CIA DUCKS AGAIN AND CIA OFFICIAL DISPUTES EDITORIAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000100430019-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 30, 2004
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: September 22, 1976
• Content Type: NSPR

8 1314R0
Approved For Releas i ? 0 " D A R W
ON PA Cl?
A letter on this page from is capacity" for U.S. news agen-
Andrew T. Falkiewicz, assistant to Gies. Previously, in a Feb. 11 state-
the director of the Central Intelli- rent, Bush had said that the CIA
gence Agency, complains about-would not have relationships with
"factual inaccuracies" in an Aug. anyone "accredited" to U.S. news
23 Register editorial about the CIA.: media.
The editorial criticized the C[A for.. The "accredited" qualifier left
ducking questions raised by the Na- the agency free to put on its payroll.-'
tidnal Conference of Editorial :free-lancers and others who
Writers and for not putting in -worked for U.S. publications but
writing a policy the agency had_, were not "accredited.," The CIA's
stated privately. statement to the National News
The chairman of the 'editorial Council that it would not: have ties
writers' organization wrote to CIA . to anyone' working in a "journalist-
Director Director George Bush cn three oc- is capacity" was an important ela-
casions. Each time, concern was boration, but, as we said-,.Aug, 23,
expressed about the planting by the the CIA did not put this iii writing.
CIA of false and misleading stories Falkiewicz's letter quot.i. g_ the oId
in foreign publications and. the .'"accredited" language `makes us
hiring by the CIA offoreign jour wonder whether. the CI \ considers
naIists. itself bound by what it told the
The CIA answered each Iettei'News Council.
but each response evaded both . Our Aug. 23 editorial also said:
questions. As the chairman of the "The agency has refused. to drop
editorial writers' group said at one- foreign journalists from its payroll
point, "The response, I am sorry to and has refused to stop using
say, was no response. at all." covert propaganda abroad. There
Bush refused to meet with repre is'no way to prevent phony stories
sentatives of the National Confer- planted abroad from being picked.
ence of Editorial Writers after first up by the U.S. news media."
agreeing to a meeting. CIA -offi- Readers-will note that Falkiew-
cials did meet with representatives. icz's letter does not. address these
of the National News Council. issues, as ' the CIA refused to =
At that meeting, CIA officials address. there when they were-
said the agency would not have ties raised earlier by the National Corr
to anyone working in a 'journalist- ference of Editorial Writers.
22 SEPTEMBER 1976
CIA official
To the Editor:
The Aug. 23 Register editorial, "faun- j
around by the CIA" has just bean'
brought to my attention.
There are important factual inac-
curacies in [the editorial]....
1. The extensive exchange of come--
spondence between senior officials of
the Central Intelligence Agency and
the National Conference of Editorial
Writers is anything but strategy of
"ignore the critics." We have no objec-~
tion to the recipient making-our letters
available to you for publication, so that
your readers can properly judge the?
extent' to which we have sought to
respond to "the concerns exjaressed by
the editorial writers."
2. The most cursory - but accurate'
reference to the published text of.
the director's statement of Feb. 11 _}
would have prevented your erroneous.
assertion that the CIA "has not put {
in writing? guidelines for the agency's
relations with "anyone working, in' a
journalistic capacity for _ U.S..news
agencies." The relevant quotation from .
the Feb- 11 statement is: ' .
"Effective immediately, CIA will not=
enter into any paid or contractual rela-
tionship with any full-time or part-time,{
news correspondent' accredited by any..,
U.S. news service, newspaper, periodi-.1.
cal, radio or television network rir
station." .
This represents a voluntary, _self-
imposed limitation on legitimate ac-
tivities of this agencygf the fed Tral
C01`ITINUED.
Approved For Release 2004/09/03 : CIA-RDP88-01314R000100430019-8