FOIA Response 18-F-0324: AATIP and Luis Elizondo Documents

“This is a final response to your December 17, 2017 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request”

“We received your request on December 18, 2017, and assigned it FOIA case number 18-F-0324.”

“conducted a search of their records systems and located eight pages determined to be responsive to parts one and two of your request”

“has determined that portions of the eight responsive pages are exempt from release pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(6), as disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of individuals.”

“Mr. Brian C. Kreitlow, Chief, Assessment, Capabilities, & Integration Division, in his capacity as an Initial Denial Authority”

“Stephanie L. Carr Chief”

“Ms. Joo Chung, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Privacy Civil Liberties, and Transparency (PCLT), Office of the Secretary of Defense, at the following address: 4800 Mark Center Drive, ATTN: PCLFD, FOIA Appeals, Mailbox #24, Alexandria, VA 22350-1700.”

“Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS College Park, MD 20740 E-mail: ogis@nara.gov Telephone: 202-741-5770”

“FROM: Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence”

“Mr. Elizondo was assigned to OUSDI from September 28, 2008 to October 4, 2017.”

“He served as an action officer in Partner Engagement”

“subsequently as a branch chief managing classified information to support the Office of Military Commissions”

“To the best of my knowledge, he had no job responsibilities related to the AATIP.”

“The AATIP was terminated in 2012.”

“On October 3, 2017, Mr. Elizondo submitted a resignation letter (Tab B) requesting immediate termination of his employment.”

“He was cleared out of USDI the next day.”

“He provided no reason for the sudden departure.”

“On or about October 4, after Mr. Elizondo had departed the organization, a second resignation letter (Tab C) was delivered to the USDI Chief of Staff office.”

“In this letter, which is formatted as a "Memorandum for Record" but uses the salutation "Mr. Secretary,"”

“Mr. Elizondo cites concerns over anomalous aerospace threats as the basis for his resignation.”

“Given the uncertain provenance of the second letter, OUSDI retained a copy but did not provide it to the SecDef office.”

“In a phone call on October 5, when asked about the second letter, Mr. Elizondo told me that for many years he had been secretly tasked by the Secretary of Defense as the program manager for investigating UFOs and other aerial threats.”

“He said nobody in USDI was cleared for this program and would not discuss it further.”

“I discussed his claims with senior officials who would likely have known of such an arrangement, but was unable to substantiate them.”

“On October 12, I learned of a video featuring Mr. Elizondo that was posted on YouTube by the "To the Stars Academy for Arts and Sciences," which appears to be his current employer.”

“He asserts "for nearly the last decade I ran a sensitive Aerospace Threat Identification Program focusing on unidentified aerial technologies,"”

“Following discovery of the YouTube video, I requested an informal review of Mr. Elizondo's conduct by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI)”

“In late November AFOSI advised that absent more tangible indicators of possible misconduct they did not have enough information to open a case on Mr. Elizondo.”

“On December 7, DoD was contacted by the New York Times (NYT) seeking information regarding the AATIP”

“On December 15, based on information contained in the NYT inquiry, I notified the OUSDI Security Officer that Mr. Elizondo may have misused government systems and may intend to release USG footage or information that he obtained during his employment with OUSD (I).”

“On December 18, OUSDI located a classified email generated by Mr. Elizondo in August 2017, in which he requested assistance from a Navy civilian employee to declassify one or more videos.”

“The video attached to the email is the same footage broadcast on national news on December 17.”

“The email chain is incomplete, so we have yet to determine if the video was properly declassified, what process was followed, and how it ended up in the possession of the national media.”

“On December 21, I met with AFOSI agents to initiate a formal inquiry into Mr. Elizondo's possible mishandling of classified materials.”

“Effective 4 October 2017, I humbly submit my resignation as Director, National Programs Special Management Staff, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.”

“I respectfully request I receive a "deferred retirement."”

“For over 22 years, I have been blessed to learn from, and work with world-class leadership”

“bureaucratic challenges and inflexible mindsets continue to plague the Department at all levels. This is particularly true regarding the controversial topic of anomalous aerospace threats.”

“Despite overwhelming evidence at both the unclassified and classified levels, certain individuals in the Department remain staunchly opposed to further research on what could be a tactical threat to our pilots, sailors, and soldiers”

“what could be a tactical threat to our pilots, sailors, and soldiers, and perhaps even an existential threat to our national security.”

“In many instances, there seems to be a direct correlation the phenomena exhibits with respect to our nuclear and military capabilities.”

“MEMORANDUM FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SUBJECT: (U) Response to Your Questions on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and Actions of Former DoD Employee Luis Elizondo”

“The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) is conducting an inquiry to determine if Mr. Elizondo mishandled classified information.”

“On October 3rd he told his direct supervisor he was resigning because he had a fleeting job opportunity that required his immediate availability.”

“Yes. Mr. Elizondo completed all administrative and security related out-processing, including formal debriefs for all SAPs, SCI, and compartmented programs.”

“The letter was hand delivered to the USDI Chief of Staff office by someone other than Mr. Elizondo.”

“I checked with two senior officials that have knowledge of special programs; our collective assessment was that Mr. Elizondo's claims were not credible, and the letter was not worthy of the Secretary's personal attention.”

“He informed us that he told Mr. Elizondo that he was not the declassification release authority, and took no further action.”

“Their informal assessment did not find any wrongdoing by Mr. Elizondo, and absent any indicators of misconduct, they were unable to open a formal investigation.”