United States Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Memorandum
Date: 4/4/79
To: Mr. Moore
From: W.D. Gow
Subject: RYMUR
PURPOSE: To report the results of the meeting at the Department with members of the staff Committee on International Relations, US House of Representatives, on 3/29/79.
RECOMMENDATION: None. For information.
DETAILS: On 3/29/79 a meeting was held in the office of Robert Keuch, Criminal Division, at the request of representatives of the Committee on International Relations, US House of Representatives. Present at the meeting were Mr. Keuch; Departmental Attorneys Art Norton and Al Hantman; committee representatives Ivo Spalatin and Tom Smeeton; and SAs [name deleted], Legal Counsel Division, and [name deleted], Criminal Investigative Division. The purpose of the meeting was to respond to an official committee request for certain information and documents regarding the RYMUR investigation. The following items were resolved at the meeting:
1. “Death tape.” A 43-minute tape recording of the final hour of Jonestown was made available to the committee by Mr. Keuch in the form of a transcript. Keuch made a commitment to the staff that a copy of the actual tape would be made available by the FBI to the committee.
2. Internal People’s Temple (PT) memoranda regarding State Department employees Richard McCoy, George [Douglas] Ellice,
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RE: RYMUR
Richard Dwyer, (FNU) [First Name Unknown] [Dennis] Reece, John Blacken, and Frank Tumminia. This request was denied the committee as pertinent to an ongoing investigation.
3. Internal PT memoranda regarding Mark Lane, Joseph Mazor, Charles Garry, and Walter Thain.
These documents were denied the committee for the same reasons as above.
4. Internal PT memoranda or correspondence between Jim Jones and Tim Carter and Terri Buford.
These items were denied the community for the above reasons.
5. Information pertaining to PT acquisition of cyanide.
This information was denied to the committee on the basis that the origin of the Sinai is currently under investigation and unknown to the FBI at this time.
6. PT code book.
This information was denied to the committee due to the fact that it represented physical evidence of an ongoing criminal investigation.
7. FBI pre-tragedy knowledge of our investigation of the PT.
Mr. Keuch made a commitment that the FBI would furnish this information to the committee which consists of one allegation of kidnapping which had no basis in fact. The identity of the complainant in this matter will be withheld from the committee.
8. FBI assistance in locating appropriate persons for committee contact.
The committee represented to those present at the meeting that the only individuals that they had desired to contact or Stanley Clayton and Odell Rhodes. Mr. Keuch made a commitment to the committee and the FBI that reasonable efforts would be undertaken to contact Clayton and Rhodes and advise them of the committee’s interest in them. Permission of Clayton and Rhodes would be sought to furnish the committee with their locations.
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9. The Jonestown Guest Book.
Mr. Keuch compromised with members of the committee and asked that the FBI allow committee members to review the Jonestown guest book without being afforded a copy.
10. NBC video tape film footage of the Jonestown incident. Mr. Keuch advised the committee that the only film footage that would be released is that footage which has already been made public. Accordingly, Mr. Keuch requested the FBI to provide the community with copies of the video tape as outlined above.
It is noted that all decisions in this matter were made by Robert Keuch, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, after consultation with US Attorney William Hunter, San Francisco, and FBI representatives who were present at the meeting. The items agreed to be released to the community will be made available by Criminal Investigative Division.