HSCA Docs Reveal Tense CIA Clashes and Secret Withheld Files During MLK, JFK Probes

Newly released declassified documents reviewed by the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) uncover deep institutional friction between CIA officials and congressional investigators probing the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.

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In a series of memoranda dating between 1973 and 1978, the CIA's Office of Security repeatedly restricted HSCA staff from reviewing sensitive materials. Specific files were deliberately withheld—sealed in envelopes, marked with green circular dots, and placed back into archives unread by investigators. These marked files remain an enduring question: what content was deemed too sensitive for even a congressional probe?

In a key July 1973 memo, Bruce L. Solie, Chief of the CIA’s Security-Analysis Group, instructed that such sealed envelopes be preserved with their integrity intact to document what the HSCA was not allowed to see.

A 1976 internal CIA summary revealed that Richard Sprague, then Chief Counsel of the HSCA, directly confronted agency representatives, demanding full oversight. Sprague pushed back on agency efforts to limit what he deemed "relevant," emphasizing that only Congress could decide the scope of investigation—not the CIA. “He wanted assurance that no documents of interest would be destroyed,” reads one memo.

Sprague, reportedly disarming yet firm, insisted that no materials be removed from CIA headquarters unless absolutely necessary. He demanded that even information like the names of Americans who defected to the Soviet Union be made available—an apparent attempt to map KGB links amid Cold War paranoia. His staff also inquired about tapped telephone transcripts from Oswald’s Mexico City trip in 1963—hinting at suspected international connections.

By 1978, memos show the pattern continued. Sensitive files remained sealed, with internal notes reiterating that “certain items… were not reviewed” and “should not be removed from the file.” Even documentation concerning figures like Grigoriy Golub—a likely intelligence-linked individual—was partially blocked from oversight.

These revelations raise critical questions about whether crucial evidence was buried behind national security justifications.