PUBLIC AFFAIRS HANDLING OF ROCKEFELLER COMMISSION REPORT ON CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-71-4-13-4
• Release Decision: RIFLIM
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: December 23, 2010
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: May 27, 1975
• Content Type: MEMO

?? No Objection to Declassification in Full 2013/10/24: LOC-HAK-71-4-13-4
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Outside the System
MEMORANDUM
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
__CONF-14D.E.44--T-1:2EYES ONLY
MEMORANDUM FOR: GENERAL SCOWCROFT
FROM: LES JANICA+4,00
ACTION
May 27, 1975
O
SUBJECT: Public Affairs Handling of Rockefeller
Commission Report on CIA
Much of the press has already come to the conclusion that the Rockefeller
Commission on the CIAjwill produce a "white wash. " While some expect
the Church Committee effort to result in a "witch hunt," few doubt that
its findings will suggest a thorough and possibly shattering restructuring
ox the CiA s charter and organization. What the Murphy commission
will produce in terms of hard recommendations remains to be seen.
Many sources are already saying the Rockefeller report will give the
CIA essentially a clean bill of health, noting only a few "aberrations"
with some suggestions for preventing such mishaps in the future.
It appears to me imperative that the President be prepared to move
vigorously on the recommendations of the Rockefeller Commission.
Such action would vitiate charges of "white wash" and perhaps preempt
some of the "witch hunt" tendencies of the Church Committee.
To protect the vital role of the CIA and preserve public confidence in
the control of intelligence operations within the framework of our
democracy, the President should be prepared to take actions going
even beyond the recommendations of the Rockefeller Commission,
saying in effect, "even if the original charges against the CIA proved
to be only minor 'aberrations, ' the role of intelligence is so vital to
our national security that I am taking a series of actions to ensure
that such questions will never arise again. "
NSS Review Completed.
EYES ONLY XGDS
No Objection to Declassification in Full 2013/10/24: LOC-HAK-71-4-13-4
No Objection to Declassification in Full 2013/10/24-: LOC-HA-K:7-1:4113-4
IP
CONFIDENTIAL/EYES ONLY
We cannot tolerate a situation where the White House simply "studies"
the recommendations of the Rockefeller Commission, lets charges of
"white wash" build even further, and gives by default a mandate to
Senator Church to come up with a "final solution" to the CIA problem.
To address in advance these important questions, I recommend that a
small, select task force be formed with White House and Rockefeller
Commission staff members to address on an urgent basis the White
House response to the Rockefeller report, developing in advance of the
Report's release a rapid and thorough response keyed to the important
public affairs considerations raised above.
Although the CIA problem first arose as a problem of media exposure,
a simple media campaign is not being suggested here as an effective
response. A visable program of vigorous action to restore public
confidence in the Executive Branch's ability to correct itself is
required. A few illustrative steps which might be considered are:
A Bipartisan Leadership meeting within a few days of the
Report's release where the President would outline his plans for
responding to the Commission' R recommendation -
-- A public statement or message by the President announcing
the specific steps he plans in response to the Report's recommendations.
-- A public announcement providing an early answer to the
pending question of how much the Rockefeller Commission material
will be given to Senator Church's committee.
^ Public release of as much material as possible supporting
the findings of the Rockefeller Commission.
-- An announcement naming an entire new Foreign Intelligence
Advisory Board and giving it a reinvigorated charter.
-- Designation of the Attorney General as a member of the Forty
Committee, with the publicly stated objective of ensuring that no domestic
laws are broken in the conduct of covert activities.
These are only a few suggestions. The President's response must be
rapid and significant if that response is to be perceived by the public as
taking seriously its concerns for an effective, efficient, and tightly
CONFIDENTIAL/EYES ONLY
No Objection to Declassification in Full 2013/10/24: LOC-HAK-71-4-13-4
No Objection to Declassification in Full 2013/10/24: LOC-HAK-71-4-13-4
11,
CONFIDENTIAL/EYES ONLY
controlled intelligence apparatus, equal to the international challenges
our nation faces but at the same time consistent with the values and
principles of the democracy it is to protect.
RECOMMENDATION
That you discuss with Secretary Kissinger and Don Rumsfeld the need
for a special White House task force to address and plan for a public
response to the release of the Rockefeller Commission report.
Approve
Disapprove
CONFIDENTIAL/EYES ONLY
No Objection to Declassification in Full 2013/10/24: LOC-HAK-71-4-13-4