I decided recently to begin looking around for some of the more bizarre Freedom of Information act requests on record, both those which were able to lead to the release of information, and those which were flat-out denied. From time to time there is general weirdness that seems to come together regarding FOIA, often appearing somewhat contrary to what the legislation, by name, should be providing.

FOIA, also called “open records” and sometimes even “sunshine laws” are designed to “set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies.” Similar legislation has been passed in over 70 countries, dating as far back as 1766 with Sweden’s Freedom of the Press act. Many countries also maintain “constitutional guarantees” granting the right to access requested information, though due to the lack of specific legislation to enforce their use, these guarantees are often overlooked.

Here in the States, LBJ signed the legislation into law back in 1966, one year before it would take effect. Similarly, President Bill Clinton signed the amendments regarding electronic documents and stored information in 1996. Given that all documents, both paper and electronic, fall under FOIA legislation, one might think it would be hard for governing bodies to hide anything from those willing to ask; but rest assured, there are plenty of instances where information has been flat-out denied, for reasons as simple as “privacy”.

In fact, a student study performed for the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Conference in 2003 found that Federal Agencies were increasingly using claims of “privacy” when they deny claims under the FOIA, more than what many would consider more “legitimate excuses” like security.

Speaking of legitimacy, there are two instances where the denial of information is deemed ethical: Requests involving “personnel and medical files and similar files” as well as the withholding of law enforcement information that “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”

Still, I’ve come across a few interesting cases where information was either not found, or simply denied, including the interesting request made by a British gentleman who at one time moderated a website called pebls.com (I’ve tried emailing him, but the emails consistently bounce back, so I can’t verify if the site is still being moderated). In this instance, the webmaster had requested files or information with regard to famed occultist Aleister Crowley’s involvement with MI6 and British government operations during WWII. During this period, it was rumored that Crowley had operated as a spy under the codename “Old Mother Clutterbuck”, and had even participated along with Ian Fleming, author of the popular James Bond novels, in a plot to lure Rudolph Hess out of Germany called “Operation Mistletoe.” Here is the response he received:

With regards to your request we have taken the following course of action: A review of the historical records that are retained by the Ministry of Defence in accordance with section 3(4) of the Public Records Act, 1958, for the period 1939 to 1945 in connection with Operation Mistletoe and Old Mother Clutterbuck.

A search of records permanently preserved by The National Archives for the period for the period 1939 to 1945 in connection with Operation Mistletoe and Old Mother Clutterbuck.

I regret to advise you that our investigations into the possibility that the MOD holds files or records with regards to your query produced no results. I am sorry to not be able to assist you any further with your enquiry on this occasion, but wish you well with your ongoing research and interests.  

The official response goes on to describe how to follow up if the information provided does not satisfy the initial request, which may be viewed in its entirety by visiting http://pebls.com/ and scrolling down the page to the second entry.

Moving back “across the pond” to the USA, I found at a portion of the George Washington University website devoted to the National Security Archive a list of “The Ten Oldest Standing FOIA Requests in the Federal Government.” Interestingly, none of these involve UFOs:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB102/tenoldest.htm

However, even more interesting is this link to the website of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) titled Unidentified Flying Objects, which describes the Animal Mutilation Project which began in the 1970s. The preface to the 1600 pages made available at the FBI website reads as follows:

The material concerning the Animal Mutilation Project contains accounts of animal mutilations which were reported during the late 1970’s. The FBI became involved when fifteen mutilations occurred in New Mexico. Various theories concerning the origins of the mutilations were explored by the FBI, including satanic cults, UFOs, pranksters, and natural predators. The investigation failed to identify any individuals responsible for the mutilations.

You can download and read these documents for yourself by visiting http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/ufo.htm.

Interestingly, my buddy Nick Redfern was also able to uncover a 1991 investigation of MJ12 documents by the FBI (in addition to the more widely publicized 1988 FBI investigation of similar documents), which was uncovered by use of the FOIA. He blogged about this yesterday over at his blog Darkness in the Desert:

http://desertdarkness.blogspot.com/2008/06/mj12-and-fbi-1991-documents.html

Another personal favorite of mine was a document uncovered by The Sunshine Project, a group specializing in obtaining government documents involving warfare who, as of 1 February 2008, has suspended its operations. In the document, titled “Harrassing, Annoying, and “Bad Guy” Identifying Chemicals”, section #3, category 3, describes “Chemicals that effect human behavior so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely effected.” It describes that “one distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior.” The entire report can be viewed here.

Finally, what such casebook involving FOIA requests would be complete without looking at some nice documents obtained with FOIA regarding founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard? In addition to having participated in occult activity himself (having once been involved in an orgy-like ritual designed to conjure the Scarlet Woman, that is, “the whore of Babylon”), Hubbard also seemed to believe he was frequently having close encounters with communist spies. In April 1940, one such evil agent he encountered had been moonlighting as a hotel steward (according to Hubbard, at least). Then eleven years later, Hubbard contacted the FBI denouncing fifteen of his staff at The Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation. Having become so obsessed with the “Red Scare” by the early 1950s, it is eveident that Hubbard believed himself to be at the center of a sinister “Communist Plot.” There is even record of a telegram Hubbard sent his mistress where he stated, “ Better keep our plans a close secret as I do not know what they would try to do to you if they knew. Be very careful.”

In 1951, for Hubbard it seemed that making false reports and claims to the government that his friends were “communists” was a preferred method of revenge if you pissed him off. Here are the entries he included at the top of his March 3rd 1953 memo, describing his wife Sara Northrup Hubbard and her “lover”, Miles Hollister:

You can read the rest of these wonderful entries on Hubbard by clicking here. Also, I have presently asked a friend of mine about whether or not he has ever obtained FOIA documents about the leader of the American Nazi Party during the 1930s and ‘40s, William Dudley Pelley. Before long, we may have even more weird documents to share…