The National Security Archive has released newly declassified FBI reports revealing that both President John F. Kennedy and his brother, then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, were briefed on a covert CIA operation in 1962 to break into the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., in a mission to “remove documents.” These reports, now made available to the public for the first time, are part of the ongoing release of files related to the assassination of President Kennedy and provide a startling insight into CIA operations during the 1960s.
According to the documents, high-level U.S. officials, including the Kennedy brothers, were briefed by CIA officials on the operation, which was part of a larger counterintelligence effort. In the reports, Robert F. Kennedy is quoted as stating that the operation should not be mentioned to the FBI unless it was part of an FBI investigation. A third report identified the target as “a French diplomatic establishment” in Washington, confirming the break-in occurred at the French Embassy.
The FBI reports, dated from June to August 1975, were compiled after the Bureau became aware of the CIA’s “Family Jewels,” a highly classified 693-page compilation detailing CIA activities that exceeded its legal mandate. These files were created after CIA Director James Schlesinger ordered a review of the agency’s operations in the wake of public revelations about illegal surveillance and domestic spying.
The French Embassy break-in is one of many covert operations highlighted in the reports. The documents also shed light on a CIA operation dubbed “WUDOOR,” which targeted the Chilean Embassy in Washington following the 1971 election of socialist leader Salvador Allende. WUDOOR involved the placement of listening devices and a later break-in to remove or replace the equipment. This operation was part of a broader pattern of espionage efforts that also targeted Israel’s diplomatic establishments and the United Nations.
The revelations come as part of an extensive effort by the National Security Archive to declassify and publish previously secret documents related to the Kennedy administration. Archive Senior Analyst Peter Kornbluh remarked that the release of these files, now including key details from the Family Jewels report, further unravels the complex history of U.S. intelligence operations during the Cold War.
“This is a gift to history that just keeps on giving,” Kornbluh said, noting that the continued declassification of these documents provides an invaluable window into the secretive operations of both the CIA and FBI during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.
The newly released FBI documents also mention other covert operations, including the CIA’s surveillance of diplomatic posts in the U.S. and its involvement in monitoring and infiltrating international organizations, such as the United Nations. These revelations add to the growing body of knowledge about the extent of the CIA’s reach and its collaboration with other government agencies during the 1960s and 1970s.
