Luna threatens subpoena after whistleblower says CIA seized JFK files
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told the CIA it has 24 hours to return documents linked to the JFK assassination and the CIA’s MKUltra program that were reportedly taken from former CIA director of national intelligence tulsi Gabbard’s office. She said she plans to push for a subpoena if the documents aren’t returned,and Rep. James Comer’s House Oversight Committee also sent a letter asking the CIA to preserve all related records.
Luna’s demands follow testimony from James Erdman, a career CIA officer, who told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that the agency removed about 40 boxes of material from Gabbard’s office. The article notes that Trump had previously promised declassification of JFK assassination files, and that the CIA documents were allegedly pulled from the National Reconnaissance Office during the prior government shutdown and have not returned to ODNI since.
MKUltra-an old clandestine CIA mind-control and interrogation research program-is also discussed, including claims that many files were destroyed in 1973 but thousands later survived and were released through congressional efforts. luna later clarified that while the raid didn’t happen on Wednesday, that was when her team learned about it, and she suggested the MKUltra files “apparently never existed.” The CIA disputed Erdman’s framing, calling the testimony politically motivated rather than a whistleblower effort, and Rep. Tim Burchett backed Luna, arguing the CIA shoudl be subpoenaed to produce and preserve the documents.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) issued an ultimatum to the CIA on Wednesday, saying it has 24 hours to return documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and its MKUltra program that were reportedly taken from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard‘s office.
The situation was exacerbated when James Erdman, a career CIA operations officer, testified before the Senate homeland security committee that the agency had taken roughly 40 boxes relating to the former president’s assassination and the controversial human experiment from Gabbard’s office.
Recommended Stories
Gabbard, whose office oversees the CIA, was reviewing the information relating to the events for declassification. President Donald Trump had promised the declassification of the files relating to JFK’s assassination, releasing thousands last year.
Luna said the documents had been requested by Congress and that if they were not returned, she would introduce a motion to subpoena them.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Luna issued a letter to CIA Director John Ratcliffe requesting that all documents relating to the JFK assassination and the controversial MKUltra experiment be preserved.
Luna had previously announced that the House oversight committee would be holding a hearing on MKUltra.
Luna later corrected herself, saying the raid did not happen on Wednesday but that that was the time at which she and her colleagues found out about it. She added that ODNI had jurisdiction over the documents.
CIA officials allegedly took the documents from the National Reconnaissance Office last year during the government shutdown, and they have not been back in ODNI’s possession since, NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich reported.
MKUltra was a secret CIA program that ran from the 1950s to 1970s that experimented with mind control, behavior modification, and interrogation techniques, sometimes using drugs such as LSD on unwitting subjects. Many files were destroyed in 1973, but thousands of surviving CIA documents were later released through congressional investigation in the 1970s and afterward.
Luna said in an interview with Pavlich that the files taken from Gabbard’s office relating to MKUltra “apparently never existed.”
CIA spokeswoman Liz Lyons released a statement following Erdman’s testimony, saying he was “not appearing as a whistleblower in pursuit of the truth” but rather in response to a subpoena to discuss Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former White House COVID-19 adviser, pushing the national security community into publicly saying the COVID-19 pandemic had a natural origin instead of coming from a lab leak.
“This proceeding amounts to nothing more than dishonest political theater masquerading as a congressional hearing,” Lyons said, signaling a fracture in the agency’s willingness to comply with congressional subpoenas.
CIA WHISTLEBLOWER ACCUSES FAUCI OF MISLEADING INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ON COVID-19 ORIGINS
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) responded to Luna’s threat in an X post, supporting the congresswoman in her venture to subpoena the CIA.
“The CIA lied about MK Ultra existing,” Burchett said. “They were sued and were forced to admit it but say they aren’t doing it now. Which lie do you believe? Subpoena and preserve these documents now.”
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
