IN CAMERA AFFIDAVIT OF EUGENE F. YEATES

This document is an in camera affidavit submitted by Eugene F. Yeates, Chief of the Office of Policy at the National Security Agency (NSA), to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The affidavit was prepared in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by the organization 'Citizens Against Unidentified Flying Objects Secrecy' (Civil Action No. 80-1562). The purpose of the affidavit is to provide a classified justification for the NSA's decision to withhold 156 communications intelligence (COMINT) reports and other records located within NSA files that were requested by the plaintiff. Yeates explains that the NSA identified a total of 239 documents. Of these, 79 were referred to other government agencies. The remaining documents are withheld based on the assertion that they contain sensitive information regarding signals intelligence (SIGINT) operations, NSA organizational functions, and intelligence sources and methods. The affidavit details the classification system used by the NSA, specifically noting the 'UMBRA' codeword, which applies to Category III COMINT. Yeates discusses several specific documents, including a monograph titled 'UFO Hypothesis and Survival Questions' and another titled 'UFOs and the Intelligence Community Blind Spot to Surprise or Deceptive Data.' He explains that these documents were withheld or redacted because they contain information about NSA's internal organization, intelligence gathering procedures, and specific signals intelligence operations. The affidavit argues that disclosing these records would compromise the NSA's ability to gather intelligence, reveal the agency's capacity to intercept communications from international common carriers, and potentially cause foreign governments to alter their communication routes. Yeates asserts that the information is exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(1), (b)(3), and (b)(5), as well as 18 U.S.C. §798 and 50 U.S.C. §403(d)(3). He concludes by requesting that the court maintain the security of the affidavit and return it to the Department of Justice.