WATERGATE - GUIDELINES FOR AGENCY FILE REVIEW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-00261R000600010021-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 1, 2000
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: March 22, 1974
• Content Type: REGULATION

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22 March 1974
WATERGATE - GUIDELINES FOR AGENCY FILE REVIEW
1. The Director has called for another review of Agency files
for material connected in any way with what has come to be called
"Watergate." The purpose of the review is to the extent possible
to ensure that Agency management is aware of all such material in
our files and that there will be no future "surprises" in this regard.
2. The review is to be conducted in accord with these general
guidelines, which have been prepared by the Inspector General.
3. The review within each directorate and separate operating
component will be the responsibility of that particular directorate
or separate operating component, the role of the Office of the
Inspector General being limited to that indicated in the following
paragraphs. On the completion of the review within his area of
responsibility, each deputy director and chief of separate operating
component will certify in writing to the Inspector General that a
review has been conducted in accord. with these guidelines, and will
report to the Inspector General the findings of that review.
4. The target date for completion of the Agency file review
and the reports to the Inspector. General is 10 May 1974. If a deputy
director or chief of separate operating component finds that he will
be unable. to meet that target date, he will consult with the Inspector
General on the setting of a new target date for his component.
5. The review must be comprehensive. This does not mean
that each and every piece of paper under the Agency's control must
be looked at and studied in this review. It does mean that all files,
including those in archives, in field offices, in proprietaries, and
anywhere else, must be considered. It will be up to the manage-
ment of each directorate or separate operating component to determine
what specific files must be physically searched and read, and what
files need not be so reviewed. For example, it should not be nec-
essary in this review to search anew through files which are known
to contain nothing but past issues of finished intelligence publications.
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In making this determination about any given set of files, however,
each management level must bear in mind that the term "Watergate"
has with the passage of time come to cover a wide range of topics,
events, and personalities, including much historical data. In para-
graph 8 below, is a list of subjects which are to be considered in
particular. This list has been prepared as a guide for the review.
It should not be used, however, as reason for excluding other
material which, while it may not come properly under any of the
headings given, may nonetheless be related to "Watergate" in the
broadest sense of the word.
6. Any material relevant to "Watergate" (in the sense indicated
above) found in component files will be forwarded to the Inspector
General. In some cases (e. g. , if a given file or set of files is found
to contain significant quantities of relevant materials), a component
may find it desirable to segregate certain files for review by rep-
resentatives of the Office of the Inspector General.
a. Whenever there is doubt as to whether something
should be forwarded to the Inspector General or otherwise
called to his attention, the doubt should be resolved by for-
warding the material to or otherwise notifying the Inspector
General..
b. Any operationally sensitive material which require
special handling may be discussed directly with the Inspector
General.
7. The requirements of paragraph 6 above do not apply to
press clippings or to any material which has already been brought
to the attention of the Inspector General since the beginning of his
office's ''Watergate" investigation, i. e. , since 14 May 1973.
S. . Following is a list of subjects which must be considered
in this file review. As indicated above, this list is not necessarily
all-inclusive and should not be regard as such. The entire list
should be considered within all components, even though the file
search on some topics will be more narrowly targetted.
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a. Watergate Break-in(s)
This heading covers the June 1972 surreptitious entry
into the Democratic National Headquarters at Watergate,
the subsequent arrests, and any and all information connect-
ing the Agency in any way to preparations for the break-in(s)
in June 1972 or earlier, the individuals involved, and the
alleged cover-up efforts.
The "individuals involved" includes but is not limited
to those listed in the attachment to 23 May 1973 Memorandum
for All Employees, "Agency Involvement in the Watergate
Case":
H. R. Haldeman
John Ehrlichman
John Dean
Egil Krogh
David Young
E. Howard Hunt
G. Gordon Liddy
James W. McCord
Charles W. Colson
John J. Caulfield
Eugenio Rolando Martinez Careaga
Juan Rigoberto Ruiz Villegas
Bernard L. Barker
Virgilio Gonzales
Frank Anthony Sturgis
b. Daniel Ellsberg
This covers any and all information in Agency files
related to Ellsberg, including the requests for and
preparation of the profiles on Ellsberg, the case of the
so-called Pentagon Papers, damage assessments, Agency
associations, the Ellsberg trial,
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c. Hank Greenspun
This covers any and all information in Agency files
reflecting any knowledge of the alleged break-in, or plans
for such, of the files of Hank Greenspun or of the newspaper
in Las Vegas with which he is associated.
STATINTL
The review here will be limited, at least initially,
to a check of DDO European Division files and records,
if any, on the request of Howard Hunt in 1971 to a former 25X1A
chief of European Division for information or background
the
be aval able
The Inspector
General will consult directly with the Deputy Director for
Operations regarding the review on this subject.
25X1A e. Other Requests by_ -
25X1A
This covers any information available- regarding any
requests by_for Agency assistance on any matter
f. National Elections of 1972
This covers any records that might reflect any Agency
knowledge, however obtained, reflecting activity related
to the national elections of 197 2, including intelligence
support for candidates, security activity related in any
way to political conventions or other meetings, campaign
mail, support of other governmental organizations in
connection with the campaigns and the elections, and
political activities of any sort by Agency personnel beyond
that of a legal and clearly personal nature (e. g. , personal
contributions to candidates).
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possibly a file review in the Office of Finance. The time
frame for material.on this subject will be calendar 1972.
The Inspector General will consult directly with the Deputy
Director for Operations and the Director of Finance with
regard to the review on this subject.
Howard Hughes
This covers any and all information connecting the
Agency or Agency personnel with Howard Hughes or any
of his enterprises.
k. Robert Vesco
This covers any and all information connecting the
Agency or Agency personnel with Robert Vesco or any of
his enterprises.
1. Robert Maheu
This covers any and all information connecting the Agency
or Agency personnel with Robert Maheu or any of his
enterprises.
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M. Joint Operations
The review here should cover joint FBI, NSA, or
Secret Service operations or activities which the Agency
or Agency personnel knew about, supported, or participated
in that might bear on or be related to the various aspects
of what is known as "Watergate, " including CIA support
for Secret Service security activities in connection with
the 1972 national elections.
9. Questions regarding these guidelines or the review called
for may be referred directly to in the Office ofSTATINTL
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Agency-Watergate File Review
Proposed Action Plan
Objective: To conduct an effective file review program, coupled with a
selective interview program, to comply with the Director's request for a
review of Agency files for material connected in any way with Watergate.
The review must be conducted on a timely basis, provide an assurance of
comprehensiveness, and be thrifty of manpower and other resources.
Proposed methodology: The designation of responsible officers for the
organization and conduct of the review; the review of record descriptors
to exclude at the onset those records which clearly will not contain Water-
gate-related materials; the careful screening of those files whose descriptors
indicate that they have a marginal chance of containing Watergate-related
materials, and the thorough screening of those files whose descriptors
indicate a better than marginal chance of containing Watergate-related
materials. As key officials are identified who are in the best position to
have been directly or indirectly associated with activities identified by
the IG "WATERGATE - GUIDELINES FOR AGENCY FILE REVIEW", they will be inter-
viewed to see if they can provide further clues from their memory of what
occurred. Certification shall be provided to the IG of the results of the
above actions.
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Discussion: A responsible individual shall be appointed and charged with
the conduct of this file search at each appropriate managerial level. The
appointment below that of Office level shall be the decision of the Office
Director and will reflect the complexity of the record organization of the
Office. The individual thus selected should be knowledgeable of the working
style of the Office, its substantive actions, and its methods of recording
information, both formal and informal. In conjunction with the component
Records Management Officer, he shall review the Records Control Schedule,
Vital Records Schedule, and related records identification materials of that
component to identify the records contained in the office, the Records Center
and Agency Archives which are: a) highly unlikely to contain Watergate-related
materials; b) may contain such materials; and c) are likely to contain
materials. Group A will be identified and excluded from further review.
A record will be maintained of the records sets involved and the volume of
material concerned. At the conclusion of the file review program, a certifi-
cation will be made to the responsible officer for the Directorate that this
material was excluded, based on descriptors and the conscious decision of
responsible officials who will be identified. Group B will be screened by
knowledgeable individuals from the component concerned. If Watergate-related
materials are found, copies shall be forwarded to the IG. At the conclusion
of the review of Group B, a similar certification shall be forwarded. The
same general procedures will be followed with Group C, which shall be a
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careful and thorough review of designated files by knowledgeable and responsible
officers of the component concerned. Copies will be provided to the IG of any
Watergate-related materials found, and certification procedures will be followed.
Any interviews which uncover Watergate-related materials shall be transcribed,
approved by the interviewee for accuracy and forwarded to the IG.
At the conclusion of the file review program for the Directorate,
the responsible officer for the Directorate shall advise the IG the volume
of records in each group and the action taken (excluded, screened, reviewed
or provided the IG). The responsible individual shall also provide the IG
with a certification that the actions were taken carefully and consciously
by responsible officers.
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11 April 1974
SUBJECT: Meeting on Search for Watergate-Related Records,
11 April, 1000-1130 Hours
STATINTL 1. The meeting was held in the DDI Conference Room. It STATINTL
was chaired by of the IG Staff.
The DDI was represented byand the DDS&T was representffATINTL
STATINTL by the DDO, since it has no Directorate-wide coordinator,
was represented by individuals from several components (perhaps 10
were in attendance); and I sat in for STATINTL
2. The IG representatives were asked if they could clarify the
guidelines. They admitted that the definitions were vague, even as
to the scope of "Watergate," but they were unable to add much to
what had been stated in the 26 March 1974 memo. The exercise was
to be: conducted on a decentralized basis, with each component
determining how to conduct the file review and exercising its best
judgment as to what materials might be pertinent. It had been felt
unwise to even fix cutoff dates. They did stress that the term "records"
should be construed broadly, to include such items as notes and
appointment calendars. In case guidance was needed on a particular
document or file, the question should be put to - on an ad hoSTATINTL
basis. "Hot" documents should be surfaced at once, rather than
waiting until 10 May. The IG Staff was no nterested in any materials
or information reported a year ago in the survey conducted at that
time. If only small quantities of documents were uncovered by a
component, Xerox copies or the original documents should be forwarded
to the Staff. If, however, large files are involved, they should be left
in place, and a brief description of the contents should be forwarded
to the Staff. To the degree feasible, components should avoid forwarding
duplicate copies of documents to the IG Staff. For example, if X
division uncovered a pertinent memo received from Y division, X
division should communicate this fact to Y division and reach agree-
ment on which of the two components should report it. (One DDO
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