Overview
- James Erdman III, a CIA officer, told a Senate panel Wednesday that the agency took about 40 boxes of JFK and MKUltra files from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence after its declassification group shut down.
- ODNI’s spokeswoman said reports of a CIA “raid” on Tulsi Gabbard’s office were false, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna later clarified it was not a raid and not that day, saying the materials fall under ODNI’s jurisdiction.
- The CIA, in a separate statement, dismissed the hearing where Erdman testified as “dishonest political theater,” noting the witness appeared under subpoena.
- House Oversight leaders issued a preservation notice to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Luna gave a 24‑hour deadline and threatened a subpoena to compel the return of the records.
- NewsNation reporting, citing an unnamed intelligence official, says CIA personnel removed the files last year from a National Reconnaissance Office site during the government shutdown and have not returned them, frustrating ODNI’s declassification work under President Trump’s 2025 order.