WHITE HOUSE SCRAMBLING TO FILL TOP CIA POST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-01448R000301290043-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2012
• Sequence Number: 43
• Publication Date: March 3, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/16: CIA-RDP99-01448R000301290043-7
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STAT
WASHINGTON TIMES
3 March 1987
White House scrambling to
Fill top CIA post
By Bill Gertz
THE WASH1=712MES
The abrupt withdrawal of Robert
Gates as the president's choice to
head the CIA left the White House
scrambling yesterday to find a re-
placement to run the nation's spy
agency.
President Reagan's new chief of
staff, Howard Baker, said the search
was "an urgent item" but by the end
of the day a new nominee had not
been announced.
"No choice has been made by the
president as of this moment," Mr.
Baker said. "We hope to have a name
to submit very soon indeed. Certain
contacts are still under way and
whether they mature into accep-
tance or turndown I cannot say, but.
we do not yet have an acceptance."
Leading the list of possible
choices are former Sen. John 'Ibwer,
whose three-man board last week re-
leased a report highly critical of the
administration's handling of the Iran
arms-sales operation.
Fellow commission member
Brent Scowcroft, a former national
security adviser, also has been men-
tioned, along with FBI Director Wil-
liam Webster, administration and
congressional sources said.
Other prospective candidates in-
:Jude: retired Adm. Bobby Ray In-
man, a former CIA deputy director;
:Vational Security Agency Director
Lt. Gen. William Odom; former Na-
tional Security Adviser Zbigniew
Brzezinski; Sen. Malcolm Wallop,
Wyoming Republican and a former
intelligence panel subcommittee
chairman; and John McMahon, Mr.
Gates' predecessor as deputy CIA
director.
Mr. Gates was nominated to thE
CIA post Feb. 2, when William Casey
resigned after undergoing surgery
to remove a cancerous brain tumor
The CIA issued a statemeni
clarifying Mr. Gates' withdrawa
and asserting that "no one asked hirr
to withdraw his nomination." Never
theless,his action saved Mr. Reagar
the embarrassment of dropping hiE
nomination.
"The president never wavered ir
his support," CIA spokeswoman
Kathy Pherson said. "Mr. Gates con
siders it the nation get on
with its business. He believes that
would not have been possible while
the nomination was pending." She
said Mr. Gates intends to remain as
the agency's deputy director.
The announcement was delayed
several times yesterday, fueling
speculation that a replacement for
Mr. Gates could not be found.
Reached by telephone yesterday,
Mr. Webster said he had not been
apprHe-d by White House offi-
cials about the CIA director's job.
"At this point, ft is pure spec-
ulation," Mr. Webster said. "I can
only say I have not been ap-
proached."
Asked whether he would accept
the post if it were offered, Mr. Web-
ster said, "I would have to think seri-
ously about it." A former federal
judge, Mr. Webster's term as FBI di-
rector expires next year.
One senior FBI official, who asked
not to be identified, said it was "busi-
ness as usual" for Mr. Webster
throughout most of yesterday, "and
you would think that if he was seri-
ously being considered [by the
White Housel for the post there
would have been at least two or three
phone calls [from the White House],
which there hasn't been.
"I don't think their arrow points
over here," the official said.
Adm. In ,now an electronic in-
dustry executive, said last night that
"under no circumstances" would he
accept the post and he expressed bit-
terness at the way Mr. Gates' nomi-
nation was handled.
"They can save themselves the
phone call," he said in an interview.
"The handling of the whole Gates
thing just sort of caps it."
Mr. Gates, a career analyst and
Soviet affairs specialist, became act-
ing chief in December after Mr.
Casey, the CIA director since 1981.
became ill. Mr.Casey was released
from Georgetown University hospi-
tal Saturday.
Mr. Gates was questioned by the
Senate Intelligence Committee dur-
ing two days of often stormy con-
firmation hearings last month. The
committee grilled Mr. Gates about
his role in preparing analyses on
Iran as deputy CIA intelligence di-
rector, and later as the agency's No.
2 man.
The panel also questioned Mr.
Gates about why he did not take ac-
tion quicklyto alert senior officials
about the possible diversion of funds
from the Iran arms sales to the Nica-
raguan resistance when it first sur-
faced Oct. 1.
Committee Chairman David
Boren, Oklahoma Democrat, and
Vice Chairman William Cohen,
Maine Republican, yesterday re-
leased a statement praising Mr.
Gates for his decision.
"It would not be good for the coun-
try to leavea critical department like
the CIA adrift with only an acting
director for a prolonged period of
time," the senators said. "It became
clear that pursuing the nomination
of Robert Gates would have only ex-
tended the period during which the
CIA would be without permanent
leadership."
The senators said Mr. Gates
should be commended for putting
the interests of the country above his
own personal good, "by standing
aside so a permanent director could
be put in place more quickly."
Mr. Nunn told reporters he thinks
there are at least a half-dozen people
in and out of government who would
excel as CIA director.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/16: CIA-RDP99-01448R000301290043-7
STAT