Whistleblower Alleges CIA Took JFK and MK Ultra Files
In a striking claim, a CIA whistleblower accused the agency on Wednesday of taking crucial documents linked to the John F. Kennedy assassination and the controversial MK Ultra mind control experiments. This was revealed during a Senate committee session focused on COVID-19 origins, leading to threats of subpoenas directed at the CIA from various congressional members.
James Erdman III, a special operations officer, made these allegations, stating that since the CIA halted a particular operation, they had seized “40 boxes” containing files related to both JFK and MK Ultra that were in the process of being declassified under the direction of Tulsi Gabbard.
Gabbard had initiated an investigative group last year, the Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG), aimed at exploring claims of intelligence agencies’ misuse of power and enhancing public transparency. However, she concluded the program earlier this year after merely ten months.
Furthermore, Erdman accused the CIA of unlawfully monitoring the computer and phone activities of DIG personnel, including their interactions with whistleblowers.
The CIA reacted strongly to Erdman’s statements, describing the Senate committee hearing as “disingenuous political theater.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) expressed her anger in a post, demanding that the CIA return the documents to Gabbard’s office within a day or face potential subpoenas. Luna’s call received support from fellow lawmakers, including Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida), who expressed interest in the issue.
Later, it came to light that Luna clarified the CIA hadn’t exactly “raided” Gabbard’s office, but had removed files that were under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Both the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not provide comments when contacted.
Shortly after assuming the presidency, Donald Trump ordered the declassification of all documents related to JFK’s assassination, which occurred on November 22, 1963. The government since then has released over 80,000 pages, though many of them offered little new insight into the event.
MK Ultra itself was a notorious CIA initiative running from 1953 to 1973, aimed at exploring ways to manipulate human behavior through drugs and psychological tactics. The program was uncovered by the Senate Church Committee in 1975, exposing experiments conducted on both conscious and unconscious subjects.
At that point, however, the CIA had already destroyed a significant number of MKUltra files, making thorough investigations unfeasible.
Luna had initially planned to hold a public hearing on MK Ultra shortly, although it was later announced that this would be postponed to a later date.
Meanwhile, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, had previously sent a letter to CIA Director John Ratcliffe to ensure the preservation of documents related to both the JFK assassination and MK Ultra.
