HELSM IS FACING INQUIRY ON CHILE AND US SPYING

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
5
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
December 9, 2010
Sequence Number: 
40
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
August 4, 1986
Content Type: 
MEMO
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7.pdf314.31 KB
Body: 
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/09: CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/09: CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/09: CIA-RDP90BO1390R000100080040-7 Helms Is Facing Inquiry on Chile b And U.S. Spying ~? - By STEPHEN ENGELBERG Special to me NN York Timm WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 - The Fed- eral Bureau of Investigation is seeking to determine whether Senator Jesse Helms or one of his aides passed sensi- tive American intelligence information to the Chilean Government, according to Congressional and Reagan Adminis- tration officials. The officials said the inquiry was focusing on charges that the Chileans had been tipped off about a covert American Intelligence-gathering operation. They said the Senate Select Commit- tee on Intelligence asked for the inves- tigation after reviewing evidence from the State Department that there had been a leak of information to Chile, pos- sibly by Senator Helms, a North Caro- lina Republican, or one of his staff members. Helms Denies Any Disclosure Senator Helms, who is a vocal critic of the State Department's policy to- ward Chile, said today that neither he nor his staff had provided any classi- fied material to the Chileans. He said he was not aware of the F.B.I.'s inquir- ies but said they appeared to have been politically motivated. "The State Department and the Cen- tral Intelligence Agency are constantly trying to discredit me, and they're not going to be able to do it," Mr. Helms said In an interview. "The real need is for the State Department and the C.I.A. to clean up their acts." "If they want to play the game of in- timidation, of harassment and of leaks, we'll meet them right In the middle of the field," he said. The allegation that Senator Helms or a staff member was involved could not Continued on Page 25, Column 1 be independently 'verified. One Con- gressional official familiar with the evidence said it pointed to a "Helms connection" with the incident rather than to any specific person as the source of the unauthorized disclosure. The official added, however, that per- sonal involvement of Senator Helms could not be ruled out. - A second Congressional official placed less weight on the information, saying It came from "third or fourth- hand" sources whose veracity had not yet been proved. One Administration official said C.I.A. officials were angered by the disclosure to the Chileans because it Posed a threat to the agency's sources and methods for gathering information on Chile. An intelligence source, char- acterizing the C.I.A.'s reaction to the incident, said: "This has really caused a problem. Whoever did this did an awful thing." . Kathy Pherson, a spokesman for the C.I.A., said the agency would have no comment. Senator Can Get Chile Data The F.B.I. investigation began in the past week, according to an Administra- tion official. Congressional sources, who asked not to be identified, said the Senate Intelligence Committee had in- formed the Senate's leadership of its ec d ii o M officials defended Mr. Barnes, saying his attendance at the funeral was approved in advance. They also said Senator Helms had been wrong to make his con perttswhjle In a foreign country.,.. tea. capital, Mr. Helms criticized the State Department for pressuring Chile to re- store democracy and investigate Mr. Rojas's death. He said Mr. Barnes had "p anted the American flag in the midst' of a' Communist activity" by 'going to the funeral.. 'State Department officials ana' White H s on to request the investigation. Mr. Helms is not a member of the In- telligence Committee, but he is given sensitive Intelligence on Chile In his post as chairman of the Western Hemi- sphere Subcommittee of the Foreign ? Relations Committee. He Is the second. ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. In recent months, Mr. Helms has made a series of critical statements about the Administration's relation. ship with Chile, which he views as hav- ing one of the few anti-Communist gov- ernments In the region and thus deserv- ing of strong American support. Ambassador, Draws Helms Fire Chile Helmstiassailed the American Ambas- sador, Harry G. Barnes, for his deci- sion to attend the funeral of Rodrigo Rojas de Negri, a 19-year-old perma- nent resident of the United States who was fatally burned In anti-Government protests. Witnesses said Mr. Rojas and an 18-year-old student had been doused with flammable liquid and set afire by men in military uniforms. The army denied responsibility. On arriving in Santiago, the Chilean A Senate Prohibition In the interview today, Senator Helms questioned the motivations of the officials who disclosed the investi. gation of him or his staff. "What I say about the C.I.A. and the State Depart. ment, I say publicly, while they dodge around in dark corners and leak to The New York Times," he said. The investiation of disclosure of in. tell ence information relating to Chile was initiated under a Senate rule that bars staff and members from releasing classified Information or material pro- vided in closed sessions of Congress or its committees. Under Senate Resolu- tion 400, committees informed of possi. ble violations can refer cases to the Justice Department for investigation and a report. Congressional officials said investigations under the rule are infrequent. ? In the executive branch, a similar procedure is followed for investiga. tions of unauthorized disclosures. Agencies refer cases to the Justice De. partment, which in turn decides whether further investigation is war- ranted. Administration and Disclosure The Intelligence Committee's deci- sion to refer the case to the Justice De. partment came after several months in which committee members sharply criticized Administration officials for unauthorized disclosure of intelligence information. For instance, at the confirmation hearing on the nomination of Robert Gates as Deputy Director of Central In- telligence, Senator Sam Nunn, Demo- crat of Georgia, said: "I think somebody at the highest levels of Government has got to get this under control. When you start reading things that lead directly, or could hypo- thetically at least, to sources and meth- ods of a sensitive nature. I think it is de- plorable." ? Alluding to disclosure of intelligence data on Libya, Senator Nunn added: leakinghear so , but, to the much best of my informa. tion, Congress hasn't even been briefed in these areas, which means these leaks are definitely coming from the executive branch. And I think it is going to cause a lot more difficulty over the next few months." Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/09: CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/09: CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7 Helms should havebeen' told; A about probe, colleagues say TIMES Some Republicans on Capitol Hill say they are surprised that Sen. Jesse Helms did not learn in ad- vance of an apparent FBI investiga- tion into allegations that he or one of ts aides passed information to the hilean government regarding U.S. ntelligence-gathering. "Durenberger should have talked o Helms before starting an inves- igation:'said a GOP source close to In Helms. "Helms didn't know till a eporter called him:' Sen. Dave Durenberger, Minne- ota Republican, is chairman of the ,enate Intelligence Committee. The source called it a "terrible reach of Senate courtesy for one republican chairman not to talk to pother chairman." The source also noted that Mn elms is vice chairman of the Sen- te Ethics Committee, "where this sue will be settled if it turns into a ng-term thing." Another Republican, Sen. Warren Rudman of New Hampshire, is airman of the Ethics Committee; In Durenberger and Mr. Helms are & only other Republican members. The Senate Intelligence Commit- e told Senate leaders it was asking ,e FBI to begin an investigation, ac- irding to a story that appeared yes- rday in The New York Times. The investigation apparently be- n last week. Senate rules bar embers and staff from divulging formation that is classified or pre- nted in closed sessions. How the senator or someone in his information about Chile was unclear. Reagan aamtnistration efforts to get Though not a member of the Intelli- Gen. Pinochet to restore democratic gence Committee, Mr. Helms is vice "instituti. - It's just plain wrong, anyway, if chairman of the Senate Forei n R g e lations Committee and chairman of you criticize rt you ofown to govepubrn- - its Western Hemisphere subcom- ment's policy toward a foreign coun- mittee. try while you're visiting that "The State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency are a sship in Co gress said GOP don't constantly trying to discredit me, know what's come over Jesse." and they're not b oin t b g g o ea le to do it:' Mr. Helms was quoted as saying. "The real need is for the State De- partment and the CIA to clean up their acts:' He accused his enemies in the State Department or the intelligence agency of leaking information about the investigation to the newspaper. Mr. Helms angered fellow Repub- licans last month while on a visit to Chile, where he publicly denounced the U.S. ambassador to Santiago, Harry G. Barnes Jr., for having at- tended the funeral of a young man who died of burns suffered during anti-government protests. The Santiago government ap- pointed a special prosecutor to look into allegations that the victim, Rod- rigo Rojas de Negri, 19, a Chilean who had been living in the Washing- ton area, was burned, either on pur- pose or accidentally, by Chilean authorities in uniform. Mr. Helms' statements on this and other Chilean issues rubbed many conservatives the wrong way be- cause, they said, it gave the impres- sion he was defending the rule of Chilean strongman Augusto Pino- chet and was therefore undermining say Mr. Helms' criticism of the State Department and his defense of the Pinochet government, especially re- garding the Rojas incident, have played into the left's hands. "It may have been an anti- democratic leftist who was fooling around with Molotov coctails, but that didn't give the Chilean soldiers the right to burn him to death, if that's what in fact happened:' said a source close to Mr. Helms. Nor did Mr. Helms' statements from Chile help him with other con- servatives. "Well, you don't exactly see people stampeding to his de- fense:' said a foreign policy source on the Hill who normally agrees with Mr. Helms. For his part, Mr. Helms has ex- pressed frustration over what he sees as U.S. mishandling of the Rojas issue. Though Mr. Barnes, the U.S. ambassador, attended the young man's funeral, no representatives from Chile's democratic- center at- tended. "The only people who were present were representatives of the Community Party"and other parties of the totalitarian left,. ivlr. Helms said. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/09: CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/09: CIA-RDP90B01390R000100080040-7 '' ?v `o' 3 .I S. 00< N G l vx O WH84 =12.'O-mH i C d C I to ,CO O 0.=. C='. Q yb O O tVN it JJ W Id OO R w' C y R! 4_? RR SOU y~ ~VI C ooC:C