QUESTIONS FOR WALTER PFORZHEIMER: 3RD INTERVIEW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP01-01773R000100010005-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 19, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Content Type: MISC

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDPO1-01773R000100010005-8
Questions for Walter Pforzheimer: 3rd interview
p. 91 of our first interview: you label Bedell Smith "the
greatest of them all [DCIs]." Can you amplify?
In our first interview you say that DCI Smith tried to lunch
every Monday with congressmen but couldn't work it out. Dulles,
you state, had occasional lunches with certain select
congressmen. How important werecontacts of this sort for
smoothing CIA's way in Congress? Given the many other
demands on the time of the DCI, is this a pxaf xahta wise
allocation of his time? Can you give any specific illustra-
tions where cultivation of a congressman by this sort of
activity paid dividends for the Agency?
In the roughly 9 1/2 years you spent handling congressional
relations, how many people did you have working for you
on liaison matters? Were they lawyers, analysts, case offi-
cers, public relations experts?
In 1949 you apparently spent a lot of time in PRC meetings
[Project Review Committee]. Was this related at all to
your liaison duties?
Your Journal suggests that you spent a great deal of time
handling referrals from congressmen for people seeking
employment. How did a congressional referral differ from
other referrals?
An occasional note says a certain application should be
"handled carefully." What did this entail?
Do you remember any specific dealings with John Kennedy,
Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, or Gerald Ford while each
was in Congress? Any occurrences which might have had a
bearing on their presidential attitude toward CIA?
Can you explain the Agency's interest in private bills
concerning immigration which came up from time to time?
The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy apparently received
FBIB publications. I have also seen a 1947 memo from you
concerning distribution of FBIB reports to the House Committee
on Foreign Affairs. Who on the Hill routinely received
Agency publications? Were these unclassified documents?
Do you recall any battles with congressmen, committeess, or
committee staffers concerning distribution of Agency reports
or publications?
Does the fact that CIA has a relativaely large percentage
of its personnel in higher grades ever create any problems
on the Hill?
Did anyone on the Hill ever raise eyebrows about the per-
centage of the CIA budget allotted for unvouchered funds?
You speak very highly of George Harvey of the House Appro-
priations Committee in one of your memos I have seen. Tell
me about him. Do you know where he is today?
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I sometimes get the impression that in the early years of
the Agency, Congress exercised supervision of the CIA
primarily in terms of saving money and seeing that taxdollars
were not wasted. Oversight of specific operations, on the
other hand, was clearly not of concern to many. Concern
for the quality of the intelligence product fell inbetween
these other two. Can you comment on the above, and on
the overall topic of congressional oversight between 1947
and 1956?
Insofar as oversight failed in the 1950s (and perhaps it
is unfair even to suggest that it did fail), one gets the
sense that this was not due to a lack of good will on
either side, but to institutional factors, particularly
within Congress, making effective, knowledgeable, and
continuing oversight very difficult. Any comments?
What precautions were taken to insure physical security
in congressional offices and hearings rooms? Sweeps, for
instance? Did this fall within your purview?
Was it routine to debrief congressmen following their overseas
trips? What sort of services did you provide congressmen
or congressional staffers who were about to embark upon
a trip overseas?
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/20: CIA-RDP01-01773R000100010005-8