Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle has requested records from the Central Intelligence Agency regarding the Libertarian Party’s last five national conventions and a news article related to its 1980 presidential nominee, according to copies of the requests she shared on social media over the weekend.
In an X post on Sunday, McArdle shared the text of two Freedom of Information Act requests she had submitted, presumably earlier this month, stating that she is currently awaiting the CIA’s response. In these requests, McArdle seeks “all documentation related to the Libertarian National Conventions of 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024,” as well as documents “related to the candidacy of Ed Clark and the Libertarian Party or Libertarian National Committee, connected to this Boston Globe newspaper article from July 2, 1980.”
The Boston Globe article in question covers Clark’s 1980 campaign announcement, where he outlined his policy priorities and plans to spend $3.5 million on his presidential bid. McArdle suggests that the CIA may have additional information regarding the Libertarian Party and the Libertarian National Committee due to the agency’s past involvement in documenting and sanitizing the article. A copy of the sanitized version, originally released by the CIA in 2010, is available here.
Earlier this month, McArdle expressed her belief that the Libertarian Party had been targeted by “COINTEL PRO tactics,” and she planned to resubmit a prior FOIA request to the CIA to explore potential interference in the party’s activities—something she first did in July only to be met with a “Glomar response.” However, unlike this past weekend, McArdle did not publicly share the specific language of her initial request.
In both current FOIA requests, McArdle argues that any relevant records should not be exempt from disclosure. She asserts that these documents pertain to election activities, do not involve personal matters, and contain information about whether a political party and its candidate were ever under investigation, which she believes should be made public.
In a follow-up comment to her original post, McArdle mentioned that in addition to her recent requests to the CIA, she is also submitting similar requests to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Clearly, Bob Barr was always too good for the LP , just like Ron Paul. Both had the good sense to run as Republicans thereafter.
A couple of quick clarifications: first, 99% of the time when someone makes a comment about Bob Barr on this site, they are usually attacking him. So I naturally get defensive because having worked with him closely, my feeling was that he was very sincere in his beliefs, and he tried to advance the cause.
As far as him leaving the LP, his state party pretty much threw him out. He was maligned and mistreated after the presidential race was over. Eventually he left.
I’m not sure why I would’ve brought up Reagan or Bush. In my defense, I am just getting over Covid so I wrote that while hacking my head off and dealing with other nasty symptoms. But as far as Reagan goes, he absolutely worked for them. My uncle spent his entire career at the OSS/CIA, and during the war his desk was right next to Reagan’s. It was called the OSS at the time, and it was heavily involved in internal war propaganda. It did not have the restrictions the CIA is under. But it was the same organization, just under a different name.
Anyway…
Should I have also made clear I’ve supported Congressman Barr throughout his political career, including during his unwise involvement with the libertarians, which caused a relapse of involvement with them on my own part as well so as to support him? In my defense, I was back out of that trap even before he was.
Sure, as his father was stationed there at the time as a US military engineer. Is this also supposedly related to my comments? If so, how?
But wait, there’s more. Barr didn’t just work for the CIA, he graduated from high school in … wait for it … IRAN! Booga booga!
Mr. Flood, further point of curiosity regarding your sense of smell: what does a CIA asset smell like ? I know intelligence agencies all over the world prefer to work with reliable people who are well disciplined and maintain a good front or poker face. However, rambling, undisciplined individuals like Mr Trump can be useful so long as they have useful connections or positions and can be reliably manipulated with praise, tangible incentives, compromising information etc like Ivan Pavlov’s canine friends.
Mr. Flood, I’m curious as to 1, what made you read something I never said about Congressman Barr into what I said? I said iirc he worked for them as an analyst – a public acknowledged non clandestine employment history biographical fact which you actually confirmed, as do public information sources. I don’t have the slightest inkling of where you got the notion that I meant anything except what I actually said. There was in fact nothing to read between the lines.
You may have also assumed some attitude about the Central Intelligence Agency on my part. Did you? If so, what is it that you think I think about CIA and why do you think I think that? , I don’t recall sharing any negative views of anyone due to CIA employment, current or former or clandestine or public.
My understanding is that CIA is tasked with analyzing and in some cases Neutralizing threats to the US if foreign in origin. FBI would be the agency most likely to infiltrate , investigate etc purely domestic criminal organizations and plots. Those lines were blurred at times when domestic groups were or were suspected of being fronts for foreign interests eg Bolshevik or Jihadi.
If the US government were infiltrating and investigating your prior party, it strikes me as more likely that it would be FBI rather than CIA, unless there’s some foreign connection involved or suspected.
Incidentally I was curious enough to follow up. As best I can tell McArdle was drawn to look at a 44 year old campaign because the allegedly “sanitized* article said your candidate wanted to abolish the CIA amongst other agencies.
As for what you wrote about past US presidents, 41 was publicly acknowledged as director of CIA under President Ford and accused by various sources but not acknowledged to be a clandestine agent earlier in his career. I’m unaware of what if anything President Reagans involvement was. I’m also not clear on why you brought either of them up.
Of the names mentioned here Bob Barr and Ronald Reagan (as well as Bush 41, but only as Reagans veep) were among those I voted for. When 41 ran himself I voted for Ron Paul in 1988 and Ross Perot in 1992.
I don’t know anything about your former party’s chair except what I read here. .
I voted for Donald Trump every time I could and will keep doing so.
I don’t know what employment history if any other past US PRESIDENTS gave with CIA but I’m not sure why that’s a question. Why is that a question? Please don’t tell me if it means you or anyone will then have to kill me – I’m curious, but. Not. That. Curious.
The theory of busy work makes sense. Although I do think that under it all she is bat shit crazy.
And I do have to respectfully disagree with what was loosely implied in thecomment about Bob Barr. Yes, he did work for them in his younger years. But as far as his time in the LP goes, I worked with him very closely during the time he was in the party. He was sincere in his beliefs, and he did nothing but try to help move the party forward.
Remember, at least two presidents (that we know of) in recent history worked for them. Reagan and Bush I. Were there more?
And if I were trying to think of a screenplay to make a movie about an internal revolution to take over and destroy the United States involving the CIA, it would almost have to involve them controlling Trump through the people around him or possibly through drugs planted in either his Diet Coke drinks or the salt in the endless orders of french fries. He smells like a CIA asset. He reeks of it.
And unfortunately for the libertarian party, so does their current chair.
After Ed Crane chaired the convention that nominated Ed Clark for the 1980 election, he went off and founded CATO. Maybe some CIA operatives there. How about a FOIA request on them?
Oh, and let’s not forget that the Kochs supported Ed Clark, Ed Crane, and CATO. Maybe they are agents, too.
Question mark was to be rolling laughing emoji
Please explain further ?
This is the most pathetic wag the dog attempt, ever.
I wonder why she is focused on a candidate from 44 years ago. Bob Barr was iirc quite publicly acknowledged as an aboveground Central Intelligence Agency analyst, for example.
“I was physically at two of those conventions, in both cases chairing our state delegation. The only shady characters I saw lurking in the shadows were those f’d up mises characters.”
Stew is a glowie, confirmed U+1F608
“What purpose does this serve? ” It is busy work, to make it look like the Chair is doing something. She gives no support to our national ticket, alings the Libertarian Party with communists in support of Russian aggression, invites an authoritarian former President to oink at our convention, and so she does this to make it seem like she cares about The Libertarian Party.
I suggest instead sending a copy of the Quiz to all CIA employees…
Didn’t her handlers give her all the requested information already?
Wow! I sure hope the party can survive this total embarrassment.
Here in 2024 watching a Libertarian candidate for mayor dressed in a top hat and sash explain how bitcoin mining is going to revitalize the town and my first reaction is “I bet the CIA is responsible for this.”
What purpose does this serve? The records on last five conventions? While she’s at it, she should probably ask the CIA to verify whether Dr. Phillies and the websites IPR and 3PW are funded by the CIA. She is just as likely to get an answer. The probability of course being zero.
I was physically at two of those conventions, in both cases chairing our state delegation. The only shady characters I saw lurking in the shadows were those f’d up mises characters. So is the CIA or FBI going to come back and say that they infiltrated the libertarian party through the mises caucus? That actually makes some sense…