CIA WON'T BE ALLOWED TO STUDY FRANK CHURCH PAPERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000201190003-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 6, 2010
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: December 29, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/06: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201190003-7
UNITED PRESS 1N1EKNA11UNAL~
29 December 1984
CIA WON'T BE ALLOWED TO STUDY FRANK CHURCH PAPERS
BY STEVE GREEN
BOISE, IDAHO
Boise State University has shunned a Reagan administration suggestion, that
federal officials look for sensitive information in the papers of tie late Idaho
Sen. Frank Church, a school official said Friday.
Church -- whose Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committees
uncovered CIA plots to assassinate Fidel Castro and overthrow the government
of Chile -- donated his private papers to Boise State before he died of cancer
in April.
University Librarian Tim Brown denied a Newsweek report that the school had
flatly denied a CIA request to study Church's documents to ensure national
security secrets won't be made public.
''No request came so there was no request refused,'' Brown said. ''No one has
shown any sensitive information is there.
''The Newsweek story makes news where there is none, it is substantially
inaccurate,'' he said. ''It was never clear that the CIA had much
involvement.''
The Newsweek story, in the magazine's Dec. 31 issue, said the university
balked at the request, and said the CIA and the Reagan Administration are
looking for other ways to gain access to the files.
Brown said Steven Garfinkel, director of the Information Security Oversight
Office -- an arm of the. General Services Administration - suggested this fall
that federal agents review the documents to ensure national security information
is not made public.
Brown said he did not know if Garfinkel was acting in behalf of the CIA,
and no formal request was made for access to the documents.
The librarian said he told Garfinkel there probably is no sensitive
information in Church's documents, which have yet to be cataloged.
And Brown said he told Garfinkel Boise State would protect the
confidentiality of sensitive documents, if any are found.
''I haven't heard from him since,'' he said, adding ''I occasionally hear a
rumor that the ' CIA' is still interested."
The university. could not have allowed federal officials to review the files,
even if the school agreed to the suggestion, Brown said.
''It is not my place to say yea or nea, it will not be for a couple of years,
if people want to look at the papers it is up to Mrs. (Bethine) Church, who
retains the right to give permission to examine the papers,'' he said.
Brown said he was not aware of any requests from the government to Mrs.
Church for permission to look at the documents.
Continued
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/06: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201190003-7