BRZEZINSKI CHALLENGED ABOUT BILLY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000200010109-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 22, 2007
• Sequence Number: 109
• Publication Date: September 18, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/03/22 : CIA-RDP99-00498R00020
A IIICLE ,AiF??,i D
ON PAG%j&t~
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Ch, a11rf-,n6,rTe11J
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PAN0111.1, My*
Adviser's judgment
Questioned by Panel
By Roberta Hornig
and Phil Gailey,
WasbingtnnStarStaff Writers
A Senate subcommittee investi-
gating Billy Carter concluded its
public hearings yesterday, by
sharply questioning the judgment
of Zbigniew Brzezinski, President
Carter's, national security adviser,
in using Billy Carter's Libyan ties
in a diplomatic initiative during the
early days of the Iranian hostage
crisis...:
Five of the nine senators on the
panel charged that Brzezinski, by
asking the president's brother to ar-
range a White House meeting with a
Libyan diplomat last November, had
encouraged Libya to try to- buy Billy
Carter's influence with the promise
of. a--luCcatiye? of l deal and S220,000
in payments- ~... ...: - .. -
"What may have just been irou-
tine meeting to you turned out to be
a quarter of a million dollars for
Billy Carter,-'.' Sen. Robert. Dole,.R-
Kan., told Brzezinsk> j i""`
Echoing.Dole's charge,-Sen.- at-
rick Leahy; D-Vt., said: "Ithink-hav {
ing sat here for several weeks lis=
tening to testimony and reading
depositions,. one could. easily: rea
the conclusion that. the result:of the'.'
'meeting was to-enrich Billy Carter'
whether intended or not.
In an.nnprecedented appearance
before 'a congressional investigat-.i
ing panel, Brzezinski spent eight
hours sparring with senators as' he
defended--his-dealings with Billy
Carter. The session was marked-by
--temper-flareups and.theatrics_that
made it the most spirited- day of
heari4gS since, the star witness,
Billy Carter. appeared before-the
senators last month;
THE WASHINGTON STAR (GREEN LINE
18-September 1980
In other developments, the 'sub-
committee: .
? Announced that it-will stake a
deposition from Billy Carter next
week in an effort to resolve discrep-
ancies between his, testimony and
-.-that of top Justice Department and
other officials.
? Released new telephone records
showing that Billy- Carter .was -in
contact with oil company officials
minutes after Brzezinski, on the
basis of intelligence.. reports, 1
admonished him for attempting to
negotiate an oil deal-with Libya.. -
o. Produced a? deposition in which.
former Secretary of State Cyrus R.
Vance. differed with?Brzezinski's
version of how Vance took the news
of.Billy-Carter's role in arranging a
White House meeting between Brze-
zinski and' a Libyan diplomat to dis
cuss_the Iranian hostage crisis.
In' his testimony, Brzezinski
.-called "preposterous" any sugges-
'tion that he or anyone else in the
White House ever intended "to en-
hance Billy Carter's opportunity for
commercial advantage in his rela-
tions with Libya."
Brzezinski said his first contact
with Billy Carter was late last.
November when, at the.suggestion
of First Lady Rosalynn Carter, he
'asked the president's brother to set
up a meeting between himself and
the chief Libyan diplomat in Wash-
ington, Ali Houderi. I -
.. The meeting was held in Brze,
zinski's office Nov. 27. Nine days
later Houderi returned for an Oval
Office meeting with President Car-.? ter..:
Brzezinski said the Nov. 27: ses
.sion "was a part of our interna-
tional campaign to-? enervate
pressure on behalf of.. the safety,
and, if possible, the release of the
`hostages. This contact was under-
taken.with the knowledge of both
the president and the secretary of
state at a time of extreme danger to ;
the hostages. ; ? .:.
He said that when he informed
Vance of Billy Carter's role in ar-
ranging the__meeting, the theri-
.:secretary of state said "something
`like,'WelI, no harm in trying.'."
In ' 'his ? deposition, to the
subcommittee, however, Vance has
a different recollection of his reac- I
-'.tion. Vance told Senate investiga
,tors that he assumed Billy Carter
, .was off on a private initiative and at:.~
,the time he said he was skeptical of
:the attemvt. n. - ?xh A t
describes a state of mind. He did not
show skepticism to me. He said it
that."
The national security adviser
said- Billy Carter's effort had a
"negligible impact" on the situation
and "on balance I would have been
happier if it had not taken place."
He said he still considers the use
of Billy Carter's Libyan contacts
"justified under. the prevailing cir-
cumstances" and added that "we
had an obligation to try every
orthodox and unorthodox means"
of trying to win release of the
American hostages..
"There was a clear risk. in using -,
-him,. but I had no idea-at the time
whatsoever that he. was engaged in
financial dealings (with Libya)."':.
Brzezinski said. Y -...
Asked by one senator why he had'
'not used normal diplomatic chan !
nels to set up the Houderi meeting,
Brzezinski replied: "The issue was
not the absence 'of contacts with the
Libyans. The issue was that the con- '1,
tacts up to that point had not pro-
duced results."
Brzezinski, asked for his assess-
ment of Billy Carter's Libyan -
activities, called them "counter-
'productive, uncalled for and in
some respects reprehensible."
He added, "I see some potential
harm to our national interest, given
the. relationship .-.of -brother.. to
Brzezinski said his second ma or.
contact with Bill Carter came on '
arc 31-w en 'e received .an.-.
mte hence report from CIA Direc- i
for tansfield Turner on the o t deal
t e president's brother was negoti-
ating bet, veen Libya and the Char-
ter Oil Co. of Jacksonville Fla. ;
He said --he..telephoned Billy"
Carter in Georgia and told him: "In
the course of my work a lot of infor-
mation flows across my desk; and
I've recently seen information that
you-are engaged in. business activi-
ties" that could be embarrassing to
the presidnt.
Carter's response, he said, was
"somewhat less than gracious in the
'substance and in the tone.".
Some senators; including Chair-