BUT WHEN YOU'RE NOT A SPY...

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00845R000100160054-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 14, 2010
• Sequence Number: 54
• Publication Date: November 22, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14: CIA-RDP90-00845R000100160054-1 1
STAT
t- 1.: .
ARTiCT"-
Oil PAG3__-
Michael Ledeen ` _
I; hope, that.-in the current- debate
over writers and publications, that "re-
veal". the identities of CIA agents-we
will not lose sight of the inndcent.vic
time. It seems to have.becomean arti-
:c1e of faith that publications specializ.-
ing in unmasking Amerit intelli=
gence officials working .undercover al-
'ways get their man.. In the discussion
--to date,.rhave nowhere seen the sug-
gestion tit concern should. shown
for those individuals. incorrec ly ac=.
-cured of working. for the inte 'gene
,community. It is a serious oversi L:-.
_ As things stand, publicatio A that
ac use Americans-of being espionage:
agents can do so with'relative~~ puri-
ty, even when there is only scanty evi-
dence-if that-to support the 4harge-, ,
My own case may serve as an example.
Nearly two years ago, the "Covert Ac
tion Information Bulletin".descr&d me -
as a "crypto-jou realist who orchestrated
CIA . manipulations ~ of the: media -in
Chile and in Italy." The charge i9 false,
and I was alarmed by the possible con
sequences of its publication.
First, of course, there is the damage
to. one's reputation and career, i these
charges frequently come back to haunt
one if they are not dealt with firmly
and convincingly.
Second, there is the risk to life and
limb- I spend a good deal of time
worldng on and in Italy, and there are
some Italians who feel inclined to take
violent action' against presumed for=
eign agents.: After unsuccessfully . at-
tempting to _ convince- the authorsof
this charge tha# they had made a mrs
take, I talked to a lawyer.
The lawyer.told me that'one could
sue for libel, and undoubtedly win..
But it was unlikely that any damages
would `ever -be"collected..and, - in. the
meantime, I would have to put up a
considerable 'sum to cover expenses;
?'(we would likely have to 'travel'-to..
Rome and Santiago for, depositions,
pay stenographers, Xerox documents,
etc.). E,,en if. he took the case-pro
Bono, I would have to be prepared to
spend;$15,000 to $20,000. I couldn't
raise themoney and, after three unan-.
s _~~.e.w~red l /etters tsoA tthe ACLU askiing-for::
` e, I gave {rp.
since then,,rve discussed the ques--.
tion with many.people,-and I haverun
THE WASHINGTON POST
22 December 1980
across' a fair number of government
employees .who have also been incor-
rectly branded as "spies." When they
tried to sue, they found themselves in
a predicament even more frustrating
than mine: they were asked by their;
superiors in the State Department and:
the Pentagon to remain silent If the'
it was pointedout, the
innocent sued
,
".unmaskers" could draw the conclu-
sion that the non-suers were actually
intelligence "agents. Enemy agents
could do the same.
` So what are the innocent to do?
Like most journalists and editors, I
would_deplore legislation that made it
a crime to write accurately about any
and all `intelligence- activities. There
are . certainly occasions on which the i
public should be informed of the ac-1
tions of the intelligence community.
But it is intolerable that sensation-
seeking writers and publications can
make irresponsible accusations with
little fear of paying a penalty.
The most reasonable remedy for the
current situation is to penalize the sort
of dangerous nonsense that sometimes
passes for expose. This means that the
courts must be empowered to take ac-
tion against those authors and publica-
tions that fail to observe proper stand-
ards. If investigative journalists and
editors feel strongly about a story that'
labels an American an intelligence
agent, let them be sufficiently scrupu-
lous in their research-and their check-
ing-to - withstand a challenge. The
charge is serious enough'to warrant
substantial penalties for irresponsible
use, and these penalties should include
a requirement ttat the offending party
pay the court costs of the damaged per-
son. In this way, even poor persons'
falsely accused of espionage can take
legal action against their accusers.
I don't pretend to know what should .~
constitute an effective penalty, but I
hope that those members of Congress
discussing this matter will devise an
appropriate one. If carefully designed,
such legislation would greatly restrain
the zeal of many of the self-proclaimed
"'whistle . blowers" and make it less
likely 'that. private citizens, and . civil
servanfs will be exposed- to "consider-
able danger merely because there is no
way to .enforce reasonable standards t
on writers and editors. `' -- J
The writer is executive editor of
The Washington Quarterly.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14: CIA-RDP90-00845R000100160054-1