House Armed Services Committee Investigation of USS Liberty Attack
| Submitted | Jan. 2, 2024 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Joe Meadors
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
I was aboard the USS Liberty when the ship was attacked by the IDF on June 8, 1967 and serve my shipmates as Historian of the USS Liberty Veterans Association.
In Appendix IV of his PhD dissertation about the attack on the USS Liberty, A. Jay Cristol includes an article written by ADM Michael Ram, Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Navy and published in the Naval Reserve Association News September 1992 issue.
I have attached a copy of that article.
In the article, ADM Ram refers to “an extensive investigation of the House Armed Services Committee of the Ninety-Second Congress, under authority of H.Res. 201, published by the Superintendent of Documents in 1971.”
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I am asking you to provide us with a copy of the investigation referred to by ADM Ram as well as H.Res 201 that authorizes that investigation.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Joe Meadors
From: National Archives and Records Administration
Dear Mr. Meadors:
Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) via email to
foia@nara.gov. We received your request on January 2, 2024. Your request
concerns *a copy of the investigation referred to by ADM Ram as well as
H.Res 201 that authorizes that investigation. *
Our office handles FOIA and Privacy Act requests for NARA’s operational records
(records created by this agency). Because your FOIA request is for records
that may be archival records (records created by or originated in a
different agency but that may have been transferred to the legal custody of
NARA), we are forwarding it by this email to our Office of Research
Services, Textual Reference (RR2RR) staff who handle FOIA requests for
textual archival records.
That office will assign your request a tracking number and respond directly
to you. In the future, if you need to follow up with that office directly,
please contact them at the address below, or electronically via email
(email is preferred).
National Archives and Records Administration
Research Services, Textual Reference Branch (RR2RR)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2400
College Park, MD 20740
Phone: 301-837-3091
Fax: 301-837-1752
Email: archives2reference@nara.gov
For your reference, a copy of your request is below.
Please visit our website at www.archives.gov/foia for further information
about making a FOIA request to NARA. On our main website,
www.archives.gov, you
can learn more about the resources we offer to the public, and you can
access our online catalog.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and pursuant to guidance received from the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA had 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 a substantive response to your FOIA
request. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your
understanding and patience.
Sincerely,
Ashley Bryan
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel (NGC)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland, 20740-6001
301-837-3642
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 2, 2024 at 9:25 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request: House Armed Services Committee
Investigation of USS Liberty Attack
To: <foia@nara.gov>
Nat'l Archives & Records Admin
FOIA Office
Room 3110
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740
January 2, 2024
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:
I was aboard the USS Liberty when the ship was attacked by the IDF on June
8, 1967 and serve my shipmates as Historian of the USS Liberty Veterans
Association.
In Appendix IV of his PhD dissertation about the attack on the USS Liberty,
A. Jay Cristol includes an article written by ADM Michael Ram,
Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Navy and published in the Naval Reserve
Association News September 1992 issue.
I have attached a copy of that article.
In the article, ADM Ram refers to “an extensive investigation of the House
Armed Services Committee of the Ninety-Second Congress, under authority of
H.Res. 201, published by the Superintendent of Documents in 1971.”
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I am asking you to provide us with a
copy of the investigation referred to by ADM Ram as well as H.Res 201 that
authorizes that investigation.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Joe Meadors
View request history, see one related attachment, upload responsive
documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/
If prompted for a passcode, please enter:
••••••••
Attachments:
• Michael_Ram_Letter.pdf
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 156569
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 2, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Thank you for contacting the Textual Reference Branch at the National Archives at College Park, MD.
We will assign your request to a staff member who will contact you with a more substantive response. Our standard response time is approximately 3 weeks. Due to the number of reference requests received -- including advance consultation requests -- and the limitation of staff time available to answer correspondence, requests may take longer than usual to receive a response.
Our research room is open by appointment only. We schedule visits no more than three months in advance. Research room hours will be Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm. Please visit https://www.archives.gov/college-park for a link to our Eventbrite page to schedule a research appointment.
One cart of records may be pulled in advance if accurate and complete information is provided when a research appointment is scheduled. Please provide visit_archives2@nara.gov with the citations for the records you would like to view -- including Record Group #, Entry #, Series Title, and Container #(s) -- when confirming your appointment. Please note that due to the high demand of ad hoc (day-of) pulls, advance pulls are not guaranteed.
It is recommended that you schedule a virtual consultation prior to scheduling a research appointment, particularly if you do not know the specific boxes you would like to request; working with a reference consultant will help you better prepare for your visit. Contact archives2reference@nara.gov to schedule a virtual consultation.
Please monitor our web page (https://www.archives.gov/college-park) for details and updates.
Sincerely,
Textual Reference at Archives II (RR2RR)
National Archives at College Park, MD
From: National Archives and Records Administration
Dear Mr. Meadors,
Your request was forwarded to us at the Center for Legislative Archives. I
am writing in further response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request of January 3, 2024, for records in the custody of the National
Archives and Records Administration. The records you have requested are not
subject to the FOIA. Pursuant to 36 CFR 1250.6 (c) FOIA applies only to the
records of the executive branch of the Federal government; therefore it is
not applicable to the records of Congress and the legislative branch.
Attached is H.Rpt. 92-15 related to H.Res. 201, 92nd Congress, which
"authorizes the Committee on Armed Services to conduct an investigation and
study of all matters related to procurement by the Department of Defense,
personnel of such department, laws administered by such department, use of
funds by such department, and scientific research in support of the armed
services".
I have been unable to locate a comprehensive overview or report, published
by GPO and catalogued under the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc), of
investigations or studies conducted by the Armed Services Committee into
the USS Liberty under the authority of H.Res. 201. I did locate several
published transcripts of hearings held by the committee under that
authority - however, none of those hearings were on the topic of the USS
Liberty. The activity report of the full committee (see attached - the
report of the Investigative Subcommittee, which derived its authority from
H.Res. 201, begins on page 81) was published as a House Report in the US
Serial Set and contains no reference to the USS Liberty. The unpublished
records of the House Armed Services Committee for the 92nd Congress contain
no files related to any investigation into the Liberty
In addition, I have been unable to identify any other files in the records
of House and Senate committees related to an investigation of the 1967 USS
Liberty incident. As far as I can tell, the investigation held by the
Naval Board of Inquiry seems to be the primary government investigation
into the incident. For more information on modern Navy Records please
contact our College Park facility at archives2reference@nara.gov
This completes the processing of your request. If you have any questions,
you may reach me at 202-357-6823 or adam.berenbak@nara.gov
Because these records are not subject to the FOIA, we do not consider this
a denial. However, if you are not satisfied with our action on this
request, your options for appeal or dispute resolution are outlined on the
attached enclosure.
Sincerely,
Adam Berenbak
--------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 2, 2024 at 1:00 AM
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Act Request: House Armed Services
Committee Investigation of USS Liberty Attack
To: <foia@nara.gov>
Cc: Textual Reference Archives II Branch <archives2reference@nara.gov>, <
foia@nara.gov>
Nat'l Archives & Records Admin
FOIA Office
Room 3110
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740
February 2, 2024
This is a follow up to a previous request:
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request,
copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 2, 2024. Please let me know
when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/
If prompted for a passcode, please enter:
••••••••
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 156569
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
---
On Jan. 3, 2024:
Subject: Fwd: Freedom of Information Act Request: House Armed Services
Committee Investigation of USS Liberty Attack
Dear Mr. Meadors:
Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) via email to
foia@nara.gov. We received your request on January 2, 2024. Your request
concerns *a copy of the investigation referred to by ADM Ram as well as
H.Res 201 that authorizes that investigation. *
Our office handles FOIA and Privacy Act requests for NARA’s operational
records
(records created by this agency). Because your FOIA request is for records
that may be archival records (records created by or originated in a
different agency but that may have been transferred to the legal custody of
NARA), we are forwarding it by this email to our Office of Research
Services, Textual Reference (RR2RR) staff who handle FOIA requests for
textual archival records.
That office will assign your request a tracking number and respond directly
to you. In the future, if you need to follow up with that office directly,
please contact them at the address below, or electronically via email
(email is preferred).
National Archives and Records Administration
Research Services, Textual Reference Branch (RR2RR)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2400
College Park, MD 20740
Phone: 301-837-3091 <(301)%20837-3091>
Fax: 301-837-1752 <(301)%20837-1752>
Email: archives2reference@nara.gov
For your reference, a copy of your request is below.
Please visit our website at www.archives.gov/foia for further information
about making a FOIA request to NARA. On our main website,
www.archives.gov, you
can learn more about the resources we offer to the public, and you can
access our online catalog.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and pursuant to guidance received from the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA had 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 a substantive response to your FOIA
request. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your
understanding and patience.
Sincerely,
Ashley Bryan
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel (NGC)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland, 20740-6001
301-837-3642 <(301)%20837-3642>
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 2, 2024 at 9:25 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request: House Armed Services Committee
Investigation of USS Liberty Attack
To: <foia@nara.gov>
Nat'l Archives & Records Admin
FOIA Office
Room 3110
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740
January 2, 2024
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:
I was aboard the USS Liberty when the ship was attacked by the IDF on June
8, 1967 and serve my shipmates as Historian of the USS Liberty Veterans
Association.
In Appendix IV of his PhD dissertation about the attack on the USS Liberty,
A. Jay Cristol includes an article written by ADM Michael Ram,
Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Navy and published in the Naval Reserve
Association News September 1992 issue.
I have attached a copy of that article.
In the article, ADM Ram refers to “an extensive investigation of the House
Armed Services Committee of the Ninety-Second Congress, under authority of
H.Res. 201, published by the Superintendent of Documents in 1971.”
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I am asking you to provide us with a
copy of the investigation referred to by ADM Ram as well as H.Res 201 that
authorizes that investigation.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Joe Meadors
View request history, see one related attachment, upload responsive
documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/
If prompted for a passcode, please enter:
••••••••
Attachments:
• Michael_Ram_Letter.pdf
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 156569
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
---
On Jan. 2, 2024:
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request: House Armed Services Committee
Investigation of USS Liberty Attack
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:
I was aboard the USS Liberty when the ship was attacked by the IDF on June
8, 1967 and serve my shipmates as Historian of the USS Liberty Veterans
Association.
In Appendix IV of his PhD dissertation about the attack on the USS Liberty,
A. Jay Cristol includes an article written by ADM Michael Ram,
Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Navy and published in the Naval Reserve
Association News September 1992 issue.
I have attached a copy of that article.
In the article, ADM Ram refers to “an extensive investigation of the House
Armed Services Committee of the Ninety-Second Congress, under authority of
H.Res. 201, published by the Superintendent of Documents in 1971.”
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I am asking you to provide us with a
copy of the investigation referred to by ADM Ram as well as H.Res 201 that
authorizes that investigation.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Joe Meadors
View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/
If prompted for a passcode, please enter:
••••••••
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 156569
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
--
Adam Berenbak
Archivist - Center for Legislative Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
202-357-6823
http://congressarchives.tumblr.com/
The Center for Legislative Archives Reference Hours are 9-4, Monday through
Friday. Please send any general inquiries to legislative.archives@nara.gov
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