Victor Norris Hamilton FBI

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All files pertaining to Victor Norris Hamilton, a former NSA analyst who defected to the Soviet Union in 1963.

More information about Hamilton is available here: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RW8VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jOoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7101,702031
and here: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/04/world/american-defector-is-found-in-russian-prison.html

Please also conduct a search of the Central Records System, including but not limited to the Electronic Surveillance (ELSUR) Indices, the Microphone Surveillance (MISUR) Indices, the Physical Surveillance (FISUR) Indices, and the Technical Surveillance (TESUR) Indices, for both main-file records and cross-reference records.

The requested documents will be processed by a journalist before being made available to the general public. Because this request isn't being made for commercial purposes, I ask that you waive all fees.

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,

Jacob Silverman

Victor Norris Hamilton died sometime around 1998, according to Susan Mesinai, the leader of the ARK Project that helped find him in a Russian mental hospital. Unfortunately I do not have further documentation of his death (though the State Department should). Further, I'd add that Hamilton would be at least 98 years old, making him nearly the age at which death is presumed by FBI FOIA privacy standards. There is also a strong public interest in finding out what happened to Hamilton, who was one of the few NSA employees ever to defect to the Soviet Union. His defection — and the events afterward — remain mired in mystery; decades later, it's time for a full public accounting. This request — and the subsequent reporting I intend to do in my capacity as a freelance journalist — will help fill in the events of Hamilton's historic life.