Copy of Privacy Act/FOIA request to CIA

In case anyone was wondering what type of request the CIA denied, it was fairly standard, using phrasing copied from the corresponding CIA webpage http://www.foia.cia.gov/privacy_request, as follows, for the request, along with a brief description.

Note that another aspect of the denial of the PA request that is even more basic than the creation of a secret court system is that the CIA has, by denying my request on national security grounds (the need to protect CIA "sources and methods"), is to attempt to cover up violations of legal statutes that govern the conduct of the CIA and its officers, in effect claiming that their "sources and methods"--which I've subjected to a fair amount of public scrutiny here, take priority over the legal statutes governing the CIA and the rights of American citizens living abroad.

That puts the spot light on what these so-called "sources and methods" are in the first place, and secondly on the need to answer the question as to whether or not the "sources and method" at issue were appropriate and legal in the specific context. That context is, of course, the context of a private American citizen living in an allied country that is a constitutional monarchy with a free-market system and the world's third largest economy.

The only possible recourse to "sources and methods" would pertain to those employed to protect me from organized crime groups operating in Japan, but that could hardly translate into a justification for the CIA violating my rights and breaking the law in the process, which they did because they were trying to run me out of town so that they could collaborate with the yakuza like in the days prior to the enactment of the strengthened anti-organized crime laws in  2001 called the Organized Crime Exclusion Ordinances: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza_exclusion_ordinances

Even the enactment of those ordinances didn't stop the CIA from harassing me, however, so that just reinforces the degree to which the CIA demonstrates a mentality of being above the law.

ATTN: Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505 

Dear Coordinator:

Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552 and the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. section 552a, please furnish me with copies of all records about me indexed to my name.

To help identify information about me in your record systems, I am providing the following required information:

Full name:

Current address:

Nakagyoku, Kyoto

Japan

Date and place of birth:

Citizenship status:

United States citizen

Optional: Please explain contact, if any, with the Agency or any other information that would help us distinguish between you and other individuals with the same or similar names.

The primary object of this inquiry is to obtain any and all information about me being maintained by the CIA with respect to complaints of harassment by CIA officers I the city of Kyoto I have made through the American consulate in Osaka as well as the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ. A substantial amount of detail is posted on my blog: Kyoto Inside Out. 

As I have interacted with CIA officers and officers of intelligence agencies from other countries while residing elsewhere in Japan, such as Tokyo, I hereby explicitly clarify that the records I am requesting are not limited to those for any specific geographical location in Japan or elsewhere, but inclusive of all.

 

If you deny all or any part of this request, please cite each specific exemption that forms the basis of your refusal to release the information and notify me of appeal procedures available under the law.

Optional: If you have any questions about handling this request, you may telephone me at (home phone) or at my (office phone).

Sincerely,

I hereby swear that the above information is true under threat of perjury.

Signed

 

CIA's reply to Privacy Act request for Information held by CIA on me

Having been put off by the DOJ initially for almost a year regarding a case with respect to which I assume the claim is that it wasn't investigated, after filing a request based on the Privacy Act, I received the following official correspondence from the above mentioned agencies.

Apparently the sole means of possibly bring the CIA to account by having their actions subject to scrutiny is through the judicial system, by an in camera examination of the documents by a judge in a court of law where a formal complaint has been filed against the CIA. 

That is to say, it is impossible to obtain or even receive acknowledgment from the CIA that they have documents on you that they shouldn't have because they very fact that they might (i.e., read "do, in fact have such documents") is classified. These would seem to be clear signs that a dysfunctional US government is resorting to use of its espionage services in order to pursue illegitimate interests, even if it means taking illegal actions and against individual citizens living abroad in a country that is a part of some illegitimate espionage operation targeting civil society in national with which the US in on good terms.

Note that the crux of the response lies in the following passage:

With respect to responsive records that would reveal a classified connection to the CIA, in accordance with section 3.6(a) of Executive Order 13526, as amended, the CIA can neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of records responsive to your request. The fact of the existence or nonexistence of requested records is currently and properly classified and relates to intelligence sources and methods information that is protected from disclosure by section 6 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949, as amended, and section 102A(i)(l) of the National Security Act of 1947, as amended. Therefore, you may consider this portion of the response a denial of your request pursuant to FOIA exemptions (b)(l) and (b)(3), and PA exemptions G)(l) and (k)(l).

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information

The cited exceptions are:
(j)(l) exempts from disclosure certain information maintained by the Central Intelligence
Agency;
(k)(l) exempts from disclosure information properly classified, pursuant to an Executive Order;

One can see the inherent problems with such a loophole, as it provides the CIA a screen from being subject to public scrutiny, going so far as to deny access to individual America citizens abroad with respect to whom the CIA has no right to investigate (unless they are suspected of "international terrorism").

There are other ramifications of such desperate legal contortions, and I can think of at least two at present: firstly, the system is akin to the establishment of something like the so-called Star Chambers of 15-16th century England, in which absolutely no exposure of the malfeasance of high ranking official could be brought about publically through the judicial process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_chamber; and secondly, the administration of President Barack Obama (he signed "Executive order 13526" in December 2009).

According to Section 104A of the National Security Act of 1947http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/nsaact1947.pdf:

(d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency shall—
(1) collect intelligence through human sources and by other appropriate means, except that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall have no police, subpoena, or law enforcement powers or internal security functions