Welles's FBI file

[Glenn Anders]

While not wishing to undercut any vindication of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover -- he's taken a bashing since I was a boy -- I must point out that Hoover's reaction to the Internment of the Japanese was a complicated one, no doubt heavily motivated by the principal interest of his career, maintaining the turf of the FBI. It should not necessarily be confused with any great defense of Civil Liberties, nor should it be compared really to Director Hoover's enemies list of 12, 000 individuals (including Orson Welles) a decade later, or for that matter, with the half-dozen German-American would-be saboteurs arrested and tried on the East Coast by Presidential Order, some of whom were executed. But all these acts help provide the legal underpinning for the functions of multitudinous intelligence activities in "the war on terror" in the last seven years.

Hoover had long been in a jurisdictional conflict with the Treasury Department over investigatory powers when World War II added new competition for the FBI. After Pearl Harbor, the United States was divided into military districts for purposes of providing defense against possible enemy attack or sabotage. "Relocation Centers" were set up in California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, and Arkansas to house possible "subversives." Where considerable care was exercised in processing people of German and Italian ancestry (who made up a large portion of the population in 1942), Japanese were rounded up wholesale, including a considerable number who were actually Chinese.

[The problem posed is not unlike, by another one of those "stretches," that of the present "immigration controversy."]

Though California Attorney General Earl Warren and other attorneys-general may have enthusiastically cooperated, it was the Western Military District under Lt. General John DeWitt that carried out the general order to incarcerate the Japanese. Hoover was so incensed by this challenge to his authority that, not to be out done, he insisted that the FBI be given counter espionage juristiction in the Americas of the Western Hemisphere (acing out another new rival, Major General William J. "Wild Bill" Donavan, who had recently formed the Office of Strategic Services -- OSS). He proceeded to have his agents, in conjunction with South American governments, take into custody and extradite nearly a thousand Japanese, particularly from Peru. These individuals also ended up in American "relocation centers."

[No doubt, Hoover's agents would have made note of Welles' activities in South America in 1942, and his continued interest in the region. That may have contributed to Welles troubles with the U.S. Government after the death of FDR, and the dismantling of the New Deal's "Good Neighbor Policy" in South America.]

One thing we may be certain of. Welles would have been extremely critical of the violation of individual human rights during, and immediately after, the War.

As you may know, akio and Hadji, the only Japanese spy ring prosecuted successfully in the continental U.S. during WWII was run by a German-American woman from New York. She served seven years.

Glenn

[Steve Kostelecky]

Any information or speculation about the identity of “B7C” in the FBI files. He was apparently a prominent member of the Northwest Section of the Los Angeles Communist Party and was initially being investigated along with Welles. Later in the files he is referred to as a “Special Agent,” implying he had become an informant for the FBI.
Thanks.

[Terry]

Maybe it was Walt Disney. He's often named as having been an anti-Communist informant working for J. Edgar Hoover.

[Steve Kostelecky]

I don't think so because this person was apparently a bigwig in the Party that turned informer later on and Unca Walt was never a Communist.
Thanks for your help.

[LamontCranston]

Robert Meltzer?

[NoFake]

Later in the files he is referred to as a “Special Agent,” implying he had become an informant for the FBI.

Not necessarily; FBI investigators are called "Special Agents". It's part of their job title. (Which is even MORE interesting...)

[Jeff Wilson]

It is possible, as I recall, to appeal for access to redactions made in a given document, but I don't know what the chances of success would be. When I received my copy of Welles' FBI file from the FBI, there was a letter informing of me my right to do appeal. You have to think most of the redacted names are dead, and no threat to national security would be entailed by revealing them now. Given the recent talk of Robert Meltzer, I was thinking of requesting his FBI file, as he presumably has one, given his associations before heading to war. I find it incredibly difficult to imagine him as the person mentioned above, incidentally.

[NoFake]

It is possible, as I recall, to appeal for access to redactions made in a given document, but I don't know what the chances of success would be.

There are probably reports out there on the success rate of appeals to FBI denials or partial denials; however, here's something on the http://www.askmetafilter.com website that pertains to FBI response time in general:

Of course, the FBI has already received over 1900 requests for FY2008 so I would safely assume there's a pretty heavy backlog going on. Still, you might call Requester Service Center: telephone number (540) 868-4591 or FOIA Public Liaison: Nancy L. Steward, telephone number (540) 868-4516, especially the former.

Helpful names & phone numbers, anyway.

[Steve Kostelecky]

Thanks to everyone for chiming in.
The reason I think "B7C" turned informer is the way he is referred to in the files initially as a subject of investigation then later as an agent. In the first file from March 24, 1941 Special Agent in Charge says: "I am transmitting, for the Bureau's information and inclusion in its files, confidential reports on Orson Welles and (name redacted) which I obtained from confidential sources known to the Bureau." After which in what appears to be the same marker it says "B7C". He also appears later on in several places--but I find it interesting that the two are referred to together, implying a connection of some kind.
I will go look ahead and find some more references when the press of work is less.
Thanks again.[/u]

[mido505]

I have not read the full FBI files, but based on what I see here http://www.paperlessarchives.com/welles.html
B7C looks more like the signature of the redactor than an identification marker for an informant. No Fake is correct, Special Agent refers to a FBI investigators, not to informants.

I am more interested in the female informant mentioned in this article:
http://news.findlaw.com/apbnews/s/20001 ... orson.html

I can only think of one close female associate of Welles that would have access to this information during this period - Shifra Haran. That would certainly be a shocker.

[Jeff Wilson]

Yes, having found my copy of the Welles file, the B7C is just the code for why the info was redacted, as in this case: "The code "b7c" - those "records or information complied for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

There are other codes within as well, such as B1, B3, etc. The above info comes from a site which has the Mad Magazine FBI files, incidentally.

And the big question about the FBI file has always been who was the snitch, with Haran being the most obvious choice. But Welles had other secretaries at the time, although it's questionable whether any of them had the immediate access and knowledge that she did, at least as far as we're led to believe. Bart Whaley's book makes a throwaway comment about it probably being her, but without proof, such accusations could potentially be libelous if she's still alive.

Oh, and another note about the redacted names and info; the files were declassified in 1986, so maybe 22 years' worth of people dying will help open some of this up. Or not.

[mido505]

Thank you for that excellent clarification, Jeff. I found an old post of yours where you explain how one can get a copy of Welles' FBI file, and will be writing soon for mine.

[Steve Kostelecky]

Thanks for the info. It's pretty obvious I'm new to reading FBI files.
There are a couple of points I'd like to check.
Hoover refers to Welles and Redacted together in the April 24, 1941 memo, listing the "Communist organizations" Welles is associated with, then the Dies Committee indicates that Redacted belongs to another nine groups. Seems like they must have been close associates or were perceived that way by the FBI.
In the May 13, 1941 memo to Hoover there are listed organizations and Welles and Redacted are referred to together again.
Is there any reliable info on Party membership by section in LA during this time? The memo for Nov. 3, 1944 makes specific mention that Welles "associated with Redacted prominent member of the Northwest Section of the Los Angeles County Communist Party." It is interesting to note that under "Subversive Activities" in this memo it is stated that Welles is not a member of the CPUSA.
Thanks again for setting me straight.

[NoFake]

There are other codes within as well, such as B1, B3, etc.

Both B1 and B3 [actually, (b)(1) and (b)(3)] are, like B7C [(b)(7)(c), assuming the redactor was simply careless with his or her orthography], exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which legislates the release of federal government information upon request to a member of the public. Here's the relevant portion (which may be more than you want to know, but I figured better too much than too little):

(b) This section does not apply to matters that are--

(1)(A) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;

(2) related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;

(3) specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b of this title), provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;

(4) trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;

(6) personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;

(8) [disregard the smiley face here -- the number 8 in parens keeps turning into it, and I can't make it stop] contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or

(9) geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.

Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt under this subsection. The amount of information deleted shall be indicated on the released portion of the record, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the deletion is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the information deleted shall be indicated at the place in the record where such deletion is made.

[Steve Kostelecky]

I agree that the woman mentioned in the article is significant. It is interesting to note that while the FBI itself acknowledged Welles was not a Communist, on his Security Index Card he is classified as "Communist."