DCI STATEMENT BEFORE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01430442
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2017
• Case Number: F-2007-00094
• Publication Date: May 9, 1973

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XI STATEMENT
BEFORE
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
ON INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS
9 MAY 1973
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OPENING STATEMENT
Mr. Chairman, I am here to discuss the questions which have.arisen
over CIA's real and alleged role in events that occurred in 1971 and 1972.
I have opened a detailed investigation into the precise nature of that role.
I can report tp you on what_Agency records, now being intensively reviewed,
reveal at this juncture. However I do not yet know that I have all the
facts in the matter. Nonetheless, I am pleased to present to you such facts
as are now available, and I will certainly provide you with any further
details as they come to my attention.
Let me start. with the Agency's relationship with Mr. Howard Hunt,
whose testimony has recently been made public. Mr. Hunt was a staff
employee oftheAgency.from 8 November 1949 to 30 April 1970. At that time
na retired from the Agency. He performed one editorial job of writing up
a recommendation for an award for one of our officers. in November 1970.
He was not paid for these services, although the Agency placed the sums of
$200.00 and $50.00 in two charitable 'organizations for the service performed.
In early July 1971, General Cushman, then the Deputy Director of
Central Intelligence, received a telephone call from the White House. He
was informed that Mr. Hunt had become a consultant on security affairs for
the White House, and a request was made that Mr. Hunt receive assistance
from the Agency. The minutes of the Agency Morning Meeting of 8 July 1971
indicate that the DDCI (General Cushman) reported a call by John Ehrlichman
stating that Howard Hunt had been appointed a White House security consultant.
On 22 .July 1971 Mr. Hunt visited General Cushman at the CIA building.
According to the records, Mr. Hunt stated that he had been charged with a
highly sensitive mission by the White House to visit and elicit information
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from an individual whose ideology he was not entirely sure of, and for that
purpose he said he was asked to come to the Agency to see if he could get
two things: identification documents in alias and some degree of physical
disguise, for a one-time operation. He stressed that he wanted the matter
to be held as closely as possible and that he would like to meet the Agency
'WA*
people in an Agency safehouse. Agency records indicate that, in the course
of the conversation, Mr. runt referred to Mr. Ehrlichman by name and General
Cushman acknowledged an earlier call from Mr. Ehrlichman to him. The
Committee may desire to query General Cushman whose knowledge would not
come from such secondary sources.
General Cushman directed the appropriate technical service of the
Agency to be of assistance to Mr. Hunt, based on the above request. On
23 July 1971 Mr. Hunt was given alias documents, including a Social Security
card, driver's license, and several association membership cards, in the
name of "Edward Joseph Warren" similar to material he had been furnished
for operational use while he had been an Agency employee, under the name
of "Edward V. Hamilton." The same day Mr. Hunt was also given disguise
materials (a wig, glasses, and a speech alteration device).
By calling an unlisted telephone number given him, Mr. Hunt arranged
several additional meetings with Agency technical officers, the dates of which
cannot be provided with precision. In these, he requested and was provided
a commercial tape recorder (in a typewriter case) and a commercial Tessina
camera disguised in a tobacco pouch. He also brought in a then-unidentified
associate (later identified from press photos as Mr. G. Gordon Liddy) and
secured for him a disguise (wig and glasses.) and alias documents i
of "George F. Leonard."
the name
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The Agency-technical officers met these requests despite the absence
of the procedural steps and approvals normally required by Agency regulations
However, they became increasingly concerned at the escalation of Mr. Hunt's
requests for:Assistance. These finally included a request from Mr. Hunt to
be met on the morning of 27 August 1971, upon his return from California,
to have a film developed and returned to bim. This was done the same day.
He also asked for a New York mail address and telephone-answering service
for operational use.
The technical officers raised their concern with senior officers,
who noted the possibility that these activities could involve the Agency in
operations outside its proper functions. As a result, again according to
Agency records, General Cushman telephoned Mr. Ehrlichman at the White House
on 27 August 1971 and explained that further such assistance could not be
given. Mr. Ehrlichman agreed. The request for mail address and telephone
answering service was not honored. On 31 August 1971, Mr. Hunt contacted
the technical officers again, requesting a credit card, but this was refused.
Mr. Hunt had also made a request on 18 August 1971 for the assignment of
a secretary he had known during his Agency career. This was also refused. The
earlier-furnished alias documents and other material were not recovered, however.
except for the Tessina camera which was returned on 27 August as unsuitable.
Since the end of August 1971, the Technical Services Division has had no
further association with Mr. Hunt. As a point of reference, I would note
that the break-in of the office of Mr. Ellsber 's psychiatrist took place
on or about 3 September 1971.
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The Agency ntlined the above events to Mr. Patrick Gray, Acting
Director of the FBI, in letters dated 5and 7 July 1972, and a meeting on
28 July 1972. A series of questions were asked the Agency on 11 October 1972
by1440,,,Earl Sibt, PrincjApj Assistaqit� Unite43 tes AqqgDgy for the
District of Columbia. On 24 October 1972, Attorney General Kleindienst and
Assistant Attorney General Petersen reviewed the 5 and 7 July transmittals
together with additional, more detailed but undated materials, that had been
provided to Acting FBI Director Gray on 18 October 1972. The Agency is
aware that this material was reviewed on 27 November 1972 by Mr. Silbert, who
asked additional questions on that date as well as on 29 November 1972.
Written responses to the foregoing questions were provided on 13 December 1972.
An additional submission was made to the Assistant Attorney General Petersen
on 21 December 1972. This material was discussed at a meeting held with
Assistant Attorney General Petersen and Mr. Silbert on 22 December 1972.
All of the foregoing materials can be made available to the Committee if it
so desires.
As a separate matter, which was not Known by those who prepared the
material for the Department of Justice in the fall of last year, the Office
of Medical Services of the Agency prepared and forwarded to the White House
two indirect personality assessments of Mr. Daniel Ellsberg. The Agency has
had a program of producing, on a selective basis, such assessments or studies
on foreign leaders for many years. In July 1971 Mr. Helms, then Director,
instructed Agency officers to work with Mr. David Young of the White House
Staff relative to security leaks in the intelligence community.
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Mr. Young requested a study on Mr. Ellsberg in the latter part of
July 1971, which Agency activity was apparently approved by Mr. Helms.
At that time, Mr. Young supplied raw material consisting principally of
,
newspaper and magazine articles together with some State Department and
Justice DepartMent papers. The first assessment delivered to the White House
dated 9 August 1971, was judged insufficient. As a result, there were
several meetings between Or. Malloy, Mr. Hunt, and Mr. Liddy, in which
classified information of the Justice and State Departments was introduced.
One such meeting occurred on 12 August 1971. Additional material was
transmitted by Mr. Hunt on 12 October, and another meeting was held on
27 October. These meetings led to a second version of the assessment,
dated 9 November 1971. This document was delivered to the Executive Office
by Dr. Malloy on 12 November 1971. Agency records indicate that Mr. Helms
had previously communicated with Mr. Young indicating he had read both
reports.
In another contact "about October 1971," an Agency officer arranged
to provide Mr. Hunt certain unclassified materials from CIA files relative
to a 1954 French case of leakage of Government documents. These were
delivered to his office at the White House.
In closing, I would like to stress several conclusions of my
investigation so far:
a. CIA had no awareness of the details of Mr. Hunt's
activities. The Agency's impression was that Mr. Hunt was engaged
in an activity related to identifying and closing off the security
leaks that were so much a preoccupation of the Government at the time.
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b. The Agency clearly was insufficiently cautious in the
initiation of its assistance to Mr. Hunt. Later, when the nature of
Mr. Hunt's requests for assistance began to indicate a possible active
involvement by the Agency in activities beyond its charter, the
Agency terminated the relationship and refused further assistance.
c. The preparation of a profile on an American citizen under
these circumstances lies beyond the normal activity of the Agency.
It shall not be repeated -- and I have so instructed the staff. This
shall be made a part of the regulations governing such activities.
d. As Director, I have called for a review of all Agency
activities and the termination of any which might be considered
outside its legitimate charter. In addition to requesting this
review from my subordinates, I have directed each employee and invited
each ex-employee to submit to me any cases which they may question.
I am determined that the Agency will not engage in activities outside
of its eglarter but will concentrate its energies on its important
intelligence mission.
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