COURT BARS FORMER CIA AIDE FROM TELLING SECRETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74B00415R000400170041-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 29, 2005
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: April 19, 1972
• Content Type: NSPR

CHICAGO, ILL. Approved For Release 2005/07/13 : CIA-RDP74B00415R000400170041-1
SUN-TIMES
M - 536,108
S - 709,123
APR 19 1972
By Thomas B. Ross _ ~.
y~e
Sun-Times Bureau
WASHINGTON - In a case with overtones
of the Pentagon papers controversy, the Jus-~
lice Department on Tuesday got a federal allegedly describing "CIA activities in de- a, ny
tail." court to stop a former high-ranking official of learned that the New York publish-
the Central Intelligence Agency from telling It. was
the public what he knows about CIA activi- tog firm of Alfred A. Knopf has entered a
$40,000 contract with -Marchetti, but that he
ties,
. U,S, District Court Judge Albert V. Bryan has not yet written a word of the proposed
Jr. of Alexandria, Va., issued a temporary book,
restraining order after the Justice Depart- The case was viewed by a number of law-
ment filed a civil suit against Victor L. yers here as Involving the same principle of "
Marchetti, onetime executive assistant to the "prior restraint" that was the key issue in the
dep!It:y director of the CIA.. Justice Department's efforts to prevent the
The Justice Department alleged that New York Times and other newspapers from
Marchetti planned to publish a magazine ar- publishing the Pentagon papers last summer.
RICHA
tick; and a book violating a signed agreement Supreme Court and prior restraint
"Compromises
not to disclose secrets he learned while work- After the newspapers were prevented from
intelligence"
ing for the CIA. making their disclosures for two weeks, the
CIA Director Richard M. Helms submitted Supreme Court ruled that the First Amend-
an affidavit asserting that he had read the ment to the Constitution prohibits such re-
article - admittedly obtained by a CIA agent straint. In the meantime, The Sun-Times had
in New York from a "confidential source" in disclosed all of the key points in the Pentagon
the publishing world -- and that it contained papers without being challenged.
information that would compromise "cur- The Marchetti case undoubtedly will be
rently classified intelligence sources and in-. appealed all the way to the Supreme Court
formation." If Judge Bryan and other lower courts rule
Others say It's harmless in favor of the government.
However, several other persons who have The Justice Department's suit against
read the article said it was harmless, largely Marchetti charges that he was about to vio-
a compilation of some of the CIA's more ex- late a secrecy agreement binding him not to
otic management and electronic practices. "divulge, publish or reveal either by word,
They contended it might make the agency conduct, or by any other means, any classi-
look silly, but certainly would not harm. the fled information."
national security. A document attached to the suit contended
For example, the article reportedly twat Marchetti already had talked`at length
with 27+n.embers of the press, including Mor-
recounts a CIA effort to implant bugging ton Kondracke of The Sun-Times Washington r,
devices in a cat, which then would be trained Bureau, who wrote an article about him. in
to wander through parks picking up the con- Earth magazine.
versations of suspects, Marchetti joined the CIA in 1955 and resign-
In any event, publishing sources in New ed in 1969, explaining that he had become dis-
? York declared, Marchetti already had de- enchanted with many of its practices and.
tided not to publish the article and had with- fearful that it was beginning to conduct oper-:
drawn it from Esquire magazine. ations against private citizens within the,
The -Justice Department statement said United States.
Marchetti also had sold a "nonfiction book," Gave works to judge
uve elwpx Q 1671st n ljgt9]wi nOi ?R000400170041-1
Taylor, former deputy director. Marchetti re
,portedly went to Taylor two weeks ago to. as
RD M. HELMS
currently classified
 sure him that he did not Intend to harm the
CIA and was prepay ibp rcEI[l ifl*r Reka$e 2005/07/13 CIA-RDP74B00415R000400170041-1
script to the agency for its suggestions. -
The Justice Department said it had sub-.
mitted copies of Marchetti's article, entitled
"Twilight of the Spooks," and a copy of his
book outline, "A Concept for a Book About
the Central Intelligence Agency," for Judge
Bryan's private perusal.
Publishing sources said the book outline. {
was as innocuous as the article.
Shortly after it was circulated to publishers
in New York, however, Marchetti's fears
were realized. In an affadavit attached to the
suit, a CIA agent in New York who identified
- himself as Robert P. B. Lohmann asserted
that he had been given copies of the magazine
article and the book outline by a "confidential
source, who has provided reliable information
in the past and whose identity I am prevented
from disclosing."
If the government wins ...
If the goverment wins its case against
Marchetti, strong new pressure would be
brought on officials not to tell'the press and
the public how U.S. foreign policy is being
conducted.
State Department and Pentagon officials, In
addition to CIA employes, are required to
sign security agreements. But up to now such
contracts often have been honored more in
the breach, and former officials, Including
Presidents, regularly draw l:I.ton secret and
top secret documents to write articles and
books.
Helms' affidavit alleged that Marchetti's
writings "would cause grave and irreparable
harm to the national defense interests of the
United States and will seriously disrupt the
conduct of this country's foreign relations."
At the time the government, moved in the
Pentagon papers 'case, one of President Nix-
on's spokesmen said he was less interested in
the security aspects than In allowing a prece-
_dent to be established that might lead to fu-
ture leaks of his own secrets.
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 NEW YORK TIMES
Approved For Release 20CM0/ tlZIA L4 4B=9I5R000400170041-1
1. IT April 1972
JUDGE BARS BOOK:
BY EX-C.I.A. AGENT
Temporary' Order Is Granted
"There is substantial like-
lihood that this hook will di-
vulge currently classified in-
formation relating to intelli-
gence sources and methods, the
disclosure of which would vio-
late the terms and conditions of
the defendant's secrecy agree-
ment and result in grave and'
to Justice Department_ irreparable injury to the inter-
ests of the United States."
When a person, joins` the
By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM Central Intelligence Agency' he
Special to The New York Times is required to sign a "secrecy
WASHINGTON, April 18-A agreement" asserting that he
Federal 'ud e actin . a__ t tl be- will never divulge classified I
UM . o t e stu ice Department. I information, even after he
today issued a tom iorar re-I leaves the agency.
straining order to preve Mr. Marchetti said that his
publication of a book or- articles book would be "a balanced at
Tip a forrUer aeent y ~e h. tempt to try to explain how
in 1969 after 14 years and then
wrote a novel about the agency
called "The Rope Dancer,"
which 'was published last fall.
The restraining order was is-
-sued by Judge Albert V. Bryan
Jr. of.the Federal District Court
for the Eastern District of Vir-
ginia. It prohibits any publica.
tion by Mr. Marchetti until a
hearing can be held on the Gov.
ernment's request for a perma.
nent restraining. order. The
-tearing is scheduled. for April
28. Mr. Marchetti lives in Vien-
na, Va., a suburb of Washing-
ton. .
. Mr. Marchetti said today that
he had, a contract with Alfred'
A. Knopf, Inc., to write a non-
fiction book about the agency
but that he had not begun to
write it. His literary represen..
tative, David Obst, said that Mr.
Marchetti had also written an
article about the agency for
Esquire magazine but'that the
article was withdrawn before;
publication.'
A.'C.L.U. Backs Author
t 2r of the Washingto' of ke...j
the m riran CM1
Union. d tonight that the
..A 7~i _1 i. would renrgs .n . Mr.
.,Adarc}iett!.
Mr. Temple said that today's
order represented "the fir
timeth-q Governmeg, t-
jen a restCajpigp,~c]~lcs agnit??t
-origin writt Dinneri l"
He said that this case was
different from that of the Pen-
tagon papers. In that case, he
said, the Government was try-
ing to prevent the publication
of classified Government' docu-
meats rather than of publica-
tion of an .original work.
In its complaint, the Govern-
The Government's complaint)
also said that Richard Helms,.
Director of Central Intelligence,'
had read the proposed Esquire.
article and had specified for
the court instances in which,
in the Government's view, is
disclosed classified intelligence
-sources and methods.
Mr. Obst, the literary repre-
sentative, said he had with-
drawn the article from Esquire
because he did not want the
information to be published be-
fore Mr. Marchetti's proposed
book was written. Mr.. Obst
said that he did not know how
the Government obtained a'
copy of the Esquire article but
that he had sent it to several
major book publishers in an
attempt to sell Mr. Marchetti's
proposed book to them.
Aide to Admiral
The only other work that Mr,'
Marchetti has had published
was an article this month in
The Nation magazine.
The article, entitled "C. I. A.:
The President's Loyal Tool," is
sharply critical of the agency
and its activities. "The C. I. A.
is basically concerned with in-
terfering in the affairs of for-
eign- countries, and . . . the
agency carries out this mission
with the approval and at the
request of the country's politi=
cal leaders," the article states.
Esquire Editor Comments
An editor of Esquire maga-
zine, Donald Erickson, said here
yesterday that Esquire had con-
sidered A Ir. Marchetti's article
but decided several weeks ago,
with the amicable concurrence
of the author, not to.publish it,
The Associated Press reported.
Mr. Erickson said the rejec-
tion was made . for literary
reasons, .
Mr. Marchetti's highest posi-
tion in the agency was as ex-
ecutive assistant to Adm. Rufus
Taylor, who was'Deputy Direc-
tor of Central Intelligence from
1966 until 1969.
At the C. I. A., Mr. Marchetti,
now-42 years old, was an ex-
pert in Soviet military affairs.
He said today. that he never
dealt on a regular basis with in-
telligence information about
Indochina.
Mr. Marchetti's novel, "The
Rope Dancer,"? published by
Grosset & Dunlap, is a hypo-
thetical adventure story about
the agency. In the novel, the
agency distorts facts- to fit the
desires of the President of the
United States and plots to over-
throw the Government of Co-
lombia.
Ernest Tidyman, who won an
Oscar last week for his screen-
Play of "The French Connec-
u
about the .agency. It declare. t:' - "-Au Luc a"vca maw u ---
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 WASP; tqq[h1AAippvro ~qq.77..77.
Approved For Release 20~5/07/1~$ `CIA-RDP74B00415R000400170041-1
Spy-Left Out in the Cold
ook' Enjoined
ExCIA ` F
By Jim Mann'
Washiu ton Post Staff Writer
},Stice Denartm -
1uAay,1 tainoCl a tptnT)Or~l
-court order to Rr9Y t. a for,
mer a&cilt of the Central In
?cliigence ' enc from ub-
- in a magazine attic e or
boul ahniiLthe 1A's -n el~li-
gen~r_C-ga.th'ri_- n_?~_s~ artjyjties.
The broadly worded court
order, signed by U.S. District
Court Judge Albert V. Bryan
Jr. in' Alexandria, also re-
quIres the former agent, Vic-
tor L. Marchetti., to return to
the CIA all documents and
property he obtained while
employed at the agency.
March Fitj also was ordered
to -stri- ay+ ^r
other -wz4 abollt,_tbA CIA
"?aetTya fictional or other-
wise" _
to he agency for ex-
aminafian.at load 3D avs
?prt+ iia release.
The Justice Department ac-
tion was reminiscent of its ef-
fort last year to prevent publi-
cation of the Pentagon papers,
the government's secret study
of the Vietnam war.
Yesterday's request was
based on-the theory that Mar-
chetti had breached a contract
he signed as a CIA employee,
promising not to disclose in-
formation that might jeopard-
'fze national security.
Marchetti was employed by
the CIA from 1955 to 1969,
serving at one point as execu-
tive assistant to the agency's
deputy director. After resign-
ing from the agency, he pub-
lished a novel called "The
Rope Dancer" about an -em-
ployee of the "National Intelli-
gence Agency."
In affidavits submitted to
Judge Bryan yesterday, high-
ranking CIA officials, includ-
ing Director Richard Helms,
said the CIA has received ad-
vance copies of an article enti-
tied "Twilight of the Spooks,"
written by Marchetti for publi-
cation in "a magazine with a-
Itionwide circulation."
-.? The CIA officials said they
have also obtained a copy of
an outline for a book about
the CIA, written by Marchetti
and purchased by "a leading
publishing house in New
York."
The Justice Department did
not disclose the names of the
publishing house and the
magazine. However, late last
night, Aaron Latham, an as-
sociate editor of Esquire
magazine, acknowledged that
Marchetti recently wrote an
article entitled "Twilight of
the Spooks" for Esquire.
Latham said that about two
weeks ago, Esquire returned
the manuscript without pub-
lishing it at Marchett.i's re-
quest, after Marchetti told Es-
quire he had signed a contract
have to .take up with the VIA,",
which he said would be respon-i
sible for documenting a' case,
against Marchetti, '
Following publication of the
Pentagon papers, the Justice
Department began a' criminal,
prosecution of Daniel El-lsberg,
charging in part that he had
violated an agreement he
had signed as an employee ofi
the Rand Corp. not to disclose
classified information,
Bryan, 45, a judge appointed
in 1971 by President Nixon,
refused to comment last night
on the reasons for his ? issu-
ance of the court order. A
hearing in the case has been
scheduled for April 28.
Marchetti, who lives in Vi-
enna, Va., was not present in
court when Judge Bryan is-
with the publishing house oflsued his order yesterday, and
Albert A. Knopf to do a bookicould not be reached for com-
about the CIA.
Sealed copies of the maga-
zine article and book outline
were submitted to Judge Ryan
by the CIA yesterday for his
private examination. The CIA
said that agent Robert P. B.
Lohmann of New York City
ment - last night. It was not
clear whether he has already
given back CIA documents as
ordered by Bryan.
obtained the manuscripts from
"a confidential source" on
March 12. No reason was given
for the one-month delay be-
fore the court action.
Also included in the court
papers was a copy of the "se-
crecy agreement" signed by
Marchetti in 1955. -
In it, Marchetti, who had
then just graduated from
Penn State University, swore
that he would never "divulge,
publish or reveal either by
word, conduct or by any other
means, any classified informa-
tion, intelligence or knowl-
edge . unless specifically
authorized in writing, in each
case, by the director of central
intelligence."
Asked last night whether the
Justice Department was also
considering a criminal i rosecu-
tion of Marchetti, a depart-
ment spokesman replied, "That
would be something you would,
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 7ASHING ON DAILY NEVIS
Approved For Release 2005/0'/g13 .p$l P74B00415R000400170041-1
By DAN THOMASSON
ourt to
The Justice Department has gone 12_c
Intellieence_A~ a Jai turned author rom
&pillin.g hnw the nation i atbers secrets.
In an unprecedented move, the department
filed -a civil suit in Federal District Court
against Victor L. Marchetti, a former execu-
tive assistant to the CIA's deputy director, and'
according to one department source, a man
"who knows one hell of a lot about U.S. es-
pionage activities.".
The department later won an order- from
Federal District Judge Albert V. Bryan in Al-
exandria temporarily restraining Mr. Mar-
chetti from "disclosing classified information"
In an article the government said he has sold
to an unnamed national magazine and in a
planned nonfiction book.
REVIEWS ARTICLE
The historic move came yesterday after CIA.,
Director Richard M. Helms reviewed the pro-
posed magazine article and decided it would
compromise current intelligence sources and
methods.
The government also charged there is a
"substantial -likelihood" that Mr. Marchetti's
planned book "will divulge currently classified.
information" on how U.S. spies operate.
That being the case, the government said,
publication of either book or article would
cause irreparable harm to the nation's defense
interests and violate and agreement Mr. Mar-
chetti signed when he joined the CIA in 1955.
That agreement, according to the govern-
ment, clearly prohibits Mr. Marchetti from
disclosing any of the secrets he has gained
while working with the agency, even after he
quits, which he did in 1969.
SPY ON SPY?
obtain the preview of the article and pro-:
1iv d d a lit 1 -ynvine en Mr. Marc elti
Robert V. Lohmann, employed by the CIA in
New York said in an affidavit accompanying
the government's suit that Mr. Marchetti's ar-
ticle was entitled "Twilight of -the Spooks,"
and that his ex-colleague had already outlined
the book under a heading "a concept for a entitled "CIA: The President's Loyal Tool,"
book about the Central Intelligence Agency." and authored a "secret" memorandum to a
Mr. Lohmann said, of course, the material
had come to him from a "confidential" source.
New York congressman which gamed some
circulation last fall on Capitol Hill.
FORCE AGREEMENT
Mr. Marchetti said thru a spokesman he
would fight the suit. David Obst, who said he
was Mr. Marchetti's friend and literary agent,
said Mr. Marchetti wrote the rough draft of an
article for Esquire Magazine but withdrew it
of iMr Mrhetti:
e Nit to violate the, secrecy care vent he
signed whan ha aaint the aacn Y.
to expand into a book. He denied the article Tn_.quhWlt in nee of publication to the
had been sold. . CfAan3rthi has -vrsitQ s to
The book, he said, would, be "an honest anal- r l e-ro'' e4gency.
ysis" of how the intelligence system works. He ?
denied it would jeopardize national security in dnruweaL% wnrl n,;peza_ hac a5t
any way. The book exists in outline form only, ire es.~ n them.
he said, and has been sold to a publisher. The Asked If the government really was that con-
m a n u s c r i p t was to be finished by next cerned about Mr. Marchetti, whose efforts at
February. peddling his CIA based stories had made little
Ironically, Mr. Marchetti, a 42-year-old fa- impression on the Washington journalism
has had a number Of scene, a department source snapped:
lread
h
f
y
a
t
ther o
ree, contacts with newsmen (27 according to the the PentaLyim,na4rs were hot,
11 -
department); written an article for the nation vyou should see what that man coulddo
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 Approved FoAi6'1SIRN3 :CIA-RDP74B00415R000400170041-1
19 APR 1972
r. A former CIA employe was barred from
publishing manuscripts disclosing espionage
secrets. A federal judge in Alexandria, Va.,
granted a temporary restraining order against
Victor L. Marchetti, 42, a former aide to the
CIA's deputy director. CIA boss Richard Helms
said Marchetti's manuscripts would compro-
mise current intelligence sources and methods,
and asked that he be forced to abide by a se-
-rey pledge all CIA staffers sign when joining
:he agency. It says they won't reveal. security
.nformation even after leaving the agency.
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 ,~az>a~xx; ~uv
Approved For Release 20051071f3 : CIA-RDP74B00415R000400170041-1
~9 APR 1972
Court bars Ti
articles by
ex-CIA man
''Washington Iii-The Justice
Department won a temporary
order yesterday prohibiting a
former Central Intelligence
Agency employee from publish-
ing manuscripts that allegedly
disclose espionage secrets.
'.Judge Albert V. Bryan, Jr. of
United States District Court in
Alexandria, Va., issued the or-
der against Victor L. Marchetti,
42,' of Vienna, Va., who is a
.former CIA agent.
The government's civil suit
seeks to force Air. Marchetti to
abide by - an agreement he
signed when entering the spy,
agency that he would not dis-
close any security information i
unless first cleared by the CIA
director.
Affidavit from Helms
According to the suit, Mr.
Marchetti had sold an article
entitled "Twilight of the
Spooks" to a national maga-
zine, and an outline entitled "a
concept for a book about the
Central Intelligence Agency."
Neither the magazine nor the
book publisher was identified in
the court douments released to
tl~wsmen.
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 LOS ANGE 7S TII. E-S
Approved For Release 2005/CDP74B00415R000400170041-1
CIA HOLDS
UP WRITINGS
OF EA.-AGENT
WASHINGTON (M-
The Justice Department
won' a temporary order
Tuesday prohibiting a
former Central Intel-
ligence Agency employe
from - publishing manu-
scripts that allegedly
disclose espionage se-
crets. '
U.S. Dist. Judge Al-
bert V. Bryan Jr. issued
the order against former
CIA agent Victor L.
Marchetti, -12, of Vienna,
Va.
According.to the CIA's
affidavit, Marchetti had
sold an article entitled
"Twilight of the
Spooks" to a magazine
of nationwide circula-
tion, and an outline for a
book on the CIA to a
publisher. Neither the
magazine nor the book
publisher was - identi-
f ied.
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 Approved For Release 2005/07/13 : CIA-RDP74B00415R000400170041-1
TRANSMITTAL SLIP
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 INBIO-THF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OBTAINED A TEMPORARY
. *
;STR-AIMING ORDER TODAY TO PREVENT A FORMER EMPLOYE OF THE CENTRAL.:
fNNTEL 1_1G13ENCE AGENCY FROM PISCLUSIN' WHAT THE DEPARTMENT TERMED
i%
FIED
S
.,,....,.
49 *5
I
n11G1'HL CLAS
Ai;;*I,~fQ, A'II'OIiHE"l GENERAL RICHARD D. I(1.E]:NDIENST SAID U.S. DISTRICT
1uurGE ALBERT V.. BRYAN JR. I.slitl 14. ORDER! AT ALEXANDRIA VA. AFTER
111E DEPARTMENT FILED A CI'VI- '60J11 iARLIER IN THE DAY AGAINST VICTOR
li`CHETTI, 42, OF VIENNA, FA. * A FORMER EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO
?'94E DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF 1H1 dike
i:!IE SUIT SOUGHT TO ENF!ORGE AN 1%,5REEMENT SIGNED BY MARCHETTI AND
';IA EMPLOYEES IN WHICH [K1 l 5-1141t THAT THEY WILL NOT REVEAL
J Y SECURITY INFORMATION GAIN.:D Hr rORKING FOR THE AGENCY EVEN
,UXTEH I TERM]:NATING THEIR EMPLO TMF N
T `AE DEPARTMENT SAID AN AHT 1CEE %FtI%H MARCHETTI HAS SOLD TO A
11I0NAL MAGAZINE AND A NO N-F ,C1 i0w bLOK MANUSCRIPT BY HIM WHICH
; LLE13EDLY. DISCUSSES CIA ACTTVL[A .5 [N DETAIL WERE CITED IN THE
7' IT AS EVIDENCE THAT HE DOES NCI rLAN TO HONOR THE AGREEMENT.
A' AE DEPARTMENT REFUSED TO NAMt 1E MAGAZINE v THE BOOK, OR THE
ISRERS CONSIDERING THkI .
kx3-- f H734PES