WEBSTER NOMINATION DRAWS PRAISE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605480001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 1, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 5, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605480001-1
AtznuLL Arrta i
ON PAGE 30
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
5 March 1987
Webster nomination draws praise
FBI director appears to be untouched by the Iran-contra affair,
but his appointment to head CIA will get close Senate scrutiny
Vey warren_9irhe~
Staff wnter-of The-Christian Science Mono-r
Washington
The nomination of Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation Director Wil-
liam Webster to head the Central
Intelligence Agency helps solve a
problem for the Reagan administra-
tion by showing that the President is
intent on moving beyond the Iran-
contra affair.
In accepting President Reagan's
offer Tuesday evening, Mr. Webster
seems to have removed the taint of
the Iran-contra affair from the task
of finding a replacement for former
CIA director William Casey.
In the Senate the reaction was
positive and supportive of the Web-
ster nomination, with both Demo-
crats and Republicans praising the
President's choice.
In a joint statement, Senate Intel-
ligence Committee Chairman David
_
L. Boren (D) of Oklahoma and Vice-
Chairman William S
C
h
f
.
o
en ) o) o
Maine said W s r was widely re-
spected both for his high standard of
personal integrity as well as his pro-
fessional ability."
Nonetheless, they stressed that
the nomination would be subjected
to a "careful and thorough public
hearing."
70 Senator Dave DurenbePr (R) of
Minnesota, who served as chairman
of the Senate Intelligence Committee
during the time Mr. Casey was direc-
tor of central intelligence, says Web-
ster is an "outstanding" selection by
the President.
"The main thing we need now is
quiet competence and trust, and we
have got all of that in Bill Webster,"
Senator Durenberger says.
He notes that one of the prime
assets Webster would take to the
CIA was his reputation as a man of
integrity. Durenberger says Web-
ster's honesty will help improve the
intelligence oversight process in
Congress and ',trengthen the
strained relationship between Con-
gress and the CIA.
"The Senate and House are going
to believe [Webster] because he is
trustworthy and forthcoming. He
has experience with the oversight
process that is almost as old as the
oversight process," Durenberger
says.
Webster is expected to be ques-
tioned closely in his Senate confir-
mation hearings about his decision,
at the urging of Attorney General
Edwin Meese III, temporarily to halt
an FBI investigation last October of
a Florida air transport firm sus-
pected of illegally supplying arms
and ammunition to the Nicaraguan
contra rebels.
He also may be questioned about
his contacts with Mr. Meese in late
November, when a group of high-
ranking Justice Department officials
was discovering the initial hints of
what has since become the Iran-
contra affair.
But such inquiries are not ex-
pected to give rise to serious con-
cerns about Webster's actions in the
Iran-contra affair. There has been
no indication that he was directly
involved in secret White House ef-
forts to ship arms to Iran and funnel
the profits to the contras. And there
is no indication that he participated
in an attempt to cover up details of
the White House's covert operations.
Iran-contra special prosecutor
Lawrence Walsh is reported to be
investigating among other things
whether the attorney general and
other Justice Department officials
acted properly in the initial stages of
the Iran-contra investigation, and
whether they sought at the urging of
White House officials to derail or
postpone FBI and other investiga-
tions in 1986 that might have led to
discovery of the Iran-contra covert
operations.
Webster's reputation for honesty
and integrity has remained un-
scathed throughout the unfolding
Iran-contra situation, and he is ex-
pected to win confirmation by the
Senate. During his nine-year tenure
at the FBI he has boosted morale and
restored credibility to an institution.
that was badly battered in the 1970s
from revelations of illegal domestic
spying, unauthorized wiretaps, and
break-ins.
Webster, a former federal district
court judge and later a judge on the
US Court of Appeals for the 8th
circuit, has led the FBI into the mod-
ern age of crime fighting with in-
creased use of electronic surveil-
lance and the expanded use of
computers to help locate criminal
suspects and analyze crime trends.
During his tenure the bureau
deemphasized past priorities such as
bank robbery investigations and
worked instead to build significant
cases against organized crime
groups, drug-trafficking cartels, and
spies. The FBI's counterintelligence.
and counterterrorism budgets have
increased substantially in recent
Cof?y~ri
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605480001-1
years. Spy cases have proliferated, but
terrorist incidents within the US have
sharply declined recently.
President Reagan's first choice to fill
the top US intelligence post
was Casey's deputy direc-
tor, Robert Gates. Mr.
Gates, a career intelligence
officer and Casey protege
at the CIA, decided to with-
draw from consideration
after it became apparent
that along Senate fight was
in store.
Several senators had
raised questions about
Gates's possible involve-
ment in the Iran-contra af-
fair .and his alleged
acquiesence in shading in-
telligence reports* to sup-
port administration policy.
Senators expressed concern
that if Gates were quickly
confirmed, a cloud of . suspicion would
hover over the CIA during the Iran-contra
investigations.
Though Webster has no significant for-
eign experience, he has had regular con-
tact with the CIA through FBI counter-
terrorist and espionage investigations.
Webster has reputation
for integrity and skill
Under a strict division
laid down by Congress, the
FBI is responsible for crimi-
nal probes, intelligence
gathering, and counterintel-
ligence within the United
States, while the CIA is re-
sponsible for intelligence
gathering and covert oper-
ations overseas. The FBI
may conduct criminal in-
vestigations overseas, as in
cases of airline hijackings.
The CIA is forbidden from
engaging in intelligence op-
erations in the US, with the
exception that it may con-
duct domestic surveillance
if there is a foreign intelli-
gence connection.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605480001-1