Florida Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna has accused the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of seizing dozens of boxes of classified documents related to the John F. Kennedy assassination and the agency’s mind-control program, MKUltra.
Luna stated that the CIA had 24 hours to return the documents to the office of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard or else she would request a subpoena for their preservation. She described the action as part of an “internal coup” within the agency and emphasized that President Donald Trump’s executive order had been intended to declassify most JFK records.
According to Luna, the CIA also seized MKUltra files during the second Trump administration, despite longstanding reports that former CIA Director Richard Helms ordered the destruction of such materials in 1973. The documents were reportedly taken from Gabbard’s office under the agency’s jurisdiction.
A spokesperson for the DNI, Olivia Coleman, denied that the CIA conducted a raid on Gabbard’s office and stated that any reports of such an incident were false. The clip was later removed from social media platforms.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah noted that even if the documents were not in Gabbard’s personal office, their removal from her custody during declassification preparations constituted a problem.
Luna sent a preservation notice to CIA Director John Ratcliffe on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanding the agency preserve all existing and future records related to the JFK assassination and MKUltra. She stated that the committee has the authority to investigate any matter at any time and can compel testimony and documents as needed.
The allegations were corroborated by whistleblower James Erdman, who testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Erdman alleged that the CIA seized 40 boxes of JFK and MKUltra files “being processed for declassification.”
Erdman detailed recent illegal activities by the CIA, including refusing to comply with an investigation by the Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG), a special task force established by Gabbard in 2025. He claimed the agency illegally monitored DIG personnel’s computers and phones during investigations.
Additionally, Erdman raised concerns about ties between the CIA and early pandemic responses, suggesting that Dr. Anthony Fauci intentionally undermined a 2021 CIA plan to publicly announce that Covid-19 originated from a laboratory in China. He also stated that CIA analysts who supported the lab-leak hypothesis faced retaliation for their findings.
Senate Majority Leader Rand Paul confirmed a strong connection between Dr. Fauci and the intelligence community, noting that he had been involved in national-security discussions on pandemic preparedness and origins for years.
Luna’s actions follow historical context: In 1966, The New York Times reported that John F. Kennedy expressed a desire to “splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces.” The agency has faced accusations of misconduct since its inception.