Project Mockingbird was a
wiretapping
Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...
operation initiated by
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
to identify the sources of
government leaks by
eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information.
Etymology
The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eaves ...
on the communications of journalists.
History
In October 2001, the
Miller Center of Public Affairs
The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in United States presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history.
History
The Miller Center was founded in 1975 through the philanthrop ...
published transcripts of secretly recorded conversations in the
Oval Office during the summer of 1962 in which Kennedy took steps, using the CIA, to spy on
Hanson Baldwin
Hanson Weightman Baldwin (March 22, 1903 – November 13, 1991) was an American journalist who was the long-time military editor of ''The New York Times''. He won a Pulitzer Prize "for his coverage of the early days of World War II". He wrote ...
, the national security reporter for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''.
Baldwin had angered the President with an article in the July 26, 1962, issue of ''The New York Times'' that divulged classified information from a recent
National Intelligence Estimate, including a comparison of the United States and Soviet Union's nuclear arsenals and the Soviet's efforts to protect their
intercontinental ballistic missile sites.
Knowledge of Project Mockingbird was made public in June 2007 when the CIA declassified a 702-page document widely referred to as the
''Family Jewels''.
[ ]
searchable pdf
of the report is available at the website of George Washington University's National Security Archive. The document was compiled in response to a May 1973 directive from
Director of Central Intelligence James Schlesinger
James Rodney Schlesinger (February 15, 1929 – March 27, 2014) was an American economist and public servant who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to ...
asking CIA employees to report any past or present activities they thought might be inconsistent with the agency's charter.
According to a memo from director of security Howard J. Osborn to the executive secretary of the CIA Management Committee (i.e. future DCI
William Colby
William Egan Colby (January 4, 1920 – May 6, 1996) was an American intelligence officer who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from September 1973 to January 1976.
During World War II Colby served with the Office of Strateg ...
) that summarized the ''Family Jewels'':
According to the declassified documents, the order for warrantless wiretaps came from
Director of Central Intelligence John McCone
John Alexander McCone (January 4, 1902 – February 14, 1991) was an American businessman and politician who served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1961 to 1965, during the height of the Cold War.
Background
John A. McCone was born in ...
who coordinated with
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
,
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...
, and
Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
The Director of the United States Defense Intelligence Agency is a military officer who, upon nomination by the President of the United States and confirmation by the Senate, serves as the United States' highest-ranking military intelligence offic ...
Joseph Carroll.
The program was run by the Office of Security, headed by Sheffield Edwards, who received their orders from McCone.
Other Agency personnel included
Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
The Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DD/CIA) is a statutory office () and the second-highest official of the Central Intelligence Agency. The DD/CIA assists the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) and is author ...
Marshall Carter
Marshall Sylvester Carter (September 16, 1909 – February 18, 1993) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army. From 1965 to 1969, he served as Director of the National Security Agency.
Life and career
Carter was born on September 16, 1 ...
,
executive director
Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization.
The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...
-
comptroller Lyman Kirkpatrick
Lyman B. Kirkpatrick (1916–1995) served as inspector general and executive director of the CIA. He wrote a number of books about intelligence after his retirement.
Early life
Lyman B. Kirkpatrick Jr. was born in Rochester, New York, on July 15 ...
,
general counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
Lawrence Houston, and McCone's
executive assistant
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...
Walter Elder.
An internal CIA biography of McCone by CIA Chief Historian David Robarge, made public under an
FOIA request, identified the two reporters as
Robert S. Allen and Paul Scott.
Their syndicated column, "The Allen-Scott Report," appeared in as many as three hundred papers at the height of its popularity.
In 1975, the
Rockefeller Commission #REDIRECT United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States #REDIRECT United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States
{{R from move ...
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's inquiry examined investigations by the CIA's Office of Security that included electronic surveillance and found two cases in which the telephones of three newsman were tapped in order to determine their sources of leaked classified information. The Commission wrote: "The CIA's investigations of newsmen to determine their sources of classified information stemmed from pressures from the White House and were partly a result of the FBI's unwillingness to undertake such investigations. The FBI refused to proceed without an advance opinion that the Justice Department would prosecute if a case were developed." They concluded: "The CIA has no authority to investigate newsmen simply because they have published leaked classified information."
In 2009, Daniel L. Pines, the Assistant General Counsel of the Office of General Counsel within the CIA, wrote a
'' challenging the assertion that most of the activities described within the Family Jewels were illegal. Pines wrote that the CIA was permitted to engage in warrantless electronic surveillance within the United States with the Attorney General's approval if the purpose was to collect foreign intelligence, but concluded that Project Mockingbird was likely not legal because the apparent purpose of the surveillance was to determine the source of leaks rather than to obtain foreign intelligence. Pines noted that the Rockefeller Commission agreed with this conclusion.