Co-Director

Office of Information and Privacy

US Department of Justice

Suite 570

Washington, DC 20530-0001 May 2, 2000

Re: Freedom of Information Act Appeal

Request # 437756

Dear Sir:

I am writing to appeal the decision by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's FOIA Chief to deny, in its entirety, my FOIA request for the release of the 17 page transcript of the interview of Thomas Corbally by Roy Cohn (FBI File Series 65-68218).

My request was denied under Subsection (b) (7) (D) of Title 5, United States Code, Section 552.

It is necessary to first note that it took approximately 18 months and 3 letters to US Senator Barbara A. Mikulski to get the FBI to simply answer the request.

I base my appeal on the following points:

  1. It is not logical to believe that the exemption claim of the FBI is more important than the public's right to know in regards to the entire transcript of a 35-year-old interview.
  2. The interview in question is in regard to the FBI file code-named BOWTIE. Since that file has been de-classified, it defies logic to believe that at least a redacted copy of the transcript cannot be released, since the FBI themselves have already admitted that the file itself should no longer be classified.
  3. There has been public speculation for many years that the BOWTIE file contained at least some information that was germane to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Congress, "…to allay lingering doubts…" passed the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act which then-President George H. W. Bush signed into law on October 26, 1992. The Act required that all federal agencies submit anything even remotely connected to the assassination to the Assassination Records Review Board for its review and release. The only appeal to prevent any file from being released, after an ARRB review, was by the decree of the President, himself.

    However, I have been unable to find even a single reference to the interview I have requested in the NARA electronic database, nor is it contained, mentioned or referenced in any of the many press releases by the ARRB during its tenure which ended September 30, 1998.

    With that in mind, and because of recent revelations and allegations that the FBI may not be as forthcoming with honest information as the public deserves and has a right to expect, it becomes of paramount importance to find out whether or not the FBI did as the October 26, 1992 law required. The only way for the public to find out is for this file to be released.

Each of the three points listed above shows cause why my right to know far outweighs the FBI's flimsy exemption claim, especially given the timeframe of the interview.

Since the FBI required an unwarranted, and illegal, 18 month period to reply to my initial request, I am forwarding a copy of this appeal to Senator Mikulski in hopes that the appeal request will be handled in a much more timely manner than the original.

When released, the information contained in the requested transcript will not be used by me for any enterprise of a profitable nature and will be released into the public domain in a manner that will allow free access.

I will also allow free access to my efforts to get the file released and any and all correspondence from any government official in regards to my request, through the Internet.

 

 

Sincerely,

_______________________

Edward C. Dorsch, Jr.

cc: Senator Mikulski

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