nember.of theMafia in an attenpt to assassinate Fidel Castro. 3.Project MOCKINGBIRD_--During the period from 12March 1963 to 15 June 1963,this Officeinstalled telephone taps on two Washington-based newsnen who were suspected of disclosingclassified information qbtained from a varietyof governmental and congressional sources. 4. 5.Various Surveil1ance and Support Activities--These are briefly sunmarized and range fromthe surveillance of newsinen to the provisionof specialized support of 1oca1 police.officialsin the Metropolitan area. I believe that eachonej is self-exp1anatory and,therefore,no furthercomment is needed here. 6.Equipment Support to Loca1 Police --Attached is alist provided me by the Director of Logistics(he wi11 sinplyreport--these.itcms.in.hisreport)whichwe have provided irocar-poHicc-in-the Metropolitan D,C.area over the past four.or;fiv years on indefinite loan. During.theperiod when the Agency's installations in thisarea appeared to bc a targct of cissident c1etnents PPOVE8RBBLEA D a conscious decision was nade by the Agency tontilize the services of local police to repelinvaders in case of riot or dissension asopposed to utilization of our GSA guards,whoare not trained in this type of activity. Thisequipnent has been issued over the years tolocal police,principally Fairfax and ArlingtonCountyPolice Departments.I do not believethat this is totally illega1 under the provisionsof the National Security Act of 1947,but I an in-cluding it since I an sure that it would be con-sidered as such in light of the recent congressionalfuss ovcr our police training activities. 7.Audio Countermeasures Support to the United.StatesSecret Service ____ 8.Test of Specialized Equipnent in Miami ImmediatelyPrior to the Political Convention Therc

FAQs

What was the CIA’s response to the FOIA request for “Project Mockingbird”?

The CIA reported it did not locate any records responsive to the request after searches conducted through the date of the acceptance letter.

What legal right does the recipient have after the CIA finds no responsive records?

The recipient has the legal right to appeal the finding of no records to the Agency Release Panel within 45 days, including the basis of the appeal.

What information related to “Project Mockingbird” was included despite the no-records finding?

The CIA provided previously released documents and an excerpt from a larger 702-page document; the attachment lists telephone-tap activity during 12 March 1963 to 15 June 1963.

Jul 6, 2026

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