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Cryptonym: CELOTEX-2

Definition:

Surveillance of DC journalist Jack Anderson and his staff.

Status:

Documented

Sources:

CIA "Family Jewels," June 25, 2007 Release Current Section: 5. Surveillances

"At the direction of the DCI, surveillance was conducted of Jack Anderson and at various times his "leg men", Britt Hume, Leslie Whitten, and Joseph Spear from 15 February to 12 April 1972...the purpose of this surveillance was to attempt to determine Anderson's sources for highly classified Agency information appearing in his syndicated columns."

John Prados, "The Family Jewels: The CIA, Secrecy, and Presidential Power, pp. 212-213. https://books.google.com/books?id=199PBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=prados+celotex&source=bl&ots=SZnwT8DRA4&sig=rB8ipHA_RW2I_hf7HcFb8wED0C8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK59i6_6bPAhXHax4KHfmMA1QQ6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=prados%20celotex&f=false

This project was run by the Office of Security. Anderson said the physical surveillance was known as Operation Mudhen. Anderson was given the pseudonym "Brandy". From 2/15/72 and for the next two months the journalists were covered 24/7. This project was triggered after Anderson's stories on US military bases in Japan. These bases were sensitive because Okinawa was used by CIA for Vietnam, while the home islands were used by NSA to monitor Soviet and Chinese transmissions.

Contributors:

Carmine Savastano • Bill Simpich