FALSE LEAKS LAID TO SPY PANEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100090066-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 66
• Publication Date: January 22, 1976
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sl Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100090066-0
THE BALTI'- O E SUN
22 January 1976
False leaks
laid to
spy panel
8y MURtEL DOBBIN
Washington Bureau of The Sun
Washington - The White
House yesterday accused the ;
House Select Committee on In-
telligence of "inaccurate and
distorted" news leaks and ex-
pressed concern about the im-
pending release of a report said
to be critical of the role played
in espionage operations by Hen-
ry A. Kissinger, the Secretary
of State. ..
Ronald H. Nessen, the press
secretary, made clear the
White House feeling that the in-
telligence panel headed by Rep-
resentative Otis G. Pike (D.,
N.Y.), had not lived up to its its
agreement to clear classified
material with President Ford
before making such informa-
tion public.
'The President views with
the most serious concern the
leak of this alleged report," Mr.
Nessen said when asked about
news stories disclosing that the
forthcoming final report of the
House committee portrayed
Mr. Kissinger as personally in
sistiug that the Central Intelli-
gence Agency set up covert op-
erations in Angola, Chile, Italy
and Iraq.
The press secretary refused
to comment on the allegations
involving Mr. Kissinger, but he
did flatly deny a report that the
United States government knew
and had concealed the identity
of those who killed Nathaniel
Davis, the former U.S. ambas-
sador to Cyprus: -
The White House is known to
regard as the most serious as-
pect of its latest clash with the
House intelligence committee
the failure of the arrangement
worked out whereby the con-
gressional group checked with
the President before releasing
secret information given to
them.
Under the terms of that
agreement, if presidential ap-
proval -was not given, then a
court order had to be obtained
for the documents to be made
public.
From the White House
standpoint, the problems of
leaks from the Pike committee
underline the difficulty of set-
ting up a mechanism whereby
secrets can be shared with Con-
gress and yet protected from
disclosure.
Private meetings have been
held between Mr. Ford and the
congressional leadership, which
is said to be aware of the sensi-
tivity of the difficulty facing
them.
There was a split within the
House committee on whether
the final report was subject to
the terms of the agreement
with the White House, but it
was expected that the findings
would be made public.
Meantime, the generally
more discreet Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence Ac-
tivities became embroiled in
disagreement between its
chairman, Senator Frank
Church (D., Idaho), and its vice
chairman, Senator John G.
Tower (R., Texas), over Mr.
Church's proposal to set up a
new mate oversight commit-
tee requiring prior notification
of covert operations. The com-
mittee would also be authorized
to disclose such matters.
Mr. Tower. contended it
would be premature to set up
such a body,
Report says Nixon
gave Iraq covert-aid
Washington (r%P) --- The
House intelligence committee's
draft report alleges that Presi-
dent Nixon took steps to keep
covert aid for Kurdish rebels in
Iraq secret from the State De-
partment, even having his
treasury secretary, John B.
Connally, rather than diplo-
mats, deliver word the aid had
been approved, a committee
source said yesterday.
The report says the U.S. aid
for Kurdish rebels was supplied
at the request of Shah Moham-
mad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and
that Mr. Nixon had Mr. Connal-
ly deliver the word to the shah
that the aid had been approved.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100090066-0