SENATORS ORDER INQUIRY ON CHILE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP09T00207R001000020097-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2011
• Sequence Number: 97
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/08/09: CIA-RDP09TOO207RO01000020097-7
ATORS ORDER
INQUIRY ON CHILE
NEW YORK TIMES
Foreign ' Relations Panel
Asks Study of Testimony-
Called Misleading
By SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Sp ,dal to The New York 1'imea
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17-
The Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, amid Congressional{
protests over President Ford's
defense of clandestine intelli-
gence operations, today author-
ized its staff to study available
evidence that, official testimony,
had been misleading about the
Central Intelligence Agency's
involvement in Chile.
Committee sources later cau-
tioned that the Senators' deci-
sion, announced by Chairman
J. W. Fulhright, Democrat of
Arkansas, called only for a pre-
liminary "pulling together" of
testimony and not yet a full-
fledged investigation into the
foreign policy of the Nixon
Administration.
"This is a very old problem,"
Senator I'uibr+.._`. toles r: ; ;rtcr5
after the long closed-door com-
mittee meeting this morning.
"The involvement of the C.I.A.
in other countries has been well-
known for years. There's not
much news in that." -
"In my view," he added, "it's
very questionable practice to go
beyond the collection of intelli-
gence. I personally have always
thought they should be confined
to intelligence gathering.'.'
`Outrage' Over Reports
with the inquiry was made l
clear by Senator Frank,
,'Chl'rch, Democrat of Idaho
and chairman of the Suhcom-
mittec on the Multinational
Corporations, which heard the
apparently. misreading testi-
mony during hearings into the
International Telephone & Tele-
graph Corporation's involve-
ment in Chile in early 1973.
"Our policy in Chile was un-
savory and unprincipled," Mr.
Church told reporters today.
"It can't possibly be justified
unless we take the view that
our methods and objectives are
the same as those in the Soviet
Union."
"The Chilean affair warrants
a full investigation by the
Senate," Senator Church added.
Fulbright Noncommittal
of the veidence by next week.
These persons said that the new
study would incorporate some
of the findings of the Levinson
report.
Mr. Levinson, in his memo
randu*i, called for possible per-
jury and contempt of Congress
proceedings against Richard
Helms, former director of Cen-
tral Intelligence, William V.
Broe, a former C.I.A. official,
Charles A. Korry, who was Am-
bassador to Chile from 1967
to 1971.
Some Senators later sug-
gested' that the committee's
reluctance to proceed more
directly stemmed from what
was depicted as "outrage"
,over the publication today in
The New York Times and The
Washington Post of the gist of
a private subcommittee staff
report recommending possible
perjury and con tempt-of-Con-
gress charges against five gov-
ernment officials as failing to
testify fully about the C.I.A.
role in Chile.
The staff report, prepared by
Jerome I.- Levinson, chief
counsel of the Subcommittee
on multinational Corporations,
was rejected today.
"Tile commotion over the
leaks almost wiped the whole
thing off but 'hey are going
ahead," one source whe at-
tended the committee meeting
said later.
The disagreement inside the' complete it preliminary review)
committee over how to proceed
Approved For Release 2011/08/09: CIA-RDP09TOO207RO01000020097-7
Tor. Fulhright was noncom-
mittal, however, when asked
whether he expected the staff
investigation to lead to a re-
view of the Nixon Administra-
tion's foreign policies as well
as the involvement of Secre-
tary of State Kissinger in the
Chilean decision-ma.ing. l
In his staff report, Mr. Levin-
son recommended that the
Senate committee reopen Sys,
confirmation hearings on Mr.
Kissinger, saying he "deceived"
the committee about Chile.
"We'll have to wait for the
report," Mr. Fulbright said. "I
don't know whether we should
have further hearings or not."
Mr. Fulhright, who reported-
ly has been offered the am-
bassadorship to Britain after,
he leaves the Senate, depicted
the publication of the Levinson
report as "regrettable" and
added that "the staff has no
bus' less puttinig out c V'mo-
randa of that sort."
A similar view was expressed
by Senator Claiborne Pell,
Democrat of Rhode Island, as
he left the closed hearing.
Asked whether there was com-
mittee concern over the C.I.A.
involvement in Chile, Mr. Pell
said that "the concern was
more that statements should
he made by Senators, and not
by staff."
Committee sources said that
the staff of the Foreign Rela-
tions committee, directed by
00778,