TWO IN VIETNAM SPY CASE LOSE APPEAL BUT MAY BE GIVEN NEW TRIAL ANYWAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000606770009-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: July 19, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/20 :CIA-RDP90-005528000606770009-8
':? j s `~
CiLr - -----__:.+
? .. By Ed.Brus~e -.
tecday the? espionage= convictions: of a i
forcimer ?U.S.: Information Agency. offs-.!
cer:'and'?a`ti'ietnatnese expatriate'who'~
were;found.-gui,lty..t?o--Years-ago `of
funnelina?: classified=-U.S.`-?documentss?
to?the Sociall~tRepubii~of Vietnam
.Therulin?o was:made;)vrth a;condc
_tion, howwer,that could result. m a=-
f ~:
.new~trial?foc the=.two ,- ;.
~~The ~th'U S , Circuit. Courts:of ~ 4p-
-?~:..
peals':- n.,Richmond: rejected.sconten-.
'bons by s; Ronald? `~ Humphrey-? Ind
~David;Truon that.tgovernment e~'i-
?d ence,:'gathereil' by 'warrant? ess -wi? e=;
etaps wand:; ~used~, against -them;; should.,
~nok have?been..admitted;in their cele-?
,' , ~ -,
;'~?But : the .Richmond appeals' cour~'
also..ruled.ahat District Judae Alber,,
=Y. ;,Bryan-:Jr , ,; of`'Alexandria:_ should
shavean~oppo tunity- to :review:- some-~
~inaterials>submitted bye the prosecu
=lion 1ate;in ;the?trial. . -: ? . ?? ? .>
~~ ~Ig:,gryan.'rules?that defense.lawyers
`should have,been?~able~ao see -theima=:
iterials~.before~;they.F.were::used, h~_
'could order,a new tnal the caui't salt'
-~Rnth~Humohrey:and,Truong:face 15-
;?y2arpri or1~^sentences:~;in.`?the case:
;They have,;been-:free.on_bond since
'theaummer of :1978'pendmg their ap-
.~Neithe t..Humphre,~ :nor Truong
,could be ~reached.for comment yester-:
"day'.'Tiieir lawyers,-~wha~said they had
'not:read~?tlie 'appellate~couri:'s~6'T-pave
'~opinion;,declined to comment ' ' `~:
='=~~The.trial?;was the?=only'~orie of, iYS~
~j;ind?,to'result;from:the war.'in "Viet-
"narrr.> and="lasted' for =three=s drariiatic
":ivee'~c? in.=Alexandria's~;fedeal=court:-
.`house: ' '; -t,,..~-.. n;. ~.-? ;,
:rt~If'?pitted'_?one?rman's love`- for ?'a
woman? he had` met in~war and?:an-
3other marr'~s~love: for:his homeland,
- against fedQral?government~efforts to
;cra~'k?dowi}:on:leals.of classified dot-?~
:,It;questioned,the.president's right-
to,?order.~yiretaps and .clandestine tele-
':wigion~. rapine :without ? a .warrant,; and
starred= a:wietnamborn "informant,
paid'by.theCIA'and?FBI .,,-;, r;,<
~= ;~Vhen;the.verdictwas;deliyered, ju-'.
' i 'the defendants'
'rocs:wept alone w th , ~~
'fa`milies .:. ; , _ _. ~ ... ~.ri ~ ,,;-
.~u~imnhrev=admitted passing" classi-
Truorig, ? whose -father once . cam-
paigned as? a peace czndidate for the
.presidency of--Vietnam,. admitted aiv- .
"in, the rilaterials?to a courier foi de-
livery to .Vietnam representatives in
Party ~ ;_r - i ,: '_. - -
-?' But both defeudan~s stzadily main=_
taired. they avere : heyer, spies, ,that
they had,. for "different reasons, tried
only to improve relations between the
United:States.and?V"ietnam >--
`=: Based. on information ?supplzed by
the courier,.a.-paid informant workiro
for the -CI9~ and FBI, they- :were_ar-:
rested.in anuary ~ ~ . ~ ~ --,
Humphrey testified that he worked
}vith ;Truong. to-.secure: the release
from Vietnam~of a young woman and' I
her-children-a woman who had saved
hi; life there,`- Humphrey said,:, and III
with whom he had fallen in love.
- -?The , woman, =,.whom ~IumpiireY
called`Iiim; laier bec~me`liis common=
la:v wife.~fIe testified thaf.. they first
met iri .1969-when' lie .~r-as assigned to
:Yietnam;,and that".she had saved:.his!
Iife by warning him of a Vietcong at I
tack =. ~' ;~~ , ~ ~ 11
-?Bu~-,Kim became trapped there. in
'I97~-:)chile: attempting';to bring' her;
.five children out~of the country::
'~.:'I had one preoccupation `:and 4h~t
ray to ~ get their. out `of 'Vietrzm ::-I,
:knew-I:owed my.:life?'to Kim,",Hum=.
phre_v told tlie,'Jury, and,,,a, :packed.;
?courtrooin ' in ?~Alsiandri a. ' "I'-felt; ah at ;
whatever?I ivas~doing "in~life;ivouldn'E:
be fulfilledunless'L got'that family." I
.{;~He said that ~?his -dove ::for.-Kim ?;
caused hibn~"to_lose,~his;;iud~men -~nd?
tha* tie began~givilig'' classified dote=
'men s-fo`Truoag:-`Kim arrived din .ths~j
country.two months':before.Rumphrey
was:arreste > '? >~
? :'Truong ha3~gc~wn up~-the Sori of ~~I-'
ci:nam's leading'.Rotarian;;?who:'~was~
~iailed briefly under.~the:Diem;:regiirie?
:and:who later~was~defeated ?in.-a'bid
?iar ~; ?the -~ country s,;~:, presidency : by
Nguwen Van.Thieu ~ -_'. `..
. At the age of 19, Truong was sent {o
Stanford University~in ,California and
~became`active?.'in~.the antiwar:~mov,e;
ment.'In 1368, columnist Drew: Pearson
said-of him -~"Of the aeveral;'million~
youngsters ~n `: ,this ' eountry;urging
peace in :Vietnam, probably the most:
;..
effective'is'David:Truong" ' '~~ `.'I
?it ...oc 4},-,.?ni,'Auo.~~n., ih~P~Tr?n nn'v'I
~9 ~ul;r ~9b0
--tion~ Ageacp office to-Truon? a lobby-
' gist. on Capitol Hill who-had been-a'
..,, _ _
'Truong stayed. in this country af?ter,~
the Saigon government cell. in 197J
and .was active in several organize-!
fives urging reconciliation between thei
U.S. and ~~ietnarnes~ gover-nmears ~`
The FBI sa:d" that Truong-began
awing classified ~dccuments,to douhle~
agent Dnn~ Ii-ail in 19'i7 Kraal =tasti-
fied that she delivered tho : materials
to Vietnamese renresentatives ?rinl
Paris. - -
'Based on i,~ormatior_ supplied by
%Kraal, President Carter authorized the'
opening of packages from Truong ~
without a warrant. The Justice De-
partment authorized a warrantless tap
on T. uong s p'rore and a'.;coneealed
.'.television'.-.camera =.vas`s inst311ed : in
Humphrey s office ". .`" --r
'?Humphrey and, Truong argued con-
~siste-i~ly:;that the?inaterialsthey avere
fiinne,iria to ~ e,rani. were insi?nifi
cant ~liat TM~uc:i oT .~ was already pub
.'lic kuoivledge: ana did not desen e to;
be classifiel : - - :~~ _:- , ;
'i~So*ne of : ~t ~.as found to ?~be press.'
clippings,. and 'a' portion of ori2 docu=~
men~tivas?labeled as `'gossip but f'ob`,
erni~anf='attorneys ~~.ai'Qtled;~that ~.tlie
:classifi-d cao.es_revea a ?intelLgence;
sources'e'nd-fireatened'TJ~ seci.."ity
n:ups o ine one con~~lcuon~tF-e.2p
'
rc~?ay; "T.i~e.neels:
peaTs=court aid y-este
~~
?ofahe. ezecuEive a*e'.so:~cornAeIIing zn'
"
?
:i:he urea-.oz *orelen- in ee
Il%ence, un
li!:e tthe-;'area-.-o- a mo es~cr=secunty,i
"
`the a Lmtorni :wa
r~r_requiiement?
~voul~ ~?ui;dily
~-i:strate`;t e?'.Presi=
~dert:iii,carry~ oar hihi9foreign of =.
:fairs iespolisihlitiPs:':~,r'r' _ ., ,,,.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/20 :CIA-RDP90-005528000606770009-8