Petrelis Files

FBI's Cockburn File,
If it Exists, in National Archives?

Remember my Freedom of Information Act request in August to the FBI for any records they may possess on the late radical journalist Alexander Cockburn? It generated a response from the FBI saying they may have a file on him and that it potentially may be in the National Archives and Records Administration archives.

At the direction of the FBI, I queried NARA for Cockburn's file, if it exists, and earlier this week I received this reply, pictured, from the Archives II Reference Section at NARA:

The records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Record Group 65) are in the custody of this unit. This includes Classification 100 - Domestic Security. However, you will need to write a Freedom of Information Act request to our Special Access/FOIA division.

NARA doesn't clearly say if it does or does not possess any responsive records pertaining to Cockburn. We'll have to wait for my FOIA request to NARA, emailed today and NARA has replied with an acknowledgement the request has been received and the FOIA clock is ticking.

If there isn't an FBI file on Cockburn, I'll be quite surprised.