Important Disclosure about William King Harvey in Recently Released Document

[Michael T. Griffith]

In 1963, Bill Harvey could have had an authentic US passport with whatever name he wanted. This whole topic mystifies me. The FAA, a civil agency, has no authority to arrest and detain people, and no authority to issue a credential that would prevent arrests by other law enforcement agencies.
No CIA officer would need any authority or credential from the FAA to travel incognito. This makes no sense. No ones ID was checked pre-boarding in the 1960s. Morley calls this a "bombshell," but then maybe a chimerical molehill is a mountain.

Yes, Harvey could have used a U.S. passport with a different name, which would have been traveling under a false name. So, in the event that was ever caught doing this and was questioned about it, he could cite his FAA travel credential.

Why do you suppose the CIA suppressed this memo for so long and failed to disclose the arrangement to the Church Committee?

I hate to burst Michael's and Morley's bubbles so quickly, but it took me about 15 seconds to determine that this was an authorization to carry a firearm. See paragraphs 4 and 5 of the attached. You CTers are too easy. Give me something hard, willya?

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80B01676R003100260070-5.pdf

This memo has nothing to do with the CIA Zubon memo on an FAA credential for Harvey. As you yourself note, the memo you're citing is about authorization to carry a gun onto a commercial plane and mentions several agencies, not just the FAA. The Zubon memo says nothing about carrying a firearm.

I repeat my questions: Why did the CIA suppress the Zubon memo? Why did CIA not disclose this arrangement to the Church Committee?

Also, if it was merely an arrangement with multiple agencies to carry a gun while flying, why the decades-long suppression? Why the redactions for "national security"? Why withhold this from the Church Committee if it was just about carrying a gun on a plane?

[Benjamin Cole]

"So, in the event that (Harvey) was ever caught doing this (traveling under an assumed name) and was questioned about it, he could cite his FAA travel credential."--MTG

1. It was not a crime in 1963 to travel under an assumed name on a commercial airliner.

2. In the unlikely event Harvey was arrested while in or near a commercial airliner, he would likely show authorities  his real ID, that he was CIA working undercover, and no police agency in the US would detain him for a minute longer.

3. I wondered if there is such a thing as an "FAA covert travel credential." AI says there was and is not.

Upon reading the Zubron memo, it says Harvey was requested to receive an "FAA credential number."

That's a horse of a different color!


AI: "Yes, the William King Harvey who was a prominent CIA officer and known as "Wild Bill" Harvey was indeed a licensed pilot. He was a key figure in a joint CIA/Army operation against Fidel Castro."

OK, maybe we are getting somewhere.

AI: "A Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) credential number circa the 1960s was a unique identification number assigned to individuals, likely for their airman certificates, which was used for tracking and regulatory purposes."

In other words, Harvey was being credentialed to fly airplanes. Like every other pilot in the US, he had an FAA credential number. Likely, the CA had an in-house office to handle these sort of time-consuming chores with other federal agencies.

The CIA has kept many useless memos sequestered since the 1960s.

[Michael T. Griffith]

AI: "Yes, the William King Harvey who was a prominent CIA officer and known as "Wild Bill" Harvey was indeed a licensed pilot. He was a key figure in a joint CIA/Army operation against Fidel Castro."

OK, maybe we are getting somewhere.

AI: "A Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) credential number circa the 1960s was a unique identification number assigned to individuals, likely for their airman certificates, which was used for tracking and regulatory purposes."

In other words, Harvey was being credentialed to fly airplanes. Like every other pilot in the US, he had an FAA credential number. Likely, the CA had an in-house office to handle these sort of time-consuming chores with other federal agencies.

I think that raises even more questions than if the FAA credential was for traveling under a different name. Why would the CIA have wanted to get Harvey an FAA credential to fly planes when he was the CIA chief of station in Rome, Italy, at the time? That doesn't make sense to me.

Also, if the FAA credential was just for flying planes, why did the CIA withhold this from the Church Committee, and why was the memo redacted for "national security"? What would be sensitive about a routine FAA credential to fly planes for a guy who was licensed pilot?

And, again, what was Harvey doing on a commercial flight to Dallas in early November, when he was seen on the flight by Mark Wyatt, who worked with Harvey in Rome?
 

The CIA has kept many useless memos sequestered since the 1960s.

I suspect that the CIA documents on Harvey's travels in 1963 are not entirely useless.

[Benjamin Cole]

MTG-

An "FAA credential number" was sought for Bill Harvey but not under an assumed name. Read the Zubron memo again.

The CIA is seeking an "FAA credential" for Bill Harvey in Bill Harvey's name! The FAA credential sought is likely related to Harvey's pilot license.

There is nothing in the memo about an assumed name or traveling covertly, etc.

Indeed, one might wonder if Harvey planned a covert mission inside the US...whether he, or anyone at the CIA, would seek FAA clearance for such an op. Certainly, the answer is "no!" The idea is laughable.

I don't know why this record was not released a long time ago.

How this "bombshell" morphed into Harvey traveling covertly in the US on commercial airliners just before the JFKA....is a sign the CT community (of which I am reluctant part) needs to "get tough" on information. Not everything is a telltale clue.

Morley is desperate for paying subscribers. Maybe Mossad used Bill Harvey's FAA credential to bring assassins to Dallas.

[Tom Graves]

Maybe Mossad used Bill Harvey's FAA credential to bring assassins to Dallas.

Hey! Here's an idea!

Maybe psychologically disturbed former Marine sharpshooter and U-2 radar operator Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK all by him widdle self-described Marxist self!

[Lance Payette]

Yes, Harvey could have used a U.S. passport with a different name, which would have been traveling under a false name. So, in the event that was ever caught doing this and was questioned about it, he could cite his FAA travel credential.

Why do you suppose the CIA suppressed this memo for so long and failed to disclose the arrangement to the Church Committee?

This memo has nothing to do with the CIA Zubon memo on an FAA credential for Harvey. As you yourself note, the memo you're citing is about authorization to carry a gun onto a commercial plane and mentions several agencies, not just the FAA. The Zubon memo says nothing about carrying a firearm.

I repeat my questions: Why did the CIA suppress the Zubon memo? Why did CIA not disclose this arrangement to the Church Committee?

Also, if it was merely an arrangement with multiple agencies to carry a gun while flying, why the decades-long suppression? Why the redactions for "national security"? Why withhold this from the Church Committee if it was just about carrying a gun on a plane?

It is not POSSIBLE that people are actually this dense ... is it?

The Zubon memo says nothing about ANYTHING - travel, passport, pilot license, or whatever other nonsense you want to impute to it.

The document that I linked is a CIA INTERNAL MEMORANDUM to the DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE from the DEPUTY DIRECTOR (SUPPORT). It is stamped January 23, 1963, more than two months before the Zubon memo.

It states in paragraphs 4 and 5 that new Congressional legislation prohibits individuals from carrying concealed firearms on commercial aircraft. HOWEVER, arrangements have been made for the CIA's Office of Security to issue to qualified CIA personnel an FAA firearms credential to allow them to carry concealed weapons.

The Zubon memo is addressed to the FAA Security Division from the CIA Office of Security, asking that the FAA's records reflect that Harvey has been issued FAA Credential Number 4888. I confirmed in a CIA publication from this era that it was the CIA Office of Security that ensured CIA personnel were trained and qualified with firearms before a credential was issued. Hence, the Zubon memo is simply the CIA informing the FAA that Harvey has qualified and been issued the credential and that the FAA's records should reflect this fact (and that his credential may be verified if his authority is questioned).

There is no mystery here. There is no doubt. Everything - the timing, the terminology, the offices involved - is a perfect fit. End of discussion - or least it should be.

It is not POSSIBLE that people are actually this dense ... is it???

(Yes, Lance, it is.)

[Lance Payette]

At the risk of overkill, look at Zubon's title - Chief of Building Security. Do some Googling as to the sort of stuff in which Building Security was involved, such as the issuance of passes to contractors. The likelihood of Building Security being involved in super-secret clandestine stuff with Harvey - and sending memos about it to the FAA - is rather small. Think, people.