Project MKULTRA/Subproject 4

Subproject 4 was a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency program, operating under the aegis of Project MKULTRA, "dealing with the application of the magician's art to covert activities such as the delivery of various materials to unwitting subjects," in particular funding the production of a manual by John Mulholland, an American stage magician. This was followed-up with supplementary material through Subproject 15 and Subproject 19.

Manual

According to The Official C.I.A. Manual of Trickery and Deception, written by Robert Wallace, a former CIA officer, and H. Keith Melton, an intelligence historian, Mulholland wrote at least two manuals on sleight of hand and covert communication techniques as part of Project MKULTRA.

• Melton, H. Keith; Wallace, Robert (2009), The Official C.I.A. Manual of Trickery and Deception, New York: William Morrow, https://www.amazon.com/Official-CIA-Manual-Trickery-Deception/dp/0061725900/?tag=apopheniacs-20  — "The manuals reprinted in this work represent the only known complete copy of Mulholland's instructions for CIA officers on the magician's art of deception and secret communications written to counter Soviet mind-control and interrogation techniques."