THE OTHER SHOE DROPS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201830044-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 44
• Publication Date: September 22, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201830044-3
ARtICIE NEW YORK TIMES
ON PAOE~... 22 September 1986
Congrew
The. Other Shoe Drops
By STEPHEN ENGELBERG'. the Intelligence Committee may be
sy?uw to The New York nine, forced to abandon the bill, leaving the
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 - When agencies' budgets in 1987 at this
you push Senator Jesse Helms, he year's levels.
pushes back. _ . The intelligence authorization, one
The anti-tobacco lobby has discov- of the more delicate pieces of legisla-
erect this the hard way. So, too, has
the White House when it tries to give
a job to someone the Senator consid-
ers too liberal.
li
intelligence establiestablishment is worried
t at a the could cost intelligence
aneT a budget nc se for xt
Amendments to Intelligence Bill between Senators Hems and Duren,
The dispute began a little more Berger' "They're the meat .m that
than a mon a wen a rman appetizing sandwich, the official
says.
, the ce rman
o e a e n-
to encemm ttee asked a us-
lice _ - yes ate
Since then Senator Hems has not
been idle. He fired off angry letters to
various Federal agencies and to the
committee, demanding details on
how the investigation was instigated.
Furthermore, he told Senate leaders
that he plans to try to amend the bill
that sets next year's spending levels
and spell outs policy, initiatives for
the intelligence agencies.
Congressional and Administration
officials contend that Mr. Helms's
maneuvering is aimed at Senator
Dave Durenberger, who as the chair-
man of the Intelligence Committee is
responsible 'for steering the intelli-
gence bill through the Senate.
Mr. Helms says his amendments
are not intended- as retaliation, ex-
plaihing,''I have felt for a long time
that we ought to. take a look at what
the intelligence agencies are doing."
But if he gets acceptable answers
to his letters to the committee and
elsewhere, he says, he may withdraw
some of his more than a dozen de-
tailed amendments. "It depends on
what's done between. now and the
time the legislation is pending in the
Senate," he says.
. Congressional sources say the in-
telligence bill, whose exact figures
are classified, caUs for some substan.
tial budget increases. If Mr. Helms
carries out his threatened-floor fight,
erally passed on voice votes without
debate, its provisions worked out in
secret committee hearings. ?
Senator Helms map: i t 1 ar ha
in this rticular case he has no auar-
rewt a ntra intelligence
Agency. None a ess, one Adminis-
One Helms amendment would bar-
theL;.I..7.Trom rune itanviaramili-
tag roram that costs m
i ro on a year. s woul end the
sessments on the Soviet. Union.
It Started at a Party
All this activity had its beginnings .
at a Washington cocktail party at
which,. according to -Administration
officials, Elliott Abrams, Assistant
Secretary of State for Inter-Amer- .
ican Affairs, told Senator Durenber.
ger of allegations that Senator Helms
or his staff had compromised an in-
telligence operation in Chile.
. The evidence was circumstantial:
Just 24 hours after a Helms staff
member received a briefing from the
C.I.A. that quoted from an internal
Chilean military document, a Chilean
official was corpplaining to the State
Department that American intelli-
gence had stolen secrets .from his,
country, Congressional sources say.
Administration officials say the
C.I.A., although quite angered, de-
cided not to demand an investigation.
The Senator is well-known for his
ability to reward friends and punish
enemies.
But the State Department probably
felt no such constraints: The depart-
ment and Mr. Helms have been
openly feuding for years over ambas-.
sadorial appointments -and policy.
The New Yoet Time,
Senator Jesse Helms
Mr. Abrams has openly assailed
Senator Helms over his criticism of
the American Ambassador to Chile.
After the Intelligence Committee
staff reviewed the allegations, Sena-
tor Durenberger and Patrick Leahy,
the Vermont Democrat who is vice
chairman of the committee, asked the
Justice Department for an investiga-
tion. The Federal Bureau of Investi.
gation is still looking into the matter.
"'T'hese charges will be proved
false," says Mr. Helms. "In the
meantime, my name has been
smeared across the country. Any-
body, a Senator or not, is entitled to
dde process." He has sent a letter
asking if the committee violated its
rules by authorizing an investigation
without the support of at least five
members.
A committee spokesman says the
rules did not apply to the Helms in-
vestigation, which was being con-
ducted by the F.B.I., not the commit.
tee. Members of the committee have
been vociferous in criticizing the Rea-
gan Administration for disclosures of
classified information, and commit.
tee aides said it would be hypocritical
to ignore a possible security breach
by a ember of Congress.
Mr.'Helms has also asked the Jus-
tice Department to investigate
whether he or his staff were illegally
wiretapped by American intellllgence
agencies.
"I simply want the truth to be told,"
he says. "I have told Senator Duren-
berger that I expect him to correct
the situation at the appropriate time
and I've said the same thing about the
State Departs nt."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201830044-3