Another day, another episode that makes the "deep state" label feel less like a conspiracy theory and more like a straightforward description of how power actually operates in Washington.
According to whistleblower testimony from CIA officer James Erdman before the Senate Homeland Security Committee in mid-May 2026, the agency took back approximately 40 boxes of documents, including key files on the JFK assassination and the notorious MKUltra mind-control program, from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Tulsi Gabbard, who will be replaced within days. These materials were reportedly being processed for declassification under President Trump's executive orders. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna quickly went public, giving the CIA 24 hours to return the files or face subpoenas. Lawmakers, including Luna and Rep. Eric Burlison, later visited CIA headquarters demanding answers.
The DNI office pushed back hard, denying any dramatic "raid" and calling the most sensational claims false. Gabbard's spokesperson stated plainly that the CIA did not raid the office. Luna later clarified that it was not a literal raid on that specific day but an earlier action involving document custody that came to light via the whistleblower. Even with the semantic walk-back, the core facts remain troubling: sensitive historical documents under presidential declassification directives somehow found their way back into CIA hands at a critical moment.
Why This Stinks
Timing is everything. These files were actively being prepared for public release. Trump has long pushed for full JFK transparency. Why remove them precisely when they were moving toward sunlight? The optics strongly suggest obstruction.
MKUltra: The Gift That Keeps on Giving Nightmares. The CIA's documented program of LSD dosing, hypnosis, psychological torture, and non-consensual experiments on unwitting Americans and Canadians in the 1950s–1970s is already horrifying. The agency has admitted to destroying the bulk of the records. What fragments survived paint a dark picture. One has to ask what remains hidden more than 50 years later that still requires such protective measures.
JFK Assassination Files. Sixty-plus years on, the CIA continues to resist full disclosure. Hundreds of thousands of pages have been released over time, yet significant documents remain heavily redacted or missing entirely. The lone-gunman narrative has always contained major unresolved issues: multiple shooters, Oswald's intelligence connections, the single "magic" bullet, and the rapid silencing of witnesses. Every time comprehensive disclosure appears imminent, fresh obstacles materialise.
What is the CIA Likely Protecting?
Possible direct involvement, foreknowledge, facilitation, or a post-assassination cover-up in JFK's death that would shatter public trust if fully exposed.
Continuities between MKUltra techniques and modern psychological operations, surveillance, propaganda, and behavioural manipulation programs.
Names, networks, and compromised assets that remain relevant today.
Institutional embarrassment on a scale that could trigger genuine demands for reform or structural changes to the agency.
The pattern is longstanding: reflexive classification of anything that might embarrass the intelligence community, followed by national-security claims when outsiders seek access. This latest episode occurred under a Trump administration with Tulsi Gabbard, a sceptic of forever wars and intelligence overreach, serving as DNI. The push for greater transparency clearly threatens entrenched interests. Whether described as a "raid," a quiet reclamation, or a routine transfer of custody, the message is unmistakable: these files belong to the agency, not to elected officials or the public.
Congress should follow through with subpoenas and full accountability. Every withheld document on JFK and MKUltra should be released with only narrow, genuinely justified redactions for current sources and methods; not historical embarrassment or reputational damage. Americans have a right to know what their government did in their name, particularly regarding events that changed the nation's course.
The reflexive secrecy, document shuffling, and resistance to oversight only deepen public distrust. If the CIA truly has nothing to hide, open the vaults. The longer it fights transparency on these iconic scandals, the more citizens will assume the worst.
This is not ancient history. It is about whether elected leaders, not permanent Deep State bureaucrats, ultimately control the most powerful intelligence apparatus on Earth.