FBI SAYS ITS SPY IN KGB

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90-00552R000404610021-5
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RIPPUB
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K
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3
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
July 19, 2010
Sequence Number: 
21
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Publication Date: 
September 3, 1981
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OPEN SOURCE
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404610021-5 -c . .STAT ARTICLE APFEA? -----; PAGE VJ \.S HII`I GTM1 FOST 3 =)eptember 1931 ;1 Says Its Spy in ${~B By George LardnerJr. The case has all sorts of permu- washmgton toicstaU Writer- tations. Much of the fallout concerns When the Nixon .'administration Yuri Ivanovich Nosenko, a onetime was in court a decade. ago in an ef- KGB officer who has been a bone of fort to cut off publication of the contention since he defected to this Pentagon Papers, the White House country in 1964 with.claims that he was told that a complete set of the had been in charge of the KGB' file top-secret documents, had. been de- on-, President.. Kennedy's assassin, livered to the Soviet Embassy. Lee Harvey Oswald. The--FBI- and- the-.-Nixon White Nosenko, who first offered to spy House were evidently convinced that fors the United States in 1962, had the report was accurate. It had come once said he 'would never defect; but. from "Fedora," a strategically placed then told his CIA contacts in Geneva KGB officer whom--the- FBI had 1964 that he had to defect at once been relying upon for years' as a trus- beciause he had received a cable from ,; .. Moscow' recalling him. He said he led counterspy. was afraid the.KGB had learned of The information.-he provided in in his; with ith the CIA.: this instance helped prompt forma- his;con his post the Cin the Soviet lion of,the infamous "White House apparatus at the U.N.,-Fedora of- later plumbers" unit whose operatives fered. confirmation, telling the FBI a?er carried out="the:`Watergate that-Nosenko had indeed.been sent break-in. President.. Nixon's efforts a recall'telegram, to curtail the .Watergate investiga- Nosenko also claimed to have lions were said to have been motive- .been a -lieutenant colonel- in the. ted in part by fears that "Fedora". KGB.. Fedora, who had . been would be exposed. ": providing information to the FBI It might have been better. if he since 1962, confirmed. that claim, had been: The.FBI-is now convinced that "Fedora" was.. a Soviet agent, Subsequently, however, Nosenko acknowledged under hostile ques- acting under Moscow s control dur- tioning.by CIA officers that his talk ing. all the years he fed:information of a; recall telegram had been a lie to the bureau.,. and'so-:was his claim of colonel's The startling new assessment -of -rank::He- had been only a KGB cap- "Fedora," until now a closely held tarn and' had lied,. he said, to exalt- secret, is disclosed in a forthcoming gerate his importance. article in the. October Reader's Di-' Before long, Nosenko found him- gest and has been ? confirmed in- self imprisoned by the CIA for some dependently by The Washington ? five-years,-three of them in. solitary Post, confinement, but he- never ; broke The secret conclusion-was based down and was finally rehabilitated in to some degree.on,new informs- 1968. He - became a consultant for tion," said one official familiar with the agency, collecting some $500,0001 th t i e FBAs coun onage r,&LVL .- eresp "It's an incredible' business ... an salaries, ' -bonuses, resettlement ex- incredible chess game that'you have penses and other payments. to play." Fedora, by contrast, appears to The new 'finding about Fedora, who was stationed at the United Na- have had nothing but smooth sailing with the FBI despite his corrobora- lions as aSovief diplomat, also tion. of Nosenko s admitted Is. raises unsettling questions about the "When we started up witht'edora, the bureau. held very strong views credentials: of other supposed Soviet-' that- he was legit,." one former intel- defectors, especially :tfiose whose s_ to-" ligence; :official. recalled. yesterday. Flea Fedora backedup_ -- Of course there was a-minority that "If one falls; others must -fall," felt the other way, but not. many.".. contends the Digest-aarticle by_roving "Much zof` what, Fedora said over editor HenryHurt, "creating- havoc inside intelligence services where the years was, ? in turn," conveyedl crucial anal and long-term directly- to the White House, enhan Y _ plans einv his _ nnsitinn_ sources. said. fore the Supreme Court. Some cri- tics regarded it as a White House effort to influence the ccurt's deci- sion, albeit an unsuccessful one. In any case, according to a Dec- 9, 1973, New York Times article, Pres. ident Nixon developed.fears, report- edl9 nourished by his'then-national .security adviser Henry A. Kissinger, that Daniel Ellsberg, the man who had leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press, might have provided the Soviets with far more important se- crets, especially concerning nuclear targeting plans. . Some intelligence officials were l reportedly stunned that Fedora's word should be so readily accepted,! without any further evidence. Skep-1 tics such as. CIA counterintelligence chief James J. Angleton had long regarded the Russian as an agent provocateur.. But the White House wasn't Iisteniug. "This could be a classic case of an- agent sowing disruption at the high- est levels of government,", Hurt sug- gested in a telephone interview.. Fresh- doubts were finally stirred in 1978, primarily about Nosenko but also about Fedora, with the pu-1 blication of a book by Edward Jay Epstein called "Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald." It j questioned the loyalty of both Rus- sians. Subsequent investigation by the House Assassinations Committee showed that Nosenko had also lied about Lee Harvey Oswald and'made.l CONTIN61ED may-nave Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404610021-5 IR1'ICL Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404610021-5 VIP,SHB lSTO T FOST 3 September 1931 By George Lardner.Jr.:. t /vh i n-Aton Pont Staff Wrtt.r- When the Nixon.'administration was in court a decade ago in an ef- fort to cut off publication of the, Pentagon Papers, the White House was told that a complete set of the top-secret documents- had been de- livered to the Soviet Embassy.' The'-FBI- and- thw;.Nixon: White House were evidently convinced that the report was accurate. It had come from "Fedora," a strategically- placed KGB officer `whom the- FBL'had been relying upon-for'years as a trus- ted counterspy The information he provided-- in this instance helped. prompt forma-' tion -of. the infamous-"White House plumbers" unit= ;whose opeiatives later carried ':out,- the-'-Watergate break-in. President,Nixon's-efforts. to curtail the- Watergate investiga- tions were said to have been motiva- ted in part by. fears that "Fedora". would be exposed =`- It might have been better if he had been..The? FBI-is now convinced. .that "Fedora" .. Was-, a' Soviet agent, .acting under. Moscow's control dur- ing all the years he fed.Jnformation to the bureau. a" The startling new assessment-of "Fedora,". until: now a -closely- held secret, is disclosed in a forthcoming article in the October- Reader's Digest and has - been-confirmed in- dependently., by. The Washington Post. The secret conclusion-was based "to some degree,'-on,,, new informs= Lion," said one official familiar with the -FBI's counterespionage effo"rt;- "It's an incredible business ... an incredible chess game that 'you have to play." ,The new 'finding about Fedora, who was stationed at the United Na- tions as a . Soviet diplomat, also raises unsettling questions about the credentials of other supposed Soviet-, defectors, especially those whose sto ries Fedora backed. up "If one falls;. others must -fall,'. contends the Digest article by- roving- editor- Henry Hurt,, "creating --havoc inside intelligence services where crucial analyses and long-term plans may-have been built'upon the sup- poeed reliability_ofthese solaces,T,-, The case has all sorts of permu- I Cations. Much of the fallout concerns Yuri Ivanovich Nosenko, a onetime KGB officer who has been a bone of contention since he defected to this country in 1964 with-claims that he had been in charge of the KGB' file on : President. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. Nosenko, who first offered to spy fort the- United States in 1962, had once saidhe'would never defect, but then told his CIA contacts in Geneva in 1964 that he had to defect at once because he had received a cable from Moscow' recalling him. He said he was afraid the-.KGB had learned of hisjcontacts with the CIA. From 'his _ post within the Soviet ;apparatus. at the U.N., 'Fedora of- fered, confirmation, telling the FBI that' Nosenko. had indeed .been- sent a recall telegram. :Nosenko also claimed to have :been a :lieutenant colonel in the KGB..- Fedora;' who had. been providing- information to the FBI since ~ 1962 confirmed ` that claim, '=> too: Subsequently, howsver,- Nosenko acknowledged under hostile ques- tioning;.by CIA officers that his talk of a: recall telegram had been -'a lie and ''so-; was his claim- of colonel's rank.:He had been only,a KGB cap- tain and had lied,, he said, to exalt- gerate his importance. Before long, Nosenko found him- self imprisoned by the CIA for some five -years,, three of them in.-solitary confinement,. but he. never; broke down and was finally rehabilitated in 1968. He -became a consultant for the agency, collecting some $500,000 over' the next decade in consultant salaries,'-bonuses, resettlement ex- penses and other payments. Fedora, by' contrast,.. appears to have had nothing but smooth sailing 'with the FBI despite his corrobora- tion of Nosenko's admitted lies. - 1 "When we started up-with'edora, the bureau held very strong views that he was legit," one former intel- ligence;:official. recalled yesterday. "Of course there-was a-minority that felt the other way, but not many:..''. Much "of, what' Fedora said over the-ryears was,-: in turn, ? conveyed directly to the White House, enhan cing position, sources; said. ."..There is no' question the.. informa- ' tion would always go to the highest' levels," said one expert. "That gave it a great deal of prominence." By the time of the Pentagon Papers incident in 1971, editor Hurt said in a telephone interview, Fedora was "regarded as a knight in shining armor. And he was telling the FBI which was telling Nixon that a copy of the Pentagon Papers had been delivered to the Soviet - Embassy. Nixon & Co. accepted the report without question." In .fact, word of the alleged de livery was quickly published by al conservative columnist with close ties to the White House while the Pentagon Papers case.was still be- fore the Supreme Court. Some cri tics regarded it as a White House effort to influence the ccurt's deci- sion, albeit an unsuccessful one. 1 In any case; according to a Dec. 9, 1973, New York Times article, Pres- :ident-Nixon developed. fears, report- edly nourished by his'then-national .security adviser Henry.A. Kissinger, that Daniel Ellsberg,. the man who had leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press, might have provided the Soviets with far more important se- creta, especially concerning nuclear targeting plans. Some intelligence-' officials were reportedly stunned. that Fedora's word should be so readily accepted, without any further evidence. Skep-~ tics such as. CIA 'counterintelligence chief James J. Angleton had long regarded the Russian as an agent provocateur.. But the, White House wasn't listening. "This could be a clasaic`ca-se of an agent sowing disruption at the high- est levels of government,`' Hurt sag- gested in a telephone interview. . - Fresh- doubts were finally stirred in 1978, primarily about Nosenko but also about Fedora, with the pu-{ blication of a book by Edward Jay Epstein called "Legend: The Secret i, World of Lee Harvey Oswald." It questioned the loyalty of both Rus- sians. Subsequent investigation by the House Assassinations Committee showed that Nosenko had also lied about Lee Harvey Oswald and made CONZTNVED Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404610021-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404610021-5 other claims..'concerning~'the Ken- nedy assassination, that even CIA officials found "incredible."- Nosenko..- had insisted, for in- stance, that the KGB had never even interviewed Oswald during his stay in the Soviet Union,.much less recruited him as' an agent. He also .once denied any KGB physical and technical -surveillance of Oswald in .Russia, but later conceded that Os- wald's file was crammed with Sur- 'Whenever you have an individual who claims to be a defector, you al- Way have a question about his bona always, said one official familiar with the process. _"you can say for 15 years that someone's 'great, but that doesn't take care of sthe 16th year. You've got to be con- y evaluating. For instance if you have a defector in 1975 and one in 1970, you ask the one who comes in in in 197190 7 " 5 about what was happening ' . If one fall s,:Others must fall,:creatin~ inside in elligence services where ' crud havoc analyses and long-term lans ma have built upon,tile su dp .1? ;: ; , ~' have been rr re iabll;ity of these, . sources." =? The CIA, however, stuck by senko in an unusual Sept.'21-, 1978, public statement calling. him "a wall' adjusted American citizen utilized as a consul tfint by CIA and .. melon a valuable contribution to, . our mis- sion.". . But the ' FBI, meanwhile, undertook a fresh assessment of Fe- dora. He had reportedly return ed by then to the Soviet Union, but files are kept in such cases of all the in- formation supplied by Such, spies, cl details on what proved to 11 true and what proved not to be The 'FBI's secret conclusion, .reached in 1980,- was that Fedora had been loyal to the KGB all along, including, Hurt emphasized, "the period when- he was giving urgent support to-,Nosenko." But the intel- ligence community, Hurt said, has yet to undertake a re-examination of ,such related cases and sources. Across the river, at Langley, the :CIA had nothing new to say. "It is our policy. not to make pub- lie comment 'on such intelligence matters," said CIA spokesman Dale Peterson. "CIA's statement on No- senko in" 1978, however, stands." Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404610021-5