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FBI records responsive to the late Frank Boyer Salisbury (1926-2015), a writer widely recognized as helping popularize paranormal and UFO legends of the Uintah Basin in Utah, indicate he was investigated for potential obstruction of justice charges. The records, recently obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration and compiled by the FBI from December 1966 to June 1967, document investigations of physical assault and intimidation as apparent attempts to stop fraud-related lawsuits from moving forward. During the course of investigation, FBI agents were told about questionable stock acquisitions, illegal profiting, possible unauthorized removal of heavy equipment from the Queen of Sheba Mine in Death Valley, and other controversial actions linked to Salisbury. Multiple witnesses interviewed by the FBI described Salisbury as a self-centered man prone to outbursts of anger, whose actions and statements were often erratic and without reason. One individual, the FBI documented, “said he personally believes that Salisbury is 'crazy' as he does things which are completely illogical.” “He said Salisbury has many lawsuits against him,” the FBI Special Agent wrote further, “but he almost ignores these matters and does what he wants to do regardless of the consequence of harm it may cause others.”: Salt Lake City officials ultimately chose not to pursue obstruction of justice charges because two key witnesses were military personnel who were transferred repeatedly and not fully accessible. The absence of those specific witnesses made a conviction impossible, as one prosecutor put it. Frank B. Salisbury earned degrees from the University of Utah and a doctorate in plant physiology from the California Institute of Technology. He served as the head of the Department of Plant Science at Utah State University from 1966-1970 and retired from the university in 1991. Salisbury was an avid writer, authoring some 24 books and countless articles and papers on UFOs, religious faith, and related topics. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salisbury was a major influence in shaping and increasing public belief in alleged paranormal phenomena in the Uintah Basin. He authored the book, “The Utah UFO Display,” of which the late Junior Hicks was a principal contributor and source. Each of the men gave numerous interviews and presentations on UFOs and Skinwalker Ranch. Records recently received from NARA are 54 pages of FBI file number 72-HQ-1763, the contents of which are obstruction of justice and perjury investigations involving Gary Stewart Buckley and James David Woodward. They were implicated in the attempted assaults and intimidation of A. Reed Reynolds and Parker Martin Nielson. Both the victims were Salt Lake City attorneys in the process of representing action against Salisbury as indicated in the following 1966 newspaper clipping: During the course of the investigation, it was further discovered that unusual activity – if not an outright scam – had taken place with stock investments. This involved Salisbury and an associate, as well. More about circumstances pertaining to complaints brought against Salisbury by such sources as Reliance National Life Insurance Company concerning “secret and unlawful profits” may be found in a corresponding 1967 Utah Supreme Court brief . Meanwhile, Salisbury ran into disputes with a business partner at the Queen of Sheba Mine during the 1960s. FBI agents tracked some of this down because select witnesses indicated the same men were involved as were being investigated in the stock fraud case for potential obstruction of justice and perjury charges. Numerous people were interviewed by the Bureau, including witnesses to select activities and circumstances in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Death Valley, the location of the Queen of Sheba Mine. Salisbury was consistently described in unflattering terms, including a description of him threatening to kill someone in one instance. He was also described as a “phony bigshot” by a woman who claimed to see him intentionally dump cereal in a cafe floor: Others the FBI attempted to interview, including Salisbury, were much less cooperative. He denied relationships with some of the accused, but also declined to provide the names of the men he was with when witnesses placed him in the company of what FBI increasingly suspected were fellow conspirators. Expanding Frontiers Research initially requested records on Frank Boyer Salisbury from the FBI in June 2024. The Bureau advised EFR of the existence of responsive records in the custody of NARA. Those records were parts of file 72-HQ-1763 and file 116-HQ-241417. A request submitted to NARA revealed the first records, recently obtained and shared in this post, consisted of about 54 pages and were part of an obstruction of justice investigation. The second file, subject Frank Boyer Salisbury, was compiled as part of a Department of Energy applicant investigation, created between 1951-1973, and consists of an estimated 40 pages. EFR reduced the scope of the initial request to the obstruction of justice records in order to receive the 54 pages much more quickly than if the files, totaling nearly 100 pages, were requested simultaneously. EFR has now requested the second file, the applicant investigation, and will publish it when received.

Law enforcement considered the possibility J.Z. Knight, who purportedly channels Ramtha, requested the 1992 murder of a Washington man, according to a cold case update written in 2014 by a detective of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. The document was recently obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research as part of a now-year-long ongoing release of records responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment . Joe Sumrall was beaten and strangled to death in 1992 at his trailer in Thurston County, Washington. The still-unsolved crime was undeniably enmeshed with Knight and her Ramtha group. Sumrall was a follower of Knight, who leads the Ramtha school, described in police records as a cult-like organization that espouses a philosophy of spiritual channeling. Police determined Sumrall was bound and forced to tell one or more perpetrators where approximately $20,000 in Canadian one-ounce maple leaf coins were hidden. The scene of the Joe Sumrall murder Sumrall's wife discovered his lifeless body in their trailer about 11pm the night of April 3, 1992. She had just returned from the Ramtha property. Their two-year-old son was sitting outside in their truck, strapped in a child restraint seat and unharmed, according to a 1993 case synopsis . Officers suspected Sumrall interrupted a burglary or that the child was placed in the car seat rather than left alone unattended. After years of the crime remaining unsolved, police got a new lead in 2013. That's when news surfaced that a former Ramtha student, Virginia Coverdale, made a social media post about a potential suspect. The circumstances implicated Knight and the case was again actively under investigation. Coverdale, however, refused to disclose the name of the individual and other details to Knight's attorneys. More doubt was cast upon the Ramtha camp when Coverdale leveled concerning accusations of abuse taking place inside the 80-acre Ramtha compound. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office reportedly informed the media in 2013 that, while Knight's name certainly came up during investigation of the Sumrall murder case, she was not a person of interest. A February 2014 cold case update suggested otherwise. “I received a tip that Sumrall was murdered at the request of JZ Knight,” a detective wrote. “I was given the name of a former RSE member that reportedly killed Sumrall.” The possible suspect reportedly fled the United States after the crime but may have returned. They apparently used multiple social security numbers to remain difficult to track. From the cold case update: Ramtha School of Enlightenment was emailed and offered an opportunity for Ms. Knight or a spokesperson to comment for potential inclusion in this article. It did not immediately respond. In the 1993 case synopsis cited above, challenges to law enforcement created by the Ramtha school were addressed. Knight “caters to individuals with too much money and not enough brains,” a detective wrote. “The followers are generally well-educated and affluent. This has created the problem for us of handling well-to-do folks living in close proximity to those who are not.”: Records previously obtained from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office document many more crime reports responsive to Ramtha and Knight's followers. These involve murders, burglaries and a variety of violent crimes observable through hundreds of law enforcement reports, memos, digital images, digital audio recordings, and similar files. Several cases involve followers returning from Ramtha activities to discover their dwellings had become crime scenes. Multiple emails were sent over the previous year in an effort to provide personnel from Ramtha's School of Enlightenment opportunities to comment. No responses were received.

Tune in for a special Black Friday edition of Expanding Frontiers with Erica Lukes when the talented and popular John E.L. Tenney joins her and this writer on Friday, Nov. 29, at 7pm EST. The discussion airs live on YouTube . Actively involved in paranormal, anomalistic and conspiratorial research for decades, John E.L. Tenney has been published in magazines and newspapers world-wide. His books and columns cover material from ufology to hauntings and cryptozoology to conspiracy theories. He has been interviewed extensively on the topics, and his signature "Weird Lectures" series is estimated to have been attended by over 100,000 people at conferences and gatherings. Tenney has consulted and appeared in productions from NBC to The New York Times and many outlets in between. He is a talented artist and musician, and his "Realm of the Weird" was formerly selected Best Podcast in Michigan by Real Detroit Weekly. Lately, he may be found co-hosting events and chatting with Jessica Knapik on the popular "What's Up Weirdo?" podcast. Scroll to the bottom of this webpage and subscribe for updates to receive email alerts for blogposts like this one. You'll be informed about every EFR blogpost right in your inbox. Also, and if you have not done so already, please consider joining our Patreon supporters . Your financial support helps with video production, website maintenance, fees associated with our FOIA work, and similar general operating expenses. Expanding Frontiers Research is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Two FBI files responsive to Sen. Barry Goldwater were received this week from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The files were provided in response to an ongoing Freedom of Information Act request first submitted to the FBI by Expanding Frontiers Research in 2022. Recently received was file number 56-HQ-3591, concerning a Ukrainian named Dmytro Zawolskyj and his distribution of at least seemingly pro-Goldwater campaign material. The file was compiled as part of an FBI Election Laws investigation in 1964 when Goldwater was the Republican nominee for president. The FBI investigation was launched when the Republican State Committee of Arizona filed a complaint to the Bureau. The complaint objected to the distribution of a circular in Phoenix that cast Goldwater into racial dispute. The racist and offensive circular, as depicted in the file obtained this week by EFR: Subsequent FBI investigation revealed the circular was distributed by Dmytro Zawolskyj, identified as a Polish Ukrainian who spoke very little English. Zawolskyj claimed to be unaware he was doing anything wrong, although his actions did not necessarily support that claim. For instance, the owners of the print shop - where the Ukrainian had copies of the circular printed – told the FBI the man had multiple print jobs and would always refuse to sign for the orders. Zawolskyj told the Bureau he distributed some 975 copies of the 1,000 circulars he paid to have printed. FBI records indicate he would manually place the flyers in mailboxes in Phoenix neighborhoods and on the windshields of cars at the Arizona State Capitol building. He ultimately signed a statement for the FBI, denying any malicious intent and qualifying he would cease distribution of the circular. He also wrote a letter of apology to the Arizona Republican State Committee. The second of the two files, number 56-HQ-4636, was also compiled as part of an Election Laws investigation and created from 1972-1987. It pertains to a complaint filed by Congressional candidate Mark Novak about the financial activities of the rival Goldwater campaign. Novak complained that a group titled Goldwater Associates required financial contributions for entry. Members would then receive preferential treatment and increased access to Goldwater. This created campaign violations, Novak argued, including not registering the group properly. To the credit of the Bureau, it followed up and even went as far as interviewing Goldwater and a key staffer about the allegations. Goldwater suggested, in effect, there was a bit of salesmanship taking place in revenue creation, and that members of Goldwater Associates received little to nothing more than the general public. Apparently, the culture of the day saw this as less problematic than actually giving donors increased access in exchange for their financial support. Moreover, Goldwater asserted, that whether right or wrong, every political candidate was doing similar. The general may have had a point on that one. The FBI initially provided EFR over 400 pages of previously released records in response to the 2022 FOIA request. The Bureau advised additional records were withheld. EFR subsequently appealed the withholding, resulting in the release of 23 pages in April 2023. The additional 23 pages included FBI investigation of a 1962 alleged plot to kill Goldwater, later identified as a hoax. The records obtained through appeal also included investigation of a former 1950s State Department Security Officer and CIA applicant, Edward Ellis Smith, whose career was compromised due to his relationship with a Russian woman. He went on to campaign for Goldwater as the presidential nominee in 1964. FBI informed EFR of the existence of more records in the custody of NARA in response to the 2022 FOIA request. EFR requested the additional records from NARA in August 2022 and received them this week after applicable fees were paid for pdf reproductions. The late Barry Goldwater was an Air Force major general and five-time Arizona Senator (1953-1965, 1969-1987). He lost his White House bid to Democrat incumbent President Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 election. Goldwater was among the high-profile supporters of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and joined its Board of Governors in the 1970s. “I and my colleagues on the Board of NICAP think it is high time more independent research on UFO's [ sic ] was undertaken,” the Senator wrote in a published letter of support ( see pp4-8 ). Among the things that actually happened, however, was in 1978, Nazi propaganda began arriving in the mailboxes of NICAP members when then-president of the UFO org, Jack Acuff, sold NICAP mailing lists twice to anti-Semite Ernst Zundel. FBI records responsive to Zundel and his Nazi publishing house, Samisdat, were obtained by EFR and revealed the FBI identified him as persuasive and extremely dangerous. “If this man should contact gullible people who's values are completely twisted, he could become a real threat,” an FBI report warned. The trail of the errant NICAP mailing lists led to “Christoff Freidrich,” a now-known alias of Ernst Zundel, who acknowledged ownership of Samisdat. Some defended Acuff's actions or at least argued he did not know “Freidrich's” intent to use the mailing lists as Samisdat tools for distributing Nazi propaganda. Others were much less convinced, apparently including “Freidrich” himself. “Freidrich told [NICAP representative] Dr. McIntyre that he had bought the NICAP mailing lists from Acuff two times with Acuff's knowledge where they were going,” at least one publication reported ( see pp1-2 ). Goldwater went on to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee from 1981-1985. Staffer Charles Lombard, heavily implicated as a CIA asset, joined Goldwater on the NICAP Board of Governors, as covered in this writer's book, Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC . Lombard helped facilitate the acquisition of NICAP and its files into the Center for UFO Studies, assisting in negotiations that took place from approximately 1978 to 1982.

Career intelligence officer Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer was targeted by a Communist campaign that was carried into “every part of the United States,” Louis F. Budenz told the Senate Internal Security Committee in 1951. The initiative was conducted by Russian assets as well as the organizations they infiltrated, Budenz testified, according to FBI records obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Senate Internal Security Committee was headed by Sen. Pat McCarran and also known as the McCarran Committee. It was formed to investigate the enforcement of the Internal Security Act of 1950, along with the investigation of espionage and related subversive activities taking place in the United States. Louis Budenz, an author, converted Communist, and controversial FBI paid informant, told Committee Counsel Robert Morris the Soviet campaign extended to officials in the State Department. Asked to identify the officials, Budenz replied, “Joseph B. Crew, Under Secretary of State; Lt. Gen. Albert Wedemeyer, not technically with the State Department but connected at least diplomatically with the State Department relations; Eugene C. Dooman, who was head of the Far Eastern Division, if I remember correctly, at least he was in control of the details of the far eastern policy; and Gen. Patrick Hurley, Ambassador to China, who was particularly under attack from the Communists."  As previously explored , the late Gen. Wedemeyer (1896-1989) was an influential World War II Army officer. He served extensively in the Far East, was a member of the War Planning Board that designed D-Day, and acted as an advisor for the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). Records initially received from the FBI indicate Wedemeyer was treated cordially by the Bureau and conducted correspondence with Dir. Hoover, informing him of potential Communist threats. Wedemeyer resigned from NICAP after his name was published as an associate of the group. He never intended for his name to be made public, and NICAP regretted the general's name was released, NICAP reported in 1957 ( see p20 ). Additional records obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research include Wedemeyer's 1958 consultation with the Committee on Un-American Activities of the U.S. House of Representatives. The general advised the Committee: The term “strategy” disturbs many people, just as the word “propaganda” does. I define “strategy” as the art and science of using all of a nation's available resources to accomplish national objectives. There are four major categories of resources: political, economic, psychological, and military. If the first three of these resources – that is, political, economic, and psychological – are employed intelligently and boldly in consonance with a well-thought-out plan, it may never be necessary to use actively our military force. Obviously that is exactly what we should do at all times... Other records received to date include files containing: A 1945 FBI memo that includes Chinese News Service bulletins from the week of Nov. 5, 1945. A Nov. 8 bulletin describes Wedemeyer's activities in China, which reportedly included disarming and deporting some four million Japanese out of China. A 1959 FBI memo , Subject: Ted Powers, Security Matter. The memo documents how Wedemeyer advised the Bureau of his suspicion Powers was a member of the Communist Party while the man was hiring and supervising employees sent to Cape Canaveral Missile Base. A 1960 FBI memo on Allen A. Zoll and the Federation of Conservatives, which includes the name of an informant redacted from the memo. The material contains literature apparently printed by the Federation of Conservatives, which lists Wedemeyer as a board member. The literature qualifies a purpose of the group is opposing the "leftist campaign against the United States," and states that leftists want to destroy the Constitution, install a world government completely controlled by aliens, or foreigners (reminiscent of fascist propaganda opposing immigrants), confiscate "our gold," and similar rhetoric. Wedemeyer 1962 correspondence with FBI Dir. J. Edgar Hoover about Alexandra Tolstoy, President of the Tolstoy Foundation, and her concerns about Soviet activity. Wedemeyer 1955 correspondence with Dir. Hoover about the alleged Communist sympathies held by Harold R. Isaacs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The latest records were obtained from NARA as part of an ongoing response to a 2021 FOIA request submitted to the FBI for material on Wedemeyer. The Bureau responded in July 2024, releasing 61 of 101 responsive pages, while also advising of several more files in the custody of NARA. EFR reported on the initial records received from FBI and submitted a FOIA request to NARA for the additional files. In subsequent correspondence, NARA advised EFR of the subject and number of pages of each requested file. Reproductions, which include pdfs, are typically available at a cost of 80 cents per page. The records totaled hundreds of pages and the request was assigned to a track for processing with an estimated time of completion of 39 months or more. EFR systematically reduced the scope of the request to smaller increments in order to keep requests in a shorter-term processing track. With each completed request, EFR requested another batch of records. There is now just one file of interest remaining from the initial request, a 250-page file of which Wedemeyer is the subject. According to an email received from NARA, it was compiled as part of a Special Inquiries for the White House, Congressional Committees, and Other Government Agencies investigation, created between 1970 and 1979. EFR has requested the first 50 pages and anticipates requesting the remaining 200 after they are received. View the master folder , containing all FBI records received to date on Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer.

Already suffering from a backlog of cases waiting to be heard, the Utah State Records Committee monthly meetings have ground to a halt . That's because seats remaining vacant since the end of September prohibit the State Records Committee (SRC) from legally conducting business. Accusations are growing the Republican-led Utah Senate is failing to approve nominations to fill the openings in retaliation for previous SRC rulings in support of open records laws and government transparency. Those rulings include the release of the calendars of AG Sean Reyes, embroiled in controversy and questionable activity surrounding Tim Ballard, among other issues. Reyes adds to a trend of Utah Attorney Generals leaving office amid declining public trust and respect. Utah open records legislation is known as the GRAMA, the Government Records Access and Management Act. It's Utah's version of the Freedom of Information Act. An individual files a GRAMA request with an agency. If they choose to appeal the agency's response or lack thereof, they file an appeal with a Chief Administrative Officer, which is often a member of the legal staff of the agency or government office from which records are being sought. If the requester is not satisfied with the handling of the appeal, they submit another appeal to the State Records Committee. The SRC coordinates mediation meetings, schedules a live hearing if the two parties do not reach a resolution, and is the last stop of the GRAMA appeals process before court litigation. Under the best of circumstances, the process takes months and is obviously hindered by crippling the SRC through failing to fill its seats. Utah agencies have little incentive to even respond to GRAMA requests, much less grant appeals or negotiate their resolution, if the SRC is effectively ceased from functioning. Meanwhile, the backlog of appeals grows, and Expanding Frontiers Research (EFR) is among those with a case in line for review. In EFR's specific instance, the appeal also involves actions surrounding AG Reyes. Previous time invested in the GRAMA appeals process proved productive for EFR . This included an appeal of a case with Uintah County which was granted by the SRC, an appeal granted by the Utah Attorney General's Office, and a case in which an appeal was submitted to the SRC concerning the Uintah County Sheriff's Office but the records were subsequently provided during mediation, so the case was resolved without a hearing. EFR currently has a GRAMA appeal pending with the SRC as a result of a denied appeal issued by Utah County. The GRAMA request sought threatening letters reportedly mailed to Brandon Fugal, a Utah businessman, former member of the Utah Blockchain Advisory Committee, and reported owner of controversial Skinwalker Ranch. The request was part of a series of inquiries exploring circumstances that arose in 2022 when a cryptocurrency ransom was reportedly demanded of Fugal. EFR discovered through GRAMA requests that the 2022 demands were the second time Fugal directly contacted AG Reyes about apparent threats. Reyes alerted investigators, who advised local law enforcement agencies. The Attorney General's Office previously expressed the position the AG's affiliation with Fugal and The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch television show was in an exclusively personal, unofficial capacity, as Reyes has been a guest on the program and made public appearances in support of the dubious associated narratives. The discovery of the law enforcement investigations contradicted that position. While EFR obtained email chains, a sheriff's office report, and similar documentation of the interactions and circumstances, the saga has not yet been more thoroughly reported pending completion of the appeals process and related due diligence. The wrench thrown in the gears of the State Records Committee, which some argue was tossed by Republican lawmakers, further prolongs the reporting of stories of public interest. The still-pending EFR appeal was filed to the SRC in August 2024.

This writer recently had the opportunity to assist Expanding Frontiers Research Executive Director Erica Lukes with an interview of writer, researcher and former International Director of the Mutual UFO Network, James Carrion. The primary focus of the discussion was James's extensive research into the likelihood flying saucer stories were planted in 1947 newspaper articles as part of a U.S. led deception operation for the purpose of breaking the Soviet diplomatic code. He recently authored a 40-page paper on the topic, Flying Saucers: An Opening Salvo of the Cold War? , and submitted it to the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence for consideration and review. The Oct. 25 interview is posted on YouTube, where the video description includes timestamps of discussion topics. James's research was explored at length, along with the state of UFO research; human deception as the common thread running through the UFO topic; MUFON, Robert Bigelow and the AAWSAP (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program); Skinwalker Ranch as a myth-making machine, and much more. View the discussion: During the interview, James described a slides presentation he created and would be publishing on video. His referenced video, now available on YouTube : Visit James Carrion's blog to access his two nonfiction books available for free download. Anachronism and The Roswell Deception describe his research into the 1946-47 years of the Cold War and the manipulation of circumstances that became enmeshed with the UFO topic. James Carrion is an independent researcher. He earned an M.A. in International Studies and a B.A. in Russian Language from Florida State University. As an enlisted member of the U.S. Army, he served as a Russian Linguist and Intelligence Analyst from 1983-1989.

The unpermitted application of a pesticide on June 19 by Herriman City likely resulted in a June 24 fish kill event at Cove Pond, according to a Sep. 18 warning letter issued by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Herriman City maintains and stocks the pond used by local residents for recreational fishing. At least 500 fish were estimated to have been killed in the June 24 event. The letter: Expanding Frontiers Research obtained a copy of the warning letter as the result of a public records request submitted to the DEQ. The records released include an image of the label of the product that was used, Teton, an aquatic algaecide and herbicide containing the active ingredient endothall. Records obtained also include reports and analysis, dozens of digital images, and agency emails indicating Cove Pond was stocked with some 120 large catfish between the time of the chemical application and just prior to the fish kill event. Residents were warned not to fish the pond or eat any recently caught fish. EFR reached out for comment to the recipient of the DEQ warning letter, Anthony Teuscher, Deputy Director of Parks and Events for Herriman City. The following statement was subsequently provided in an Oct. 8 email received from Communications Manager and Public Information Officer Jonathan LaFollette: Herriman City is committed to the responsible management of all its facilities, including the Cove Pond. The incident this summer involved the application of a pesticide that inadvertently impacted the pond's fish population. We acknowledge the state's letter regarding the application and have taken immediate steps to ensure that all future facility treatments comply with necessary state permitting processes. We appreciate the partnership and guidance from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and other state agencies as we continually work to enhance our practices. Our goal remains to maintain a safe and healthy environment for both residents and local wildlife. A request was submitted to DEQ after responsive records were first received from the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). Records initially obtained from DWR include images of the fish kill event, personnel messages exchanged, and talking points provided to the press. The talking points referenced an investigation undertaken by DEQ, resulting in EFR submitting a request and subsequently obtaining the Sep. 18 warning letter issued to Herriman City. DEQ noted in its response to EFR that the warning letter had not yet been sent at the time the EFR request was submitted. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment Dr. Brian Moench is the President of the Board of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. He says commonly used chemicals – including many approved by the Environmental Protection Agency – are often still toxic and harmful beyond the target use. Moreover, those who apply the chemicals often lack adequate education and training. “A couple of months ago,” Dr. Moench told EFR in an Oct. 17 email, “Salt Lake City had a tragic event where about 200 trees along North Temple died because 'the wrong herbicide' was sprayed around the base of the trees by someone who was, nonetheless, a 'certified sprayer.' It will be two years before the contaminated soil can be expected to support replanting. And in June, Cove Pond in Herriman was sprayed with an 'aquatic herbicide' intended to kill algae, that ended up killing hundreds of fish in the pond. “These two events are examples of how pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) are indeed poisons that affect the broader biological world, inevitably causing harm far beyond the target organisms.” The idea that widely distributing biological poisons would leave beneficial plants, animals, and humans unharmed was always wishful thinking, Moench contends. It never made scientific sense, and a growing body of research is confirming how the danger of pesticides is likely exponentially greater than ever before. “A second dimension of concern emerged in the 1990s with research that showed many pesticides were also endocrine disruptors, i.e. they mimicked or antagonized critical human hormones at extremely low dose exposure, adding an entirely new level of scientific evidence of their harm to human health. Endocrine disruptors (EDCs) have been identified as causing a wide spectrum of harm, especially at the earliest, most critical stages of human development; in utero, infancy, and childhood. Because of this research, in 1996, Congress mandated EPA test all pesticides for endocrine disruption potential. In 2024, 28 years later, that still has not happened and EPA’s regulatory process largely ignores the issue. Independent researchers meanwhile have strengthened the evidence of harm from endocrine disruptors.” But now a third dimension of public health harm from pesticides has emerged in the last few years, Moench continued, and it almost certainly dwarfs the previous two. “Scientists from throughout the world are finding PFAS ('forever chemicals') in many of the most commonly used pesticides. EPA has stated essentially there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS chemicals. The presence of PFAS in pesticides can be both intentional and inadvertent, i.e. intentionally incorporated into the active ingredient or the inactive ingredients used to enhance efficacy, or from unintentional leaching from storage containers. “The now well recognized serious health consequences of forever chemicals must be added to the equation of whether the risks outweigh the benefits of pesticide use. In short, those health consequences include developmental disorders, reproductive toxicity, increased risk for multiple cancers, immunosuppression, endocrine, liver, and metabolic disorders, and damage to the brain and nervous system.” The North Temple and Herriman events have overt, easily recognizable tragic outcomes in dead fish and dead trees, Moench concluded. “But inevitably, with almost any use of pesticides, humans are exposed as well. Herbicides that are formulated to be used in aquatic circumstances, but are still capable of killing fish, are almost certainly also capable of harm to humans. But all environmental toxins have the greatest potential to cause harm at very low concentrations when exposure occurs during critical developmental windows, i.e. to pregnant mothers and their babies in utero, infants, and children. Any environmental toxins that can cause developmental harm should be considered by society to represent an unacceptable hazard. That is all the more true given that many pesticides are now proven to be endocrine disruptors, and/or versions of 'forever chemicals.'” Dr. Brian Moench further discusses forever chemicals starting at the 39:25 mark of his June 14 appearance on Expanding Frontiers with Erica Lukes:

Longtime "friend of the program" and enthusiastic EFR flag-waver Vanessa Walilko joins host Erica Lukes on the Friday, October 11 edition of Expanding Frontiers. The show airs at 7pm ET on YouTube. Vanessa earned her Bachelor's in Science in Sociology from DePaul University while contributing to an assessment of the Cook County (Chicago) Domestic Violence Program. Her thesis, “Beyond 'Feminisms': Refocusing the Women's Movement Through the Lens of Liberation,” was published by Emerald Group Publishing. Vanessa is a valued volunteer with Expanding Frontiers Research, consulting in a variety of capacities. Her areas of expertise include public relations and implementing ethics policies and procedures. She also was interviewed by EFR as an informed advocate of domestic violence victims for two videos published on our YouTube channel.     A multi-talented artist, Vanessa has designed chainmail for Broadway productions and high-profile professional wrestlers. She maintained the successful and entertaining Personal Pans Podcast, as well as related online conferences that were popular and well-received.

Judge Terri K. Flynn-Peister called Jan Harzan's text messages "very serious and disturbing" during a Sep. 13 sentencing hearing that resulted in prison time issued to the former director of the Mutual UFO Network. "[T]here was a desire to engage in illegal sexual behavior with a 13-year-old girl," the judge observed while hearing arguments from attorneys in the case. A transcript of the sentencing hearing obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research indicates Harzan posted an ad on Craigslist, stating, "I'm missing my young friend." He then attempted to manipulate a person he believed to be a girl who was, in fact, an undercover (UC) law enforcement officer. Harzan was subsequently charged with contacting a minor with intent to commit lewd conduct and meeting a minor to commit the offense. He was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of parole upon release, as well as registering as a sex offender for life. Harzan has the right to submit an appeal within 60 days. Allegations of a lifetime of similar criminal conduct arose during the trial. Specifically, "two alleged instances from almost 50 years ago," but the judge clarified her sentencing decision did not rely on the information, given that the prosecutor chose not to brief the issue, or pursue it further at this time. "There were eight days of communications from June 25th, 2020, to July 3rd, 2020," Judge Flynn-Peister emphasized for the record. "Defendant initiated the post on Craigslist by writing, 'I'm missing my young friend.' Once Brianna -- the UC -- reached out, he then, unprompted, sent a photo to her, likely in the hopes that he would get one in return. There were lots of messages where he wanted a photo back and pressured her for that and even requested the photo after finding out she was 13 years old. "The evidence at trial showed that he was clearly trying to reach out to a young girl during this exchange and by posting the ad. During the texts, the defendant even planned where they could have sex: in his office; it was private; he had a blanket; it would be comfy. He initiated trying to set up a meeting – not the UC -- based on the evidence at trial. "The UC testified that there were ample opportunities for the defendant to stop the conversation with Brianna, but, instead, he kept going and setting up a meeting, even having a phone call and then actually showing up to the meeting. One text even says -- the defendant texted, 'I really, really want to have sex with you, but I don't want to go to jail.'" Harzan used online tools to lure what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, the judge observed, labeling his actions "predatory behavior" and "extremely manipulative." Judge Flynn-Peister added, "This is extremely disturbing behavior to this Court and that indicates a danger and the serious nature and circumstances of the offense, which warrant a prison sentence and not a probationary period." Numerous letters of support were submitted on behalf of Harzan. Judge Flynn-Peister qualified she read each of the letters several times and observed the majority of them express utter disbelief in the circumstances. Therefore, she added, the letters actually raise concerns. "They speak highly of his character," Judge Flynn-Peister acknowledged, "but I have to take them with a grain of salt because most of them are couched in either not believing what happened, not accepting the jury's verdict, or minimizing it." "What those statements and the sentiments tell me," she explained, "is that this defendant is a highly deceptive individual. He carried out the attempts to meet up with a 13-year-old girl for lewd acts, for eight days. Not one day, not two, not three, but eight days. No one knew or suspected during that time or during his lifetime. This shows me that he can hide part of himself from those closest to him, and it concerns me how I would supervise him on probation to ensure this wasn't happening." One of the letters was submitted by Kathleen Marden. She is identified on the MUFON website as a hypnosis practitioner, support group facilitator and member of the organization's Experiencer Resource Team. She works with people who consider themselves to be alien abductees. "I felt stunned when we learned that the police arrested Jan in a sting operation," Marden wrote, as cited by Judge Flynn-Peister in the sentencing transcript. "We feel certain it was a mistake or perhaps he was set up. I am well aware of the politics surrounding UFO researchers and upper-level staff at MUFON." "I am not sentencing an innocent man here," the judge asserted. "He was convicted of these two charges, and some of these letters seem to imply that, by calling them accusations, disagreeing with the jury's verdict, and the like. He sits here convicted of two extremely serious and disturbing felonies. The jury found it was not a mistake and that he had the intention to meet up with a child to commit lewd acts and actually met up with a child with the intent to engage in those acts. For all of those reasons, I'm not granting probation." ---------------------------------------------- EFR attempted unsuccessfully to obtain records responsive to this case from the Huntington Beach Police Department and the Orange County District Attorney. A sentencing transcript was subsequently requested from court reporter Vanessa Foster. During correspondence, Ms. Foster advised California Government Code Section 69954(d) prohibits the publishing or sharing of transcripts obtained with unauthorized third parties. EFR established it was Ms. Foster's position that EFR should not publish the transcript purchased. EFR chooses to honor her position as a term of the sale to which EFR agreed. The sentencing transcript referenced in this article and obtained from Vanessa Foster, as well as complete trial transcripts, may be ordered and purchased for Orange County Superior Court case number 20WF1838 at Court Reporter Services . Please consider joining our valuable financial supporters and help us fund our work at the Expanding Frontiers Research Patreon . You may also make a one-time contribution via the secure "donate" button located on our homepage . Your financial support contributes to our records requests, maintaining our website, producing our YouTube show and videos, and organizational operating expenses. Expanding Frontiers Research is a Utah nonprofit corporation, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Thank you for your support.

"The point of fascism is dominance over other people and over even reality. The more blatant the unreality you can force others to live in, the better." - Author A.R. Moxon FBI files responsive to Gordon Gray  obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research through the Freedom of Information Act contain reports compiled during the course of security investigations spanning some 25 years of his intelligence career. The Yale-educated attorney held numerous positions of responsibility, advising and leading national security personnel at the highest levels of the mid-20th century United States intelligence apparatus. His positions included Secretary of the Army, directing the CIA Psychological Strategy Board, chairing the Clandestine Collection Committee, sitting on the board of the Economic Development Committee, heading the Office of Defense Mobilization, and numerous additional presidential appointments, including serving as Special Assistant to the President and as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. FBI files not surprisingly demonstrate Gordon Gray was involved with psychological warfare offices, propaganda groups, foundations now known to have acted as covert CIA funding conduits, and secret intelligence-gathering operations ostensibly created as international economic relief organizations. A follow-up FOIA request led to obtaining documentation of a 1982 investigation  conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office showing it identified many of those CIA initiatives to be of interest in its search for Nazi war criminals. Records also show that a Robert M. Hanes, then-president of Wachovia Bank and future Administrator for Germany of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), described himself as knowing Gordon Gray since childhood and admiring him very much when interviewed by the FBI in 1948 ( see p43 ). Notably, Gray's grandfather was a co-founder of Wachovia. The ECA was a precursor to U.S. Aid for International Development, or USAID, and has a recurring presence in records obtained and circumstances explored by EFR. As previously reported , a 1949 letter from then-DCI Roscoe Hillenkoetter to the Economic Cooperation Administration provides documentation of CIA use of the ECA as an asset to collect and furnish the Agency classified “economic intelligence information.” Soon after the date of Hillenkoetter's letter , the ECA contracted a Baltimore public relations firm, Counsel Services, to conduct work abroad. This took place as Counsel Services co-founder Leo McCormick became employed by the ECA as a project manager ( see p60 ). Counsel Services officers Mary Vaughan King, who was another co-founder, and Thomas O'Keefe, a State Department man with experience working overseas and designating personnel for foreign assignment, fascinatingly went on in 1956 to assist T. Townsend Brown with the incorporation of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena ( see p3 ). The organization became the largest UFO group ever formed, boasting some 14,000 paid subscribers at the height of its public relations success and assembling a governing board that remained populated with intelligence officers throughout its existence. The implications are intriguing and offer many directions for research, illuminating puzzle pieces about the people who inhabited the murky world of flying saucer tales, even if reliable information on the reported craft themselves remains forever elusive. Who Was Gordon Gray? FBI records indicate Gordon Gray was born in Baltimore in 1909 ( see p34 ). His father, Bowman Gray, was an R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company executive and major benefactor of a medical school that bears his name. Bowman was “on temporary business duty” in Baltimore with his wife when Gordon and his older brother were born. Gordon Gray's grandfather, who co-founded Wachovia Bank, was Alexander Gray. In 1912 Bowman Gray returned with his family to Winston-Salem, where Gordon would prove to be an outstanding student. Gray repeatedly led his classes in scholastic achievement all the way through college at the University of North Carolina. He graduated in 1930 and entered Yale Law School, where he again thrived. Gray passed the bar and practiced law in New York before returning to North Carolina in 1935, where he joined another law firm. In 1937 Gray became owner and publisher of the Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel, as well as owner/operator of radio station WSJS. He soon “acquired an interest in” the Charlotte News and became a director of the Wachovia Bank and Trust Company, while continuing to participate in a number of educational, political and civic organizations. FBI investigations show Gray was widely considered to be a wealthy philanthropist and civic-minded public servant. Gordon Gray married Jane Boyden Craige, the daughter of an attorney, in 1938, and was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 1939. He served on multiple education and financial committees. After serving a second term in the State Senate, Gray was inducted into the army as a private in 1942, where he reportedly achieved the highest score on an IQ test ever recorded at Fort Bragg. In 1943 he was trained as an intelligence officer, including education in counterintelligence in Chicago, where he was outranked by some 90 percent of his classmates yet graduated at the top of the class. He was promoted to first lieutenant, then to captain in 1944 and served overseas on a general's staff before being discharged in 1945. Gray began a third term in the North Carolina State Senate in 1947 and was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of the Army the same year. He served on multiple committees and was appointed Secretary of the Army in 1949. Several FBI security investigations were conducted on Gray. Various agencies would periodically request the Bureau either investigate him for clearance or advise of his activities for one security-related purpose or another. Sometimes the FBI would simply bring the requesting office up to speed on results from previous investigations, while other times the Bureau might more indirectly summarize the gist of the circumstances if it deemed it in poor judgment to disclose the FBI had, for instance, investigated Gray on behalf of the White House. New investigations were launched in select circumstances, depending on the sensitivity of the matters. In addition to such contacts as the president of Wachovia Bank who served as the Administrator for Germany of the Economic Cooperation Administration, the many interviewed by FBI included executives of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Like almost all of those queried, the executives spoke highly of Gray, whose family was influential with the company. Bureau records indicate Gordon's father, Bowman Gray, held the positions of president and chairman of the board ( see p44 ). Gray's brother, Bowman Jr., was vice president of R.J. Reynolds ( p34 ), and his uncle, James A. Gray, had his turn as both president and chairman of the board ( p48 ). A former R.J. Reynolds production plant was donated and became the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, now a part of Wake Forest University. Incidentally, in 1959 North Carolina hosted an international conference sponsored by the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, the China Medical Board of New York Inc., and the International Cooperation Administration (ICA), according to a June 8, 1959, article published in Gordon Gray's Winston-Salem Journal. The ICA operated from 1951-1961, absorbing the Economic Cooperation Administration and eventually becoming part of U.S. Aid for International Development. The Winston-Salem Journal reported "guest-faculty and consultants will include representatives from the International Cooperation Administration" at the conference. Back in 1950, Gray was elected president at the University of North Carolina. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York-based Committee for Economic Development, which apparently funded UNC “for carrying out its program.” From the FBI files ( see p30 ): Gray would go on to take at least two leaves of absence from UNC while serving appointments from United States presidents, including in 1950 as a special assistant when he conducted a study on “foreign economic aid.” A 1953 FBI memo would later state Gray's work “was paid from White House office funds.” ( see p49 ) In 1951, Gray served as the director of the “President's Psychological Strategy Board,” as the Bureau chose to call it, which might have been more aptly termed the CIA and DCI Walter B. Smith's psychological strategy board. Gen. Walter B. Smith Gen. Smith is a study in himself, which should not be particularly surprising, given his service as a Director of Central Intelligence. Taking the position in 1950 vacated by Hillenkoetter, Smith was credited with rerouting the chain of command for the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) across his desk and away from the State Department and the Department of Defense. The OPC acted as a covert arm of American intelligence agencies and was an absolute machine of intelligence collection and warfare. It was divided into three subdivisions: paramilitary operations, political and psychological warfare, and economic warfare (This line of research is explored in more detail, along with its potential relevance to NICAP, in this writer's book Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC ). In 1949, the OPC had 302 personnel with a $4.7 million annual budget. By 1952, it ballooned under DCI Smith and OPC director Frank Wisner to $82 million, with 2,812 personnel and an additional 3,142 overseas contract personnel operating out of 47 foreign stations ( see p36 ). “To the United States and to OPC, the conduct of political and psychological warfare in peacetime was a new art,” a 1973 CIA Studies in Intelligence  stated about the 1948-1952 time frame. The above quoted CIA literature, released in 2006, addresses early Agency psychological warfare efforts to combat international organizations described as indoctrinating unwitting followers into Communist ideologies. Those CIA efforts involved what is described as OPC becoming active in sponsoring a number of “rival” organizations, including those described as cultural, veterans', women's, labor and more. To be crystal clear, the CIA reported its 1950s psychological warfare efforts included covertly sponsoring organizations to act in its interests. The CIA study further states OPC concentrated an effort within the trade union movement with the assistance of the Economic Cooperation Administration, referenced above, which was described as having funds available for the operation ( see pp11-12 ). The linked CIA study also references OPC organizing Radio Free Europe, National Committee for Free Europe, and other groups which will resurface towards the end of this article. DCI Smith was reported by the CIA itself as interested in how the UFO phenomenon could be used to improve psychological warfare efforts ( see p2 ). His principal involvement in a 1954 coup in Guatemala, code name PBSUCCESS, and that of psychological warfare specialist E. Howard Hunt, is documented by the National Archives . Smith and Hunt, along with OPC man Frank Wisner, are likewise on a State Department list  of 1952-1954 Guatemala personnel. Notably, PBSUCCESS is known among UFO researchers for a cable sent from CIA headquarters  in Florida to its station in Guatemala, directing personnel to consider fabricating a big human interest story, “like flying saucers,” to distract public attention from CIA involvement in manipulating the nation's political affairs: Hunt would later publish a book chronicling his infamous political shenanigans, both domestic and abroad. He wrote  he worked in Frank Wisner's Office of Policy Coordination on a psychological warfare team comprised primarily of Princeton men led by CIA officer Col. Joseph Bryan III. Col. Bryan went on to be a staple of the Board of Governors of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena after the group was incorporated in 1956 by former ECA contractor Counsel Services. Interestingly, previously mentioned Counsel Services officer Thomas O'Keefe's work with the State Department included time assigned to Guatemala, according to his résumé ( see p39 ). While the assertions of known propaganda experts such as Hunt should be allocated adequate due diligence, the men Hunt describes working with under Bryan in the OPC are confirmed former intelligence professionals and his description of that particular scenario of his career has a high likelihood of being reasonably accurate, all available circumstantial evidence considered. Gordon Gray was involved with a host of groups and committees (in addition to those already named) in the turbulent and controversial CIA of the 1950s. He chaired the Board of Overseas Training and Research under the Ford Foundation, an ostensibly charitable division of the motor company with which the Agency acknowledged  it collaborated, along with other existing institutions, to establish numerous “bogus” foundations to “hide” its funding of covert activities. The practice of using foundations, nonprofit organizations, and other corporate entities and institutions as a means to secretly fund and conduct operations is common knowledge among historians and those familiar with American intelligence agencies. The OPC was merged in 1952 with the Office of Special Operations, creating the Directorate of Plans and solidifying CIA Clandestine Services. Activities formerly conducted in the OPC were reported by the Agency to have maintained continuity and – in a description that could be considered both fascinating and disturbing – to “pick up the pace.” ( see p7 ) This escalation might be better envisioned if considered in the context of behavior modification and interrogation projects which began as Bluebird (initially greenlighted by Hillenkoetter, who went on to chair the NICAP board), were expanded and renamed Artichoke (under Gen. Smith), and evolved into the expansive MKULTRA in 1953 under the direction of DCI Allen Dulles. Gray's Continuing Career and IC Assets Gordon Gray's previously referenced financial study conducted for the president was the subject of a 1953 Department of Defense memo  authored by a CIA officer, Brig. Gen. John Magruder, who was a member of an advisory committee formed by the Psychological Strategy Board. The memo, sent to Frank Wisner and released by the CIA in 2003, advised against publication of Gray's report. The Board should give consideration, Magruder wrote, “to the advisability of recommending to the President that he make a statement in justification of the national psychological effort...” Gray's overt recommendations in the report involved creating a more prosperous and stable global economy through trade policies, coordination with allies, and support for developing nations. What Gray may have discreetly proposed and discussed, or how his colleagues may have desired to exploit his suggestions, might be different matters entirely. In January 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission requested a name check on 15 individuals, including Gray, “of whom three were to be chosen for a board to hear the Oppenheimer case.” One of those three was Gray ( see p72 ). Gray headed a three-man hearing board that in 1954 recommended famous 1945 Manhattan Project atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer be denied clearance to secret information as a security risk. Gray was soon appointed Assistant Defense Secretary for International Security Affairs ( see p85 ): The three-man board consisted of Gray, Ward Vinton Evans and Thomas A. Morgan. The latter apparently had a particularly favorable relationship with the FBI, including coordinating work for a potential double agent, or spy often used to collect intelligence while transmitting disinformation ( see pp74-75 ):   The significance of the era of intelligence gathering and counterintelligence operations - figuring out how adversaries were collecting intelligence and advantageously feeding them disinformation while they remained none the wiser - cannot be overemphasized. Entire spy rings were being investigated and successfully apprehended, FBI agents felt justified in abusing their power, and CIA officers were covertly dosing unwitting citizens and even one another with powerful drugs, all in the name of national security. There is simply an incredible amount of nuanced cultural significance found between the lines of the FOIA records of the time. Meanwhile, Gray, somewhat like Thomas A. Morgan, was described in FBI records as a "Special Service Contact" of the Charlotte Office, yet reportedly expressed confidence "his mail had been tampered with." He apparently then expressed suspicions FBI was responsible ( p77 ). Director Hoover noted and wrote by hand that he did not appreciate Gray "suspecting the FBI," jotted on the same 1954 memo which contained an addendum indicating an agent checked with the FBI office in DC to make sure Gray wasn't right ( p73 ): Hoover then informed Charlotte it “should be most circumspect” in future dealings with Gray ( p76 ). A mutually beneficial relationship seemed to continue, however, as Gray would later recommend Hoover brief the President's Cabinet on the Communist threat, as we shall see below. In the meantime, it was July 1956, and Gray was sworn in as Assistant Defense Secretary for International Security Affairs. This would include taking over as “boss of the Defense Department's multi-billion dollar foreign military aid program.” Gray told reporters he would be on full-time duty with the Pentagon while traveling and administering the global military aid program ( see p87 ). Coincidentally or otherwise, this is the same time, the summer of 1956, that T. Townsend Brown was down the street hanging around with a DC-area flying saucer club and Counsel Services filed for incorporation of NICAP. The latter happened in August, a month after Gray was officially sworn in. Interestingly, security investigations were simultaneously undertaken by the FBI at the request of the State Department on psychological warfare expert, NICAP organizer, and almost certain CIA asset, Nicholas de Rochefort . His political activities are explored at length in Wayward Sons. The implications to the NICAP story are striking. The connections from the CIA, its Office of Policy Coordination and interests in psychological warfare, to the Economic Cooperation Administration, its exploitation of financial aid programs and relationship with Counsel Services, to the activities and areas of expertise of Gordon Gray, Nicholas de Rochefort (and others) and the related security investigations conducted by the FBI, carry many points of interest. An intriguing FBI memo from a 1956 security investigation conducted on Nicholas de Rochefort during the very time he was associated with NICAP is shown below ( see p20 ). EFR continues to pursue further declassification of the memo, which indicates an informant provided the Bureau information pertaining to de Rochefort under the requested conditions it was furnished in strict confidence and would not be disseminated outside Hoover's office: An image of the Russian-born Frenchman, "Count" de Rochefort, speaking at the 1954 Freedom Day in New Hampshire and broadcast by Voice of America: Evidence of de Rochefort's involvement and work conducted with NICAP include a Board of Governors Progress Report from Dec. 1956 ( see p88 ) and a letter authored the same month: Below are official documents showing the CIA and Hillenkoetter's relationship with the Economic Cooperation Administration; Counsel Services co-founder Leo McCormick hired as an ECA project manager; and FBI investigation of McCormick for clearance, as summarized above and which included interviewing fellow firm co-founders Mary Vaughan King (FBI likely misspelled her name on this occasion) and L.G. Shreve: Newspaper clippings documenting related circumstances: NICAP records showing Mary Vaughan King and Thomas D. O'Keefe incorporated NICAP with T. Townsend Brown in August 1956 ( see p3 ): A screenshot from a contract simultaneously drawn up between Counsel Services and NICAP, stipulating NICAP consultants and regional directors may be retained and work under the supervision of Counsel Services senior officers, namely Thomas D. O'Keefe and Mary Vaughan King ( see p7 ): Below is an image from the résumé of Thomas D. O'Keefe, suggesting his former work assigning State Department personnel for foreign assignment, among other government responsibilities ( p39 ): The image below depicts a handwritten note stored among archived NICAP records, suggesting O'Keefe wrote promotional material for NICAP. The note is located in a pdf adjacent to a Jan. 1957 letter from T. Townsend Brown to a Washington attorney, addressing a Washington Post article about space law ( p22 ): Other records in the FBI files obtained on Gordon Gray include a 1958 FBI memo indicating Gray was responsible for recommending the President's Cabinet be briefed by Hoover on the Communist threat to internal security ( p90 ). The memo continued, “[Gray] said that the lack of vigorous protest against the attack on the FBI made by Cyrus Eaton was indicative of the degree to which the public had lost interest in subversive activities.” Cyrus Eaton was a Canadian American industrialist, investment banker and philanthropist. He was reportedly  critical of certain U.S. policies and particularly intelligence agency surveillance, publicly likening it to Hitler and describing the spy tactics as worse than the Gestapo. Gray's recommendation Hoover brief the Cabinet on Communist infiltration and subversion reflects what was in one instance described as Gray's “rabid” opposition to Communism. It is both intriguing and potentially concerning to consider how far Gray and his colleagues may have been able to persuade those in power to go, and the resources he may have been successful at convincing presidents and their cabinets to use, in a seeming effort to gain advantage in a Cold War waged with Russia. Additional FBI records obtained through a follow-up FOIA request show conflict arising in 1966 between the Bureau and the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which included Gray. FBI memos indicate the Bureau was concerned the Board might learn about certain activities the FBI preferred to remain undisclosed. “We have operations going that we certainly don't want all members of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board to know about,” an FBI memo stated ( see p7 ). It was also expressed that it “could only lead to trouble” for an FBI representative to get in a position where they were being jointly interrogated by members of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Gray served as President Dwight Eisenhower's National Security Advisor from 1958-1961, following his terms as Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. He later died of cancer in 1982 at his home in Washington, D.C. Right-Wing Extremism A now declassified 1952 CIA calendar item  documents J. Edgar Hoover reportedly expressed significant interest in the subject of flying saucers. The CIA apparently informed Hoover the matter was discussed at a then-recent Intelligence Advisory Committee meeting. It was decided that personnel from the CIA Office of Intelligence should brief Hoover: This contradicts Hoover's public policy, denying any official FBI interest in UFOs, and may well have more reflected Hoover's concern about Communist subversion than Venusians in the Pentagon. It's not difficult to envision Hoover may have had any number of reasons for reportedly expressing interest in UFOs to CIA, and those reasons may have been much more about counterintelligence and/or interacting with CIA personnel for one purpose or another than concern about literal flying saucers. Please note the reference to the discussion of UFOs at the Intelligence Advisory Committee, as that group will come up again below. A comprehensive 1953 FBI Special Inquiry undertaken on Gordon Gray includes reference to his position as the North Carolina Chairman for the Crusade for Freedom ( see p48 ). The report notes activities of the “Crusade” included raising funds for Radio Free Europe and other propaganda outlets with confirmed and likely CIA influence, if not outright Agency management: An exploration of the FBI files and adjacent subject matter is incomplete without acknowledging the implied and at times not-so-subtle implications of fascist ideology. Specifically, the CIA and Office of Policy Coordination entitlement of conducting unethical behavior modification research under the guise of defensive studies while arguably cultivating fears of Communism (get them before they get us); Operation Paperclip and the embracing of Nazi scientists in CIA research and as inferred in the Economic Cooperation Administration presence in post-World War II Germany; and unrestrained surveillance and sowing of dissent conducted by the FBI as eventually revealed through public discovery of COINTELPRO, or Counterintelligence Program, are but a few examples of the many. The American intelligence officers steering the circumstances may have indeed been above reproach in their loyalty to the perceived cause, but the questions remain as to whether the cause was just or if the ends justified the means. Just because they were confident in what they were doing doesn't necessarily mean they should have been doing it (or that their true intentions were necessarily reflected in their overt and official statements). Moreover, these lines of entitlement and fascism may be found running through the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, as well. That's the case whether because of intelligence community involvement in NICAP, the general prevailing culture among military and intelligence officers who made up and influenced the organization, simply a matter of widely held belief systems among American white people of the times, or combinations thereof. For whatever combinations of reasons, NICAP reflected certain societal ills also found in the intelligence community and those ills persist in the UFO subculture. Maj. Donald Keyhoe, widely accepted as the face of NICAP, is reported to have subscribed to racist beliefs. This includes his reported opposition  to people of color volunteering with NICAP, including Lynn Cato, the girlfriend of writer and researcher John Keel. In the years before Keyhoe took the reins of NICAP in early 1957, he was the tour manager of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, a nationalist who opposed  U.S. intervention in World War II. The pilot likewise spoke out against the provision of military aid to the British. Lindbergh was the spokesperson for the isolationist America First Committee, now considered by historians and intelligence professionals to have represented extremist interests and have been, basically, made up of Nazis. After conducting a 13-year UFO public relations campaign and attack on the American intelligence community, Keyhoe was relieved of his responsibilities as NICAP director in proceedings led by the previously mentioned CIA psychological warfare expert and NICAP board member Col. Joseph Bryan III. Keyhoe had successfully lobbied for Congressional UFO hearings but his most lasting legacy may have been shifting his burden of proof to the federal government for his assertions of interplanetary visitors. Keyhoe pretty much taught the UFO subculture to argue it could prove aliens were frequently flying the skies if the CIA and Air Force would only release their proof aliens were frequently flying the skies. The logical fallacies inherent to the argument seemed to escape many, through sincere misunderstandings or otherwise, and that continues to be the case to this day. Following Keyhoe's removal as director in late 1969, more intelligence officers joined the NICAP board and appointed John L. “Jack” Acuff as president to manage some facade of an organization. NICAP was little more than a memory of its once active network of investigators and ongoing press releases when, in 1978, NICAP staffers and members were barraged by mail with Nazi propaganda. The material arrived bearing NICAP computer labels and membership codes and, in at least one instance, apparently was accompanied by a NICAP mailer. Concerned parties investigated, learning that Acuff sold the organization mailing list not once, but twice, to Ernst Zundel. He ran a Nazi group and publishing house, Samisdat, out of Canada. Zundel and Samisdat were using UFOs as a means to promote their doctrines ( see pp1-2 ). FBI records on Ernst Zundel obtained by EFR contain a 1965 description of him as a German artist residing in Montreal who “refers to negroes, Jews, and Communists, in one breath as the enemy of the White Race [ sic ].” It was further observed that Zundel “advocates concentration camps for these enemies.” Zundel was described as intellectual, persuasive and extremely dangerous, for reasons including, “If this man should contact gullible people who's values are completely twisted, he could become a real threat...” Records obtained by EFR  through a FOIA request and further declassified through successful appeal show how a 1982 search for Nazi war criminals conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) led investigators to several of the CIA boards, divisions and projects discussed in this post. The GAO advised the FBI of the circumstances and provided the Bureau a list while requesting FBI share its records related to the projects named. Many, if not all, of the 35 operations and groups listed by GAO were funded by the CIA and/or had officers involved in significant capacities. The FOIA request first submitted to the FBI sought records responsive to the CIA Psychological Strategy Board. A 1982 GAO memo to the Bureau, Subject: GAO Inquiry Into Alleged Nazi War Criminals , was included in records identified as responsive because the Board was named in the memo and subsequent response to the GAO from the FBI. Additional operations and units cited by the GAO, in addition to the Psychological Strategy Board and spanning from the Hillenkoetter administration forward, included but were not limited to: Intelligence Advisory Committee, Intelligence Advisory Board, Operation Paperclip (of course), State Department's Policy Planning Staff, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe, Crusade for Freedom, and Office of Policy Coordination - all significantly referenced above. From the 1982 GAO memo: Perhaps Gordon Gray and his colleagues fell out of favor as time passed them by and societal norms cycled. There are implications in this saga to current events, as well, particularly about ideologies often embraced by law enforcement, the intelligence community and military extremists. It might be argued the demographics don't seem to learn their lessons, or maybe a lot of them just don't know what happened in the past and their numbers become manipulated again from generation to generation. Maybe they think everything happening is new. They – the ones unaware of the past – might be the most vulnerable of us all to exploitation, and that leads us to what may be the most salient point to be made about all this: It's time to accept the past, absent confirmation bias and cherry-picking. It's time we accept where we've been and what it means; what it means about U.S. intelligence agencies, what it means about the United States as a nation, what it means about UFOs and many of those who investigate them, and what it means to each of us as individuals. It's time to stop ignoring the material that is available for the asking and it's time to read it and integrate it into our assessments of our pasts and the world we live in. Doing so is the most effective defense against those obstructing and spinning the past in order to exploit the rest of us in the present and future.

Critically acclaimed artist and curator of The Poe Museum, Chris Semtner, guests Friday, Sep. 20, on Expanding Frontiers with Erica Lukes. The show runs 7-9pm Eastern, live on YouTube. Chris has curated popular exhibits for museums and galleries across the country, including his Library of Virginia exhibit Poe: Man, Myth, or Monster , earning the praise of The New York Times. His latest exhibit, Mystery of Mysteries: Paintings by Chris Semtner , runs through October 26 at Visual Arts Studio in Richmond, VA. Exhibits created by Chris for The Poe Museum earned awards and honors from TIME Magazine and USA Today, among others. Using innovation to bring Poe to new audiences, he has collaborated on performances with a diverse variety of groups, including ballet, historians, and even cemeteries. Chris regularly speaks about a variety of unusual, obscure, and macabre subjects to groups of all ages around the country and as far away as Japan. His book, The Poe Shrine: Building the World’s Finest Edgar Allan Poe Collection , tells the strange but true stories behind The Poe Museum’s artifacts. Be sure to check out what promises to be a fascinating discussion!