SOME LEGISLATORS SEE 2 RECENT TRIALS AS CARTER CRACKDOWN ON RELEASE OF INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100080025-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: July 12, 1978
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100080025-6
STAT
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Ma.LE A EARj+D
AGE ~-
NEW YORK TIMES
12 JULY 1.978
Some Legislators- See 2 Recent Trials Asi
--
Carter Crackdown on Relese'ofInformation
ByDAViDBURNHAM
SpeciaUoT}etie+YoAr lm 'S
WASHINGTON, July, lr-The Justice
Department's.handling of,-twa separate
cases has prompted such concern among
a number.of Congressmen-civil liberties
lawyers and other expertsthatthe Carter
Administration is developing new, legal,
methods for imposing Gqy-
,-ernmentsecrecy. - _?
News`' 'A major:concern about."
Analysis- twowidelydifferingcase3
involving-a former Central:
Intelligence-Agency officer.
accused of violating a. contractual prom=-
ise to the Government-. azii of,. two men.
convictedof.being spies-is that if they
are ultimately upheld -by-the. Supreme
cer, had violated his- contract with- the
Government by writing an unauthorized
book about the agency:"
Because the Government did not con-
tend that Mr. Snepp's book contained any
-specific` classified.information,.`critics
'fear that it Judge Lewis's decision is up.
held on appeaLit,wilrprovide a precedent
:for-: curbing,: the:' critical views. of-:any
.twhistle-blower'' who;works in:: any
e
l
es
oy
,Federal agency. that requires emp
'i si a regiments limiting post-employ-
o
n g
ter Administration is clairhing the powerl
to make almost *anything it does' an offi-.
cial secret,-'said John H. - Shattuck,
Washington- director of: the'-- American)
Civil Liberties Union "This is a danger-1,
"
ouspolicy.
Because of its concermabout the impli.
cations of the Humph rey.-Truong.convc
tions, the A.C.L.U. -recently decided to$,
file a.friend-of-the-court brief supporting
the appealsof the two men. A
' Morton H: Halpern: director?of theCer>~'
,ter?'fort-National- Security Studies and.a
witness for the defense in the trio) of Mr
Humphrey and Mr. rruong. said man in-
g
"mentspeakingandwriting. .A study.. by members of. Mr dwards' "stafLfot.example;,ba's found that manyagencies, ` including.-. the:: State: Depart -
ment,,' the::.-Defense..,Depariment_', the
Energy Department, the Justice Depart
menu.. the T-rea-sury- Department. and the
Nuclear, Regulatory' Commission, . have
agreement srestricting thedisclosures;of
former employees. - - ,;
Contracts . Will BeStudied. s u
?Whileconceding the importanceof pro-
Court, they will give the Federal Govern-
ment. increased powers, to. control and
punish civil. servants ?who-discloseinfor
oration, even if iris not classified-
Another worry is -that the cases might
lead to the development of legal opinions
that, like Britain:s Official Secrets Act;
would permit the' prosecution of private
E citizens, including reporters, who make
nonclassified informatiotravailable [oche
public. ~?
One measure of this-concern was- the
decision of Representative Don Edwards,
chairman of the House subcommittee on
Constitutional and Civil' Rights, to-plan
public- hearings=-this- fall on several
aspects of the two cases. =
'Antiquated and Inadequate'
'Senator Joseph R. Bider Jr., Democrat.
of Delaware, who is chairman of the Sen-
ate , Intelligence Subcotntnittee~.; On,
Secrecy..and,..Disclosure..:said =cases
started by-the Carter Administration and
others showed- that existing..laws- were
"antiquated and inadequate'!*;.-_ and
led to-the. need for.revision-'so- we
a
tecting somekinds of information head by
the Government; Mr Edwardssaid?in an
interview-that he intended to examine`alI'
.the. various- employment- contracts to
determine- whether, they--'are-..uniform,
tifairand in the public interest." ? , - ,
"We have to- see whether these' con=
tracts also stopwhistle-blowers from dis-
closing official misconduct," he said.:
In the' second' case, Ronald L. Hum=
h and David`Truong, sentenced last
.terview,' "The baser-issue-? is= whethes
.there.should be a law making it a crime to
treat Government information in-a way
that"' the- -Government- doesn't want ? it
treated."-: ,a ? :_ ,.~::~r_ ~..:
Mr Halperin said that under thetavi* as
"applied by the Carter Administration; "if
it is Government information, and if you
convert" it to your, own use. no-matter
what the-subject. you could be prosecut~
ed.,., .. _.,...:_::.:,..: :,._v
"That is a government secrets act," he
added:
Official 5eestvo xesemoIanc=- --
A senior Justice Department official,
however, argued that the larceny law
boieno resemblance to an official secrets
act. "When someone says 'officials secre ?
.act,' they think of an over-broad orvaguel
'statute The larceny law is very specific
and does not apply to free speech." The
-official was commenting-on the-law for
the Justice Department with the under-
"sanding he would not be quoted by name.
The law in question is Section 641 of the
United States-Criminal Code. mostlyused
by~'Govemment prosecutors- to. indict
'someone.-who either steals ?or receives
'Government, property, such as an electric
typewriter:-In several recent?cases; how-
ever.' including the PentagonPaperscase
involving documents detailing-the history
of the-Vietnam War the- Justice Depart
menthas used the law to try to prosecute
people who stew{ information: -- "1-----f7
Congress passed this lavrithad
, 7 .
?P .-,
week to 15 years irrprison: had been-con-
,victed of being spies for Vietnam. _
Espionage is-one-of the mosrserious
Federal crimes But-they were also.con-?
_victed of stealing, information. from the
Government under a law long used for the
theft of tangible propertyr-
Ls
Law .lk`e Britain's Posible..
AECording to a variety of experts,'it'thf
conviction, for stealing information. ulti-
mately is upheld by the Supreme Court, ii.
could lead to the development ofa body of.
law somewhat similar..ta:BritainS. offi=
po
i
can control really damaging leaks with-
out resorting totechniques which can and
have infringed on-civil,libeer 1es. District
,. r' 11
In one' of the-cases, : Federal ?
Judge Oren R. Lewis ruled last week that
Frank. W: Snepp3d.a former C.1-Aa offi
cial secrets law.
;---By arguing, that" Government`infor.
mation is Governmentproperty the.Car.
CCNTI30
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100080025-6