[Letter from FBI to Robert Fabian, Receiver of Peoples Temple]
April 1, 1983
Robert H. Fabian
Receiver of Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ
220 Bush Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
Dear Mr. Fabian:
Your letter of March 16, 1983, to Director Webster has been referred to me for reply.
As you may be aware, the FBI is still awaiting a disposition by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth District in San Francisco, California, in the case of United States v. Laurence J. Layton. Your request for the release of those documents recovered in Jonestown, Guyana, following the tragedy of November 18, 1978, to the California Historical Society is, therefore, being considered in light of this pending case. For your added information, the FBI is under federal court injunction regarding the destruction and other disposition of FBI documents may be applicable to your request.
The above matters are being researched and you will be advised as soon as possible concerning your request. We regret any delay or inconvenience this may have caused you.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Charles P. Monroe
Assistant Director
Records Management Division
Note: This letter is in reply to letter of Mr. Robert H. Fabian, Receiver of Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, in which he requested permission to release his copies of Peoples Temple documents to the California Historical Society. The documents in question are germane to RYMUR, Major Case 16, Bureau file 89-4286, which is pending in SF, awaiting the appellate decision for the US circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit in the case of US v. Laurence J. Layton, and a possible retrial following a hung jury in US District Court, SF. Request raises further legal issues which will be researched for appropriate reply.