In 1949, the Central Intelligence Agency Act (Public law 81-110) officially authorized the new agency the ability to employ confidential fiscal and administrative procedures, and granted the agency the impunity in regards to the usage of Federal funds. At the same time, it exempted the agency from disclosing "organization, functions, officials, titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed."
After the assassination of JFK in 1963, former president Truman wrote an op ed. in the Washington Post expressing misgivings towards what the agency had morphed into and what it would become.
—PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN (December 1963)
Source:
The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence by Victor Marchetti and John D. Marks.
The Freedom of Information Act is a critical source of information for the American public seeking to understand what's happening within the US federal government. Equally as important, material acquired through the FOIA have become vital sources of primary documentation for journalists as well.
Since 1967, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement.
The FOIA also requires agencies to proactively post online certain categories of information, including frequently requested records. As Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court have all recognized, the FOIA is a vital part of our democracy.
Welcome back to Deep Dives. We’re excited to announce our second research challenge and get right back to digging in the vaults.
This instalment of the Deep Dives Research Challenge focuses on the Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room of the online CIA Library.
There are hundreds of thousands of declassified CIA documents
available via the online reading room.
From UFO related documents to presidential briefings to remote viewing and the Stargate Project, the archive contains a trove of information once considered classified and not available for public consumption.
Another source that might be extremely valuable
in your research is found at archive.org.
Declassified documents are re-categorized into convenient subgroups including:
After consulting with the team and receiving feedback from the community, we’re holding this challenge for 2 WEEKS rather than one. This should allow researchers more digging time and enough breathing room to put their posts together.
When engaging in research of government websites, intelligence agencies and whistleblower sites, such as Wikileaks, we strongly urge you to take all necessary precautions.
Please see our previous post that addresses
protecting your online privacy, here
In the same vein as the Deep Dives Wikileaks Archive Research Challenge, this investigation is also wide open and up to the individual to find a point of focus.
Note: Longer entries with multiple links and references does not necessarily equate with higher quality. Clear and concise work with a handful of supporting sources is preferable.
@v4vapid and 
@ausbitbank upvotes and resteems for deserving and original contributions
@deepdives to support the community and future research.
Those that do not ‘win’ should not view their work and efforts as wasted. All submissions are valuable and will be contributing to building a body of research on the blockchain. We hope that contributors support each other’s efforts wherever possible whether by sharing tips, links or through constructive feedback to their fellow researchers.
As previously discussed with members of the community, future initiatives will eventually be more focused on specific themes, archives and sub-archives.
Though Deep Dives has changed gears from the Wikileaks archives to the CIA FOIA library, we want to make it known that we’re planning on an archival rotation allowing for regular research challenges into multiple collections.
Our hope is that eventually research projects will be community driven.
Deep Dives is a work in progress any suggestions, feedback or input from you is greatly appreciated.
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