The POW Investigative Project has sued the U.S. government three times under the Freedom of Information Act for records on Americans never returned after the Korean War. All three cases are now over.
Two were brought with the family of Capt. Harry C. Moore, USAF, reported captured by Soviet forces and possibly taken to the Soviet Union. Moore v. CIA ended by stipulation on April 24, 2023. Moore v. National Archives ended in a settlement on May 14, 2026. The third, Driggs v. CIA, was decided for the agency on Aug. 6, 2025, and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed on Aug. 4, 2026.
The Moores, PIP and the other plaintiffs sought documents — many classified for more than 70 years — that might shed light on reports of American POWs shipped to the Soviet Union and East Bloc and detained in secret camps in the Soviet Union, China and North Korea, including in the periods after the fighting ended.
Lois Moore, Capt. Moore’s widow and an original plaintiff, died while the cases were pending. His brother, Robert “Bob” Moore, is now 100. He has no more time for U.S. government delay.
What came of it
After years of litigation, the National Archives produced a list of records for which Freedom of Information and Mandatory Declassification Review requests should be made, and promised to add more years to it. That list is the practical result of the NARA case, and PIP is working from it.
The CIA cases produced no such opening. In Driggs, the district court refused to order a search of the agency’s operational files, refused to inspect the withheld records itself, and upheld the withholdings. The 4th Circuit affirmed in a published opinion.
Who litigated the cases
The suits were filed by Washington-area attorney John H. Clarke, who has litigated extensively under FOIA, including Vietnam War POW/MIA cases against the CIA. Judge Royce C. Lamberth, a Vietnam veteran, presided over both Moore cases in Washington. Judge David J. Novak presided over Driggs in Alexandria. Judge Lamberth previously ordered the CIA to pay legal costs in Clarke’s Vietnam POW case, writing that the agency should not be allowed to withhold records “until the records sought are publicly available, and then deny plaintiffs their fees because the documents are now publicly available.”
Progress can be followed on the dockets, maintained at johnhclarkelaw.com.
Driggs et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency — E.D. Va. 1:23-cv-01124
- Complaint filed — 24 August 2023
- Interrogatories and requests for admission served on the CIA — September 2023
- Case reassigned to Judge David J. Novak — 18 January 2024
- Discovery suspended; scheduling order vacated — 30 January 2024
- Court declines to order a search of CIA operational files — 21 May 2024
- Cross-motions for summary judgment; plaintiffs also move for in camera inspection, with affidavits from Bob Smith, Norman Kass and John Clarke — April to June 2025
- Summary judgment for the CIA; four plaintiffs, including Robert Moore and Mark Sauter, dismissed for lack of standing — 6 August 2025
- Notice of appeal — 2 October 2025
- Argued before Judges Albert Diaz, Pamela A. Harris and DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, 4th Circuit No. 25-2177 — 5 May 2026
- Published opinion; judgment affirmed — 4 August 2026
Moore / McDaniel et al. v. National Archives and Records Administration — D.D.C. 1:20-cv-01735-RCL
- Press release on the NARA lawsuit — June 2020
- Complaint filed — 25 June 2020
- NARA responses, including from the Eisenhower Library — September to November 2020
- Amended complaint — 1 September 2021
- Case dismissed following a partial settlement — 24 August 2023
- Case reopened on the plaintiffs’ motion — 6 October 2023
- Monthly joint status reports through production — 2023 to 2025
- Court cites “the age of this case” and orders the parties to confer on any remaining redactions — 7 January 2026
- Settlement reported; case dismissed without prejudice — 14 May 2026
Moore et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency — D.D.C. 1:20-cv-01027-RCL
- Complaint filed — 20 April 2020
- CIA response — 7 October 2020
- CIA response with documents — 23 October 2020
- Leave to amend denied — 30 March 2023
- Stipulation of dismissal — 24 April 2023
Document files. The filings are available on the dockets linked above.
For more information on the litigation, use our contact page.