Florida – Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has turned a dispute over secret government records into a sharp confrontation with the CIA.
Luna waned the agency that Congress may step in if disputed files tied to the JFK assassination and MKUltra are not returned to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s office.
The clash exploded after CIA whistleblower James Erdman III testified on May 13 that the agency had “took back 40 boxes of JFK and MK-Ultra files” while Gabbard’s office was reviewing materials for possible declassification.
According to reports, Erdman also alleged that investigators working under Gabbard’s authority had been monitored through computer and phone use, raising fresh questions about whether intelligence officials were trying to slow or block a politically sensitive release of historical records.
The files at the center of the fight reportedly involve two of the most enduring subjects of public suspicion toward the intelligence community: the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and MKUltra, the CIA’s Cold War-era program involving mind-control research, LSD testing, psychological manipulation and experiments on unwitting people.
Many MKUltra records were said to have been destroyed decades ago, but surviving files and unanswered questions have kept the program at the center of demands for disclosure.
Luna, who chairs the House Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, reacted almost immediately. Sharing a post that claimed the CIA had seized the records from ODNI, she issued a blunt deadline.
“The CIA has 24 hours to return the documents to Tulsi Gabbard’s office or else I will make a motion to issue a subpoena. These documents have been requested by Congress,” Luna wrote on X.
The CIA has 24 hours to return the documents to Tulsi Gabbard’s office or else I will make a motion to issue a subpoena. These documents have been requested by Congress. @DNIGabbard @CIADirector https://t.co/Y5lMw8AYK5
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 13, 2026
There was also another warning aimed directly at the agency: “Preserve the documents and deliver them to @DNIGabbard immediately or we will hold you in contempt of Congress @CIA.”
Then came an even sharper accusation. “Someone at the CIA is actively undermining an executive order @CIA. I suggest you figure out who and quick. Punitive action incoming.”
Someone at the CIA is actively undermining an executive order @CIA. I suggest you figure out who and quick. Punitive action incoming.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 13, 2026
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The series of X posts related to the incident was ended with another post in which Rep. Luna confirmed that she was sending a preservation notice.
Given the nature of docs in question, we are sending a preservation notice. Docs need to be returned to ODNI given that ODNI was given direction and authority by the President to declass RFK, MLK, & JFK. Regarding MKULTRA, these were documents specifically requested by my Task… pic.twitter.com/uBnt5RqjDD
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 13, 2026
The dispute is tied to President Donald Trump’s push for broader declassification of long-secret records, including files connected to the assassinations of JFK, Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Gabbard’s office has been presented by supporters as the driver of that effort, with ODNI working to locate, digitize and prepare materials for public release.
Luna has argued that ODNI had presidential authority to handle the documents and that Congress had also requested them.
She said the situation was troubling not only because of the JFK files, but because of the history of MKUltra, where the CIA had long claimed many documents were gone.
“The reason why this is troubling, A) there was an executive order that the president directed the full declassification of JFK, but then also to the MK-Ultra files famously the CIA said that all documents were released and other documents had been destroyed,” Luna told NewsNation.
Luna further said, “Given the nature of docs in question, we are sending a preservation notice. Docs need to be returned to ODNI given that ODNI was given direction and authority by the President to declass RFK, MLK, & JFK. Regarding MKULTRA, these were documents specifically requested by my Task Force and currently being used for our investigation.
But the most dramatic version of the story has met pushback from Gabbard’s own office. ODNI Press Secretary Olivia Coleman denied that the CIA had raided the DNI’s office, writing on X, “This is false—the CIA did not raid the DNI’s office.”
Newsweek reported that Gabbard’s office rejected the “raid” framing, while other reports said the dispute may involve a retrieval or transfer of records rather than a physical raid.
That distinction has become central to the controversy. Luna has not backed away from her demand, but she has framed the matter around control of the documents, preservation of records and whether the CIA is resisting a presidential declassification order.
On Thursday, Luna tried to clarify the situation.
I am noticing a few large accounts stating falsely that I claimed there was a raid on Tulsi Gabbard’s office by the CIA. This is completely false. There is no clip or statement that exists. Why is there an orchestrated push for this narrative? Not one account can post a clip of… pic.twitter.com/jBM3fMhFmS
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 14, 2026
Critics of the “raid” claim argue that the language is exaggerated and politically charged. Supporters of Luna say the denial does not answer the larger question: why were the boxes removed from ODNI control if they were being processed for release?
The online reaction was immediate and intense.
Luna’s posts spread rapidly across X, drawing outrage from users who called for subpoenas, contempt proceedings and full disclosure of files that have remained secret for generations. Others questioned whether the story had been overstated, pointing to Coleman’s denial and noting that the CIA does not operate like a domestic law enforcement agency.
Still, the episode has given new force to a familiar Washington fight: who controls the government’s darkest historical records, and what happens when the public, Congress and the intelligence agencies disagree over how much sunlight is enough.
For Luna, the answer is simple. The files belong back under ODNI’s declassification process, and if the CIA does not comply, Congress should force the issue.
As her 24-hour ultimatum hangs over the agency, the dispute now sits at the intersection of executive power, congressional oversight and a public hunger for answers that has not faded after more than six decades.
