</s>104-10065-10236 S.H.C.R.T. APPROVED FOR RELEASE 1893 25 November 1977 CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. Robert Barteaux Chief, Information Services Staff, Information Processing Group FROM JFK ACT : Maurice A. Sovenn Office of the Special Assistant to the DDO for External Oversight RELEASE SUBJECT Dr. Martin Luther King and Mr. James Earl Ray REFERENCES : A. House Select Committee on Assassinations' Letter dated 11 November 1977, Same Subject B. O/S/A/D/O Letter, 2 March 1977, Subject, DOJ Inquiry - Martin Luther King, Jr. Task Force 1. As you will note from the attached, the ISCA asks for our material on our Martin Luther KING, Jr ., for the period 1963 through 1968 or Our Material on Mr. James Earl Ray for the period 1967 through 1968. 2. As as indicated in reference Mr. you provided a substantial amount of directorate material which was sanitized for review by a DOJ task force in its efforts to review the extent and nature. We fb/CIA contacts concerning the Revolver hold the same force at that time to the O/C. that we would hold the sample of the evidence that was recorded for the Justice investigation. For possible eventual review by the investigators from the ISICA. We believe that this material the investigation was well-known to justice, is most pertinent to the ISACA investigation. We permit to review FBI in the original request that we permit them to review FBI material. In this instance, since we are talking about third agency material, we should confirm our review to directorate material indicating only that, there is FBI material available. E2 INPDLET CL. BY 018630 SECRET.

Summary  
This document is an internal CIA memorandum dated 25 November 1977, addressed to Mr. Robert Barteaux, Chief of the Information Services Staff, Information Processing Group. It outlines the CIA’s response to a request from the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for materials related to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and James Earl Ray. The request spans specific time periods: 1963–1968 for King and 1967–1968 for Ray. The CIA notes that it provided sanitized Directorate material to the DOJ task force investigating King’s assassination, which was later made available for review by HSCA investigators. The memorandum also references FBI materials and emphasizes the need to confirm availability of third-party agency records. A deadline of 15 December 1977 is suggested for completing the review process.  

Key People  
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (subject of investigation)  
- James Earl Ray (suspected assassin, subject of inquiry)  
- Mr. Robert Barteaux (CIA recipient of memorandum)  
- Maurice A. Sovenn (CIA official authorizing response)  

Key Locations  
- CIA headquarters (implied via internal memorandum context)  
- DOJ offices (involved in task force review)  
- HSCA offices (House Select Committee on Assassinations)  

Key Events  
- Request for CIA materials related to MLK and James Earl Ray by HSCA and DOJ  
- Sanitization of Directorate material for DOJ task force review  
- Potential future review of evidence by HSCA investigators  
- Deadline set for 15 December 1977 for completing the review process  

Key Organizations  
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  
- Department of Justice (DOJ)  
- House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA)

MLK Declassified Files

00449059_dr_martin_luther_king_an_104-10065-10235.pdf

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