Richard Ober Papers

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Register of the Richard Ober 2019C20 1 papers Title: Richard Ober papers Date (inclusive): 1942-2001 Collection Number: 2019C20 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Archives Language of Material: English Physical Description: 28 manuscript boxes(11.2 linear feet) Abstract: Correspondence, writings, notes, personnel records, memoranda, reports, legal records, and printed matter, relating to the Central Intelligence Agency and its Operation CHAOS. Consists mainly of reportage of post-Watergate debate on intelligence agency oversight and of documentation of related litigation. Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives Creator: Ober, Richard, 1921-2001 Access The collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Richard Ober papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Archives Acquisition Information Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 2018. Accruals Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at http://searchworks.stanford.edu/ . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the catalog is larger than the number of boxes listed in this finding aid. 1921 Born, New York City 1943 A.B., Harvard University 1943-1946 U.S. Army service 1948 M.A., Columbia University Joined Central Intelligence Agency 1964 Graduate, National War College 1967-1972 Chief, Central Intelligence Agency Counterintelligence Special Operations Group 1972-1974 Chief, Central Intelligence Agency Counterintelligence International Terrorism Group 1974-1976 Director for Intelligence Coordination, National Security Council 1980 Retired from Central Intelligence Agency 2001 Died, Fairfax Station, Virginia Scope and Content of Collection The Richard Ober papers are narrowly focused on Operation CHAOS, a program conducted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency from 1967 to 1972 for the purpose of surveillance and infiltration of dissident and radical movements in the United States, including antiwar, black power and left-wing organizations. The program complemented the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's older counterintelligence program, COINTELPRO. The Central Intelligence Agency's rationale for entering into domestic activities was to investigate the possibility of foreign influence in the target organizations. The programs became publicly known in consequence of revelations following upon and associated with the Watergate scandal. Beginning in 1974 they occasioned intense publicity and investigation by multiple Congressional and other government bodies. Richard Ober, a career Central Intelligence Agency official, directed Operation CHAOS throughout its five-year existence. Subsequently he was seconded to the United States National Security Council as its senior staff member for intelligence matters. The publicity he received following revelation of the existence of Operation CHAOS prompted the Agency to seek severance of his employment. He resisted this, but was retired in 1980. Key series in the collection are those formed around the numerous investigations of intelligence community activities: the Central Intelligence Agency Domestic Intelligence Report File (the Agency's report on itself); the Commission on CIA Activities within the United States File (the so-called Rockefeller Commission after its chairman, Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller); the Commission on the Reorganization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy File (the so-called Murphy Commission after its chairman, Ambassador Robert D. Murphy); the Senate Select Committee to Study

Register of the Richard Ober 2019C20 2 papers Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities File (the so-called Church Committee after its chairman, Senator Frank Church); the House Committees File (especially the so-called Pike Committee, after its chairman, Congressman Otis G. Pike); and the Department of Justice Report File (regarding the mail-opening component of Operation CHAOS). The Legal Cases File is concerned with the numerous subsequent civil lawsuits brought by individuals and organizations against government agencies and officials. Typically these cases involved both numerous plaintiffs and numerous defendants. Ober figured as a defendant in all but one--a potential legal case revolving around the unauthorized biography of Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham by Deborah Davis. Davis mistakenly named Ober as Deep Throat and Ober figured here as a potential plaintiff. There is also a specifically titled Operation CHAOS File. This consists of redacted internal documents from Operation CHAOS that were made public in the course of the various legal cases. They shed light on the program's general guidelines as well as on some specific operations. The large General Intelligence File consists primarily of press coverage of the intense debate over the proper role and oversight of the intelligence community that ensued during the latter half of the 1970s. There are a few additional small series not specifically connected with Operation CHAOS issues. These include Ober's Army Personnel File, Central Intelligence Agency Personnel File, and National Security Council Personnel File. In 1963-1964 Ober was a student at the National War College. His National War College File is mainly concerned with his participation in a group student visit to Africa, as is the associated Audiovisual File. Subjects and Indexing Terms United States. Central Intelligence Agency. Secret service--United States.

Box/Folder 1 : 1 Army Personnel File 1942-1952 Scope and Contents note Military personnel file of Richard Ober. Includes Reserve Officers Training Corps and Army Reserve materials, orders, and memoranda.

Boxes 1-2 Central Intelligence Agency Personnel File 1948-1980 Scope and Contents note Personnel file of Richard Ober as a Central Intelligence Agency employee.

Box/Folder 1 : 2 Questionnaires and personnel action notifications 1948-1979 General Scope and Contents note Contains correspondence, memoranda, lists and notes.

Box/Folder 1 : 3 1951-1974 Box/Folder 1 : 4 1975 Box/Folder 1 : 5 1976 Box/Folder 1 : 6 1977-1978 Box/Folder 1 : 7 1979-1980 Box/Folder 1 : 8 Request for documents 1978 Scope and Contents note Includes correspondence together with redacted document copies.

Box/Folder 1 : 9 Appeal of proposed separation 1978 Scope and Contents note Contains correspondence and memoranda. Includes redacted copies of earlier personnel file documents.

Box/Folder 1 : 10 Retirement 1980 Scope and Contents note Contains memoranda and drafts.

Box/Folder 1 : 11 Travel authorizations and miscellany 1974-1979 Writings Box/Folder 2 : 1 "Recommendations on Intelligence from the Murphy and Rockefeller Commission Reports" (internal memorandum by Ober) 1975 Scope and Contents note Typescript

"The U.S. Intelligence Community Today" (internal study by Ober) 1978 Box/Folder 2 : 2-4 Drafts Box/Folder 2 : 5 Notes Box/Folder 2 : 6-7 Working materials Boxes 2-4 National War College File 1963-1964 Scope and Contents note Papers of Richard Ober as a National War College student.

Box/Folder 2 : 8 General 1963-1964 Scope and Contents note Contains correspondence, memoranda, lists, and handbooks.

Box/Folder 2 : 9 Research paper 1963-1964 Scope and Contents note Contains memoranda, guidelines, and a letter.

Trip to Africa 1964 Scope and Contents note Contains memoranda, itineraries, travel documents, briefing materials, and printed matter. See also Audiovisual File.

Box/Folder 3 : 1 General Box/Folder 3 : 2 Senegal Box/Folder 3 : 3 Ghana Box/Folder 3 : 4 Congo Box/Folder 3 : 5-6 Angola Box/Folder 3 : 7 Southern Rhodesia Box/Folder 4 : 1 Southern Rhodesia Box/Folder 4 : 2 Kenya Box/Folder 4 : 3 Ethiopia Box/Folder 4 : 4 Nigeria Box/Folder 4 : 5 National Security Council Personnel File 1974-1976 Scope and Contents note Personnel file of Richard Ober as a National Security Council employee. Contains correspondence, memoranda, lists, and notes.

Boxes 4-5 Central Intelligence Agency Domestic Intelligence Report File 1974-1975 Scope and Contents note File on a report by Central Intelligence Agency Director William E. Colby to President Gerald R. Ford on domestic intelligence activities of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Box/Folder 4 : 6 Text of report, 1974, with publicly released redacted appendices, 1975 Box/Folder 5 : 1 Press coverage 1974-1975

Boxes 5-6 Commission on CIA Activities within the United States File 1974-1977 Scope and Contents note File on a report by commission established by President Gerald R. Ford and chaired by Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller (Rockefeller Commission).

Box/Folder 5 : 2 Text of report 1975 Scope and Contents note Printed copy

Box/Folder 5 : 3 Excerpts of report leaked to press prior to public release Box/Folder 5 : 4 Executive orders and White House press conference transcripts subsequent to Commission report 1976-1978 Scope and Contents note Includes 1976 Executive Order on United States Foreign Intelligence Activities by President Gerald R. Ford and 1978 Executive Order on United States Intelligence Activities by President Jimmy Carter.

Box/Folder 5 : 5 Correspondence 1975 Box/Folder 5 : 6 Memoranda 1975 Scope and Contents note Includes comments on the report by William E. Colby and by Ober.

Box/Folder 6 : 1 Notes 1975-1977 Box/Folder 6 : 2-3 Press coverage 1974-1977 Boxes 6-7 Commission on the Reorganization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy File 1975 Scope and Contents note File on a commission jointly established by President Richard M. Nixon and Congress and chaired by Ambassador Robert D. Murphy (Murphy Commission).

Box/Folder 6 : 4 General Scope and Contents note Contains selected recommendations affecting the intelligence community, memoranda, and press coverage.

Box/Folder 6 : 5 Senate response Scope and Contents note Contains memoranda and bills introduced.

Box/Folder 7 : 1 House response Scope and Contents note Contains memoranda and bills introduced.

Boxes 7-9 Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities File 1974-1980 Scope and Contents note File on investigations by Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church (Church Committee)

Box/Folder 7 : 2 Final Report, Book III: Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans 1976 Scope and Contents note Printed copy

Register of the Richard Ober 2019C20 5 papers Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities Fil...

Box/Folder 7 : 3 Report excerpts and Committee rules of procedure 1975-1977 Box/Folder 7 : 4 Hearing transcripts 1975 Scope and Contents note Includes testimony by James Angleton and Richard Helms.

Box/Folder 8 : 1-2 Hearing transcripts 1975 Box/Folder 8 : 3-4 Bills 1974-1978 Box/Folder 8 : 5 Correspondence 1975 Box/Folder 8 : 6 Memoranda and notes 1975-1980 Box/Folder 9 : 1-4 Press coverage 1975-1976 Boxes 9-10 House Committees File 1975-1976 Scope and Contents note File on investigations by the House Select Committee on Intelligence chaired by Congressman Otis G. Pike (Pike Committee), and by the House Committee on Government Operations Subcommittee on Government Information and Individual Rights, chaired by Congresswoman Bella Abzug.

Box/Folder 9 : 5 General 1975 Scope and Contents note Contains correspondence, memoranda, and notes. Includes draft statement to Abzug Subcommittee.

Box/Folder 10 : 1 Hearing transcript of Abzug Subcommittee 1975 Scope and Contents note Includes testimony of William E. Colby.

Box/Folder 10 : 2 Statement by William E. Colby before Abzug Subcommittee 1975 Box/Folder 10 : 3 Bills 1976 Box/Folder 10 : Press coverage, mainly regarding Pike Committee 1975-1976 4-7 Box/Folder 11 : 1 Department of Justice Report File 1975-1977 Scope and Contents note File on the Department of Justice report regarding Central Intelligence Agency mail opening activities. Contains text of the report, notes, and press coverage.

Boxes 11-16 Legal Cases File 1975-2001 Scope and Contents note File relating to legal cases resulting from revelations of intelligence community activities within the United States.

General Box/Folder 11 : 2 Correspondence 1975-1978 Box/Folder 11 : 3 Memoranda 1975-1978 Box/Folder 11 : 4 Notes 1975-1982 Box/Folder 11 : 5 Press coverage 1975-1978 Box/Folder 11 : 6 Black Panther Party vs. Levi (re alleged disruption of Black Panther Party by FBI and CIA) 1975-1978 Scope and Contents note Contains legal complaint, notes, and press coverage.

Davis, Deborah and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Scope and Contents note Potential legal case regarding the book Katharine the Great: Katharine Graham and The Washington Post written by Deborah Davis and published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. The book named Ober as Deep Throat and made other assertions considered possibly libelous. Includes some material on other media contacts with Ober.

Box/Folder 11 : 7 Correspondence 1979-1990 Box/Folder 11 : 8 Memoranda 1975-2001 Box/Folder 12 : 1 Katharine the Great 1979 Scope and Contents note Printed copy

Box/Folder 12 : 2 Press coverage 1975-1999 Driver vs. Helms (re CIA mail opening activities) Legal documents Scope and Contents note Contains legal complaint, briefs, petitions, motions, affidavits and decisions, and legal correspondence.

Box/Folder 12 : 3 1975 Box/Folder 12 : 4 1976 Box/Folder 12 : 5 1977 Box/Folder 12 : 6 1978 Box/Folder 13 : 1 1980-1982 Box/Folder 13 : 2 Memoranda and notes 1975-1982 Grove Press vs. Central Intelligence Agency (regarding allegedly illegal CIA surveillance) Legal documents Scope and Contents note Contains legal complaint, affidavits, briefs, motions and decisions, and legal correspondence.

Box/Folder 13 : 3 1975 Box/Folder 13 : 1976 4-5 Box/Folder 13 : 1977 6-7 Box/Folder 13 : 8 1978-1981 Box/Folder 13 : 9 Memoranda and notes 1975-1980 Halkin vs. Helms (originally Chandler vs. Helms; regarding Operation CHAOS surveillance) Legal documents Scope and Contents note Contains legal documents, affidavits, briefs, motions and decisions, and legal correspondence.

Box/Folder 14 : 1 1975 Box/Folder 14 : 2 1976 Box/Folder 14 : 1977 3-4 Box/Folder 14 : 1978 5-6 Box/Folder 15 : 1979 1-2 Box/Folder 15 : 3 1980

Box/Folder 15 : 1981 4-5 Box/Folder 15 : 6 1982-1983 Box/Folder 15 : 7 Undated Box/Folder 15 : 8 Memoranda and notes 1975-1980 Hampton vs. Hanrahan (re shooting of Black Panther Party members) 1975 Box/Folder 16 : 1 Legal documents Scope and Contents note Contains deposition by Ober and legal correspondence.

Box/Folder 16 : 2 Memoranda and notes Box/Folder 16 : 3 Nunez vs. Central Intelligence Agency (regarding CIA break-in) 1975-1976 Scope and Contents note Contains legal complaint, White House press conference excerpts, and press coverage.

Socialist Workers Party vs. Attorney General (re surveillance of Socialist Workers Party) Legal documents Scope and Contents note Contains legal complaint, affidavits, testimony by Ober, and legal correspondence.

Box/Folder 16 : 4 1975-1976 Box/Folder 16 : 5 1977 Box/Folder 16 : 6 Memoranda and notes 1977 Boxes 16-17 Operation CHAOS File 1967-1976 Scope and Contents note File of internal Operation CHAOS documents, reports, memoranda, and correspondence, made publicly available in redacted form in connection with legal cases.

Box/Folder 16 : 7 1967 Box/Folder 16 : 8 1968 Box/Folder 16 : 9 1969 Scope and Contents note Includes "Special Report: Foreign Communist Support to Revolutionary Protest Movements in the United States."

Box/Folder 17 : 1 1969 Box/Folder 17 : 2 1970 Box/Folder 17 : 3 1971 Box/Folder 17 : 1972 4-5 Box/Folder 17 : 6 1973 Box/Folder 17 : 7 1974 Box/Folder 17 : 8 1975-1976 Box/Folder 17 : 9 Undated Boxes 17-28 General Intelligence File 1963-1991 Scope and Contents note Contains material, mainly printed matter, related to intelligence issues in general.

Box/Folder 17 : 10 Memoranda and notes 1974-1978 Box/Folder 17 : 11 American Enterprise Institute symposium on "Foreign Intelligence: Legal and Democratic Controls" 1979 Scope and Contents note Transcript

Box/Folder 18 : 1 Colby, William E. 1975 Scope and Contents note Speech and statement

Box/Folder 18 : 2 Hardy, Timothy, "The Intelligence Reorganization Crucible" ca. 1976 Scope and Contents note Typescript

Box/Folder 18 : 3 Hughes, Thomas L., "The Fate of Facts in a World of Men: Some Reflections on the Human Side of Intelligence and Policy-Making" 1969 Scope and Contents note Typescript

Box/Folder 18 : 4 Turner, Stansfield 1978-1979 Scope and Contents note Speeches

Press coverage Box/Folder 18 : Central Intelligence Agency activities abroad 1974-1976 5-7 Box/Folder 19 : 1 Central Intelligence Agency activities abroad 1974-1976 Box/Folder 19 : Central Intelligence Agency domestic activities 1975-1976 2-4 Box/Folder 19 : 5 Federal Bureau of Investigation activities 1975-1976 Box/Folder 20 : 1 Federal Bureau of Investigation activities 1975-1976 Box/Folder 20 : National Security Council and Operation CHAOS 1975-1976 2-4 Box/Folder 20 : Other agencies 1975-1976 5-6 Box/Folder 21 : Individuals (mainly intelligence officials; arranged alphabetically) 1974-1976 1-3 Box/Folder 21 : Kissinger, Henry A. 1975 4-5 Scope and Contents note Contains speech transcripts.

Box/Folder 22 : Congressional commentary 1975-1976 1-4 Box/Folder 22 : 5 "News and Comment" intelligence sections (news summary compilation for the President) 1975-1976 Box/Folder 23 : "News and Comment" intelligence sections (news summary compilation for the 1-5 President) 1975-1976 Box/Folder 24 : Magazine articles 1975 1-2 Box/Folder 24 : Editorial commentary and letters to the editor 1974-1976 3-5 Box/Folder 25 : Book reviews and book excerpts 1976-1991 1-2 Miscellaneous Box/Folder 25 : 3 1963-1972 Box/Folder 25 : 4 1974 Box/Folder 25 : 1975 5-7 Box/Folder 26 : 1975 1-2 Box/Folder 26 : 3 1976

Box/Folder 26 : 1977 4-5 Box/Folder 26 : 6 1978 Box/Folder 27 : 1978 1-5 Box/Folder 28 : 1979 1-2 Box/Folder 28 : 3 1980-1990 Box/Folder 28 : 4 Undated Box/Folder 28 : 5 Miscellany Scope and Contents note Contains notes and printed matter.

Box/Folder 28 : 6 Audiovisual File circa 1964 Scope and Contents note Contains postcards and photographs of scenes in Africa.