US Department of State Correspondence with Israel re: USS Liberty Attack

Dear Mr Meadors,

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act
request to the National Archives and Records Administration.

Due to the nature of your request, we have forwarded your request (received
in our office on September 6, 2016) to our Office of Research Services,
Special Access and FOIA staff, for appropriate handling. You will be
assigned a new tracking number by that office within the next 20 business
days. If you would like to follow up with that office directly please
contact them at specialaccess_FOIA@nara.gov.

For your reference, your original submission is below.

Thank you for contacting the National Archives and please visit our website
at www.archives.gov/foia for further information.

Please also visit our main website, www.archives.gov, to learn more about
the many exciting resources we offer the public.

Sincerely,

Joseph A. Scanlon
FOIA & Privacy Act Officer
National Archives and Records Administration
Office of General Counsel
(301) 837-0583

Dear Muckrock Requester,

I am writing in regards to your FOIA request NW 51177 for the 8 box
classified series entitled USS Liberty Claims Files 1966-1969. I am
wondering if you might be interested in having this series processed as an
indexing on demand request. In those instances, we withdraw any still
classified documents allowing you to see the remaining material.

Please let me know if this interests you.

Otherwise I will conduct a 2 hour review of the collection to see if there
are any responsive records. Before beginning any work I will wait to hear
from you.

Sincerely,

David Fort
National Archives and Records Administration
Deputy Director of the FOIA/MDR Division
David.Fort@nara.gov
301-837-0627

RDT2 16-50553

Dear Mr. Meadors:

This is a response to your recent Freedom of Information Act Request
#51043; we received your request on September 12, 2016. You requested
documents from the records of the Department of State relating to the June
8, 1967 attack on the USS Liberty.

We searched the Central Foreign Policy Files of the Department of State for
the periods 1967-1969 and 1970-1973 for documentation relating to the USS
Liberty. The main file for the event is "PS 8-4 US-ISR." Within these
files, we located approximately 401 pages responsive to your request. If
you would like to order copies of these records, please follow the
instructions on the attached reproduction quote. As these records are open
and available for use at the National Archives in College Park, MD, we also
welcome your visit to our facility. Please reply to this email if you
would like to learn more about visiting the National Archives.

As is often the case, the discussion of the attack on the USS Liberty
continued well after the event. Several documents are available for use or
reference in the Central Foreign Policy Files, which are available through
AAD. A link to the site is here: https://aad.archives.gov
/aad/series-list.jsp?cat=WR43. You will want to search "USS Liberty" with
quotes to narrow down the search results. More information about the CFPFs
is available here: http://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/state-
dept/rg-59-central-files/faqs.pdf.

It is possible that you may find responsive material in the series USS
Liberty Claims Files (RG 59, Entry UD-UP 97; 8 boxes). These files were
maintained by the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Security and
Consular Affairs. At this time, the files in this series
remain classified. We have opened a separate *FOIA request 51177* for
those 8 boxes, and referred it to the National Declassification Center for
FOIA processing. That staff will respond directly to you regarding *FOIA
51177*.

It is likely that the bulk of the affidavits, investigative files,
interview transcripts and other documentation will be held by the
Department of the Navy's JAG office. For more information about requesting
records from their office, please visit: http://www.jag.navy.
mil/library/foia.htm.

You may also find relevant records at the Johnson Presidential Library.
You can email them directly at Johnson.Library@nara.gov or visit their
website: http://www.lbjlibrary.org/.

If you have not already done so you should consult FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE
UNITED STATES (FRUS). This is a State Department publication of selected
documents from State Department files and other sources. Besides providing
the text of important foreign policy documents, FRUS also provides the
source file numbers (printed either with the document or as footnotes)
which are the keys to obtaining access not only to the printed item but to
other documents on the same subject but not selected for publication. FRUS
is usually available at large university or public libraries, and at U.S.
Government Depository Libraries. Volumes are available online at
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/ and
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/.

This completes the processing of your request. If you have any questions,
you may reply to this email. I will be happy to assist you further with the
Central Foreign Policy Files.

If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, your options for
appeal and dispute resolution are outlined in the attached enclosure.

Sincerely,

CATE BRENNAN
Archivist
Textual Reference Branch (RDT2)
National Archives at College Park

Mr. Meadors

I have completed a review of the 8 boxes of records and they all contain
specific individual case files for each person aboard the ship. Box 7 also
contains files for the individual death claims.

If this is what you infact are interested in as the boxes themselves are
unclassified but contain privacy information for each of them men, please
let me know so I can transfer the case to our Special Access office who
handle requests for Privacy records.

Sincerely,

David Fort
National Archives and Records Administration
Deputy Director of the FOIA/MDR Division
David.Fort@nara.gov
301-837-0627

Mr. Meadors,

I have forward your request to the special access office for Privacy
related questions, but you might want to contact either
Britney.Crawford@nara.gov or Martha.Murphy@nara.gov for additional
information.

David Fort

National Archives and Records Administration
Deputy Director of the FOIA/MDR Division
David.Fort@nara.gov
301-837-0627

Dear Mr. Meadors,

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information Act request of
September 4, 2016 for records in the custody of the National Archives and
Records Administration. Your request was received in this office on September
8, 2016 and assigned FOIA case number 51177.

As mentioned in the response to you from archivist Cate Brennan on
September 23, 2016 RG 59 Entry UD-UP 97 consists of USS Liberty Claims
Files. These boxes consist of medical files on the personnel aboard at the
time of the attack. I was able to locate your claim and can provide a copy
if you are interested in seeing what these records look like. I would need
you to fill out the attached DOJ form certifying your identity before I can
release it to you as it contains Personally identifiable information (PII).
Based on the types of documents you listed as examples I don't believe
these files are the types of records you are looking for. If they are,
please let me know and we can process them, however we will need to redact
all PII in each file.

In addition to the suggestions Cate Brennan made regarding where other
records may be kept, I identified two catalog entries
<https://catalog.archives.gov/search?q=%22uss%20liberty%22&f.locationIds=5> for
records at the Gerald R. Ford Library
<https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/visit-library.aspx> related to the
attack on the USS Liberty. If you are interested in these please contact
the Library at ford.library@nara.gov. I also identified two entries (SRH
256 Attack on the USS Liberty
<https://catalog.archives.gov/search?q=%22uss%20liberty%22&f.locationIds=33&f.oldScope=descriptions&f.dateRangeFacet=%221970%20-%201979%22>)
in RG 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security
Service, that may be relevant. These records are located at the National
Archives College Park.

I will keep your case open until I hear back from you regarding your claim
file. If you have any questions please let me know.

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: Martha Wagner Murphy

8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500

College Park, MD 20740-6001

Telephone: 301-837-3270

E-mail: dc.foia.liaison@nara.gov

Sincerely,

Laurel Macondray, Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Branch (RD-F)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740
(301) 837-2997
laurel.macondray@nara.gov

Dear Mr. Meadors,

I am writing in further response to your Freedom of Information Act request
of September 4, 2016 for records in the custody of the National Archives
and Records Administration assigned FOIA case number 51177.

I have completed a line-by-line review of Joseph Leslie Meadors USS Liberty
Claim file from the series U.S.S. Liberty Claims Files, 1966 - 1969
<https://catalog.archives.gov/id/26309157> (Record Entry ID 344835), and
released information to the greatest extent possible. Information exempted
from disclosure in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC
552) has been redacted. The redactions were applied to protect personal
privacy per 5 USC 552 (b)(6). A summary of the file, as released to you is
provided below:

· Joseph Leslie Meadors file: 35 total pages; 31 pages released in full and
4 pages released in redacted form.

For your convenience I have attached a PDF of the file. This concludes the
processing of your request.

If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, you have the
right to file an administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days
from the date of this letter. Appeals must be in writing and may be
delivered by regular U.S. mail or by e-mail. By filing an appeal, you
preserve your rights under the FOIA and give the deciding agency a chance
to review your request and reconsider its decision. If you submit your
appeal by regular mail, it should be addressed to the Deputy Archivist of
the United States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601
Adelphi Road, Room 4200, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001. Both the letter
and envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
If you submit your appeal by e-mail, please send it to foia@nara.gov,
addressed to the Deputy Archivist, with the words “FOIA Appeal” in the
subject line. Please be certain to explain why you believe this response
does not meet the requirements of the FOIA. All communications concerning
this request should reference your case tracking number 51177.

If you would like the opportunity to discuss our response and attempt to
resolve your dispute without initiating the appeals process, 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: Martha Wagner Murphy

8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500

College Park, MD 20740-6001

Telephone: 301-837-3270

E-mail: dc.foia.liaison@nara.gov

If you are unable to resolve your dispute through our Public Liaison, the
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) is the federal FOIA
ombudsman. OGIS offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between
FOIA requesters and federal agencies. You may contact OGIS at the following
address:

Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)

National Archives and Records Administration

8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2510

College Park, MD 20740-6001

ogis@nara.gov

202-741-5770

1-877-684-6448

Sincerely,

Laurel Macondray, Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Branch (RD-F)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740
(301) 837-2997
laurel.macondray@nara.gov