From MI5 to the CIA: New FOIA Requests Following the FBI's 2026 Disclosures
Earlier this week, the archive published After the Chicken Coop: The CIA's Response to Dr. Myria Petrou's FOIA Request, examining the differing responses received from the Central Intelligence Agency following Privacy Act requests submitted by Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou.
Additional records have since become available.
In April 2024, Dr. Bradley Foerster submitted Subject Access Requests to MI5 and MI6 under the United Kingdom's Data Protection Act 2018 seeking any personal data maintained concerning him. Those requests were submitted contemporaneously with Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act requests to the Central Intelligence Agency.
The initial responses were straightforward.
On June 20, 2024, MI5 responded that it had conducted a search of its records and determined that it did not process personal data within the scope of the request that was accessible under the Data Protection Act 2018. At the same time, MI5 reaffirmed its longstanding policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of intelligence records beyond what is required by law.
The Central Intelligence Agency likewise advised Dr. Foerster that it had located no responsive records. As discussed in the earlier post, the Agency's response to Dr. Myria Petrou differed.
MI6 did not respond to the corresponding Subject Access Request.
The picture changed substantially following the FBI's subsequent disclosures.
During pending Freedom of Information Act litigation, the FBI released records showing multiple referral and consultation processing blocks within Dr. Bradley Foerster's investigative file. The records did not identify the agencies involved in those referrals and consultations. Those disclosures were not available when the CIA, MI5, and MI6 requests were submitted in 2024.
Accordingly, on June 29, 2026, updated Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests were submitted to the Central Intelligence Agency on behalf of Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou. The updated requests seek records concerning any referrals, consultations, communications, routing records, intelligence reports, administrative processing, and other records maintained by the CIA concerning either requester in light of the subsequently disclosed FBI records.
Taken together, these documents illustrate how the records effort has evolved. What began in 2024 as contemporaneous requests to the CIA, MI5, and MI6 has, following the FBI's subsequent disclosures, developed into a more focused effort to determine whether additional records exist concerning the FBI's referral and consultation processing.
For additional background, see The Institutional Fingerprint of the FBI Russia-Gate File: Referrals, Consults, Intelligence Reports, and the June 16, 2026 FBI Production, which examines the referral and consultation processing reflected in the FBI's June 2026 production.
Exhibit 1 – April 2024 Subject Access Request to MI5
Exhibit 2 – April 2024 Subject Access Request to MI6
Exhibit 3 – June 20, 2024 MI5 Response
Exhibit 4 – June 29, 2026 Updated CIA FOIA/Privacy Act Requests
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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.