National Program Office – Project 908

Document: National Program Office – Project 908 Agency: Central Intelligence Agency Date: 1982-1983 Notable: Reveals a secret line of succession to the presidency in the event of a nuclear attack, established by a secret executive order during the Cold War. Provenance: This document was released to the public through a Freedom of Information Act request by Mr. John Greenewald, and was subsequently declassified by the Central Intelligence Agency on January 13, 2015. The document was originally released as part of a larger collection of previously released records on the National Program Office and Project 908. The Document: Memorandum for: Planning Staff From: [Unknown] Date: [Unknown] Subject: MEDUSA Project Office Representative Attached is a letter for DDCI signature responding to a request for a MEDUSA Project Office Representative from the Director, Defense Communications Agency. A representative from the Office of Communications is recommended as most National Program Office activities relate directly to communications systems issues. It is not clear, at this time, that full-time representation is either needed or asked for, so designation of a point of contact is an appropriate first step. This has DDA and D/Commo concurrence. [Four lines redacted under exemption B1] Note for: Deputy Director for Administration, Director of Communications From: [Unknown] Date: [Unknown] Subject: MEDUSA Project Office Representative Attached for your review is a draft letter to Director, Defense Communications Agency, from the DDCI. Also attached is a note to the Executive Director and DDCI about the letter. [Discussion with Bill] They agreed that a full-time representative to help out with the Crisis Information and Management System implementation did not seem warranted now. If you concur with the wording, I will forward the letter to the DDCI for his signature. [Attachment redacted under exemption B1] Note for: Deputy Director for Administration, Director of Communications From: [Unknown] Date: October 3, 1983 Subject: MEDUSA Project Office Representative Attached for your review is a draft letter to Director, Defense Communications Agency, from the DDCI. Also attached is a note to the Executive Director and DDCI about the letter. [Discussion with Bill] They agreed that a full-time representative to help out with the Crisis Information and Management System implementation did not seem warranted now. If you concur with the wording, I will forward the letter to the DDCI for his signature. Context: According to an article by Eric Schmitt in The New York Times, a secret Federal agency established a line of succession to the presidency in the early 1980s to assure continued government in the event of a devastating nuclear attack. The existence of this plan was disclosed in a television program on the Cable News Network. The officials involved refused to discuss details of the plan. Outro: This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. A collection of memos and notes, redacted and sanitized, revealing a secret line of succession to the presidency. Storyflo.com. Document URL: https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/defenseissues/project908-cia.pdf