Up to 2,000 Pages Mysteriously VANISH After Payment From Their Original EXACT Page Count Quote.

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Document Archive: here

Although I do not like making big stories out of nothing, this has been a tale that has gone on far too long and have way too many red flags to ignore.  In addition to being frustrating, it just got a whole lot more bizarre. 

For those who have not followed this story, let me quickly summarize. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was seeing (under the FOIA) the CIA collection on Mind Control and MKULTRA. In 2004, they released to me 4 CD-ROMs that comprised their entire collection of MKULTRA material that survived, and did not end up in the document shredders, like most MKULTRA related documents did.

I quickly uploaded the four CD-ROMs to The Black Vault, wherein for many years (at the time), it was the only place you could download them in such a fashion.  That changed as years went on, and the data ended up being widely circulated.  However, fast forward to 2016, and a savvy researcher began comparing the contents of the four CD-ROMs to the index file that the CIA gave me. According to the CIAs original letter (which I have posted) that index was supposed to contain a list of all of the 30,000+ pages of documents on the CD-ROMs. I never compared, but this researcher, Oscar Diggs, did.

He compiled a list, and sent me all of the missing (or ones with missing pages) document numbers. I did not know it then, but I would begin a fight with the CIA that will now approach THREE YEARS trying to get the CIA to release the missing documents.

At first, the CIA demanded I did have everything, and the CD-ROMs DID contain 100% of the index document.  Then, after months of back and forths, I created a 97 page fax with a complete breakdown of the CD-ROMs and additional verifiable proof those documents were missing. The CIA then changed their story. They then said the index contained documents on "behavioral modification" which they deemed different than MKULTRA, and therefore, was never given to me. If I wanted them, I had to pay for them. I was told there were 4,358 pages, which would cost $425.80. I filed a fee waiver, and put up a good case (in my opinion) but was denied.

So, I created a GoFundMe campaign, which was covered by Vice News / Motherboard, Newsweek and many others. Once that happened, the funds were raised within hours (which was just days after the campaign itself started). I wrote the check, and I waited.

Fast forward to the end of October 2018. I received a box from the CIA that I knew, was what I had been waiting for. I opened the box, and on the top of the stack (keep in mind, about 2 1/2 months had passed since I sent payment) was my original/uncashed check, made payable to the United States Treasury Department. I knew instantly, there was an issue.

I read their letter. In short, the CIA changed their story yet again. First, even though they said I already got 100% of the MKULTRA material, it was now proven untrue. The CIA changed their story again, as I now had a stack of pages that they must have finally agreed, SHOULD HAVE been on the CD-ROMs, and therefore, they sent them for free (remember that fee waiver denial? Someone should have caught the fact I was right about asking for the records.) According to their letter, the contents of the box they sent me totaled 791 pages (which actual totaled 800 exactly, but close enough).  Now the question was, if the 791 (actual: 800) pages were part of the 4,358 I paid for, then what about the remaining 3,567 (actual: 3,558) pages? Well, that got even more bizarre. 

Now the number of remaining pages was only 2,316 pages, as the CIA changed their story, yet again. More than 1,200 pages of MKULTRA / Mind Control / Behavioral Modification documents just vanished from their original quote to me. If it was an estimate of pages responsive, I would not think much of it. But they had an exact number of responsive pages that I waited months to get a tally/quote for, so what happened with that?  What I can’t deduce from the CIA’s letter is if these 800 pages released were a part of that original number or if they were not. If they were not, then the number of missing pages could be closer to 2,000!

That said, the more frustrating thing, is that I have to “start over” in relation to my wait for documents.  It took 2 1/2 months for the CIA to not cash my check, and then send me a letter stating that what I had already paid for months prior, would need to be purchased again. Therefore, I needed to start over by writing a new check, sending it via postal mail, and just wait… again.

This fight has gone on now nearly THREE years, and may even pass the three year mark by the time I get these documents… IF I get them.

Mistakes happen, but they had an exact page count in their original demand for payment. They were adamant about having to pay for 100% of the responsive pages, and that I was not to get ANY for free. They even processed my fee waiver, and denied it outright after “considering it.”  Why wasn’t any of this found during the process of that fee waiver request?   After all of that work, all of that time wasted,in the end, I still did not get all of the documents, and the CIA changed their story, yet again.

Download all of the newly released material (along with the tens of thousands of previous ones here