Former CIA officer tells House declassification task force he does not believe MK-Ultra research “stopped”

A former Central Intelligence Agency officer told members of a House committee on Tuesday that he does not believe the CIA’s research on individuals through Project MK-Ultra ever stopped, according to testimony delivered during a hearing tied to federal secrets declassification.

The remarks were provided to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, during a session focused on what oversight officials described as unresolved questions surrounding MK-Ultra, the CIA program widely associated with human subject experimentation in the mid-20th century.

In his testimony, the former CIA officer said he does not believe that the research stopped, according to The Hill’s account of the hearing. The testimony centered on how the program ended, what information may still be missing from the public record, and the scope of what should remain classified or be released to the extent permitted by law.

The hearing took place against the backdrop of the task force’s broader work evaluating whether the government has fully declassified or properly accounted for historic secret programs, and whether additional materials should be identified for release. Oversight leaders have repeatedly said they are focused on improving transparency about past intelligence activities while also assessing any continuing legal or national security constraints.

While the hearing addressed MK-Ultra specifically, the question of whether related activities were fully concluded and accurately reflected in declassified materials has been a recurring theme in public discussions of CIA recordkeeping and declassification. The Tuesday testimony added to that debate by arguing, from the perspective of the witness, that the research did not truly end when the public record suggests it did.

The House task force’s role is to push for declassification of federal secrets, and the Tuesday session was part of that process. The Hill reported that the testimony was provided as part of the hearing’s focus on MK-Ultra and related records, implying that oversight officials intend to continue reviewing what remains undisclosed.

No immediate legislative or administrative action was described in the report as coming out of the hearing, but the testimony is likely to inform the task force’s ongoing assessment of declassification timelines and any further requests for records or explanatory material from relevant agencies.

As the House committee continues its declassification work, the next practical steps are expected to involve continued scrutiny of the historical record and consideration of what additional documents, if any, can be released consistent with applicable classification authorities and exemptions.