Project MINARET
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Project MINARET was a sister project to Project SHAMROCK coordinated by the NSA, CIA, and FBI. It involved the usage of "watch lists" to oversee "subversive" domestic activities. Also included in the lists were notables such as Malcolm X, Jane Fonda, Joan Baez, and Martin Luther King.
The 1972 Keith decision which was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court became a controversial issue mainly because, even though the law had confirmed that the government had the authority to protect the nation from subversive activity and anarchy, it did not outlaw the government's ability to use electronic surveillance for domestic espionage purposes. This controversy became a major case against Project MINARET.
Operating between 1967 and 1973, over 5,925 foreigners and 1,690 organizations and US citizens were included on the Project MINARET watch lists. Despite extensive efforts to conceal the NSA’s involvement in Project MINARET, NSA Director Lew Allen testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1975 that the NSA had issued over 3,900 reports on the watch-listed Americans. Additionally, the NSA Office of Security Services maintained reports on at least 75,000 Americans between 1952 and 1974. This list included the names of anyone that was mentioned in a NSA message intercept. Project MINARET was terminated by Attorney General Elliot Richardson.
