Archived Martin Gardner FBI Files

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We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Thank you.

Dear R.M. Seibert,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act request for records in the
custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, we are not able to process FOIA requests according to
our normal procedures. We have assigned your request the temporary tracking
number RF-579. When we resume normal operations, we will log requests into
our system in the order they were received. At that time, we will provide
you with a new FOIA tracking number and a more substantive response. We
apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and
patience.

During a preliminary search of our finding aids, we were unable to locate
file *10Q-HQ-4210Q9* as the FBI does not have file numbers in such a
sequence. Please respond with the correct file number so that we can
conduct a proper search.

Sincerely,
Jason Mincey
Special Access and FOIA Program

This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.

We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Thank you.

This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.

We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Thank you.

Dear R.M. Seibert,

Thank you for the updated information. Your request has been updated.

Jermaine Scott
Archives Sepcialist
Special Access and FOIA Program

This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.

We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Thank you.

This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.

We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Thank you.

Dear R.M. Seibert,

I am writing in response to your request for an updated status on the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request received by this office for
records in the custody of the National Archives and Records
Administration. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not able to provide
status updates for FOIA requests. Once normal operating procedures resume,
we will provide you with a response to your status update request. We
apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and
patience. Please note, we will not respond to status update requests more
than once every six months.

Sincerely,
Brigitte Flynn
Special Access & FOIA Program

Dear R.M. Seibert:

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
of March 1, 2021 for records in the custody of the National Archives and
Records Administration. Your request was received in this office on March
2, 2021 and assigned FOIA tracking number RD 65295, interim tracking number
RF-579.

1.

You requested access to FBI file number 100-HQ-421009 on Martin Gardner.
Our initial assessment is that Martin Gardner is the subject of the
records, compiled as part of a Classification 100 (Domestic Security)
investigation, created between December 1955 and October 1970, and
consisting of an estimated 15 pages.

1.

You requested access to FBI file number 100-NY-64628 on Martin Gardner.
Our initial assessment is that Martin Gardner is the subject of the
records, compiled as part of a Classification 100 (Domestic Security)
investigation, created between March 1951 and October 1970, and
consisting of an estimated 150 pages.

1.

You requested access to FBI file number 100-HQ-162370-307 on Martin
Gardner. Our initial assessment is that Bruno Pontecorvo and Samuel
Abraham Goudsmit are the subjects of the records, compiled as part of a
Classification 100 (Domestic Security) investigation, created on March
31, 1955, and consisting of an estimated 9 pages. Based on our initial
evaluation, this file is deemed unresponsive to your request because Martin
Gardner is not the subject of the file. If we do not receive a response
from you within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of this letter to
indicate you believe the records are responsive, we will administratively
close this portion of your case.

1.

You requested access to FBI file number 100-HQ-377471 on Martin Gardner.
Our initial assessment is that John V. Long is the subject of the
records, compiled as part of a Classification 100 (Domestic Security)
investigation, created between December 1950 and April 1953, and
consisting of an estimated 100 pages. Based on our initial evaluation, this
file is deemed unresponsive to your request because Martin Gardner is not
the subject of the file. If we do not receive a response from you within
ninety (90) calendar days from the date of this letter to indicate you
believe the records are responsive, we will administratively close this
portion of your case.

These records require review for information protected from release under
the FOIA (https://www.archives.gov/foia/foia-guide#determine).

Your request does not exceed 700 pages, so it is assigned to our first-tier
processing queue. Taking into consideration our existing backlog, we
estimate it will take 39 months to complete processing.

Once we notify you that processing is complete, you may either visit our
College Park, MD facility to view the files at no cost, or you may order a
reproduction. Our current fee for reproductions is 80 cents per page, so we
estimate the total cost (for 100-HQ-421009 & 100-NY-64628) will be $132.

You must notify this office of changes to your contact information. If
communication is returned as undeliverable and no return address is
provided, your case will be administratively closed. To change your contact
information or to track the status of your request, please email
specialaccess_foia@nara.gov or call 301-837-3190. Please include your FOIA
tracking number in all communications concerning this request.

If you are not satisfied with our action on this request and would like the
opportunity to discuss our response, you may contact our FOIA Public
Liaison for assistance:

Accessioned Executive Branch Records – Washington, DC Area

FOIA Requester Service Center: 301-837-3190

FOIA Public Liaison: Rebecca Calcagno

8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500

College Park, MD 20740-6001

dc.foia.liaison@nara.gov

301-837-3190

If you have other questions regarding your request, please contact me
directly.

Sincerely,

Brigitte Flynn

Archives Specialist

Special Access and FOIA Program (RF)

8601 Adelphi Rd., Room 5500

College Park, MD 20740

https://www.archives.gov/research/foia

Dear R.M.Seibert,

Thank you for confirming that you do not wish to access files
100-HQ-162370-307 and 100-HQ-377471 as Martin Gardner is not the subject of
those files. Your FOIA request will only include files 100-HQ-421-009 &
100-NY-64428.

As mentioned in my previous email, because your request does not exceed 700
pages, it has been assigned to our 1st tier FOIA processing queue. We will
send you a notification email after processing is complete and provide
further information on how to access the records / order reproductions at
that time. Our current fee for reproductions is 80 cents per page, so we
estimate the cost for 100-HQ-421009 (~15 pages) & 100-NY-64628 (~150 pages)
will be $132 if you choose to order copies.

Sincerely,
Brigitte Flynn
Special Access & FOIA Program

Dear R.M. Seibert:

You requested a status update on *RD 65295*, a request our office received
on March 1, 2021 and to which we initially replied on September 10, 2021.
The request was assigned to our Tier 1 processing queue for review.

To give you an indication of our existing backlog for cases in Tier 1,
there are approximately 960 cases ahead of yours. Unfortunately, the
COVID-19 pandemic has created many unprecedented challenges in our work.
The majority of the records that our customers request require our staff to
be on-site to search for and review microfilm, microfiche, or original
textual records. Staffing levels on-site have been severely limited with
long periods where our facility was closed. Even as we expand our
reopening, operations may be temporarily curtailed due to limited staffing
and/or deteriorating local health conditions.

Our small staff has and will continue to work diligently to process each
request as quickly as possible.

*Please note, we will not respond to status update requests more than once
every six months.*

To notify this office of a change in your contact information or to track
the status of your request, please telephone 301-837-3190 or e-mail
specialaccess_foia@nara.gov. If you have specific questions regarding the
subject of your request, please contact Brigitte Flynn directly at
brigitte.flynn@nara.gov. All communications concerning this request should
reference your case tracking number *RD 65295*.

Sincerely,

Ashney Randle
Government Information Specialist
Special Access & FOIA Program (RF)
National Archives at College Park

This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.

We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Thank you.

This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.

We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.

If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.

Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Thank you.