Self-described “National Security Geek” Emma Best recently filed a FOIA with the FBI for files on Thomas G. Clines, longtime CIA officer and major figure in the Iran-Contra affair.

Apparently, the FBI had been paying attention when all that went down, as Clines file spanned 31,250 pages. The FBI would make the release on 63 CDs, for a total processing fee of $940.00.

Providing a bit of extra background, Best writes:

Thomas Clines was one of the most senior officers to have worked for CIA. From 1961-62, he worked to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro through assassination plots and assets like the mafia. From 1966-70, he was stationed in Laos where he oversaw CIA’s secret war. In 1973, he helped Pinchot overthrow Allende’s democratic government. Things got really interesting after he left CIA in 1978, when he made millions by illegally selling military hardware to Egypt along with former CIA officer Edwin P. Wilson through EATSCO (the Egyptian American Transport and Services Corporation).

Unlike Wilson, Clines was able to avoid prosecution by paying $100,000 fine. Just a few years later, he was a central figure in providing Iran with military hardware during the Iran-Contra scandal when allegations surfaced he and other ex-CIA officers were running a private assassination program that had evolved from projects they ran while working for the CIA.

This file is a valuable piece of Cold War history that should be made public - Best has opened the request to crowdfund, and we encourage your support.

Crowdfund the release of these documents below, or on the request page.

Image via Wikimedia Commons