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Walt Logan

Walt Logan

Former CIA Associate General Counsel who created the "Glomar Response" and the phrase "can neither confirm nor deny" in 1975 (appeared on Radiolab under pseudonym Walt Logan)

Jul 17, 2026

Radiolab

Radiolab

Neither Confirm Nor Deny

Jul 17 · 29m

Julia BartonCORRESPONDENT
14:35
Walt's not a huge fan of this law.
Walt Logan
Walt LoganGUEST
14:37
The Glomar was a tremendous investment of time and resources, and to willy-nilly give it over to somebody who j- writes a letter to the agency is, is preposterous.
Julia BartonCORRESPONDENT
15:51
Here's what he came up with.
Walt Logan
Walt LoganGUEST
15:51
The Glomar response was basically the following.
Walt Logan
Walt LoganGUEST
15:54
We can neither confirm nor deny the existence of the information requested.
Walt Logan
Walt LoganGUEST
16:01
But hypothetically, if such data were to exist, the subject matter would be classified and could not be disclosed.
Walt Logan
Walt LoganGUEST
16:12
Very straightforward.
Walt Logan
Walt LoganGUEST
16:14
Now, think about that.

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