CASEY, NSA CHIEF APPEAL TO MEDIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000200710008-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: May 30, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP90-00965R000200710008-7
ARTICLE APPEARED
ON PAGE L-
BALTIMORE SUN
30 May 1986
Casey, NSA chief appeal to media
WASHINGTON (AP) - The directors of the Central
Ice Agency and the National Security Agency
gears yesterday and appealed to news organiza-
tions to cooperate in efforts to stem intelligence leaks
they claim have cost both human lives and billions of
taxpayer dollars.
CIA Director William J. Casey and the NSA chief, Lt.
Gen. William Odom, in a unique joint interview at CIA
headquarters. played down their recent threats of crimi-
nal prosecution against news organizations and even
backed slightly ail' a warning they had issued only the
night before to reporters covering the espionage trial of a
forma NSA communications expert. Ronald Pelton.
Mr. Casey General Odom and Mr. Casey's deputy,
Robert M. Gates agreed to the interview with the Associ-
'
d
wor
ated Press, in Mr. Gates
s, to
lower the noise level, turn down the
volume and have a serious dialogue."
"We haven't made ourselves al-
ways as clear as we might be." Mr.
Casey said. "And I think that cer-
tainly the press has been very hys-
terical about the thing. saying we're
trying to tear up the First Amend-
ment and scuttle the freedom of the
press. We're not trying to do that."
The intelligence officials appealed
to reporters working on stories that
involve intelligence-gathering tech-
niques to call the CIA for guidance
on which details might risk lives or
compromise expensive information-
gathering equipment.
"We're saying that you can write
about the whole range of national
security issues without revealing
unique, fragile national intelligence
sources." Mr. Gates said.
Mr. Casey added. "We will work
with you on that line. I wish you'd
make clear the narrow line we're
treading here and the sensitivity we
have to the broader rights and needs
and contributions of the press."
Mr. Casey and General Odom
said they were led to take their ex-
traordinary actions of the last sever-
al weeks because, General Odom
said, "A series of recent signals-intel-
ligence leaks over the last six
months is the most serious we can
remember in a long, long time."
Mr. Casey added. "Every method
we have of obtaining intelligence:
our agents. our relationships with
other intelligence services, our pho-
tographic, our electronic, our com-
munications capabilities have been
damaged. Every one of them has
been severely damaged by disclo-
sures of sensitive information that
lets our adversaries defeat those ca-
pabilities and to literally take them
away from us.
Mr. Casey and Mr. Gates both
said there were agents who had not
been heard from after disclosures in
this country. They declined to pro-
vide details.
The interview came after a White
House spokesman earlier in the day
had said reporters covering the Pel-
"How the press covers this trial is
a matter for the press to decide. not,
the government." agreed Benjamin-
Washington Post. Mr. Bradlee said
"after listening to the highest coun-
cils of government for a number of
months, we have acted responsibly
ton trial should not disclose informa- in balancing the national security
tion beyond what is released by the and the national interest. We will
government and that journalists in continue to do so."
general should not disclose classified James I. Houck, managing editor
Information. of The Sun. said. "While we under-
? Edward Djerejian, the spokes- stand and are sensitive to the gov-
man. said a statement Wednesday ernment's national security con-
by the CIA and the NSA cautioning cerns. we believe it's our res-
reporters not to speculate beyond in- ponsibility to our readers to cover
formation released at the Pelton trial the Pelton trial with the same ag-
had been,, cleared by President gressiveness that we would observe
Reagan's 6ational security advises, in covering any trial."
John Poindexter. Mr. Djerejfan On Wednesday. Mr. Casey and
added, "We are in full agreement General Odom had cautioned report-
with the threat of that statement-' ers at the Pelton trial in Baltimore
Newspaper and network officials
said yesterday they didn't view it as
the responsibility of the government
to counsel the media on how to cover
the news. None of them said they
intend to alter their coverage be-
cause of the administration's con-
cerns.
George Watson. an ABC vice
president and chief of its Washing-
ton bureau, said. "We have always
been attentive to situations where
disclosing information could clearly
damage the national security, but
the Pelton case does not fit that defi-
nition.... I think it's gravely dis-
turbing that the administration. in
its zeal to dry up leakers. is making
the press a target as well. We do
respect legitimate situations involv-
ing national security. but informa-
tion that Pelton provided the Soviet
Union is of course known to the So-
viet Union. It does not involve any
damage to the national security for
the public to know what the Soviets
know." '
Ron Martin. executive director of
USA Today, said the government
warnings "sound a little like intimi-
dation to me. I don't think it's really
up to Mr. Casey or the government
to decide how trials are covered. Ob-
viously we will take into consider-
ation anything a responsible public
official says. just as we would any-
one else. But I don't think it's the job
of Mr. Casey to decide how the trial
should be covered. We will cover (the
Peltonj trial as we would any other
trial." he said.
"against speculation and reporting
details beyond the information actu-
ally released at trial."
Legal experts. inside and outside
the government. quickly pointed out
that the government had no power
to regulate "speculation" by news or-'
ganizatlons.
Although they complained about
the'criticism of their statement, both
Mr. Casey and General Odom tem-
pered the remarks a bit yesterday.
if I had it to do over again. I
might not use that word," Mr. Casey
said. "I might use 'extrapolation.'"
General-'Odom added, "There's
nothing in there that says we're go-
ing to try to prosecute anybody
based on speculation."
They were asked why in the Pel-
ton trial the government is attempt-
ing to protect information that is
widely known to U.S. reporters and
widely believed to be known to the
Soviet Union - such as the wiretap-
ping by U.S. agents of telephones at
the Soviet Embassy here.
Mr. Gates responded: "How does
any member of the press know what
the Russians know? Does anyone in
the media have any penetrations of
the (Soviet[ KGB [spy agencyl? And
they don't know the degree to which
the information they provide ampli-
fies on what a spy may have given.
confirms what a spy may have given
or updates what a spy has given up."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP90-00965R000200710008-7