After the Chicken Coop: The CIA's Response to Dr. Myria Petrou's FOIA Request
Earlier today, Dr. Bradley Foerster published Russia-Gate and the Chicken Coop, describing the extraordinary conversations that took place during the summer of 2016 at the Petrou family home in Ann Arbor.
That naturally raises another question.
If the FBI ultimately identified a 500-plus-page investigative file concerning Dr. Foerster that the Bureau later described as involving matters commonly referred to as "Russia-Gate," and if those conversations took place at the Petrou family home, what did subsequent federal records requests reveal concerning the other members of the household?
The answers were not identical.
Dr. Myria Petrou became a naturalized United States citizen in May 2017. Her mother, Maria Petrou, became a naturalized United States citizen in August 2019.
The FBI ultimately identified a 500-plus-page investigative file concerning Dr. Foerster. By contrast, the FBI reported that it located no comparable investigative file concerning Dr. Petrou.
The CIA responses also differed. Dr. Foerster's Privacy Act request resulted in a straightforward response indicating that no responsive records had been located. Dr. Petrou's response, reproduced below, took a different approach.
The response contains two distinct determinations.
First, the CIA stated that it located no records revealing a publicly acknowledged affiliation with the Agency.
Second, with respect to records that would reveal a classified association with the Agency, the CIA took a fundamentally different approach. Rather than stating that no such records existed, it invoked what is commonly known as a "Glomar" response, explaining that it could neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of such records because even acknowledging whether such records existed would itself disclose classified information.
For readers unfamiliar with the term, a Glomar response does not mean that classified records exist. Nor does it mean that they do not exist. Rather, it means that the Agency declines to answer the question either way because, in its view, even confirming or denying the existence of such records would itself reveal classified information.
Accordingly, the CIA did not state whether any records revealing a classified association with the Agency did or did not exist.
The differing FBI and CIA responses are presented here as part of the documentary record without drawing conclusions regarding their significance.
Exhibit 1 – December 10, 2024 CIA Response to Myria Petrou's FOIA Request
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Update – June 27–28, 2026
Following recent news reporting concerning Department of Justice disclosures relating to the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, this issue was included in an update submitted to President Donald J. Trump concerning White House Correspondence No. 1023568. The update requests clarification as to whether the differing FBI and CIA Freedom of Information Act responses may reflect that any CIA records relating to the 2016 "Russia-Gate" allegations are maintained under Myria Petrou's name rather than under Bradley Foerster's. The same chronology and accompanying analyses were subsequently forwarded to U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson in light of their longstanding congressional oversight concerning the origins of Crossfire Hurricane and related Department of Justice activities.
Core Archive Documents
From Paul Cronin's "This Will Ruin All Our Lives" to "I Will"
Case Model
Case Index
Federal Record Summary
Timeline: Town and Gown (2014–2026)
Selected Reporting
- From Mentor to Federal Investigation: The Dr. Eva Feldman Documentary Chronology
- July 26 Documentary Notice and Documentary Chronology Transmitted to City Attorney Kaur, Mayor Taylor, City Administrator Dohoney, and Police Chief Anderson Concerning Ann Arbor Police Department Investigations, Related City Proceedings, and Federal Investigations Involving Drs. Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou (2015–2026).
- July 7 Documentary Notice to University of Michigan Vice President and General Counsel Timothy G. Lynch Concerning University and Law Enforcement Investigations Involving Drs. Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou (2015–2026). July 8 UM Announces Lynch Leaving.
- From One FBI File to a Legislative Proposal: Peter and Maria Foerster Ask Senator Van Hollen's Office and Congressman Jamie Raskin to Consider a Uniform Administrative Framework for Federal Investigations
- The Institutional Fingerprint of the FBI Russia-Gate File: Referrals, Consults, Intelligence Reports, and the June 16, 2026 FBI Production
- Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou Document More Than Two Years of Unsuccessful Efforts to Trace Bank of Ann Arbor's $1.4 Million Sheriff's Sale Credit Bid (June 2026)
Brad Foerster, MD PhD
Brad Foerster is a FOIA advocate documenting requests, transparency disputes, and accountability investigations involving public agencies, universities, police oversight, and Russia-Gate related inquiries. His work compiles original documents, timelines, and analysis of public records and institutional responses. Brad is also a board-certified radiologist, author of Town & Gown, and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles. Brad lives in Potomac, Maryland with his family and is active in the Montgomery County Medical Society and the Takoma Park U.S. & World History Book Club.