iDocIDr6571846 PL 86-36 50 USC 3605_ 28 Au ust 1975 MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD I SUBJECT Interview of Mr Robert Tracy by the Senate Seieot Committee for the investigation of Intelligence- DATE 28 August 1975 0930 hours - PLACE Carroll Arms Hotel PARTICIPANTS Mr Eric Richard and Mr Peter Penn of the Senate Staff Mr Robert Tracy andl NSA monitor QUESTIONS Mr Richard What is your position title A Chief International Information Division Central Information Center - How long have you been in this position A March 197l to present -Q Were you responsible for U S Biographic Files A - Yes How many file cabinets A - Seven or eight Did you have other biographic files A Yes Active on Communist China North an South Korea Southeast Asian countries Inactive on Project countries all of which were destroyed except Middle East North Africa - How were U S files arranged A - Alphabetical - In U 3 files were government officials separated from private citizens A - NO Doc ID 6571846 What sources of information were in U S Files SIGINT product State Department cables Intelligence Reports such as CIA numbered reports and Press Did U 5 Files have information from No Did you receive other reports from military investigative agencies N0 Describe Project It was a project agreed to by both Director NBA and Director CIA where by would provide answers to questions from NSA PROD In doing this my division would no longer provide this service and billets would become available for work elsewhere When did Project begin Thinking and Discussion stage'1969 1970 time frame Did CIA ask for NBA files Due to similarity of contents of files they said they didn't want them Did CIA want U 8 Files No CIA personnel at various times in briefing production personnel on implementation said they did not have U 5 files but could answer questions from openwsource material such as Who's Who telephone books trade directories etc How was information selected for U S Files - Based on selection guidance memo 1969 U S Personalities Where was file located section When I became chief of division in 1971 it was in the WeStern Hemisphere Branch This branch was immediately disestablished because its function went under Project The U S Files were transferred to the Central Reference Branch Who was responsible for the U S Files 86 36 50 use 3605 Doc ID 6571846 What made you decide to destroy U S Files and When They were destroyed Oct 1974 Prior to that they were inactive from Jan 1974 On three ooassions from mid 1973 thru Oct 1974 my division went through physical moves to consolidate work spaces On each ooassion large number of file cabinets were destroyed inactive information As more and more Agency came under umbrella my division received fewer questions and the usage of the U S files showed a decided decrease We found that of the questions we did receive we could get answers from Who's Who telephone directories trade directories etc I then decided that the manpower to process and maintain the files was not worth the effort When we made our final move in Oct 1974 I discussed the destruction of the files with my Office Chief Mr Welday He approved their destruction at that time Who ordered Mr Welday to destroy the files I don't know was there ever a discussion at NSA about the legality of the U S Files Not to my knowledge Did you consider the files unlawful No Do you know if the Justice Department told use to destroy files No Name some high-level people in 0 8 Files President Sec Kissinger Sen Kennedy other high level State Department people government officials Sen McGovern I don't know Congressmen Probably I Bella HAW Probably I don't know If Sen Kennedy went to Hanoi and sent a message home would that be in file No Doc ID 6571846 Mr r a I PL 3605 0 Would you have messages from U S citizens in fi1e 0 0 No 3 - Mr Tracy are you familiar with Black Panthers other activitists organizations Did you keep information onfany of them Not to my knowledge Familiarity yes- as an Information Specialist I'm interested in current affairs and naturally when they were making headlines I read about them I - PENN Mr Tracy would you ever use informa ion in files on individuals to compile a special repert No My business is to answer spot huestions this is identificar tions like proper Spell of surname individual occupation where located nationality etc - I a At this and said that as a former customer of my services when he was a translator he would call my organisation when at a certain point he was at a standstill like he thought he had a name we were called upon to assist him If we were successful it would greatly add to his product and help him crib further to finish the message Questions of this nature came to Bobis division from all over the Agency RICHARD What services did you provide We handled check list dueries How did you do thisg We received in seared envelopes the queries When I became Chief of the division they were sent to an employee in one of my branches She would search the files to see if she could find information on the person's name address nationality etc If information was found a notation was placed on back of form along with the proper source of that information The check lists were then mailed by this person to M5 Who took care of these queries She handled the M5 queries from Maroh 1971 until she left the Agency in Feb 1974 She was a partutime employee working only two days a week Approximately 4 of her 16 hours was devoted to these checks Toward the end of her time with us little success was attained in getting information One statistic I remember was only 3 hits with info out of 192 queries Dec 1973 Her branch chief had asked on different ocassions tha- - Doc ID 6571846 After ehe left haw did you handle the M5 requests In early-1974 I informed M5 that we 'oould only handle checks on countries They understood this I also asked them to send queries to my attention This was the first time I d actually seen a name check query To my recollection we received only a very few in 1974 and that most of them were Koreans or Southeast Asians I had them researched in my Southeast Asia Korea Branch We received no name checks from MS after January 19 5 Can you describe the Rhyming Dictionary and in what form do you have it Yes It is on cartridge microfilm for the years 1958 to 1970 Mag tape 1970 1973 The years 1970 to 1973 is slated to be placed on cartridge film There will be three sorts One alphabetical by surname one by reverse sort of surname and one by surname with given name Nationality appeared with each line entry Could all U S entries be separated out into ire listing I believe this could be accomplished by computer people This I believed was the last guestion asked                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu