CIA AGENT ADMITS HOUSE SEARCH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000400340004-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 8, 1999
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: February 23, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

WAS JI G rO \' i,1i n '
n WS
Sanitized - Approved For Release : Cl
A C:' A security officer has admitted under oath that
t i.d an agent's wife searched the Geor eiotii
acme Of another CIA Zgent, Hans V. Tone. P -an 9.
fly JvLIA\ MOIt1tISON
A Central Intelligence Agency
security. Officer has admitted
under oath that he and a CIA
agent's wife systematically
searched the Georgetown home
10 liars V: Tofte for classified
documents last July, while the
agent "distracted" Mr. Tofte's
E6 year-old mother-in-law.
Mr. Tofte, a C__ agent, who
was fired in October because of
the documents found in his home
at 1637 35th-st nw, has sued CIA
cii+ cn r Richard Helms, the two
meats and the woman for
to:.ing a personal letter during
s.tiy cloak and. dagger
ru:on July 24.
c has also claimed that the
raid" was flagrant violation of
his Constitutional rights against
illegal search and seizure.
IN COVi1T
The description of the CIA's
Georgetown operation last
summer was supplied by
security officer Charles D.
Speake in a document filed in
District Court in connection with
the suit.
Security officer Speake's
sworn statement corroborates
Mr. Tofte's initial claim that the
CIA had no warrant to conduct
a search of his private Home
and that its agents
"bamboozled" his .)Mother-ht-
law, 3rs. Charlotte Leister.
A.._1 TES
:r. Speake's statement also
refutes previously published
accounts - never denied by the
CIA - that the seizure of the
documents by its agents was
merely an "impulse", was
"unpremeditated", and did not
constitute a raid.
it also backs up Mr. Tofte's
cra-atention that the agents
ohtaincd entry into his home by
...: e pretense.
' ;e background of the "raid"'
MR. TOP'TL
Tofte home allegedly to inspect
a basement apartment that was
for rent.
During the inspection, the CIA
said late: Mr. Slocum
'accidently" d i s c o v e r e d
classified documents on the
third floor of the house.
Later that day he informed
his superiors at CIA
headquarters in Langley, at
which time security officer
Speake 'was brought into the
case. The time was the night of
July 23.
Mr. Speake, in his sworn
statement, said his iuimedici e
superior, William S. li'il'kinson?
and agent SLev,2:1 L Kuhn
"generally agreed" on how to
go about recovering Tolle
papers the next day, which was
a Sunday.
He said he collected Mr. and
-Mts. Slocum Sunday morning
and went to the Torte home.
ACCOUNT
He was asked by Byron N.
Scott, Mr. Tofte's lawyer, to
"describe in detail everything
you did while you were in the
house ..."
"After entering the house,"
Mr. Speake reolied, Mir.
Slocum proceeded upstairs to
talk to Mrs. Leister to tell her
that we were there to look over
.the property.
"Mrs. Slocum and I Proceeded
Mr. Speake then c:escribed
how he and Mr. Slocum went
inst.'. ,:.e house while % rs.
Slccur, got her husband's car
and parked it outside the front
door.
While he "engaged - srs.
Leister in conversation about
the premises", Mr. Speake said.
? his partner took the classified
papers to the car,
The CIA last year claimed
?publically that the personal
letter that brought on the suit
"never existed", but.on Nov. 24,
offered to give Mr. Tofte a
certified copy of it if he'd
beginning with the basement .
and proceeding thruout all
floors including the one on
which the majority of classified'
information was situated where
we were soon joined by Mr.
Slocum.
"I inspected the documeitts
briefly and noted a variety of
classified documents of various
sensitivity, tho compromise of
which could conceivably
jeopardize the best interests of
National Security.
? " \%'e then left the house and
stood together in front talking
briefly.
'\:'e decided that rather than
announcing the true purpose of
our vis;t to Mrs. Leister, who!
was a lady of advanced years,:
that I would' distract her by
talking about the premises while;
rM. Slocum retrieved._. the.
documents.'.' he
a July 23 last year, a. young
CAA agent, KennetSlanlfized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000400340004-3
and his wife, Judy, went to the