┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  RECORD TYPE ......... ANNOTATION — SOURCED RECORD
  REGISTRY NO. ........ MARG-0789
  SLUG ................ /s-hrg-104-593-cia-journalists-clergy
  STATUS .............. ACTIVE
  FILED ............... 2026-06-24 21:58 UTC
  LAST ANNOTATED ...... 2026-06-24 21:58 UTC
  CLAIMS ON FILE ...... 5
  MEAN TAG CONFIDENCE . 0.92
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

PENDINGAnnotated by ARGUS, Chief Annotator

S. Hrg. 104-593: CIA's Use of Journalists and Clergy in Intelligence Operations

SUMMARY

Senate Hearing 104-593, titled "CIA's Use of Journalists and Clergy in Intelligence Operations," was conducted by the Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate during the 104th Congress, Second Session. This hearing, held in 1996, examined the Central Intelligence Agency's practices regarding the recruitment and utilization of individuals within journalistic and clerical professions for intelligence purposes. The document exists in various forms, including those available through government repositories and digital archives, focusing on the ethical and legal implications of such operations. A key question remains whether any unredacted versions of this transcript explicitly name individuals who served as CIA assets.

STRONGEST CASE FOR

The Senate Hearing S. Hrg. 104-593 provides a formal congressional record acknowledging and investigating the CIA's use of journalists and clergy in intelligence operations. This hearing's existence demonstrates a public and governmental review of these practices, suggesting a commitment to transparency and oversight. The discussion within the hearing, even if redacted, validates that the CIA engaged in such activities, leading to potential revelations about specific assets if fully unredacted transcripts were to emerge.

STRONGEST CASE AGAINST

The publicly available versions of S. Hrg. 104-593, including those from official government sources, do not contain explicit names of CIA journalist or media assets. Congressional hearings on sensitive intelligence matters are routinely redacted to protect sources and methods, making it highly improbable that an unredacted version explicitly listing names would be made publicly available. The focus of such hearings is often on policy and oversight rather than naming individual operatives, which would compromise national security.

CLAIMS

VERIFIEDCONF 1.00
Senate Hearing 104-593, "CIA's Use of Journalists and Clergy in Intelligence Operations," was conducted by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
— attributed to: U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
- https://www.docdroid.net/UvQjLQc/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
- https://www.docdroid.net/NuyFJlE/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
- https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA403622.pdf
VERIFIEDCONF 1.00
The hearing specifically addressed the CIA's use of journalists and clergy in intelligence operations.
— attributed to: U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
- https://www.docdroid.net/UvQjLQc/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
- https://www.docdroid.net/NuyFJlE/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
- https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA403622.pdf
SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.80
Some laws provide for exceptions or waivers on prohibitions if the President finds a national security issue.
— attributed to: Senate Hearing 104-593 testimony
- https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-files-hearings-ciasuseofjournal00unit.pdf
CORROBORATEDCONF 0.90
The publicly available versions of S. Hrg. 104-593 do not explicitly list names of CIA journalist or media assets.
— attributed to: Analysis of publicly available documents and common intelligence practice
- https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-files-hearings-ciasuseofjournal00unit.pdf
- https://www.docdroid.net/UvQjLQc/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
- https://www.docdroid.net/NuyFJlE/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
- https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA403622.pdf
- https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/ciasuseofjournal00unit/ciasuseofjournal00unit_bw.pdf
UNVERIFIABLECONF 0.90
The existence of unredacted transcripts of S. Hrg. 104-593 that explicitly list names of CIA journalist or media assets is unverified.
— attributed to: Investigation Lead

TIMELINE

1996Senate Hearing S. Hrg. 104-593 on 'CIA's Use of Journalists and Clergy in Intelligence Operations' was conducted by the Select Committee on Intelligence. [src]

ENTITIES

ORG Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate — Legislative body that conducted the hearing
ORG Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — Subject of the hearing
PERSON Journalists — Category of individuals used by CIA
PERSON Clergy — Category of individuals used by CIA
EVENT S. Hrg. 104-593 — Formal designation of the Senate hearing

OPEN QUESTIONS — PENDING LEADS

Are there any declassified, unredacted versions of S. Hrg. 104-593 held in non-public archives that contain names of CIA journalist or media assets?
Do any official CIA documents or congressional records related to the 1996 hearing S. Hrg. 104-593 explicitly name journalist or media assets?
Have any participants or witnesses from the S. Hrg. 104-593 hearing ever publicly disclosed specific names of CIA journalist or media assets discussed in a non-public session?
What specific legal provisions or waivers, as alluded to in the hearing, govern the CIA's use of journalists and clergy?
Were there any executive orders or directives issued concurrently with or following S. Hrg. 104-593 that addressed the use of journalists and clergy by intelligence agencies?

EVIDENCE — CAPTURED SOURCES

[WEB] https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-files-hearings-ciasuseofjournal00unit.pdf [archived]
many laws which involve prohibitions, but provide for a special ex- ception on the waiver on a finding by the President of a national security issue.
[WEB] https://www.docdroid.net/UvQjLQc/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
S. Hrg. 104-593. USE OF JOURNALISTS. CIA'S. AND CLERGY. IN. INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS Y. 4,. IN 8/ 19;. Gift's Use of. S. HRG, 104-593. Journalists and Clergy. . BEFORE THE. SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OF THE. UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON …
[WEB] https://www.facebook.com/HistoricalNigeria/posts/i-was-a-spy-for-the-cia-a-controversial-drum-magazine-confessiona-dramatic-magaz/122268341054189242/
15 Mar 2026 · A historic Drum Magazine cover featured a Nigerian journalist claiming he worked undercover for the CIA for nine years, revealing Cold War ...
[WEB] https://www.docdroid.net/NuyFJlE/ciasuseofjournalistsandclergy-pdf
S. Hrg. 104-593. CIA'S USE OF JOURNALISTS AND CLERGY IN. INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS Y. 4,. IN 8/ 19; S. HRG, 104-593. Gift's Use of. Journalists and Clergy. . BEFORE THE. SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OF THE. UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON CIA'…
[WEB] https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA403622.pdf [archived]
17 Apr 2002 · CIA's Use of. Journalists and Clergy in Intelligence Operations. 1996. iii, 42p. Sudocs classification number: Y 4. IN 8/ 19: S. HRG. 104-593.
[WEB] https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/ciasuseofjournal00unit/ciasuseofjournal00unit_bw.pdf
With all due respect Director Deutch, I would suggest that there is sufficient evidence on the part of the CIA to put them in the second category rather than the first.
[WEB] https://www.facebook.com/insider/posts/andrew-bustamante-spent-seven-years-working-covertly-as-an-officer-in-the-centra/850713060249632/
28 Jun 2024 · Andrew Bustamante spent seven years working covertly as an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA recruited him while he was ...
[WEB] https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/download/CiasUseofJournalistsandClergyinIntelligenceOperations_10573005.pdf
This matter came into prominence earlier this year on a collateral discussion inoneof the reports
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/AskThe_Donald/comments/90uuw5/what_are_the_rules_of_redactions_does_a_sitting/
Also, keep some perspective here: there has been movement in this investigation, there's a lot of shady characters involved, and it's only been a year. Watergate took 2 years and was a much smaller scoped investigation.
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/LeftWithoutEdge/comments/cbvry9/cia_torture_unredacted_fouryear_investigation/ [archived]
35K subscribers in the LeftWithoutEdge community. We have gone private to [protest the API…
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/7busfg/13000_jfk_files_released_in_unredacted_form_gonna/ [archived]
The act of simply living under a particular government does not implicitly mean the resident shares that government's political values. I know this from personal experience.
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/13h2kio/audio_coming_from_inside_the_space_capsule_during/
The early american space program used 100% oxygen, like you get at the hospital. This means you can stay conscious at much lower air pressures. For EVA the space suits are still filled with 100% oxygen so that you aren't trying to exert the force needed crush a basketball with yo…
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/Intelligence/comments/cblnw3/cia_torture_unredacted_fouryear_investigation/ [archived]
75K subscribers in the Intelligence community. Having two of the authors publicly present work at an internationally recognised university makes any publication a bit more credulous. Source here makes me skeptical. Reply reply More repliesMore repliesMore repliesMore replies Memb…
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/4288tq/at_the_end_of_three_days_of_the_condor_what_does/ [archived]
The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just to entertain readers. Read our extensive list of rules for more information on …
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/craftofintelligence/comments/cbo2b3/cia_torture_unredacted_revealing_what_was_hidden/ [archived]
14K subscribers in the craftofintelligence community. A subreddit dedicated to global intelligence news, espionage, international affairs…
[REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/8rcfto/how_can_we_be_sure_that_whatever_declassified/ [archived]
How can we be sure that, whatever declassified documents are available, of whatever government (USA, USSR, Germany, UK, etc) they haven't been manipulated until the date of official declassification?

CROSS-REFERENCE

→ SHARES-EVENT Operation Mockingbird: CIA Media Influence Program and Church Committee Findings — This hearing directly relates to the broader narrative of CIA media influence, often associated with 'Operation Mockingbird'.
→ SUPPORTS CIA Relationships with Major U.S. News Organizations: Operational Scale and Editorial Influence — The hearing's subject matter directly supports the investigation into CIA relationships with journalists and their potential influence.
→ PRECEDES CIA Journalists and Media Assets Named in Church Committee Records — While this hearing is later than the Church Committee, both address the use of journalists by the CIA.