AFFIDAVIT STATE OF VIRGINIA COUNTY OF FAIRFAX, TO-WIT: HOWARD J. OSBORN WHO, BEING FIRST DULY SWORN, DEPOSES AND SAYS AS FOLLOWS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01430415
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2017
• Case Number: F-2007-00094
• Publication Date: September 29, 1976

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23 Kay 1973
Di rector --of s=..,...u-rity
101 FORM NO. ;ER.- ACES FORM 10- 101
.1 AUG 54 WHICH tt AY eE USED.
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i'iAD J.OSBON fi:st July sworn,
deposes and says as follows:
1. I am the Director of Security of the Central
Intelligence Agency.
2. The purpose of this statement is to record,
.to the hest of my knowledge and recollection, circumstAces
involved in the receipt of a series of unsigned correspon-
dence received by the Agency during the period from 1 August
1972 to 7 January 1973. The signif-icance of these letters
is that by their content and by the handwriting on two of
them, they are believed to have been written by James W.
McCord, Jr., one of the defendants in the Watergate trial.
3. My first involvement in this matter occurred
on the 2nd or 3rd of August 1972 when an envelope addresed
to Mr. Helms, then Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency, with no return address, and postmarked 30 July 1.972
was routed to my desk from the Director's office as a reutine
piece of "crank mail". The envelope contained a carbon copy
of a typewritten letter signed "Jim" with the name in the .�
salutary address excised - u Dear
". After dismissing
the letter as a piece of crank mail, I had second thoughts
and recognized the handwriting on the enirelope and the
signature "Jim" on the letter as being similar to that of
Mr. McCord, who formerly worked for me as a security officer
before his retirement from the Agency.
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I q;:i.s not
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1:11....q the ivope had sent to 11.-ria by told
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T;wile,lu cf 1.1vosation. ai.ter
sone reflection, decided that he �ould like to have-a rogal
cj1o. on an the 'atter -111,1 .V.;3';on,
General Counsel of the Agency, to his office and had him
read the letter. After he had finished reading the letter
the ensuing discussion to the best of lay recollection,
centered about whether the Agency had any legal obligation
to forward the letter to the Justice Department or the Federal
Durcau of Investigation.. Doth Mr. Nelms and Mr. Houston
decided that there was no such obligation and I was told to
hold the letter in a secure file in my office and take, no
further action on it. Mr. Helms dnstructed no to restrict
knowledge of the existence of the letter ,o an absolute
minimum. number of people.
S. The. next envelope received was addressed to
Mr. Paul Gaynor, a staff chief in my office and a. former
close friend of Mr. McCord's, on or about the 23rd of
December 1972, The next envelope received.was addressed
to Mr. Gaynor's residence and was undated but postmarked
27 December 1972. The two envelopes contained one or more
unsigned typewritten pieces of correspondence- which appeared
to relate to Mr. McCord's involvement in the Watergate "affair".
Both of these letters were handcarried by me to Mrs. Bliabeth
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6. Subs;...:c)icatlY, oA D,:!combar 1972 J oa
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J!,nu:..try 1973 d 6 .7; 17 �three nAldW-Dra.
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by Mr. Gaynor at his resideDea and promptly dolivered tp
ma for TGVi014 and subsequant inclusion in the secure file.
I did Dot bring '1se to te I iJit az;toAt.(,:l of :Ir. Helms
but a week or so later delivered to him a folder with all
copies of the letters we had received. At I recall, my
request to him was for guidance as to what action should
be taken with regard to them in the light of his departhlre
from the Agency incident to his nomination as United States
Ambassador-designate to Iran. After reviewing them, he
informed me that he did not see any reason to take anylaction
at that time, but asked that I show them to Mr. Houston
and if Mr. Houston had no objection, I was to retain them
in a secure file and take no actioa with regard to them.
As I rocall, Mr. Houston was out of town at the time and
it was 'several days before I had an opportunity to give
him the folder with the copies of the letters in it for
review. After reviewing them, he informed me that he had
no objection to the instructions Mr. Helms had given me and
so informed Mrs. Elizabeth Dunlevy, secretary to Mr. Helms.
7. On 14 May 1973, Mr. William Broe, Inspector
General of the Agency, and his Deputy, Mr. Kenneth Greer,
met with me in my office in connection with an investigation
they were undertaking at the direction of Mr. Schlesinger
to determine if anyone in the Agency had any contact with
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t. ho ,
a
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,
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,7 L..1 to
Mr. NcCord since the Waterg,ate .cident. (I 5.1.11)sequntly
(letermined from Mr. Gaynor that he has not seen or talRed�
to Mr. McCord since his retirement from the Awcy on 31 August.
1
.1970.) ..1*also told them that a Mr. Leo Rosenbaum, an employee
of the Agency, had requested.an appointment with me to discuss
the fasibility of contributing Co Yr. McCord's, defensfund
and that I thought I had convinced him that this would be� �
inimical to the best interests of himself, the �Agency ;1.nd.
M.cCord. I also st;Ited thdt Mr. Rosenbaum had callla. me.
several weeks age to say' that he was well known as. a close
friend of Mr.. McCord's and. might be called to testify at the
current Senate Hearings. I advised. .him to seek guidande
in this regard from the Office of General Counsel. I do not
know that he did so. I then remembered. the envelopes .and
� correspondence purportedly originated by Mr. McCord. I briefed
Mr. Broe and Mt. Greer on the circumstances involved in .the..
receipt and subsequent handling of them and made .a coprof
� � . �
each of them and �delivered them to Mr. Btoe the next day.
1 also gave a copy, at the same time, to my immediate SuperVisot,
Mr. Harold Bro,..minart.
8. A few days after this, I Was contacted by
Mr. John Greaney, Office of the General. Counsel of. the
Agency, who asked me about any official or unofficial ontaCts
anyone in the Agency had had with Mr. McCord. I- ment4.oned
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Mr. indicated that he woold wc,cond to Mr. !ton
.):1 22 M,y 1.)73 Mr. 110711on ce..)d for a ,:opy o.
On this same date, I was instructed by Mr. James R..Schler:iager,
Director of the Central Intellil,ence As:Dncy, to partic;.pate
in curtain Congressional briefings on this matter and
prepare this affidavit.
9. Up to tha 14th of May 1973 when I inZormed,
Mr. Broe and Mr. Greer of the envelopes and their cont,..nts,
the only persons knowledgeable of the existence of them,
in addition to no, we-re: Mr. Helms, Mrs. Eli-sabeth Dun
4, 7.
his. secretary, Mr. Houston, Mr. Paul Gaynor of my staff,
Miss Kathryn Aldridge, my secretary who prepared the file,
Mr. Leo J. Dunn, my Executive Officer, knew of the fir
envel-)pe and correspondence but not of subsequent env pes.
10. The only other matter pertinent to this
particular matter was the fact that an intermittent so rce
of this Office, who was a close personal friend of MrAcCordis
has relayed to Mr. Gaynor and his staff certain information
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concerning the personal situation of Mr. and Mrs. McCord during
and after the time he was in jail and since he has been
released on bond. This source has been utilized by this office
for many years and by my direction, no effort was madeito solicit
information from him about Mr. McCord and the information provided
was done so purely gratuitously. 4.
75;e:zpek,,r
Howard V. 'Osborn
Subscribed and sworn to before me, a Notary Public, in and for the
County of Fairfax, State of Virginia, this day of �
My commission expires /' �� 0
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