DISCUSSION WITH MR. JERRY LEVINSON, COUNSEL FOR SUB-COMMITTEE ON MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATIONS OF SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP75B00380R000200060030-5
Release Decision:
RIPPUB
Original Classification:
S
Document Page Count:
4
Document Creation Date:
December 14, 2016
Document Release Date:
June 4, 2003
Sequence Number:
30
Case Number:
Publication Date:
October 11, 1973
Content Type:
MF
File:
Attachment | Size |
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CIA-RDP75B00380R000200060030-5.pdf | 172 KB |
Body:
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11 October 1973
MEMORANDUM FOR: C/WH, I
SUBJECT Discussion with Mr. "Jerry" LEVINSON,
Counsel for Sub-Committee on Multi-National
Corporations of Senate Foreign Relations
Committee
1. Recently I received a call at home from Levinson
(I'm not sure of the spelling) who indicated he'd like to
have a chat with me. When I asked him the nature of the
talk he had in mind, he was evasive but not suspiciously
so, merely saying he had been told I was experienced abroad
and that he'd appreciate the chance to talk to me. Aside
from courtesy and curio sity, I will soon be in the market
for a job, so Iaccepte with no reluctance - albeit perhaps
with some lingering mental reservation about what was behind
the call.
2. I met Levinson for lunch downtown on 3 October.
He explained immediately and openly upon normal dispensing
of amenities what his job was and that the committee (sub)
of which he was the counsel had been charged with looking
3. I can't say I was taken completely off guard as the
possibility of some such in this day and age had not entirely
escaped me, but nonetheless the boldness of the approach
was a bit surprising to me.
4. It was obvious Levinson was addressing himself to
CIA when he referred to "the Agency", but I had him confirm
it for the record, which he did with no stuttering. He
was addressing himself to me as someone who had at one time
been associated with the Agency, although he did not seem
to know whether I was still so associated. He also know
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I had been connected at one time or another with both the
Philippines and Latin America. He identified his source
of my name only as a "journalist"; I didn't press him.
5. I philosophized a bit with him about having neither
compulsions nor compunctions about talking with him, but
pointed out whoever gave him my name and he were both surely
aware that unless I were terribly naive or archly disaffected,
I would only inform him relative to these subjects of his
interest on the basis of some great moral or intellectual
resolve, because the risks of one being considered disloyal
or at least indiscreet must be obvious to him in view of the
distinction in the two arms of government. So, while
admitting to being greatly intrigued, I told him that the
fact was I wouldn't tell him anything that would be of use to
him. I did not make any reference in this connection to se-
curity, secrecy oaths or the like.
6.''I did go ahead and chat with him nevertheless and
he took advantage with social and intellectual polish to
probe initially in generalities but dipping into specifics
occasionally. He went into Chile, of course, using it as
an example for his sphere of interest. I told him I thought
the interaction he was referring to between corporations
and the Agency was greatly exaggerated, that exotic publicity
about the recondite spy world had created an invalid emphasis
and false aura relative to such connections or influence
in either direction. When the matter of policy control in-
evitably was brought up, I similarly deprecated the same
false image that had been conjured up about a cowboy agency
galloping about on the international frontier free of res-
traint from the constitutionally charged policy directors.
7. On the point of the legitimacy of congressional
pursuit of and possession of knowledge of Agency activity,
I concurred with alacrity that the Agency is bound without
question to responsibility to and responsiveness to the
people of the United States and thus obviously through extra-
polation on a practical level to the Congress, but just as
obviously on a completely practical basis it had to be executed
with some recognition of the reality that in any group of
there's bound to be a couple of irresponsible 25X1A
tools an politicians were hardly any exception. He didn't
argue.
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8. When Mr. Levinson delivered of himself on the necessity
of a Congress rightly reasserting itself after a period of
dormancy, I agreed on a personal basis but countered that
I felt excessive swings in the pendulum would lead - had
led - in countervailing reaction to an organization like the
Agency running so scared that proposals for actions that
were not only defensible but probably should be carried
out wouldn't even be considered because of timidity induced
by trepidation of being called upon to defend them to an
audience with hostile preconceptions and the power to make
it's opinions matter. Levinson asked if I had any specific
instances of. this and I told him I didn't, it was just a ge-
neralized feeling.
9. Levinson also brought up that he had noted a similarity
in the operational modalities in certain sequences of events
in 'different countries, drawing the conclusion they were 25X1C
specifics - I didn't know anything about either anyway -
but pointed out that while any intelligent, knowledgeable
observer could indeed catalogue patterns, one ran the risk
of making an erroneous assumption of sponsorship just because
of an apparent consistency of modalities, and, furthermore,
erroneous assumptions on his (Levinson's) part could be
very harmful in view of his client's influential position.
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11. The whole lunch was pleasant, stimulating, certainly
intriguing. He paid the check. It lasted only an hour and
ten minutes. Oh yes, outside and presented as an after thought,
I told Mr. Levinson I was in the market for a job, so if
anyone on the hill heeded a boy for something other than as
a witness to remember me. Said he would.
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