CONGRESSIONAL RECORD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000300430013-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 1998
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: March 23, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN

CONGRESS70NAL RECORD
se 2006OhctDP75-001
FOIAb3.b
between the Armed Services Committee
and the Central Intelligence Agency;
therefore, and quite understandably, it
would not be understood how close this
relationship is. As a matter of fact,
hardly a day passes that a representa-
tive of the CIA does not visit my office
ff f i of the other mem-
o
e
n
and the o ices o S
bers of. the CIA Subcommittee. It is a prestige and standing of this country
continuous association with the mem- among the new nations of Africa and
bers being constantly up to date with Asia. U nal
. so
f
Speaker, I have an important matter to
i bring to the attention of the House to-
day. It relates to the surveillance which
the Armed Services Committee main-
tains over the Central Intelligence
Agency.
As you know, the authority of the
Armed Services Committee over the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency is based on the
National Security Act of 1947.
First, I would like to say that upon my
assumption of the chairmanship of the
Armed Services Committee, I Increased
he had served for 20 years. He is 40
years old. For 1 year, beginning in Sep-
tember 1957, he was trained in counter-
intelligence procedures and techniques by
the Soviets in Moscow. On October 18,
1965, he asked the U.S. Government for
political asylum In London where he was
assigned to the Hungarian Embassy. He.
Is the first officer to break away success-
fully from the AVH since that service
was organized after the Hungarian
revolution in 1956. He left because of
what he described as silent, anxious self-
attempted to convey by means of photo- 1
graphs, cartoons, and deceitful text, a
false picture of the civil rights move-
ment in America. Mr. Szabo told the
committee that these forgeries were
planned, printed, and secretly distrib-
uted by the Hungarian Intelligence and
Security Service. These forgeries, I re-
peat, were intended to undermine the
Those Hungarians, he says, who fled
from communism during the 1956 revolt
and sought refuge throughout the free
world have recently drawn onto them-
selves the particular attention of the
AVH. The Soviets and he Hungarians,
as part of a common venture, have de-
cided to exploit this emigration for es-
pionage and subversive purposes. Hun-
garian refugees living in the United
States, who have become loyal Ameri-
can can citizens, are hounded, blackmailed
and coerced by threats against loved'!
the membership of the Subcommittee on doubt and, ultimately, revulsion against ones and relatives into serving the In-
the CIA to the. point that it now has the AVH and communism. . terests of Hungarian communism. It
11 members. My purpose in doing this Members may recall that in late 1063,, Is to their credit that many refugees
was to spread both the responsibility and, two forged issues of Newsweek magazine . have refused to fall into this trap. But
authority of this subcommittee as broad- were circulated in Africa, Asia and else- our witness said that everyone of them
ly as possible.. . where. The origin of these forgeries has : is under the AVH gun. I think we can
?I cannot recall ever having discussed always been a mystery. These forgeries assume that refugees from other Com-
rom .s pe
respect to the development of important Mr. Szabo said that,
, intelligence matters, knowledge, these forgeries were not an in-
In addition to increasing the size of dependent venture of the Hungarians but
the subcommittee. I established a that they were planned in cooperation
regular-meeting schedule. Under this with the Soviet secret police, the KGB.
:,schedule the Director of CIA and his Indeed, he stated, the Hungarian service
t
assistants appear before the subcom- undertakes no action of this sort withou
mittee for briefings and for full and consultation with and advice from the
frank discussion of intelligence matters. Soviets. Officers of the Soviet secret
I can assure you-and you need have police are permanently stationed in the
no doubt-that at these meetings there, headquarters of the Hungarian service in
is full revelation by the CIA of all sub- Budapest. These Soviet officials have
jects which should receive congressional full access to the files and records of the
consideration. . Hungarian service.
I would like to interpolate here be- -Mr. Szabo testified that in their opera-
;,cause it is so important: the CIA does tional philosophy and in their training
' what the President tells it to do. it- the Hungarian service refers to the
?does not initiate action by itself except, United States as the main enemy.
r'of course, the normal routine activities The Soviet service and the other bloc
as would be expected. This appears not - services do the same. Hungarian service
to be well understood by many people officers are trained to work against our
and I wanted to place a special emphasis Foreign Service officers stationed in'
on this relationship between the Presi- Budapest and citizens of our country who
dent and the CIA. visit Hungary as tourists. Every effort
And now to the specific subject at is made to blackmail Americans, Britains,
hand. and people of other Western nations, into
contact maintained between the corn- garians in Budapest and other capitals.
mittee and the CIA. In the course of Every device, however crude and brutal,
these contacts in recent days, a some- is enlisted to this end. ,
what unusual and extremely important . Mr. Szabo discussed, for example, just
matter came to may attention. I im- ? how spontaneous are the demonstrations
--mediately called a special meeting of the in front of our embassies and legations
?
behind the Iron Curtain. In Budapest,
subcommittee which, as it turned out,
;-consumed almost a whole day. . he testified, the Hungarian police were
The occasion for that meeting was to. ordered in February 1965, to prepare an
receive testimony from a man who said anti-Vietnam war demonstration. Since
that he had had enough of communism they planned a big. show and anticipated
and had chosen to come over to our that considerable damage to American
side. legation property would result, the secret
The man is Mr. Laszlo Szabo, until 'police budgeted and set aside In advance
recently an officer in the Hungarian In- a large sum of money to pay for damage
-~---- -. E telligence and Security which is com-, that had not yet taken place. Our wit-
or THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE ' monly known as the AVH. - ness made it abundantly clear that Amer-.
AGENCY According to his testimony, Mr. Szabo ican diplomats in Budapest live In a
Approved For Release 2000/08/27 CIA-RDP75-001.,49Rb00.300430013=lontirued