IRmep

Institute for Research:
Middle Eastern Policy

"Research - Awareness - Accountability"

 

 

 

How much extra U.S. aid to Israel is being channeled through CIA black budgets?

UPDATED: September 29, 2018

The U.S. has provided more foreign assistance to Israel since 1948 than any other country. However only some of this massive assistance is publicly disclosed in reports to Congress and U.S. taxpayers. Elected officials claim the amount of aid the U.S. provides Israel in terms of intelligence services is enormous, however taxpayers have never been allowed to review the dollar amounts, particularly as they change over time. Taxpayers cannot assess whether such assistance is well-spent and moderated or withheld in response to Israel’s active ongoing espionage penetration of the United States for defense, economic, diplomatic and political intelligence, or ongoing promotion of illegal land seizures which are against longstanding U.S. foreign policy. In 2007 Israel was designated as a top espionage threat against the U.S. government according to the National Security Agency (NSA).

Americans also cannot determine how many of their own tax dollars may be funding violations of their right to privacy. According to released NSA files, under an agreement the United States shares with Israel raw intelligence including intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of Americans without any minimization of identities. According to public opinion polls, the majority of Americans (60.7 percent) believe the United States provides "much too much" or "too much" foreign assistance to Israel. Knowing how much total assistance has and is being delivered is an important step toward canceling it, since applicable Arms Export Control Act restrictions are not being enforced.

On September 2, 2015 IRmep filed a  18 page federal lawsuit (PDF) to compel the Central Intelligence Agency to release the "intelligence budget that pertains to line items supporting Israel for the years 1990-2015." A key argument in this case is that President Obama disclosed the existence of "unprecedented" amounts of intelligence aid to Israel, making blanket deniability much more difficult for defendants.

"...But the fact is, partly due to American military and intelligence assistance, which my administration has provided at unprecedented levels, Israel can defend itself against any conventional danger— whether from Iran directly or from its proxies." -Remarks by the President on the Iran Nuclear Deal, American University, August 5, 2015

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

   
09/02/2015 IRmep Complaint and Exhibits (PDF)
02/05/2016 CIA motion for Summary Judgment (PDF)
  Declaration of Antoinete B. Shiner, Information Review officer for the Litigation Information Review Office - Central Intelligence Agency (PDF)
03/04/2016 IRmep Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment (PDF)
04/01/2016 CIA Reply Motion in Support of Summary Judgment (PDF)
04/16/2016 Plaintiff Reply Motion in Opposition to Summary Judgment  (PDF)
03/30/2017 Memorandum Opinion - Judge Tanya Chutkan  (PDF)
04/21/2017 Defendant  Motion for Reconsideration (PDF)
  Memorandum in Support (PDF)
  Affidavit of Mark Ewing (PDF)
  Affidavit of Mark Ewing (PDF, OCR)
  Draft Order (PDF)
04/24/2017 Plaintiff's Proposed Schedule  (PDF)
04/24/2017 Defendant's Proposed Schedule  (PDF)
04/24/2017 Plaintiff's Request for Opportunity to Respond  (PDF)
05/15/2017 Plaintiff''s Opposition to Motion for Reconsideration  (PDF)
08/23/2017 Court denies Defendant Summary Judgement  (PDF)
09/22/2017 Plaintiff Motion for Accelerated Schedule (PDF)
11/03/2017 Defendant Memorandum in Support of Defendant's Second Motion for Summary Judgement (PDF)
  2nd Declaration of Antoinete B. Shiner, Information Review officer for the Litigation Information Review Office - Central Intelligence Agency (PDF)
12/01/2017 Memorandum in Support of 1st Amended Complaint (PDF)
  First Amended Complaint for Injunctive Relief (PDF)
  Exhibit list (PDF)
  Proposed Order (PDF)
09/28/2018 COURT ORDER denying [27] Plaintiff's Motion to Amend. The parties shall meet, confer, and submit a joint proposed briefing schedule for the CIA's pending [26] Second Motion for Summary Judgment. The proposed schedule is due on October 12, 2018. Signed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on 9/28/2018. (lctsc2).
10/12/2018 Joint Status Report (PDF)
08/20/2019 Order (PDF)



 

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