EX-AGENT SUES TO BLOCK CIA FROM STOPPING BOOK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100160075-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 14, 2007
• Sequence Number: 75
• Publication Date: January 8, 1979
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100160075-5
STAT
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Article appeared 8 January 1979
on page 24
Sues to Block CIA His lawyers said he does not plan to in-
Ex-Agent clude in the book any information
From Stopping Book which is classified and which has not al-
Former CIA intelligence officer Ralph ready been made public by the CI.-k and
W. McGehee is seeking court action to other U.S. Government agencies.
enable him to submit manuscripts On November 29, the complaint
about the agency to book and magazine says, McGehee met with M.B. Schnap-
publishers without first having the man- per, editor of Public Affairs Press, to
uscripts cleared by the CIA. Specifical- i discuss possible publication of the
ly. the suit filed December 22 in the book. Schnapper indicated interest and
U.S. District Court for the District of asked to see part of the manuscript.
Columbia seeks: McGehee is unwilling to provide Public
1. A judgment that "Documents signed Affairs Press because he fears the legal
by plaintiff McGehee in the course of consequences of such action.
his employment with the Central In- The complaint states: "According
telligence Agency cannot be enforced ly, the documents which McGehee
to restrain or penalize the publication signed ... constitute an impermissible
of information which plaintiff McGehee burden on the First Amendment right
acquired during the course of his em- of plaintiff Public Affairs Press to re-
ployment'. and ceive and publish manuscripts and the
2. An injunction restraining the defen- right of the public to read such pub-
dants, CIA director Stansfield Turner Iications without governmental inter-
and U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell, ference."
from taking "any legal action for dam- On December 15, the complaint
ages or injunctive relief against plaintiff says, McGehee discussed with Kinsley
McGehee as a result of any publication the possibility of submitting an article i
by him." to The New Republic summarizing the
Other plaintiffs are Public Affairs thesis of his book. The ex-agent turned
Press, Inc.. Washington, D.C.; Mi- author believes the conclusions he has
chael Kinsley, managing editor of The reached in his book "would contribute
New Republic: and D. Gareth Porter, to the current public debate over the
also of Washington, who was identified performance of the CIA with respect to
in the complaint as a journalist and producing and analyzing intelligence
scholar specializing in Asia. concerning recent events in Iran"
Attorneys for McGehee are Mark H. Although editor Kinsley would be in-
Lynch, of the American Civil Liberties terested in such an article for The New
Union Foundation, and John Cary Republic, plaintiff McGehee is unwill-
Sims. The two lawyers also represent ing to provide it because of the defen-
Frank Snepp, the ex-CIA agent who dants' view that such action would be a
has been ordered to turn over royalties breach of contract, according to the
from his book "Decent Interval" and briefs thus constituting a violation of
enjoined from writing of his CIA em- Kinsley's First Amendment right to re-!
ployment without prior approval from ceive, edit and publish articles, and the
the agency. Both Snepp and McGehee right of the public to read such articles
had signed documents requiring them without governmental interference.
to submit all writings containing infor- Plaintiff Porter, continued the com-i
mation relating to the CIA or in- plaint, is eager to read such a book-'
telligence matters acquired during their and his First Amendment right to re-'
employment to the CIA for pre- ceive information is also being blocked.
publication review. MALCOLM OLIVER:
The complaint said that the signing of
such documents as a condition of em- Malcolm Oliver is a Washington-based
ployment constituted a "burden on the freelance writer.
First Amendment rights of CIA em-
ployees."
McGehee, the attorneys said, is near-
ing completion of a book concerning
Asian Communist movements and the
CIA's failure to understand such move-
ments. Using these particular ex-
amples, the book draws general con-
clusions about the quality of U.S. in-
telligence gathering and analysis.
Plaintiff McGehee's book is based in
part on research conducted after he re-
tired from the CIA and in part on infor-
mation acquired during his employ-
ment with the CIA, particularly during
tours of duty
Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100160075-5