COMMAND AND CONTROL IN THE AGENCY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-00261R000100050061-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2000
• Sequence Number: 61
• Publication Date: December 6, 1975
• Content Type: MF

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MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT Command and Control in the Agency
While we are waiting on Finance to prepare the statement
I promised you regarding good fiscal and financial controls,
you might want to factor the following statement from Congressman
Pike into your document:
Excerpt--Congressman Otis G. Pike's comment during the
4 November
on Intelligence:
'?Now, as the debate on the creation of
this Committee progressed, the debate was
entirely about the wrongful acts of the CIA,
and what we have learned since is that the
CIA was no rogue elephant. The CIA was not
going out on its own, authorizing projects
and carrying projects out. The CIA was not
a runaway."
John N. McMahon
Associate Deputy Director
for
Administration
Distribution'
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ADDA:JNMcMahon:kmg (6 Nov 75)
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EMORANDUM FOR: IC
` f Coordination aff,
h
~e
C
"Abuse', of Covert Procurement System
REFERENCE Sensitive Issue and Allegation No. 8,
same subj
Attached is office of Logistics' latest speculation
regarding Senate and House Select Committee considerations
on covert procurement. The attached represents a culmination
of weeks of interviews by the various committees.
John N. McMahon
Associate Deputy Director
for
Administration
Distributions
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PART I - What is Congress After in Covert Procurement?
A. House Select Committee
At first we felt that the HSC Committee was in-
terested in establishing the fact that CP was being used
as a devious means by which a "selected number of privileged
Agency employees" were obtaining items such as liquor,
jewelry, guns, extra household items, etc. Later, it seemed
that they wanted to know why it was necessary for the Agency
to retain such an elaborate procurement mechanism to procure
items which any individual could go out and purchase on the
market without the red-tape of the entire requisitioning
system. Judging from their most recent requests, they appear
to be preparing the Congressional Committee with objects
that could be used to ridicule or embarrass the Agency.
B. Senate Select Committee
1. The SSC, on the other hand, appears to be in-
terested in the way our proprietaries or outside companies
may have been used to cover-up any questionable activities,
as well as a means to supplement our funding.
2. Further, the SSC may be investigating allegations
of featherbedding either current or former Agency employees
through the use of contracts with outside companies or pro-
prietaries.
PART II - How Would We Characterize the Committees' Positions?
There has been virtually no direct contact with the
Senate, and it is difficult to characterize their position.
The Senate requests for data have been straightforward and,
for. the most part, have not been followed up with further
inquiries which would provide insight into their line of
inquiry. There has been extensive contact with the House,
and it must be concluded from these meetings and the material
selected by them for retention that they are highly critical
U SE
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of the Agency. Selective use of the material provided
either in briefings or in documents could be used to
ridicule the Agency's procurement practices. This material
is, for the most part, superficial in that it does not, in
terms of line items or dollar amounts represent a significant
portion of the procurement effort. It may be the intent of
the House to use this material to attack the general credi-
bility of the Agency.
A. Since we have not been privy to the overall picture
of questioning by the SSC vis-a-vis proprietaries, it is
difficult to ascertain what they may have concluded because,
except as noted above, they have not followed up on any of
their questioning with Logistics.
B. On the other hand, the HSC seems to have zeroed
in on the sensational or sexy items and apparently closed
its eyes to the totality of covert procurement. It would
appear that there have been many juicy items they could
have focused their attention on and yet chosen not to, at
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already have this information or intend to dig deeper at
some later date are questions which we do not have the an-
swers tout this time,
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