CASEY CLEARED BY JUSTICE DEPT. IN AGENT REGISTRATION MATTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404440150-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 29, 2010
• Sequence Number: 150
• Publication Date: April 9, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404440150-1
ARTICLE AYPE-A IED
o PAGZ
`. 9vsnsngton roeesacr wrier '
The' Justice ' Departtment ? yester
day announced it, has found no ev-
idence that CIkDirector William J.
Casey violated the.-foreign` agents
registration law- in 1976, when as
private lawyer he represented the
government of Indonesia in a matter
before the Treasury Department and
the Internal Revenue- Service.'
?.?;R '
' In a seven-page report to the spe-
cial prosecutor division- of `the U.S.:
.Court of Appeals, Attorney General
William French: Smith cc nclu$ed-
"At all times, the fact that Mr..Casey
was - representing ' Indonesia - was
made clear to those officials' with
whom be was dealing. The evidences
does not support a conclusion that at
any time Mr. Casey "sought to per-.
suade or influence officials to change
any agency policy.";,'',.`
The attorney general said the de-
partment's investigation --.,.was
prompted by a Jan.7, 1982, -Wash;
ington Post article,-which. disclosed
that Casey had met with then Treas=
?ury Secretary William E. Simon.and'
his -tax policy. deputy, Charles: M.
Walker, to enlist their aid in revers;
ruling that adversely affected,:
scan oil companies doing business in
Indonesia.
The issue ; ,,of.4;whether. Casey
;.should have.registered as a foreign
1agent was first raised,by the Senate
Intelligence Committee; which con-
:ducted an inquiry into Casey's finan=
li
l d
ngs last Ma...
via
ea
f ="i That inquiry '1f6 und `that Casey
had failed to disclose substantial fi "
naneial holdings' and"a number of
former legal clients;r but concluded'
that he "was riot unfit to serve" as ,
"
"
ZY !? ? 4
'
LCIA director.
THE WASHINGTON POST
9 April 1982
'
eusce 1, e
pard by Jti
Registration IY!attex;'
In addition;Sen Daniel' Patrick
Moynihan ?(DN.Y.), who issued the
committee's. report last December,:
recommended 'that the Justice De-
partmentr review the registration
Moynihan said through- a spokes-
man yesterday, "Evidently, Mr.
.Casey has satisified the Department
of Justice, so the matter is closed."
The foreign agents act requires
that any person who represents the
interests `'of a foreign government
before U.S:'agencies, seeking changes
in of icial 'policies, must publicly reg-
ister at the'Justice Department.
In its report on the Casey matter,
the department said, "Because there
is no dispute that Mr. Casey was anagent representing a foreign princi-
pal before. officials of the United
States agencies, and that he was not
registered with the attorney general,
'the focus of this inquiry centered on
whether or not his representation
fell within one of the established ex
emptionsto the registration require--
ment.".i'.~
Under ''the "attorney , exemption"
of the; Foreign ' Agents' Registration `
;Act, .. la *yers representing'. foreign
clients do not have to register if their.
representation is done it the course .
of established agency. proceedings,.
-whether formal or informal!'!-*"
.. The. = Justice Department-. con-
cluded.that Casey's work for Indo-
nesiafell .within this exemption:
"Thus,' so, Ong as an attorney's rep
resentationis limited to. negotiations
with agency officials within. -the con
text of established policies 'and pro-"I
L cedures, grid the client's identity is
disclosed to the agency officals by
;,the.attorney there is-no registration
tPAi11tP1'nBntr.:.-?,:}:?::i~+x+~~-
`' WILLIAM X- CASEY''
:.: TepZeeeeate1} OgeelSD gomnmeot
Casey was counsel to* the New
York law firm Rogers & Wells in the
mid-1970s after holding several sen-
ior government posts in the Nixon
.and Ford administrations. "`
` In 1977, a year-after Casey and
another' partner at Rogers & Wells,-
Peter.R. Fisher, worked on the In
donesian account, the law firm reg-
istered as a foreign agent for Indo-
nesia and Fisher registered individ-
ually.
A spokesman for, the firm said'
later that it had registered out of an
abundance of caution.
Casey, with the help of Simon and '
Walker, unsuccessfully tried to con-,
vine the IRS to ."precear" proposed
:changes in the Indonesian tax code.
The goal was to reinstate foreign`
tax. credits for the American oil com-`'
parties for taxes on oil produced in~
Indonesia. The IRS reversed its rul-
ing and reinstated the tax credits in
.1978.
A CIA spokesman said yesterday
that Casey had'no comment oii-.the.:.
II Justice Department_-decisioir._: %? ~: L;:
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404440150-1