CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77M00144R000400050090-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 13, 2001
• Sequence Number: 90
• Publication Date: October 28, 1975
• Content Type: OPEN

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O:cti9ber 28, 1975 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE
t t#lo~~ of the city ought to be written down goyernmen
jig committee had, by then, neither received
itself felt. About 25% of the spartmen an e protec on The Chile leaks reveal another in-
buildings are already In arrears on their rest ff"M es s. And, the committee teresting story. On September 2, 1975, a
'
estate taxes. About 90 of the city
s 125 su third New York Times article on Chile
eidized Mitchell-Lama projects for middle
income residents are in various stages of de- ma .,~. appeared. If one reads the first two Chile
fault on their mortgages: A rent strike at the espi a these precautions, there have articles carefully, as the select committee
huge Coop City development, backed by many been leaks. None, to my knowledge, in- did, and then looks at the third article, it
members of the city government; is the prin- jurious to our national security, but leaks is curious that these articles take on dif-
cipal reason th'e' Housing Finance nevertheless. When leaks have occurred, fering interpretations of essentially the
Agency is in financial jeopardy. The outright many have concluded that they came same facts. There is, quite simply, a dis-
abandonment of a ments runs at about
40,000 housing unit year, or the equiva- from the committee. The record does not pute in the articles over what was and
lent of the entire housing stock In many justify this conclusion. Leaks can come was not authorized back in the fall of
smaller cities now asked to guarantee New from many sources, as well as for many 1970. The first two articles interpret the
York's debt. motives. Many of the lea 11 s during thy- authorization question in a light most
rrniess rent control?Is repealed, this hemor- course of -tTfM" ommftte s investigation favorable to the Nixon White House, the
rhago will not only continue but accelerate. e o rom me c t third article favored the CIA. There is
The city is devouring its own tax base just . f - an old metaphor about ships passing in
at the moment t`ls asking the rest of the ci y, the night; I would like to revise that in
nation to co-sign notes that base is supposed
to pay off. Making the end of rent control rh i"AliqR 08 @;Q avid ~heFIBE 3104, light of these leaks to state that we may
federal action armuuiI5 IT no determine have a case here of "bureaucracies
f an
o
ndit
y
n o
i
the very first co
is not a matter of ideology, but a matter of the specific source of leaks or the motives clashing in the night.',
simple prudence. for them. Despite this fact, I would like NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- to mention exmples of leaks from sources Recently the committee has been look-
pore. The time of the Senator from Ala- which clearly are not committee-related. ing into the super-secret National Secur-
bama has expired. ASSASSINATION ity Agency. The committee has been at-
Under the previous order, the Sen- During the course of the committee's tempting to decide how most prudently
ator from Colorado (Mr. GARY HART) is assassination inquiry, a number of key to disclose the information we have
recognized for not to exceed 15 minutes. witnesses have gone straight to the press gathered.
with their stories, either prior to or fol- Throughout its investigation of the
th
f
LEAKS AND THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY
Mr. GARY HART. Mr. President, al-
most 10 months ago, on January 27, 1975,
the Senate Select Committee on Intel-
ti
me,
ligence wasestablished. At that
few questioned the need for a full review
of and inquiry Into the U.S. intelligence
community, although many doubted the
ability of Congress to conduct such an
inquiry in a responsible manner. Some
predicted` that the committee would be-
come asteve for State secrets. Others
even chi ed that such an inquiry would
hamper, 11 hot destroy, the effectiveness
of our intelligence agencies. Only a few
weeks tlgo,the Secretary of Defense
charged that leaks from congressional
committees investigating the CIA had
"dramatically reduced" the Agency's
effectiveness. Although the Secretary did
not specify 'what leaks he was referring
to, his Ol arge was directly related to the
question gf Congress ability to conduct
such a sensitive investigation.
As me#1-ber of the select committee, I
am particularly disturbed by these
charges. fn the past, Congress has failed
to provfde adequate oversight of the CIA
and other intelligence agencies, and Con-
gress Il1tl t now demonstrate its ability to
conductea thorough and complete in-
quiry,and do so in a responsible manner.
gels o.
nn , e a sieve. No Ieaks O
At the outset of the committee's in-
quiry, elaborate precautions were taken
to prevent leaks. Tough committee rules,
tas well, ash security restrictions, were
ore
lowing their appearance be
e com- NSA, the committee has been most sen-
mittee. The first example of 'this was sitive to charges that the disclosure of
Richard Goodwin, a former Kennedy any information on the NSA would be
White House aide. Mr. Goodwin was a harmful to U.S. national security inter-
key witness in the committee's inquiry ests. In fact, the select committee has
into the Trujillo assassination. Mr. delayed hearings on NSA for just that
Goodwin appeared before the committee reason.
on July 10 and 18. On July 19, the Wash- Nevertheless, numerous articles have
ington Post reported essentially all Mr. appeared in recent days dealing with the
Goodwin told the committee in executive and discussing many of the same
session. Who was the source of the leak? NSA
None other than Mr. Goodwin himselftopics that his committee wanted to ex-
.
o
The committee has also been looking toorp fully inclosed se before ,on
n
into the assassination of former Congo October 1public hears, an an a F For rn o eappeared in
leader Patrice Lumumba. A key witness f O New Y Yorrk k Times stati
o
In this case was Richard Bissell, former o receiv app tha earer two
Deputy Director for plans of the CIA. reports from de Pre had received private
I attended a closed session with Mr. Bis- Americ ans m were S d doing and what sayinn g abroad.
.
abroa
sell to discuss his knowledge of this case The article cited "present and d s
-
and the next day I read a carefully se- Gov
An
lected revision of that testimony in the otrher, mor mere re en t, a as s sources. . Ant
newspaper. The source? Richard Bissell. e recent "inforormmP p-
articl icle, this time citing g nfed in-
CHILE telligent community sources," discussed
For several months now the commit-
tee has been looking into covert opera-
tions conducted by the CIA in Chile as
well as into a specific case which in-
volved the killing of a Chilean general,
Rene Schneider. During the most intense
period of investigation into the Schneider
killing, two articles appeared in the New
York Times discussing this case. The
first article, on July 23, contained sev-
eral references to material that had
come to the committee's attention. One
could not identify where the leak
originated, for the article referred to
second article on Chile, which appeared
In the New York Times 4 days later,
helped to clear up this mystery. The ar-
ticle referred to a memorandum pre-
pared by Richard Helms in the fall of
1970 on CIA activities in Chile. It re=
ferred to the Schneider incident. Al-
though not pinpointing the person re-
sponsible for leaking this ma'terial, the
tb f~si doubt-the select committee was not the
JlV1?{"-~ui~-o-r~-
the NSA's interception of conversations
of Jane Fonda, Benjamin Spock, and
other leading antiwar figures in 1969
and 1970. These same "informed in-
telligence community sources" disclosed
that these conversations were intercep-
ted by NSA from overseas cable traffic.
The article went on to reveal the code
designations used for the intercept of
these communications. The article was
replete with references to "intelligence
community" sources and, unless the se-
lect committee has become a part of the
intelligence community, one must point
the finger elsewhere for these leaks.
It is also interesting to note that a
few days after the committee's last ex-
ecutive session on NSA, at which it de-
cided to postpone temporarily public
hearings, an article appeared in the
Washington Post, which revealed, among
other things, that NSA's advanced tech-
nology had made it possible to scan thou-
sands of telephone conversations, cables,
and other wire and radio commmunica-
tions, and select those with valuable na-
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE October 28, 1975
tional security data. The article went on
to say that the NSA has a "Watch List"
of names including numerous leaders of
the American antiwar movement. The
source for this article? None other than
"highly placed administration sources."
One further example of an NSA leak
is worth noting. In an October 11 Los
Angeles Times article, a "former high-
ranking member of the U.S. intelligence
community" told the Times that NSA
has "an amazing capability"-beyond
that of most other nations. According to
this official and "another source involved
in the system," the NSA gave the FBI
secret data, purportedly for domestic se-
curity reasons. Also, the article stated
that "according to knowledgeable offi-
cials" the NSA monitored millions of
overseas phone calls as well as those
within foreign countries as part of its
code-breaking and foreign Intelligence-
gathering operations. Ironically, this
same article noted that the select com-
mittee had abruptly postponed its hear-
ings on this topic to honor the admin-
istration's request tha the matter be
further explored before public disclo-
sure.
MAIL OPENINGS
On August 5, 1975, there appeared an
article in the New York Times which
stated that agents of the FBI opened and
photographed foreign and domestic mail
at several U.S. cities beginning in 1958,
and continuing possibly until 1970.
The source for this article was at-
tributed to someone "with direct knowl-
edge of the secret operation." Since
neither members of the committee nor
staff have ever participated in opening
and photographing mail, it is obvious
that no one connected with the com-
mittee could have "direct knowledge of
the secret operation." The article went
on to state that the source's account and
the FBI's unusual confirmation of part
of his account represented the first dis-
closure that, like the CIA, the FBI also
participated in the opening and photo-
graphing of parcels and letters it be-
lieved to be of some intelligence value.
FBI BLA^K BAG JOBS
On July 28, 1975, Newsweek magazine
contained an article entitled "The FBI's
'Black Bag Boys' " which referred to FBI
Director Clarence Kelley's confirmation
that the FBI had, in the past, made "sur-
reptitious entries" into various places,
foreign embassies included, to obtain
what if felt to be impor L Brit information.
The Newsweek article went on to say
that "most intriguingly, the Director's
disclosure also set `other tongues wag-
:ging.' " The "other toripucs wagging"
included former FBI agents, as well as
Justice Department officials. One Justice
Department official, according to News-
week, even disclosed the number of black
bag jobs conducted by the F13I as well
as the targets of these operations.
SIIELLIISH TOXIN
Back in September the select commit-
postpone the hearings for a week in order been done b the cQ mitt.~p n,tbe
Lo be more fully prepared. In the mean- aam ni don or agency sources them-
t;ime, however, an article appeared in the
Washington Post, quoting "informed he committee has a very important
sources," which leaked many of the de- job to do. It is performing Its constitu-
tails of this case which were to be dis- tional duty. The commit tee has attempt-
closed by the committee. On the same- ed to demonstrate that it is not a sieve.
day. there was a similar article in the
New York Times.
It is interesting to note that "adrnin-
istration 'sources," if not directly re-
s ponsible for the leak itself, responded
very quickly to it. The Washington Post
article stated that "administration
sources acknowledged that the bacterio-
logical material should have been de-
stroyed but added that the substances
wound up at Fort Detrick without, any
clear understanding that they ere
deadly or even dangerous." Clearly these
"administration sources" were attempt-
ing to shed the best light on a rather
bad story. The purpose of this leak, of
course, was to attempt to pre-empt the
committee's hearings.
Mr. President, far be it for any Mem-
ber of Congress to cast the first stone
v'hen it comes to talking with the press.
Attempting to deny that one is a source
of a newspaper leak is about as easy as
responding to the question of "when did
Sou stop beating your wifa?"
However, the Senate Select Committee
on Intelligence has done an excellent job
in this respect. It has stayed behind
closed doors--and out of the press-when
necessary, and issued public statements
when appropriate.
Despite this fact. leaks have occurred
and there are at least two motives. First,
'highly placed administration sources,"
"authoritative Government sources," and
"intelligence community sources," are
leaking to protect their own bureaucratic
and political interests. These sources
want to get their side of the story in
print first, hopefully in the most favor-
able light. Becond, these leaks are a
conscious attempt to preempt the pub-
lic disclosures of this committee.
If there is one disease endemic to offi-
i' al Washington, it is hypocrisy. Hypoc-
r sy is saying one thing and doing an-
other. It is fashionable in Washington
oday to suggest possible misconduct by
nihers, then, under the cover of that
>nokescreen, carry out such misconduct
oneself. The record strongly supports a
i:,)nclusion that such activities are going
on here.
This sort of hypocrisy threatens to
d,:,stroy even further the public's con-
fidence in Government, The obvious ex-
amples of leaking cited here further un-
ii~rmines the credibility of our instilu-
tions and actions. It is time that we re-
ect the games Washington plays.
":highly placed administration sources,"
cabinet officers, and agency officials
',hould either exercise self-restraint or
,.13p criticizing, hypocritically, the Sen-
officers to destroy deadly toxins in spite trs, t on. Never a ess;
It has attempted to be leak-proof. We
would appreciate equall;' responsible ac-
tion from witnesses who appear before
the committee, "autho~itative Govern-
ment sources," "intelligence community
sources," and all "informed sources"
whoever they may be.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
sent that newspaper articles document-
ing this statement be printed in the
RECORD at this point.
There being no objection, the articles
were ordered to be print- d in the RECORD,
as follows:
[From The Washington Pst. Aug. 3, 19751
SCIILESTNGEE SAYS I,F.A KS Cosa CIA
(By Stan Creek)
Secretary or Defense Jar,ies R. Schlesinger
said leaks from congress oval committees
investigating the Central l ;telligence Agency
have "dramatically reduced" the agency's
sources of information.
Asked by Sen. James L. I'.uckley (Cons.-It.-
N.Y.) during a taped television interview
set up by Buckley's office whether there is
reason to fear that the leaks will under-
cut the willingness of forei#?a governments to
work with the United StatC,, Schlesinger re-
plied, "I think we have 1 tore than reason
to fear.
"I think that werecognit-:, that the sources
of information coming into the CIA have
been dramatically reducer= in both liaison
relationships and in relatican to the willing-
ness of foreigners to work with our intelli-
gence people."
Schlesinger, a former C',% director, called
the problems "the inevital;:e effect of these
kinds of revelations."
In the interview made public yesterday,
which is to be released to M ,w York television
stations this week, Schlesinger rejected the
argument that information from intelligence
sources is not needed because photographs
that U.S. satellites take ar_ sufficient.
Such an argument is ";a dramatic oier-
simplification," he said-
"Photographs, of course, can provide you
with indications with resp ct to the gro~vt:h
of certain types of capabilities, but one
must recognize that nobody has ever been
able to photograph intentions," he said.
Because of the limitations of photographs,
"all the elements of the in,.'lligence commu-
nity must be effective if tl e U.S. is to Save
eyes and ears in what continues to be a r:,la-
tively dangerous world," lie aid.
He told Buckley he believes the world is
"more dangerous than it wi+ a year ago," cit-
ing "growing priblems" fron one end of ,he
Mediterranean to the cthc: Lnd the aftcr-
niath of the "American deb tale in Southeast
Asia."
Reducing defense spendfi: and increaci;ig
money spent on public wori;s would augment
instead of solve the uneriployment pr-'h-
1em, Schlesinger said.
Schlesinger said those wrta favor such a
reduction "tend to forget t)e most valuaole
of social welfare services tl at a society can
provide for its citizens is tt keep them alive
and free."
Schlesinger also said NATO members in
Europe face a greater morale problem than
the United States, but denied that they are
not shouldering their militai v burden.
With 2.5 million men under arms, the
NATO allies far outnuml,er the 300,000
Americans in Europe, he af!id. These coun-
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October 28, 1 975 CIONGRESSIONAL RECORD_ SENATE
S18701
tries "cannot individually and at the present eral guns to certain Dominican dissidents wards immediately brief Attorney General
time `ciollectively stand up against the Soviet who were later involved in the Trujillo as- Robert F. Kennedy about the contacts. I1ous-
Uniop without the backbone that is repre- sassination. ton said he doubted Edwards had acted alone
sented by another superpower," he said. Three .38-caliber revolvers and three car- in arranging the contacts.
bines with accompanying ammunition, it Bissell said arrangements with the Mafia
[From the Washington Star, Aug. 3, 19751 was confirmed by other sources, were handed were handled by Edwards' office through
over to the dissident group. Robert A. Maheu.
Hr,L. LEglcs a fglqaT ence Iam H. ESchlesi , ,The special group had approved the trans- Maheu, a former top aide to industrialist
xetarsv of Defense'James es H. Schlesinger fer only on the condition that it take place Howard Hughes, gave his first closed door
6ai ),esteiday fyieeCIA's sources of informs- outside the Dominican Republic-with the testimony to Senate CIA investigators yester-
tiorlbroad" "have been dramatically re- understanding that the underground rebels day after being granted immunity from
al Investigating ' as a result of leaks from congression- would have to smuggle the guns into the prosecution earlier this month. Maheu has
at investigating committees. country themselves. said he will meet with reporters today if he
Schlesinger, who formerly headed the CIA, The CIA, however, sent them straight to completes his testimony.
was asked by Sen. James Buckley, R-N.Y., in Ciudad Trujillo (now Santo Domingo) in a Bissell said Edwards had arranged the
diplomatic pouch, Goodwin declared. The highly secret cooperation with underworld
a recorded television *interview whether "we
have, n gve to fear rnments to that work the with us is s b willingness ein of guns were turned over to the dissidents with figures Sam Gianeana and Johnny Rosselli,
form goove bg the help of Henry Dearborn, the U.S. consul but that Bissell--outranking Edwards-also
undercut'" because of CIA secrets made pub-
general there. approved it.
Trujillo had a very tight grip on the coun- Bissell said the Mafia work was not under
,1 tlIink we havel more than reason to try, another source said, and the rebels were his personal direction, however.
tear,m'' Schl that we recied. unable to work out their own method of get- "In everything related to this matter, I be-
I;thirik that we recognize that the sources ting the guns in. liever Edwards reported directly to Dulles-
of information coming into the CIA have Alluding to the documents he saw as a with my knowledge and concurrence," Bissell
been dramatically reduced In both liaison White House aide, Goodwin said the revolv- said.
i
n
relationships and In relation to the willing- ers and carbines were depicted by the CIA as Bissell said these arrangements began
warning months of the Eisenhower ad-
...,,..,. ..,rev, .,,,.? in
_ _____
th
f
is inistration as plans were also being ma e
ectgene; peo Ie and that an inevitable effect sidents "attendant to their projected efforts in
es er dlstillssed as "a dramatic over-
~g According ng to evidence now in the hands of land. These plans ended in the disastrous
eimplcation" the nation that the only kind the Senate Intelligence Committee, the CIA Bay of Pigs Invasion In April. 1961, in the
of ip;teff ' e.nce the United States needs is also sent four .45-caliber submachine guns early days of the Kennedy administration.
that whi is provided by spy satellites. and some grenades to the Dominican Repub- Rosselli has reportedly told Senate In-
,Llllo gI'apps, of, course; can provide you lic apparently In another diplomatic pouch. vestigators that he helped plan or direct
Witl} tions ith respect to the growth The CIA informed the White House on May about six attempts on Castro's life in the
of certwin tain types of capabilities, but one must 13, 1961, that these, too, could be provided early 19605.
recognize that nobody has ever been able to to the anti-Trujillo group "for their use in Bissell, when asked how cooperation with
photo "h~ gnly away wen are ever able to get at personal defense" if authorization were the Mafia arose, said: "I think the history
granted. is very uncertain as to whose original idea
that, , there ire aalere Goodwin said he vetoed the suggestion, at it was."
gerlde, ao riicl ' fs in through addition to normal human
eace' Mr. Kennedy's instructions, in the same late Gianeana or other Mafia members might
various m tical parameters that one can have suggested It themselves, he said, be-
May cablegram to Dearborn.
nail' learn though photographs. Dearborn, now retired, declined to corn- cause "they did have very large Interests in
T1 rld Is in chief said da athat, in nge gerou fs his state opinion, than ment. However, he worked cl^sely with both Cuba that were totally celipsed or destroyed
the world is a more pro-U.S. dissidents and the CIA at the time. by Castro."
It was a year ago. "I believe the record shows that they
"From one end of the Mediterranean to Dearborn, it was learned, doubled as the
can worked without pay (for the CIA) for the
CIA's unofficial station chief in the Domini-
the ot2 prcid of the Mediterranean there are can Republic for several months In 1960, most part," he said.
growing problems," he said. Other government sources have said the
when the United States withdrew its diplo- Mafia watned to remove Castro from power
[]?'rom the Boston Globe, July 19, 19751 made recognition of the country, and called to reopen lucrative gambling operations in
back many of its employees, including CIA
JFK RULED OUT U.S. ROLE IN IRIIJILLO DEATH, Havana that Castro had closed down.
personnel.
AIDE &itys There is no evidence that the carbines or Bissell, a top planner of the Bay of Pigs
(By George Lardner, Jr.) the revolvers were used when Trujillo was invasion, left the CIA In February, 1961, dur-
WASHINGTON.-President Kennedy per- gunned down on May 30, 1961, Goodwin said, ing a Kennedy administration shakeup of
the agency
sonally siruled out RaUS. fael Involvement in the but he maintained that the machine guns the Mafia work continued, although others
assassination of Rafael Trujillo shortly be- were sought for fpe that purpose. "They weren't have said Rosselli's anti-Castro plans contin-
tore the Dominican dictator was killed in intended for personal defense," he declared. u.ed until 1963.
May 1961,_ according to a former Kennedy Another source maintained that the CIA has told Sen-
knew Bissell sell has plans
White louse aide. guns, were all sought simply as a token to It ate Investigators was wan learned that
$ichard Goodwin, who was Mr. Kennedy's satisfy the skeptics 'among them that the ate n made when he approved in the Mafia
principal advisor on Latin American affairs, United States supported their efforts to over- cooperation, but when heed pro Mafia M could the
said the President not only disapproved of throw Trujillo. plans.
U.S. participation in the scheme, but in- ever er execute he such had dlad clear recollection or
settee a strong warning against such involve- [From The Washington Post, July 10, 1975] hard He no evidence" that the White House or At-
ment in a May 1981 cable to the U.S. consul CIA-MAFIA Lrwxs CONrIRMED torney General Kennedy knew about any as-
general in the Dominican Republic. (By Robert L. Jackson) sassination plans.
"He said, 'Look, if Trujillo goes, he goes, A former chief of clandestine services for
ive but why are pushing"' that? Goodwin M. the Central Intelligence Agency said yester- [From the Washington Post, Sept. 12, 19751
recalled of a conversation on he had with th Mr. day he personally approved CIA cooperation LT7MUMBA DEATH PLAN TOLD
fi . b.e I at the time. with Mafia figures who wanted to assassinate The Central Intelligence Agency in 1960
Goodwinn the added, laid down In Cuban Premier Fidel Castro in 1960.
the e cable, Goodwin stated that the explored ways to poison Congolese leader Pa-
"U.S., as a matter of general policy, cannot Richard M. Bissell, the ex-CTA official, acid trice Lumumba, a former head of the agen-
condone assassination.". in an interview that he also believed the cy's clandestine operations said yesterday.
Then an assistant special coune l to the late Allen W. Dulles, then director of the In an interview, Richard M. Bisset said,
President, Goodwin said he was speaking up CIA. received regular reports on the Mafia "There was an occasion when the feasibility
publicly?now to refute suggestions' that John connection. of an action of that kind was investi'ated."
F. Kennedy, who was sworn in as President Bissell's statements marked the first time but he added that he personally decided not
on. Jap. 21, 1951, may have known and even a former member of the CIA hierarchy had to implement the plans "for various opera-
approved of CIA complicity in efforts to kill acknowledged responsibility for the unusual tional reasons."
foreign leaders. cooperation in the early 1960s between the Then-CIA director Allen Dulles was aware
Evidence Goodwin cited suggested, Instead, underworld and U.S. Intelligence planners of the planning effort, Bissell said, but
thak high officials of the Eisenhower Admin- Lawrence R. Houston, former CIA general said he did not know whether anyone out-
istration had encouraged such undertakings. counsel, told reporters last week that he first side the agency was informed.
In an,lnterview. Goodwin said for example, learned about the CIA-Mafia links in April, "To the best of my knowledge and belief"
that on Jan. 12, 1961, while Eisenhower was 1962, from the late Col. Shefleld Edwards, the CIA had nothing to do with Lumumba's
still President, the White House's so-called then the agency's director of security. death in early 1961, Bissell said.
special group in charge of covert CIA opera- Houston said he never authorized these "The particular operation that was looked
tions authorized the CIA to turn over'sev- arrangements and insisted that he and Ed- into was aborted for reasons'which did not
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CON rRESSIONAL .RECORD - SENATE October 28, 1975
have anything to do with events in the
Congo," Bissell said. "There was a decision
within the agency not to carry the operation
beyond the feasibility stage."
Bissell, who left the agency in the wake
of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, said he could not
recall any of the' operational details of the
plan. He said he could not identify what
kind of poison was to be used or even "wheth-
er It was lethal or incapacitating."
He specifically refused to make, any con-
nection between plans to poison Lumumba
and the cache of deadly poisons recently dis-
covered at a CIA laboratory.
According to Bissell, the planning effort
would have consisted, among other things,
of development of a suitable poison by the
agency's Technical Services Division and in-
vestigation by agents in the field of whether
it was possible to administer the poison to
Lumumba.
(From the Los Angeles Times, May 31, 19751
CASTRO REMOVAL PLAN--EX-GENliRAL CITES
KENNEDY ORDERS
WASHINGTON.-Retired Maj. Gen. Edward
G. Lansdale said Friday that, acting on or-
ders from President John F. Kennedy de-
livered through an intermediary, he devel-
oped plans for removing Cuban Premier Fidel
Castro by any means including assassination.
"I just wanted to see if the United States
had any such capabilities," the former Air
Force officer and expert on counterinsur-
gency tactics said. In a telephone interview,
Lansdale stressed that his planning effort In-
cluded other means, such as a coup, for
removing Castro from power.
Asked if any attempts against Castro's life
were made as a result of his project. Lans-
dale said, "Certainly nothing I ever heard
about. Nothing was ever initiated on it as
far as I know."
However, a source familiar with the tenta-
tive findings of the Rockefeller commission
oil the Central Intelligence Agency said he
had been told that some subsequent assas-
sination efforts were undertaken.
Although Lansdale avoided using the word
"assassination," he twice replied in the af-
firmative to the specific question of whether
assassination was one of the means he con-
sidered.
"I was working for the highest authority
in the land," Lansdale said of the report.
Asked to be more specific, Lansdale replied,
"It was the President."
Lansdale said he did not deal directly with
President Kennedy on the project but worked
through an intermediary. Asked if the Inter-
mediary was McGeorge Bundy, then Presi-
dent Kennedy's assistant for national secu-
rity affairs, Lansdale replied, "No it was some-
one much more intimate."
He refused to provide the Intermediary
name for the record.
Lansdale said he was assigned to the proj-
ect In 1962 when the U.S, first received in-
telligence that Castro was prepared to In-
stall Soviet-made nuclear missiles In Cuba.
"It was something that was very closely held
then and still is," Lansdale said.
Last week, the Associated Press identified
Lansdale as the author of an August, 1962,
memo, now in the possession of the Rocke-
feller commission, that authorative sources
said provided the CIA with authority to
develop contingency plans for the assassina-
tion of Castro. Lansdale maintained, as he
had last week, that he did not remember the
memo, but he acknowledged that It would
not have been "Incompatible" with his as-
signed task.
"I didn't know what all the potentials
were," Lansdale said, "the feasibilities, the
practicalities of doing something like that."
In response to a question, Lansdale con-
firmed that the phrase "something like that"
included the possibility of assassination.
In previous interviews, Lansdale had re-
fused to discuss his role in the anti-Cuban
operations that informed sources have said
were directed by a special Cabinet-level
group headed by then Atty. Gen. Robert F.
Kennedy and titled operation Mongoose.
Other members of the group included
Bundy, CIA director John A. McCone, Sec-
ri tart' of Defense Robert S. McNamara and
1'+eretary of State Dean Rusk. The Rockefel-
ler commission reportedly has obtained the
minutes of, an Aug. 10, 1962, meeting of this
g oup, the official title of which was Spe-
cs al Group (Augmented), that indicate that
lie subject of assassination was discussed.
The minutes show that Robert Kennedy
was not present, sources have said.
Although Lansdale is officially listed as an
:vrsistant to the secretary of defense In Au-
c st, 1962, McNamara objected to the de-
scription of Lansdale as a McNamara assis-
tint. "I had no personal knowledge of what
II, ? was doing," McNamara said.
From The New York Times July 23, 19751
`71 NIxox ORDER TO C.I.A. To BALK ALLENDE
REPORTED-P:CESIDENT'S AUTHORIZATION
TERMED CAUSE OF AGENCY'S ROLE IN MrLr-
TARY PLOTS To THWART MARXIST'S ELECTION
(By Nicholas M. Horrock)
WASHINGTON,. July 23.-Preident Richard
M Nixon authorized the Central Intelligence
A,r:ency to make, a last-ditch, all-out effort
to September, 1970, to keep Salvador Allende
t'-ssens from becoming President of Chile,
ni thoritative Government sources said today.
is a result of the assignment, the sources
ad, the C.I.A. became involved in the plan-
)lag of two military coups d'etate-planning
that included proposals to kidnap Gen. Rene
:c hneider, Chief of Staff of the Chilean
A1my.
Theoretically, the kidnapping of General
Schneider would have given the Chilean mil-
it;.ry a justification for declaring martial law
sod assuming the powers of government.
The sources said that the C.I.A. tried later
to stop the carrying out of one plan, but that
It, went forward nevertheless and General
Sc ineider was killed by Chilean military
platters in the kidnap attempt.
n the other plot, the agency was said to
I'are supplied insurgents with three machine
gu as and with tear-gas grenades. When it was
i' ii cerned that the plot could not get broad
po,itical support it was halted and the guns
vrere later returned to the C.I.A. unused
th. sources said.
?Ienry A. Kissinger, thou President Nixon's
ass istant for national security affairs, was
br efed about the first plot on Oct. 12, 1970,
by Thomas J. Karamessines, then chief of
overt operations for the intelligence agency,
tit-, sources said. Mr. Karamessines reportedly
told Mr. Kissinger the plot had little chance
of success and It was at that point the two
aq? eed it should be halted.
fir. Kissinger has told President Ford of
t:is plot, Administration sources said, but
ha said he did not know that the C.I.A. was
nrs,,otiating with yet another group. Intel-
lig nce sources said, however, that agency
016Mals felt Mi. Nixon's orders to block Mr.
AU mds, each were strongly worded, con-
s`l'uted a blanket authorization for their
ariivities.
CONTRADICTIONS INVESTIGATED
iteports in The New York Times last fall
iriaicated that the C.I.A. was involved in ef-
for is to stop Mr. Allende from assuming the
Pix sidency: But In these accounts and In
sus ~sequent Congressional hearings the ef-
forks appeared to be limited to the secret fi-
nas icing of opposition parties and labor
unions. The latest disclosures are the first
col firmatfon that President Nixon and the
C.I A. contemplated military coups or the
vio;.ent take-over of the Chilean Government.
The new information, with copies of Con-
gressional testimony in 1973 by Richard M.
Helms, then Director of Central Intelligence,
hay a been forwarded to the Department of
Justice for study on whets+.er the contradic-
tions may constitute penury, the sources
confirmed.
Mr. Helms testified on C;ille before a Sen-
ate committee as early as May, 1973, and later
a connection with his confirmation as United
States Ambassador to Iran- He also testified
at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee
hearing on Chile earlier this year. There are
contradictions in his testimony' Oder the
depth and extent of C.I.A. activities against
Mr. Allende.
HISSINGER'S TESTIMONY SOUGHT
Meanwhile, Senator Frank Church, chair-
man of the Senate Select committee on In-
telligence announced today that the commit-
tee would call Mr. Kissinger to testify on the
"line of authority implem=.,nttng the Nixon
policy toward' Chile." The Idahoe Democrat
said that Mr. Kissinger could offer insight
into the extent of the knowledge and con-
trol" exercised by the policy-makers.
The announcement brought a sharp reac-
tion from Roderick Hills, a counsel to Presi-
dent Ford. He said the request for Mr. Kis-
singer's testimony was abrupt" and was not
handled with the same courtesy he knew the
committee had extended to other witnesses.
The committee, Mr. Hill:: said, had made
no attempt to send out what Mr. Kissinger
could really add on the question. He said,
however, that his action should not "in any
way" indicate that Mr. Kissinger would at-
tempt to avoid fortifying.
Government sources and sources within
the intelligence community gave this report
on the fast-paced events of the fall of 1970:
On Sept. 15, 1970, 11 days after Mr. Allende
a Marxist, had won the presidential elections
by a plurality, President Nixon called a secret
meeting at the White House. It was attended
by Mr. Kissinger, Mr. Helms and John
Mitchell, then Attorney General.
The meeting was unusual because it was
out of the normal channels of transmitting
instructions to the C.I.A. Under the law and
in practice CIA covert operations are passed
on by the 40 Committee, a top level White
House security group, and transmitted
through the national Security Council. It is
unclear whether the matter ever reached the
agenda of the committee.
Mr. Nixon was, one source said, "ex-
tremelytanxious" about Mr. Allende's rise to
power In Chile. Another source said the
former President was "franu.ic." He told Mr.
Helms in "strong language" that the CIA
Was not doing enough in the situation and
it had better "come up with some ideas."
He said that money was no object and au-
thorized an initial expenditure of $10-million
to unseat the Chilean Marxist.
CIA's EFFORTS REDO USLED
Notes on the meeting, however, do not
indicate that Mr. Nixon ever specifically or-
dered the CIA to arrange a coup d'etat in
Chile. But the "tone" of tote meeting, one
source said, was "do everything you can."
The agency redoubled its efforts. Mr. Kara-
messines, deputy director of plans at CIA
and thus the chief covert operator went to
Chile himself, one source said.
On Oct. 13, 1970, Mr. Kara messines briefed
Mr. Kissinger on the CIA's ;,rogress. He told
Mr. Kissinger ?that Brig. Gen Roberto Vlaux,
who had recently retired from the Chilean
Army, was plotting to t idnap General
Schneider as the prelude to I, military take-
over. Mr. Karamessines said. however, that
it was the opinion of the CTA that General
Viaux's project could not sricceed. Mr. Kis-
singer told the CIA to "keep the pressure up"
and keep the CIA's "assets" in Chile up to
par, but agreed that this plan should not
go forward.
He told the agency to try to halt General
Viauxs plot. These sources said that CIA
cable traffic, copies of which =,re in the hands
of the Senate Select Commt ttee on Intelli-
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October 28, 1975 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE
geilce,' indicate that the CIA did make an
efloOi to halt the plan.
Nevertheless, General Viaux's plot went
forward. On October 22, 48 hours tefore the
Chilean Congress was seheduled to vote on
M. I ller}de's eleetTori-the fact that he had
114t N'on 4iiajority threw the decision into
CQllc~'ess-anWtempt was made to kidnap
General Schneider. When it appeared the
general was going to resist, these sources
said he was killed by three .45 caliber bul-
lets, according to Chilean press accounts.
However, between the Oct. 13 meeting and
the killing of General Schneide on Oct. 22,
these souces said, the C.I.A. was negotiating
with a completely separate group of plotters.
A group of military officers under Gen. Ca-
milo Valenzuela, then commander of the
Santiago army garrison; was also planning to
kidnap General Schneider to pave the way
for a military take-over.
The C.T.A. these. sources said, at first had
greater confidence in General Valenzuela's
plot. Accordingly, officials at the agency
headquarters at Langley, Va., authorized the
C.I.A. Station in Santiago to give the incur
gents three machine guns and tear gas gre-
nades for use in a kidnapping attempt. The
authorization was Issued on Sunday, Oct. 24.
But within hours the ' C.I.A. had ascer-
tained that` the'Valenzuela coup not get suf-
ficient political support to succeed and that
Jorge Alessandri Rodriguez of the right-wing
National party, the runner-up in the elec-
tion, would not accept the presidency. Never-
theless, apparently on the order of C.I.A.
officials in Santiago, the guns and tear gas
were reportedly given to the conspirators.
They were later returned to the agency
unt sed.
After Mr. Allende had been confirmed and
had assumed office, the agency secretly sent
money to the families of men arrested In
General Viaux's abortive plot, the sources
said. The money, one source said, was paid to
"keep the families quiet about the contacts
with C.I.A."
NIXON REPORTEb TOLD
According to the sources, Mr. Kissinger told
President Ford after Mr. Nixon had resigned,
of the stepped-up 'effort to unseat Mr. Al-
lende and about the Viaux Plot. But Mr. Kis-
singer has maintained, in private conversa-
tions, that he never knew about the second
plot, the sources said.
Mr. Kissinger has said, in these private
conversations, that had the C.I.A. proposed
a military coup in Chile the agency would
presumably have come back to him and out-
lined the plot, and the President and the 40
Committee would either have authorized or
prohibited it.
The 40 Committee is a special group under
the National Security Council that passes on
all covert operations.
One source said that the 40 '"ommittee had
approved an covert activities in Chile except
the involvement in the,Viaux and Valenzuela
affairs.. But another source said that "from
the beginning it appeared the matter was be-
ing handled on its own special track."
Another source Said that C.I.A. officials had
felt that the President's strongly worded as-
signment on Sept. 15, 1970, was a "blanket
authorization", to become involved in plan-
ning for a military take-over.
24 $TtS;, IS CONCEDED
Since the military coup in September, 1973,
in which President Allende was killed, there
has been a growing national inquiry into the
role of Mr. Kissinger and the C.I.A. in efforts
to undermine the Chilean Government. When
Mr. Helms testified before the Senate Foreign.
Relations Committee during hearings in 1973
on his nomination, as ambassador, he gave
very scanty testimony on the Chilean matter.
Earlier this year, in private testimony later
made public. Mr. Helms told the Senators he
had "made a mistake in his earlier testi-
mony" in that he had not revealed that Presi-
dent Nixon wanted President Allende's Gov-
ernment overthrown.
In other testimony this year, Mr. Helms
said there had been a "probe" to see if there
were any forces in Chile to oppo--e Dr. Al-
lende's advent as President.
"It was very quickly established there were
not," he added, "and therefore no further
effort was made along these lines to the best
of my knowledge, at least I know of none."
Mr. Helms returned to Teheran, where he
Is Ambassador. He could not be reached by
The New York Times today.
[From the New York Times, July 27, 19751
HELMS LINKED TO C.I.A. MEMO FOR KISSINGER
AND MITCHELL ON PLOT IN CHILE
(By Nicholas M. Horrock)
WASHINGTON, July 25.-Richard Helms,
while director of the Central Intelligence
Agency, prepared a memorandum in the fall
of 1970 informing Henry Kissinger and John
N. Mitchell that the agency had supplied
machine guns and tear-gas grenades to men
plotting to overthrow the Chilean Govern-
ment authoritative Government sources said
today.
The memorandum may become crucial
evidence as the Senate Select Committee on
intelligence attempts to learn who author-
ized the C.I.A. to become involved in plan-
ning two military coups In Chile in October,
1970.
One of the plans resulted in the death
of Gene Rene Schneder Chereau, Chief of
Staff of the Chilean Army.
According to sources who have seen the
memorandum, it was written by Mr. Helms
after the plot involving the machine guns
had been called off. It was in the sense, they
said, of an "advisory" to the Administration
of President Richard M. Nixon on C.I.A.
activities.
The memorandum was written to Mr.
Mitchell, then Attorney General, and was to
have been passed on to Mr. Kissinger, then
assistant to Nixon for National security
affairs.
But, these sources said, there is no evi-
dence that either Mr. Kissinger or Mr.
Mitchell received the document.
Neither Mr. Kissinger nor Mr. Mitchell
could be reached for comment. But Mr. Kis-
singer is reported to have told associates in
private conversations that he was unaware
the C.I.A. had smuggled machine guns and
tear gas grenades to Chilean Insurrectionists.
Mr. Kissinger has said however, that he
was aware of an earlier plot to kidnap Gen-
eral Schneider and spark a military coup that
both he and the C.I.A. agreed to stop.
The Helms memorandum was part of a col-
lection of Mr. Helm's papers and files that
were turned over to the Rockefeller com-
mission by William E. Colby, Director of
Central Intelligence. Although the eight-
man commission, headed by Vice President
Rockefeller, was concentrating on alleged
domestic wrongdoing by the C.I.A. its staff
did review the documents.
AGENCY LINKED TO PLOTS
The Rockefeller staff concluded from its
review that the C.I.A. did not plot to assassi-
nate anyone in Chile, but it found substan-
tial evidence that the agency had become in-
volved in planning a military take-over.
On Thursday, The New York Times quoted
authoritative Government sources as having
said that on Sept. 15, 1970, President Nixon
ordered the C.I.A. to make an all-out, last
minute effort to keep Salvador Allende Gos-
sens from becoming President of Chile.
Mr. Allende won the Presidency by a plu-
rality early in September and his election was
to be certified by the Chilean Parliament
late in October. The United States feared
that he would create a hostile Marxist gov-
ernment.
S 18703
In this six-week period, these sources said,
the C.I.A. became involved in two separate
plots to seize power in Chile by military
means. Both plots involved the kidnapping
General Schneider, a highly respected mili-
tary leader, and inducement of the army to
take power.
On Oct. 13, 1970, Thomas J. Iaramessines,
then chief of the agency's covert operations,
briefed Mr. Kissinger about its progress in
Chile. He told Mr. Kissinger, these sources
said, that a group of retired military officers
planned to abduct General Schneider.
But Mr. Karamessines warned Mr. Kissin-
ger that it was the C.I.A.'s opinion that the
plot could not succeed. The two agreed to
try to halt it, according to the sources. They
said there were copies of cablegrams in which
the C.I.A. tried to head off the plan.
The conspiracy went ahead, however, and
General Schneider was killed on Oct: 22, 1970.
Meanwhile, the sources said, the C.I.A. was
conspiring with the commander of the Santi-
ago garrison in a similar plot. The agency felt
at one point that this endeavor had more
chance of success, and authorized C.I.A. em-
ployes in Chile to give the plotters three
machine guns and tear-gas grenades.
At the last minute, this plot also appeared
to be doomed to failure, and the tear gas and
guns, unused, were returned to the C.I.A.
It was at this point, in the last days of
October or early in November, the sources
said, that Mr. Helms prepared the advisory
memorandum to Mr. Mitchell and Mr.
Kissinger. -
Intelligence sources have said the C.Z.A.
became involved in planning the coups un-
der the general authorization of President
Nixon on Sept. 15, 1970. However, there are
no documents showing that Mr. Nixon told
the C.I.A. to plan a coup, they said.
Mr. Kissinger has made few public state-
ments concerning the role of the C.I.A. In
undermining the Allende Government. How-
ever, in his 1973 Senate confirmation hear-
ings as Secretary of State, Mr. Kissinger testi-
fied in closed hearings:
"The intent of the United States Govern-
ment was not to destabilize or to subvert
him [Mr. Allende[ but to keep in being those
political parties that had traditionally con-
tested the elections. Our concern was the
election of 1976 and not at all with a coup in
1973, about which we had nothing to do with.
[From the New 'York Times, Sept. 3, 19751
PENTAGON ROLE REPORTED IN '70 PLOT AGAINST
ALLENDE
(By Nicholas M. llorrock)
WASHINGTON, Sept. 2.-The Defense De-
partment ordered the United States military
attache in Chile to give strong covert sup-
port to an October, 1970, plan for a military
coup aimed at keeping Salvador Allende
Gossens out of the Chilean presidency,
sources familiar with the operation reported
today.
According to the sources, the Defense
Department sent "at least two cables" be-
tween Oct. 2, 1970, urging Col. Paul
Wimert, then military attache in Chile to
secretly assure Chilean military officers
plotting a coup that the United States
would give them total support "short of
troops," as one source put it.
Dr. Allende led a left-wing coalition In-
cluding the Chilean Communist party to an
election victory in September, 1970. The
election had to be confirmed by the Chilean
congress because Dr. Allende lacked a ma-
jority. This was done in October. Dr. Allende
did not take office until November.
The information on that period was
gathered by the Senate Select Committees on
intelligence.
WIDER OPERATION SEEN
Evidence submitted on the role of the
Defense Department in the plotting of mili-
tary coups in Chile appears to indicate that
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CON 1RESSIONAL RECORD -SENATE 0,19,'-or 28, 19'1'5
involvement was not limited to the Central
Intelligence Agency.
On July 24, 1975, The New York Times
quoted intelligence sources who raid that on
Sept. 15, 1970, President Nixon ordered an
all-out last-minute attempt to keep Dr.
Allende from becoming president of Chile.
Acting on this genera! i:atraction, the
sources said, the CIA learned of two plots
for a military take-over in Chile, one involv-
ing retired personnel and one icvolving of-
ficers on active duty. One of the plots, put
into effect on Oct. 22, resulted in the death
or Gen. Rend Schneider, chief of the Chilean
General Staff.
Secretary of State Kissinger, who has
testified before the committee, has said pub-
licly that he knew of no assassination plots.
Privately he has reportedly acknowledged
that he learned of one coup plan, but that
he and CIA officials opposed it.
PLOT DISCUSSED
On Oct. 15, 1970, several sources said, Mr.
Kissinger, then Presidential Assistant for
National Security Affairs; Col. Alexander M.
Haig Jr., his deputy, and Thomas J. Kara-
messines, then chief of the C.I.A.'s under-
cover operations, met to discuss Chile. At
this meeting, the sources said, Mr. Kissinger
agreed with Mr. Karamessines that one of
the plots in Chile was unlikely to succeed
and should not go forward.
But, Senate investigators have been told,
Colonel Haig and Mr. Karamessines met the
next day-Oct. 16, 1970--and support for
another plot in Chile was discussed.
The C.I.A., these sources said, received
"tacit" approval to go ahead and support
this plot. Whether the approval came from
Mr. Kissinger, President Nixon "or other
channels" is in dispute in the testimony,
several sources said.
It was after the Haig-Karamessines meet-
ing, however, that the Defense Department
cabled Colonel Wimert his instructions.
Colonel Wimert was brought before the
committee last month as a "secret witness."
He declined to comment today on the mat-
ter.
"That Is behind me now," he said. "I'm
retired. I can look myself In the mirror when
I shave. I don't want to get back into hat
business." He advised that facts be checked
very carefully.
After hearing that such orders had been
given Colonel Wimert, the Senate commit-
tee Interviewed former officials of the De-
fense Intelligence Agency, which was a con-
duit for the cables sent to Colonel Wimert.
"There apparently is some dispute over who
signed the cables and who authorized them,"
a source said.
It was during the critical days between
Oct. 15 and Oct. 22-the Chilean Congress
,as due to make its decision on Dec. 24-
that the C.I.A. authorized three machine
guns and a quantity of tear gt:s grenades
be given to one group of military plotters.
Before the plot could be put into effect.
However, another group of plotters at-
tempted to kidnap General Schneider.
Theoretically this would have given the
military justification for declaring martial
law and assuming the powers of government.
The General was shot during the attempt
and died a few days later.
Chilean political leaders to the right of Mr.
Allende then apparently declined to support
any other plots. Mr. Allende assumed office
the next month.
Complicating the matter is that in remarks
about United States Involvement In Chile In
tliat period made at a news conference last
fall, President Ford said the involvement was
intended only to "assist the preservation of
opposition newspapers and electronic media
and to preserve opposition political parties."
NSA FED GOSSIP TO PRESIDENTS
(By Nicholas M. Hcrrock)
Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B.
Johnson received private reports from the
I ational Securtty Agency on what prominent
Fneertcans were doing and saying abroad,
apparently obtained from electronic eaves-
cropping, according to present and former
e over.oment officials.
These sources said yes?erday the reports
were not matter; of national security and
cid not come to' the presidents through nor-
z.lal intelligence channels.
Instead, they said, they were sent directly
f em NSA to the presidents and marked for
"White House distribution only" to prevent
t weir being circulated to other intelligence
envies.
The existence of this type of reporting has
teen made known to both the Senate and
house intelligence committees, and they are
i ivestigatin';.
Several sources raised the question of
vhether it was a proper use of NSA facilities
t) gather and make such reports. They said
t: sere are also questions of improper intrusion
o'i the privacy of the Americans.
A spokesman for NSA said the agency had
o comment. NSA officials as a matter of
r utine have never made comments on
s cries about the agency's operations.
In one case, a source reported, the NSA
dispatch informed Johnson that a group of
Texas businessmen involved in private nego-
t>ations in the Middle East had claimed a
p- rivate relationship with him to improve
tieir bargaining position.
Another source said Johnson received de-
tails about Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's personal
activities and nightlife in Paris from intel-
gence sources. He could not confirm that tree
material came from NSA.
Nixon received similar reports, particularly
a i businessmen, a third source said.
There is no indication that the practice
as exclusive to either Nixon or Johnson, but
1 he New York: Times was unable to confirm
i stances in any other administration.
A senior aide to President Ford said pri-
v etely that he believed Ford "would not
I ilerate this practice," and that to his knowl-
e ige no such reports had been delivered.
The sources familiar with the private re-
r:)rts said they appeared to be "unsolicited"
= id were "gossipy" in nature.
One account of testimony by NSA officials
a a closed session of the House intelligence
c immittee several weeks ago indicated the
a ;envy picked up information of what Ameri-
ins might privately say to foreign govern-
r tents by eavesdropping on the communica-
t ens of those governments and their em-
t issies in Washington.
But other sources said NSA ability to gather
is iformation on the movement of prominent
Fmerican business and professional leaders
aoroad can he far more direct. NSA monitors
v:rtually all foreign cable traffic and many
osinesses send enormous amounts of top-
!' vel information by cable, these sources said.
Prom the Washington Post, Oct. 13, 19751
MESSAGES Or ACTIVISTS INTERCEPTED
(By .Bob Woodward)
The National Security Agency intercepted
conversations of Jane Fonda, Dr. Benjamin
'pock and other leading antiwar figures in
1369 and 1970, according to informed intel-
ligence community sources.
The communications were intercepted by
tie NSA from overseas cable traffic, some do-
n estic telegrams and long-distance tele-
gdone calls, the sources said. Transcripts
vere then circulated to top government offi-
c.als under one of the nation's most highly
o?assifled and closely held code designations,
they said.
At least 160 messages of conversations and
communications of antis' ar leaders were
routed to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and other official= under a special
intelligence designation i?t the "Gamma"
series for sensitive comp unlcations Ii: ta'r-
cepts, the sources said,
Special officers in the CIA, FBI and the
counterintelligence unit of the Defense
Intelligence Agency were designated to re-
ceive and handle these m sages, according
to the sources.
The sources revealed tb- exact code de' g-
nation In the G ,.mma series used for the
intercepts of the cominu'ilcations of anti-
war figures, but an intelligence official sug-
gested last week that It w, ald be imprudent
to make it public.
The National Security A >ency used a sim-
ilar designation in the C,-tmma series-the
designation "Gamma Gucey"-for the com-
munications it monitored from the limou-
sine radio calls of Soviet union officials in
Moscow. This proect was first reported in
newspapers In 1971.
The Gamma reef' nation? were reserved ex-
elusively for intercepts of Russian communi-
cations until the NSA received orders in 1969
to use the same sensitive methods and pro-
cedures to monitor the communications of
U.S. antiwar leaders, the sources said. It
could not be learned who issued the orders.
Inaddition to Fonda an4 Spook, the NSA
monitored communieatio is of "Chicago
Seven" defendants Abbe Hoffman and
David T. Dellinger and firmer Black Pan-
ther leader Eldridge Cle,eer, the sources
said.
All these persons tree sled extensively
abroad and throughout this country dur-
ing 1969 and 1970. Cleaver. for example, vis-
ited Cuba, Algeria, Swedes and North Viet-
nam during, this period. Virtually all the
intercepted messages wen.'! short and in-
volved travel plans or appointments. the
sources said.
Under another, less see. i.tive code desig-
nation, the NSA, also obtai;.r.ed and circulated
information on the pers+ nal life of Rev.
Ralph Abernathy, Dr. Ma; sic Luther King's
succes=or as head of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, the sources said. It
could not be determined, how the NSA came
by this information.
Those familiar with ti-4, monitoring pro-
grams said the conversatuns involving top
Soviet leaders would cone' in one moment
and those of the antiwar personalities the
next.
"What Brezhnev and Jore Fonda said got
about the same treatment." one source said.
The National Security A ency is in charge
of protecting comlunicat:r`ns security and
U.S. message codes while ;attempting to in-
tercept and break the messages and codes of
foreign powers. NSA Director Lt. Gen. Lew
Allen Jr. said through a ar>okesman that he
would have no comment on this story.
A Pentagon spokesman also declined to
comment, and retired & rmy Gen. Earle
Wheeler, the chairman of the. Joint Chiefs
of Staff at the time, could not be reached
for comment. Sources said Wheeler reviewed
most of the messages fro; antiwar leaders
and initialed them with a' tn7:"
One source within the ntelligence com-
munity said the commun' ':scions intercepts
were confined to international cables, Two
other sources, however, sa`.d the NSA Inter-
cepter a limited number ?!-f domestic com-
munications as well.
There is no indication tl it. the method for
intercepting communications involved con-
venticnal wiretapping. Instead, the sources
said, the Information came from various air-
wave interceptions such a:: from microwave
stations that are used to transmit or relay
telephone calls and telegrais.
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 October 28, 19frroved Fora 1 ~ 1 8 P7 A ~1,~, 8000400050090-7 S 18705
prom the New York Times, Oct. 15, 19751
]) Au,ES. SEEK To MODIFY LAWS ON SPYING
? ETSOR-THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WOULD
_R'OI,E ON LEGALITY OF N.S.A. ELECTRONIC
SURVEILLANCE .. .4
(By Nicholas M.Ilorrock)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14.-The Ford Adminis-
tration ha i# become convinced that a signifi-
cant; Aiart of the 1lational Security Agency's
ign intelligence gathering, though vital,
be of "questionable legality" and it has
devised a plan by which it hopes to continue
Such operations while protecting the rights
of Americans, according to highly placed Ad-
ministration sources,
The sources said today that the bulk of the
law limiting electronic eavesdropping was
developed in connection with domestic crim-
inal investlgations and as one source put it,
a "lc iopal security needs were not given sig-
cant consideration." The result, the
sol{xc,) p%id, was that the N.S.A.'s massive
e),ectrepJe, gurveillance techniques may have
bee i In "technical violation" of the law.
lresident Ford, they said, is considering an
ItOutlve order that would empower Attor-
ngy General Edward H. Levi to approve or
disapprove specific electronic intrusions by
the, security agency. The plan is not complete
ah.l several sources were concerned that pub-
Uoation of its detail might endanger national
septlrity.
AN AUTHORIZED INTRUSION
But these details were pieced together from
Several interviews with Administration
sources:
The security agency's advanced technology
has made it possible for the agency to scan
thousands of telephone calls, cables and
other wire and radio communications and
select those with valuable national security
data..
The proposal Mr. Ford is considering would
require that when the agency records a com-
munication i believes contains important
intelligence data, the agency would notify
the Attorhey General and he would authorize
a national Security intrusion. If the Attorney
General did not give his approval, the record-
igs would be destroyed, under the proposal.
If such approval was received, the security
agency would then be able to disseminate the
information t( other intelligence agencies,
including the Central Intelligence Agency
and the IYgder4l 9u au of Investigation.
The operations of the security agency,
Which has 20 0 0 employees and an estimated
bud;;et of $1.2 l"4ion a year, are regarded by
the Admillistrtiip qs the "top priority" in
intelligence-g61 hering techniques, the sources
said. ' If tie public could know some of the
things they've done over the past two years
it would li Justly proud," one source said.
But at tale same time, these sources said,
the agency's technology has "outstripped"
current l ~,n he United States, particularly
domestic cii"lnal law, which deals mainly
with wiretppping and room bugging. How-
ever, several Administration lawyers con-
tended, the Slpmgstic laws and court deci-
sions are " ague and "ambivalent."
Ultimate y,- Administration sources said,
Mr. Ford., y, decide to ask Congress for
new legislation onto cover "space age" electronic
survefllan tg l piques. The proposal to as-
sign decis iii" making responsibility to the
Attorneyeneral would provide a test period
to discovo; just what new law is needed,
they said.
What ks. }trade the agency's techniques
particularly' difficult to match with current
law or practice is that the agency makes an
Intrusion p . a communication before it
knows t1le . c versation or cable contains
matters of n4flonal security.
At the,llama time recent court decisions
have been,sl9 ly limiting the Government's
power to conduct warrantless national or
dopr,,estic seetiity electronic surveillance.
A recent decision in the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Colum-
bia said that the Government should obtain
a warrant before it eavestdrops on an Amer-
ican citizen in a national security case un-
less it can establish that he is an agent of a
foreign government.
AGENCY OPERATES IN SECRECY
A large part of recent law and legislation
was formed without any Real knowledge of
what the super-secret National Security
Agency was doing.
But under the pressure of the Congres-
sional Investigations and the Rockefeller
commission investigation of intelligence
agencies, what some Administration aides
called "bothersome indications" of unac-
ceptable activity began to emerge.
The indications included the following:
In June, the Presidential commission on
the C.I.A., headed by Vice President Rocke-
feller, reported that an unnamed agency of
the Government had supplied 1,100 pages of
materials on dissident Americans gleaned
from communications between the United
States and foreign countries. In August,
Government sources confirmed that the
agency was the N.S.A. and that a "watch-
list" of names included numerous leaders
of the American antiwar movement. There
is no indication that any Attorney General
approved these eavesdroppings or obtained
a court order for them.
In early September, The New York Times
reported that in addition to spying on anti-
war leaders, the security agency had intruded
on virtually every cable or printed matter
transmission that entered or left the United
States. The result, sources told The Times,
was that the agency intruded on communi-
cations that might have nothing to do with
national security.
Senator Frank Church, Democrat of Idaho,
chairman of the Senate Select Committee,
on Intelligence, warned in a television inter-
view that the current bugging technology
"could be turned around on the American
people and no American would have any
privacy left."
When Senator Church's committee sought
to hold public hearings on the security
agency last week, President Ford called Mr.
Church personally and asked him to permit
Attorney General Levi to argue the Admin-
istration's case against investigating the
agency in public. The committee voted to put
off hearings for the present and study the
Administration's plea.
Mr. Levi, responsible sources said, pre-
sented the committee in this closed session
with the legal complications of the agency's
role. According to a report in The Los Angeles
Times, the committee had independently
learned that some of intelligence data
gathered by the agency was routinely sent to
the F.B.I. and may have been used in domes-
tic cases.
Administration sources said that their
role was to preserve the agency's foreign in-
telligence capability while avoiding illegal
or unconstitutional intrusions on Americans.
However, they resist the current legal view
that Suggests the courts should decide what
justifies a national security electronic
surveillance.
{From the Los Angeles Times, Oct. 11, 1975]
GLOBAL MONITORING SYSTEM PROVIDED FBI
INFORMATION
(By Robert L. Jackson and Ronald J. Ostrow)
WASHINGTON.-A worldwide electronic
monitoring network of the National Secu-
rity Agency was about to be disclosed last
week when Senate hearings were abruptly
postponed, The Times has learned.
Investigators for the Senate Select Com-
mittee on Intelligence Activities had planned
to disclose that the NSA , for years had
provided FBI officials with information
gleaned from overseas phone calls and cables.
The NSA's data are obtained from a
highly sophisticated computer system that
has monitored foreign telephone calls and
cables on a vast scale, according to knowl-
edgeable sources.
A former high-ranking member of the U.S.
intelligence community told The Times that
this system had "an amazing capability"-
beyond that of most other nations.
According to this offs' ial and another
source involved in the system, the NSA gave
the FBI secret data, purportedly for domes-
tic security reasons.
But it was understood that the Justice
Department, the parent organization of the
FBI, had curbed this arrangement within
the last two years because it had become
difficult to separate domestic security intel-
ligence from information that could have a
bearing on criminal cases.
Department officials feared that criminal
cases against U.S. citizens could be legally
tainted if they were based, at least in part,
on phone calls recorded without a warrant.
One source said that this practice had con-
stituted "bad judgment" on the part of the
FBI, although it was legal.
Another defended the NSA's overseas elec-
tronic surveillance in these words, insofar as
it affected the FBI:
"It doesn't violate the law. It doesn't re-
quire burglary and doesn't require opening
mail. It's a pretty healthy capability in terms
of civil rights."
However, a Justice Department official
questioned whether information gathered by
electronic surveillance outside the United
States would be admissible in a criminal
proceeding.
"It is unclear to what extent the Fourth
Amendment (guarantee against unreason-
able search and seizure) would apply over-
seas," he said. Even a noncitizen overseas
has some Fourth Amendment right if the
stuff is going to be used in criminal pro-
ceedings here."
On the eve of the scheduled Senate beat-
ings, Atty. Gen. Edward H. Levi, at the re-
quest of President Ford, paid a visit last
Tuesday to Chairman Frank Church (D-
Ida.) and the other committee members.
According to committee spokesman Spen-
cer Davis, Levi made a "generalized appeal"
for postponement of the hearings on na-
tional security grounds. The panel voted
to honor the Administration's request until
the matter could be explored further.
"The committee was not trying to de-
stroy the electronic surveillance capabilities
of the NSA," a committee source said. "The
abuse of these capabilities was the reason
for our hearings. We were not about to re-
veal the techniques."
Those techniques are so sensitive they
cannot be described publicly, The Times'
sources said.
According to knowledgeable officials, the
NSA monitors millions of overseas phone
calls, as well as those within foreign coun-
tries, as part of its code-breaking and for-
eign intelligence-gathering operations. In
addition, it intercepts certain radio and
cable communications.
The agency does not monitor domestic
phone calls, they said, although U.S. citi-
zens may be overheard when they are parties
to overseas calls. Because the quantity is so
large, the NSA uses computers to screen out
conversations that have no intelligence
value, one source said.
These computers are programmed to scan
conversations and record those- in which
key words are used, including the names of
particular persons or organizations.
The Senate committee is also understood
to, be investigating evidence that the FBI
furnished the NSA with a list of U.S. citi-
zens whose overseas calls were of interest
to the bureau.
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 Approved For Releei GRT~SIt~Nt1L I-, 7ZM00ENATE 400050090Oet .her 28, 197.
Congressional sources said that the FBI.
in turn, assisted the NSA by 7reaking into
foreign embassies to obtain code-books and
other material to help the agency decipher
intercepted messages.
[From the New York Times, Aug. 6, 197b]
OPENING OF MAIL IS TRACED TO FBI-AGENCY
CONCEDES OPERATION--DECLIRES PsRPOaa
WAS '.'To THWART ESPIONAGE"
(By John M. Crewds,)n)
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5.- Agent3 of the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation opened and
photographed foreign and domestic mail at
several sites in the United States beginning
in 1958 and continuing until possibly 1970,
according to a source with direct knowledge
of the secret operation.
The source said that the openings were
centered In New York and Washington, where
they Involved chiefly mail addressed to So-
viet-bloc embassies and missions to the
United Nations, but occurred also in other
cities, including San Francisco. ,.
STATEMENT BY F.B.I.
He said that the openings, I mown within
the F.B.I. as "Z-covers," were accomplished
without the authority of judicini search war-
rants, and were thus a violation of Federal
statutes prohibiting obstruc",ion of the
mails. He added that the openings had been
made with the assistance of "curtain officials
of the Post Office [who] knew what the
F.B.I. was doing."
Asked about the source's assertions, an
F.B.I. spokesman issued the following state-
ment:
"In connection with its fort it;n counter-
intelligence responsibilities, the F.B.I. did
engage in opening of mail until 1966, when
former Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered the
activity to be discountinued.
"The motive behind it was s)lely to carry
out F.B.I. counterintelligence responsibili-
ties in order to thwart espionage efforts di-
rected against the United States by foreign
powers.
"No activities of this nature were under-
taken by the F.B.I. after 1966."
A spokesman for the Postal Service said
that his agency would have no comment on
the report "at this time."
The source's account and the bureau's
unusual confirmation of part of his account
represent the first disclosure that, like the
Central Intelligence Agency, the Y.B.I. also
participated in the opening and photograph-
ing of parcels and letters it believed to be of
some intelligence value.
The New York Times reported yesterday
that Justice Department lawyers investigat-
ing alleged wrongdoing by the C.I.A. had
concluded that the agency's "miii intercept"
program, which lasted from 1953 until 1973,
had violated Federal statutes protecting the
sanctity of first-class mail.
The same standards would presumably be
applied by the Justice Department to. the
F.B.I: s "Z-covers," although, as with the
C.I.A. investigation, a key question would be
whether the openings took place within the
last five years.
That is the period in which, according to
the Federal statute of limitaticns violations
of Section 1702 of Title 18 01 the United
State Code, which prohibits the detention or
opening of the malls without a search war-
rant, must have taken place if they are to be
prosecuted.
Asked whether any attempt had been made
to obtain search warrants in the "Z-oover"
program, the source said that the senders
and recipients of the letters bad not been the
subjects of a criminal investigation by the
bureau.
"How could you gets, warrant?" the source
asked rhetorically.
The year 1966, given as the Cutoff date for
the mail openings is the name year, according
to Clarence M. Kelley, the F.B.I. director, that
bureau agents stopped committing burglaries
to gain foreign Intelligence information..
STOLEN LETTER CITED
'T'here have been reports, however, that al-
though Mr. Hoover apparently trimmed bark
the bureau's counterespionage effort in 1966,
such break-ins continued on a less formal
basis, and there are also indications that the
mail openings persisted as well.
T`iic source cited, for example, a copy of a
letter that was stolen from the F.B.I.'s office
in Media, Pa,., in 1971 and subsequently made
available to several newspapers.
That letter, dated Nov. 30, 1970, was from
Thomas E. Ingerson, a Boy Scout leader from
Moscow, Idaho, to the Soviet Embassy in
Washington and contained a request for in-
formation about a prospective visit to the
U.S.S.R. by his troop of six Explorer Scouts.
Asked how, if the mail openings were
halted in 1966, the 1970 letter found its way
to the F.B.I.'s files, the bureau spokesman
replied that this agency would stand on its
statement.
One Justice Department source said, how-
ever, that after 1966 the F.B.I. continued to
receive doples of correspondence produced
by the C.I.A.'s mail intercept program, which
at that time was also centered in New York
and San Francisco.
TUNE REPORT RECArLED
One well-informed source said that he was
virtually certain that the Idaho letter, which
he said was "discussed quite a bit" within
the bureau after it had become public, had
been obtained by the F.B.I. as a result of a
"Z-cover."
Another well-placed source said, however,
that after 1966 the F.B.I. continued to re-
ceive copies of correspondence produced by
the C.I.A.'s mail intercept program, which at
that time was also centered in New York and
San Francisco.
The source suggested that the Idaho letter
might have been provided to the F.B.I.,
by the C.I.A., rather than obtained directly
by the F.B.I,, which, if true, would represent
the first known instance in which the C.I.A.
tampered with mail from one domestic ad-
dress to another.
A commission appointed last January by
President Ford to look into the C.I.A.'s
domestic activities reported in June that the
agency, over a 20-year period, had opened
and examined mail between the United
States and various Communist countries.
The commission, which was headed by Vice
President Rockefeller, reported that in Jan-
nary, 1958, the F.B.I. approached the Post
Office Department "for the purpose of In-
stituting similar coverage of mail to and
from the Soviet Union." -
The bureau was told, the conunission re-
ported, that the C.I.A. was already conduct-
ing such an effort, and an agreement was
subsequently reached in which "the C.I.A.
would send to the F.B.I. mail project items
which were of internal security interest.."
The commission report said, however, that
"the bureau. agreed with the C.I.A.'s sug-
g;estlon that the project should be handled
by the C.I.A. alone."
From Newsweek Magazine, July 28, 197b)
THE FBI's "BLACK-BAG BOYS"
(No'E.-Every foreign Intelligence agent
had suspected it and every major mafioso had
known for sure, but last week director Clar-
ence Kelley made it .official: the FBI, he re-
ported, has In the past made "surreptitious
entries" into various places, foreign embas-
sies included, to obtain what it felt was
Important information. Kelley said the
break-ins began during World War II and
were largely discontinued by J. Edgar Hoover
in 1966, and he implied they were legal be-
cause the agents "acted in good faith." But
the disclosure touched off a major furor:
Attorney General Edward Levi promised a
criminal investigation several foreign am-
bassadors called the White House to learn
whether they had been targets, and Presi
dential counsel Philip Puchen berated LeEi
for not keeping Kelley "on a shorter leash
Most intriguingly, the director's disclosure
also set other tongues wagging. Newsweek'-
Anthony Marro pieced together this stoat;
of the FThI's after-hours adventures.)
The FBI agents usual/ y went In clean: no
badge, no guns, no credentials. Almostalway;3
they wore the standard uniform of suit and
tie, but with labels and cleaners' marking::
removed. "It was your as:; if you got caught,"
recalled a former agent who said he hart
taken part in many break-ins. "You were
told, 'If you get caught, you're on your
own'." They were known as "black-bast
teams" or "black-bag boys" and they usually
consisted--at a sninimc,rn-of a locksmith,
a lookout and a couple of men to do the
ransacking. Depending on the purpose of the
break-in, one of them nould know how to
use a camera or instal, a bug. Sometimes
a "slugger" wassent along to intercept un-
expected visitors. "We h ;'d guys who, if they
went bad, would be the best second-story
men in the world," boasted one former Rgent
Over the years, a Justice Department of1-
cial told Newsweek's Stephan Lecher, the F13I
conducted about 1,500 igreak-ins of foreign
embassies and missions, :nob hangouts and
the headquarters of su..ii extremist groups
as the Ku Klux Klan and the Americas
Communist Party. Embi,ssy break-ins, aver=-
aging one a month by one estimate, wet v
usually staged to get information that could.
help the National security Agency break
foreign Codes.
Bugs: One top source said last week thin,
he never knew of a oat, In which the FBI.
planted a bug in an embassy; if the code
were cracked, no bug would be needed any-
way and, besides, a diplomatic bug was ac'
most sure to be found. But break-ins againe:t,
organized-creme figures and U.S. Commit-
nists were almost always to plant bug,:,
"They had bugs in mob apartments all over
New York," said one government invest;"
gator.
A break-in at a mob office in Brooklyn, for
example, might employ only a lookout, a.
driver for a getaway car and a couple of
agents. But a break-in ?Li: a major embassy
or mission would require not only a skilled
team, but dozens of agents to fan out acros.
the city and watch all of the 50 to 60 persons
known to have keys tc the building. The
agents who entered usr:.slly would take in
sensitive cameras (capable of taking pictures
without a flash) and Small copying machines
that could be folded ins,, a suitcase. `"T .'hey
wouldn't read anythiri:t." said. one FBI
source. `They'd just copy everything in
sight." The agents would photograph the
coding machine from every possible angle,
then copy messages and replace the orig-
inals. The idea was that the National Secu-
rity Agency would have intercepted incom-
ing coded messages and the FBI would have
decoded copies. That, pits the photographs,
might enable the NSA to break the code.
Two sources said thai the FBI actually
smuggled out as entire coding machine
about fifteen years ago Borrowing a truck
and uniforms from a gar" ate collection com-
pany, agents drove into the yard of the
Czech Embassy in Washington and waited
near an open window, through which a Czeel)
defector passed not onlc the machine but,
nearly a truckload of fi;es. "They were so
excited that they forgot to pick up the gar-
bage," said one source. The next morning,
the FBI filmed the results from a hide-out:.
"One of the funniest thi?es you'd ever see,"
the source said, "was the film of the Czech
deputy chief of security ;going to the Soviet
Embassy with his hat in his hand. The
Czechs couldn't even ware Prague to tell
them what had happened They had to go to
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