CIA Plans To Destroy Old Leaks-Related Files

Local Editor

A CIA proposal to destroy files deemed no longer of historical importance has been authorized. However, critics are questioning how honest the agency will be when it comes to the purging of potentially serious files.

The National Archives and Records Administration [NARA] authorized the move to dump CIA documents that include classified information that was leaked, according to the Daily Beast.

However, the plan may be shelved if enough people disapprove. There is a 45-day public comment period during which people can voice their concerns over the CIA plan before it goes into place.

In 2014, The National Security Archive, along with other interest groups, filed objections which blocked a 2014 CIA proposal to destroy the emails of 22 senior agency officials, according to the Daily Beast.

Medical records, behavioral conduct files, security clearance information, personality files with counterintelligence interests, workers-compensation reports for employees overseas, referral and declassification files are the types of documents that will be included in the latest purge, the Daily Beast reported.

Leaked files, as of now, need to be saved permanently, but if this new protocol goes into effect, they can be destroyed 30 years after a case has been officially closed.

The plan was set forth by the CIA in 2012, and it was approved on June 5, after NARA told government agencies to present files that have no historical value.

The National Security Archive is opposed to this plan as well filing its complaint on July 18. Other groups, such as Open the Government, Demand Progress, the Federation of American Scientists [FAS] and Defending Rights and Dissent, have also asked the National Archives to stop the move, according to an FAS press release.

"Until NARA is able to ensure beyond a reasonable doubt" that the records primed for destruction truly are not historically valuable and that the ones the CIA claims are backed up elsewhere are in fact preserved, the National Archives should "pause" the approval process, the transparency groups say.

They also want the declassification referral files moved to the permanent pile for public access in decades to come.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team