C.I.A. LIMITS AGENT'S TESTIMONY IN SLANDER SUIT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000400190069-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 28, 2000
• Sequence Number: 69
• Publication Date: April 29, 1966
• Content Type: NSPR

ApproVed For Release 2000/08/29qk M-W -UWA%000400190069-9
privileged role as'a Government
official, acting on official orders.
Mr. Houston presented an
agency affidavit, the fourth
filed here since January, signed
by Adm. William F. Raborn, di-
rector of Central Intelligence.
It repeated the agency's asser-
tion that, Mr. Raus had been
carrying out its orders In dis-
crediting Mr. Heine as "a dis-
patched Soviet Intelligence
operative, a K.G.B. agent" and
that Mr. Raus was therefore
immune from suit.
Dismissal Is Sought
Both the Government and Mr.
Raus'a lawyers, accordingly,
have asked Judge Thomsen to
dismiss the slander suit sum-
marily. They also contend that
a trial,. which would require the
C.I.A. to produce witnesses
In support of its allegations
against Mr. Heine,' would "not
be in the interest of the secu-
rity of the United States" be-
cause such appearances would
further compromise the agen-
top
Approved for Release 2000/08/2:6: 'CIA-RDP75=00001 R000400190069-9
APR 2 9 1966
Limits Agent's Testimony in-Slander Suit
{ SenJ$11 iwyers to Federal
Caurt in Successfal Effort off!
Xlo; Maintain :Secrecy
k:. b'"
BALTIMORE, April ? 27-The
i Central Intelligence Agency dis-
r patched five Washington law-
I yers !!to the Federal' District
Cour' here ' today to close the
I door of legal discovery on the
', agenefs :clandestine operations
, In th s country. The lawyers
Succ"~ded.
'.' In ,' a confused; three-hour
hcarrttg before Chief Judge Rbs-
zel C.-" Thomsen, the . Govern-
ment' attorneys i'epreatedly re-
ti movW a C.I.A. agent from the
,withltts stand ahd conferred
withtWim privately before per
i mittlllg him to answer ques
tionfltiMany questions they de-
clined to let him answer at all.
In crone half-hour period, the
lawyzxs twice took the agent,
/Juri'lKaus, from the stand and
lnto'rin anteroom or Into Judge
} Thonisen's chambers for a total
of more than 15 minutes. These
two ?onferences were. held to
lelear,'ihis
answer in court to a
single? question about his con-
tacts,:with the Federal Bureau
of Injestigation. -
r Ilrply Surprises Lawyers
R' i irnipg, to, the witness.
;chair, Mr, Raus nonetheless too
his lawyers by surprise, by re-
,plyin ?~ "Yess' to a 'questi'on
y ,to answer "No." At that point,
anotNr five-minute'out=of-tour
conf&bnce was called.
Thb' slip-up however'. 'an-
At?'Another point, one of 'the
five lawyers, Kevin. T. Maroney
;.Of the Internal; Oecurity Divi-
objec td to Mr.'1taits's answer-
Ing a ryucstion'.posed by Paul It.
`.Conti tilt', a , 'private ' lawyer
Work_g with the C.f:A. -to. de-
fend Raub;" 'xht6'.objection
Was 8~tstalned`bj Jud e'Thom-
Tht -intelligence '"a oric nor-
all'kec l;all butf IV(
~ ~.p, P
ABeoc,x,ea rre," w,repnotoI
Jurl? Raus, left, hnilEerik Heine leaving the courthouse
ranking officials behind an
opaque barrier of anonymity.
But today . the agency. - dis-
patched its general counsel,
Lawrence R. Houston, to act as
a secrbey umpire during the
questioning of Mr,. Raus for a
deposition in the $110,000 civil
slander suit against him.
$110,000 Asked In Suit
Erik Heine, a colleague of
Mr, Raus in .Estonian emigre
organizations in the country
and Canada, filed. the suit after
Mr. Raus publicly labeled him
a Soviet agent. The defence
contends Mr. Raus was acting
under C.I.A. orders when he did
this.
Mr., Houston, who told news-
men he had not appeared. In
open court for the agency, since
1952, said that the 39-year-old
Mr. Raus "was paid either di-
rectly or , indirectly for his
services on behalf of the C.I.A."
The hearing today was an
attempt by Mr. Heine's lawyers
to challenge the 'intelligence
'gent''' claim of "absolute im-
munity", for Mr. Raus from the
slander putt on the around.that