

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

According to Foreign Policy, the CIA has denied this claim for years. A series of Freedom of Information Act requests to the CIA turned up the same response: "We did not locate any records responsive to your request."
However, a FOIA request sent to the FBI from Foreign Policy through attorney Kel McClanahan has returned with a memo between the FBI and the CIA that experts say confirms the existence of a CIA file on Chomsky.
Foreign Policy reports:
Dated June 8, 1970, the memo discusses Chomsky's anti-war activities and asks the FBI for more information about an upcoming trip by anti-war activists to North Vietnam. The memo's author, a CIA official, says the trip has the "ENDORSEMENT OF NOAM CHOMSKY" and requests "ANY INFORMATION" about the people associated with the trip.
"The June 1970 CIA communication confirms that the CIA created a file on Chomsky," Athan Theoharis, a professor emeritus at Marquette University and an expert on FBI-CIA cooperation and information-gathering, told Foreign Policy. "That file, at a minimum, contained a copy of their communication to the FBI and the report on Chomsky that the FBI prepared in response to this request."
What's more is the fact that the CIA has not provided a copy of Chomsky's file through the legally binding Freedom of Information Act requests. According to Theoharis, this means that the file was likely illegally destroyed at one point.
Foreign Policy writes:
It's worth noting that the destruction of records is a legally treacherous activity. Under the Federal Records Act of 1950, all federal agencies are required to obtain advance approval from the national Archives for any proposed record disposition plans. The Archives is tasked with preserving records with 'historical value.'
'Clearly, the CIA's file, or files, on Chomsky fall within these provisions,' said Theoharis.
In response to the information, Chomsky told Foreign Policy: "Someday it will be realized that systems of power typically try to extend their power in any way they can think of."
"It is important to learn when the CIA decided to destroy the Chomsky file and why they decided that it should be destroyed," said Theoharis. "Undeniably, Chomsky's was not the sole CIA file destroyed. How many other files were destroyed?"
Read the documents below:
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

According to Foreign Policy, the CIA has denied this claim for years. A series of Freedom of Information Act requests to the CIA turned up the same response: "We did not locate any records responsive to your request."
However, a FOIA request sent to the FBI from Foreign Policy through attorney Kel McClanahan has returned with a memo between the FBI and the CIA that experts say confirms the existence of a CIA file on Chomsky.
Foreign Policy reports:
Dated June 8, 1970, the memo discusses Chomsky's anti-war activities and asks the FBI for more information about an upcoming trip by anti-war activists to North Vietnam. The memo's author, a CIA official, says the trip has the "ENDORSEMENT OF NOAM CHOMSKY" and requests "ANY INFORMATION" about the people associated with the trip.
"The June 1970 CIA communication confirms that the CIA created a file on Chomsky," Athan Theoharis, a professor emeritus at Marquette University and an expert on FBI-CIA cooperation and information-gathering, told Foreign Policy. "That file, at a minimum, contained a copy of their communication to the FBI and the report on Chomsky that the FBI prepared in response to this request."
What's more is the fact that the CIA has not provided a copy of Chomsky's file through the legally binding Freedom of Information Act requests. According to Theoharis, this means that the file was likely illegally destroyed at one point.
Foreign Policy writes:
It's worth noting that the destruction of records is a legally treacherous activity. Under the Federal Records Act of 1950, all federal agencies are required to obtain advance approval from the national Archives for any proposed record disposition plans. The Archives is tasked with preserving records with 'historical value.'
'Clearly, the CIA's file, or files, on Chomsky fall within these provisions,' said Theoharis.
In response to the information, Chomsky told Foreign Policy: "Someday it will be realized that systems of power typically try to extend their power in any way they can think of."
"It is important to learn when the CIA decided to destroy the Chomsky file and why they decided that it should be destroyed," said Theoharis. "Undeniably, Chomsky's was not the sole CIA file destroyed. How many other files were destroyed?"
Read the documents below:
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

According to Foreign Policy, the CIA has denied this claim for years. A series of Freedom of Information Act requests to the CIA turned up the same response: "We did not locate any records responsive to your request."
However, a FOIA request sent to the FBI from Foreign Policy through attorney Kel McClanahan has returned with a memo between the FBI and the CIA that experts say confirms the existence of a CIA file on Chomsky.
Foreign Policy reports:
Dated June 8, 1970, the memo discusses Chomsky's anti-war activities and asks the FBI for more information about an upcoming trip by anti-war activists to North Vietnam. The memo's author, a CIA official, says the trip has the "ENDORSEMENT OF NOAM CHOMSKY" and requests "ANY INFORMATION" about the people associated with the trip.
"The June 1970 CIA communication confirms that the CIA created a file on Chomsky," Athan Theoharis, a professor emeritus at Marquette University and an expert on FBI-CIA cooperation and information-gathering, told Foreign Policy. "That file, at a minimum, contained a copy of their communication to the FBI and the report on Chomsky that the FBI prepared in response to this request."
What's more is the fact that the CIA has not provided a copy of Chomsky's file through the legally binding Freedom of Information Act requests. According to Theoharis, this means that the file was likely illegally destroyed at one point.
Foreign Policy writes:
It's worth noting that the destruction of records is a legally treacherous activity. Under the Federal Records Act of 1950, all federal agencies are required to obtain advance approval from the national Archives for any proposed record disposition plans. The Archives is tasked with preserving records with 'historical value.'
'Clearly, the CIA's file, or files, on Chomsky fall within these provisions,' said Theoharis.
In response to the information, Chomsky told Foreign Policy: "Someday it will be realized that systems of power typically try to extend their power in any way they can think of."
"It is important to learn when the CIA decided to destroy the Chomsky file and why they decided that it should be destroyed," said Theoharis. "Undeniably, Chomsky's was not the sole CIA file destroyed. How many other files were destroyed?"
Read the documents below: