BELL STILL UNDECIDED ON HELMS CASE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP09T00207R001000030052-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2011
• Sequence Number: 52
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP09TOO207RO01000030052-5
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Bell still
undecided on
Helms case
By United Press International
Washington
Calling it "most active thing in my office,"
Attorney General Griffin Bell said ~-3- he
will decide soon whether to seek a federal in-
dictment against former Central Intelligence
Agency Director Richard Helms on charges of
lying to Congress.
Mr. Bell conceded he has had plenty of ad-
vice from senators and other government offi-
cials on Mr. Helms and the CIA involvement in
Chile - most of it advising him to drop the
controversy because a Helms public trial
might damage national security.
"I'll make a decision at an early date on the
Helms matter," he said.
"It's about the most active thing in my of-
fice, I suppose, because I've got to make a de-
cision. I'm considering foreign intelligence that
would be involved on the one hand - and on
the other hand the gravity of the allegations.
We've got to come down somewhere between
the two extremes."
Mr. Helms, who served as director of the
CIA from 1966 to 1973, has been accused of
lying to a congressional committee in denying
close CIA infiltration and involvement in Chile
before and during the administration of leftist
President Salvador Allende.
The attorney general was interviewed on the
NBC Today program about reports he is under
extreme pressure not to indict Mr. Helms, who
recently retired as ambassador to Iran.
"Well, I'm under, a good deal of - I don't
consider it to be pressure, incidentally - but I
know how people feel and it ranges from sena-
tors to former high government officials to
people in the government now," Mr. Bell said.
"You know these sort of cases - no one ever
comes to you and says `prosecute.' They all
say 'don't prosecute.' "
He was asked if refusal to prosecute would
give government officials a license to lie to
Congress. ?
"That's the difficult thing. Ordinarily, you
wouldn't think of doing that," he replied, not-
ing the Justice Department earlier this year
obtained the first federal indictment against an
FBI agent. C ,S, R, - f0.Jt
Approved For Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP09TOO207RO01000030052-5