LETTER TO STEVEN GARFINKEL FROM PATRICK LEAHY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP10T01930R000400100001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 17, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 14, 1985
• Content Type: LETTER

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/17_._ CIA-RDP10T01930R000400100001-4 ~~,
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March 14, 1985
Mr. Steven Garfinkel
Director
Information Security Oversight Office
General Services Administration
Washington, D.C. 20405
Dear Mr . Garfinkel
Mrs. Bethine Church, the widow of Senator Frank Church,
has referred to me your correspondence of last September STAT
with Mr . Timothy A. Brown, the University Librarian of Boise
State University. You requested access to the papers of
Senator Church for Executive branch officials, in order to
determine if the collection contains any classified information.
Prior to my becoming Vice Chairman of the Select Committee
on Intelligence, Committee staff were also referred a note
r- -- - -
?. .+c a~ a a. c a v a
the Central Intelligence Agency. According to this note,
it was actually officials of the CIA who contacted you to
request this action, although these officials professed that
other federal agencies also might have "equities" in the
information contained in the papers.
As you know, the President has asserted the privilege,
in Executive Order No. 12356 on National Security Information
(paragraph 1.6[c]), to "reclassify" information already
released, provided the information "may reasonably be
recovered.' On March 10, 1982, this Committee recommended
to you that IS00's Implementing Directive under the
Executive Order should provide for "limitation of reclassi-
fication ... ordinarily to cases of mistaken disclosure
of information that is voluntarily returned, with exceptions
only for the gravest danger to national security." In
response to questions by Members of the Committee, including
Senator Durenberger and myself, dated February 26, 1982,
you committed your Office to "recommcnd inclusion of language
in the ... Implementing Directive which will ordinarily limit
the applicability of this provision to situations in which
the information can be retrieved voluntarily."
MIAR 2 ~ ~'
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/17 :CIA-RDP10T01930R000400100001-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/17: CIA-RDP10T01930R000400100001-4 ~
Mr. Steven Garfinkel
March 14, 1985
Page 2
Even if Senator Church had been an official in
Executive branch, the current circumstances woul
be Inappropriate for the the
his papers. M Administration to seek such revieweof
~-ritten contentsstof theanume~~seboxesut thert
the Frank Church collection, Y pages of
lists of contents, aside from the of records included in
There is no indication in these
"the CIA," "Vietnam," "forei n barest
there is an 8 polic ?f entries concerning
Y significant probabilit Y' ?r the like, that
might contain classified information that the relevant records
part such entries a Indeed, for the most
unclassified PPear to refer to such inherently
and constituenttcorres88 Public statements
Pondence.~ Press clippings,
Furthermore, the Universit
reply to you, indicated that s Y Librarian, in his letter of
collection, as well as pot checks had been r
allowin partial reviews in ~ on the
g researchers to use the collectionPreparation for
and his staff found no classified documents dur'
Fur thermore The Librarian
the Librarian has indicated that henwille(eS1eviews.
professional librarian would do as a matter of c
it that any materials to be made available to any
are thorou hl nurse) see to
staff willgbeyalertedetobtheineedYtotaff first1etherLibrer
material. protect classified Y
Further, as you are no doubt aware
Senator Church dated March 7 the deed of
to limit access to a ' 1984 requires the Librarian from
with "the procedures established bollection in accordance
governing the availability of such information."
every indication that the Univ Y law ?r executive order
take these res ersity Librarian intendsetos
possibilities seriously.
Numerous goverment officials
highest, who have had access to classifiedhmalowest to the
including intelligence information serial,
without having their . have left
classified informationapere reviewed for the public life
Executive branch officialsnhave~leftwell-knownrcasese of
taking their ~~ government serviceeoior
even at the timerofnseparation~itl ~ ~
of any other case in which the without any review
nevertheless not aware
to review the a Administration has
material. P pegs ?f a former public figure forpclassified
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/17: CIA-RDP10T01930R000400100001-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/17: CIA-RDP10T01930R000400100001-4
!tr . Steven Garfinkel
March 14, 1985
Page 3
Frank Church was, furthermore, a United States Senator.
The Senate, through its Standing Rules and the rules of its
Committees, has an independent right to determine the
classification of national security information, including .
intelligence information. The Senate Office of Classified
National Security Information was established in part for this
purpose. The Select Committee on Intelligence, which succeeded
Senator Church's investigative committee and holds its papers,
is entitled under Senate Resolution No. 400 (1976) to make
independent decision concerning release of classified informa-
tion including intelligence information, subject to final
determination by the Senate in case of Presidential appeal from
the Committee's decision.
It should also be realized that the Senate committees with
which Frank Church worked have their own security systems which
provide for careful docent control. I am personally familiar
with the proved urea employed by the Select Committee on Intelli-
gence, which were originally developed by the investigative
committee chaired by Senator Church. These procedures provide
for centralized control of classified documents and do not permit
storage of classified material in the Members' offices. (The
Select Committee on Intelligence in fact holds a large volume of
files from Church Committee days.) His colleagues, congressional
staff and others who knew Senator Church indicate that he was
extremely conscientious in these matters and did not retain
classified information in his Senate office. While Chairman of
his investigative committee, he was furthermore advised on these
matters by a full-time Security Director and other security staff.
For the reasons above, I believe it would be inappropriate
to have Executive branch personnel review the papers of Frank
Ch arch. The papers of this great United States Senator and great
American should not be subjected to such an extraordinary procedure,
which to my knowledge has never been applied to another figure
of equal stature in our public life. I hope, therefore, that
you will advise relevant Executive branch officials that you
recommend against taking any further action on their request that
these documents be opened for their review.
Sincerely,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/17: CIA-RDP10T01930R000400100001-4