CIA Set to Let Skeletons Out of Closet

The CIA is about to release secret records of its illegal activities from the '50s to the '70s, reports the Washington Post. Known as the "family jewels," the long-sought documents detail assassination attempts, kidnappings, wiretaps, drug tests on civilians, monitoring of journalists (including muckraking columnist Jack Anderson), and interception of mail (including letters addressed to Jane Fonda).

The records, to be made public next week after years of requests by reporters and academics, were originally compiled in 1973 under orders from then-CIA director James Schlesinger. They provide a glimpse into "a very different agency," current director Michael Hayden said yesterday. But the director of the National Security Archive disagreed, saying the info is "pretty resonant today." (More CIA stories.)