LETTER TO SAM J. ERVIN, JR. FROM W. E. COLBY RE SUBMIT TO THE COMMITTEE, NO LATER THAN 27 JUNE 1974, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE SANITIZATION/DECLASSIFICATION PROCEDURES WHICH WE HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING ON VARIOUS MATERIALS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01482018
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2017
• Case Number: F-2007-00094
• Publication Date: June 24, 1974

f"' r! i TT= f 1 I rz mry
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WASHINGTON, LLL. UDUJ
Exe:"utive kiegtry
24 June 19 74
Honorable Sam J. Ervin, Jr., Chairman
Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities
United States Senate
Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This Agency is in receipt of a letter, from Mr. Fred Thompson,
Minority Counsel of the Select Committee, (copy enclosed) indicating
it is the desire of the full Committee that this Agency submit to the
Committee, no later than 27 June 1974, our recommendations with
respect to the sanitization/declassification procedures which we have
been conducting on various materials for the inclusion of part or all
of these materials in the Committee's final report.
In his letter, Mr. Thompson says he assumed we were aware
of the fact that all CIA-related transcripts, in. the possession of
Mr. George Murphy, of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy staff,
were available for inspection by Agency. representatives. I regret to
say that we were not aware of such availability in view of earlier
instructions from Mr. Thompson's staff that the Agency was not to
have access to certain CIA-related transcripts. Mr. Thompson, on
21 June 1974, transmitted to us two such transcripts.
On 3 April 1974, I wrote Senator Baker (copy also enclosed) that
I was, on that date, forwarding to Senator John Stennis and Senator John
McClellan, the Chairmen of the Senate Armed Services and Senate
Appropriations Committees, which have oversight responsibility for this
Agency, my preliminary comments and suggested security deletions in
(Fyrer11:
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the CM. investigation report as requested by Senator Baker, for such
disposition as they felt appropriate. I pointed out that this procedure was
in keeping with existing policy guidance and consistent with Senator Baker's
action in forwarding his report to the Chairmen of those Committees.
I am forwarding herewith a copy of our preliminary comments on
the report along with requested security deletions which I submitted to
Senator Stennis and to Senator McClellan on 3 April 1974. I understand
that Senator Baker has discussed his report on his CIA investigation with.
them and my transmittal of the sanitized report, with Agency comments
thereon, is, of course, subject to such limitations and/or agreements as
are worked out between your Committee, �Senator Baker anotthe Chairmen
of our oversight Committees. I respectfully request that if Senator Baker's
report is published, this Agency's comments thereon be included even though
they were preliminary in nature and all material upon which the report was
based has not been available for our review. In a number of cases our
comments are felt to be essential to clarify or correct certain misinter-
pretations appearing in the report.
I should like to point out that this Agency has tried to cooperate fully
with the Select Committee and with Senator Baker in the investigation which
he and his staff have conducted. Following the full Committee's investigation.
I met with Senator Baker to respond to his questions and members of my
staff met with Senator Baker and the Minority Staff of the Select Committee
on numerous occasions to respond to additional questions. Eventually 24
Agency witnesses, current or former employees, testified before Senator
Baker and his staff in testimony covering .some 2, 000 pages. These witnesses
included the former Director of Central Intelligence, Richard Helms, who
returned from his ambassadorial post in Teheran, and various Agency officials
and technicians now in the United States or abroad. Ten volumes of material
consisting of over 700 documents were also provided. In many cases,
sensitive material was exposed to the staff or to Senator Baker to demonstrate
its lack of relevance to the investigation, although security considerations did
impose some limits to the extent this could be done.
The prospect of the publication of the ten volumes of CIA documents
and the individual testimony of the Agency witnesses interviewed by Senator
Baker and his staff poses a serious problem. In the interest of assuring
that the testimony of Agency witnesses and any other witnesses having
knowledge of Agency activities was completely candid and not subject to
anyone's determinations as to security considerations, these individuals were
advised they were released from any security or other obligations normally
imposed upon them with respect to testimony relevant to the inquiry..
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We have reviewed the documents and the testimony of the Agency
witnesses and made recommended deletion.s"to sanitize such material if
the Committee determines publication to be necessary. I would submit,
however, that despite the minimal security deletions which we have
recommended, publication of CIA documents and the testimony of CIA
witnesses (which in many respects has no direct relation to the Committee's
investigation) would do a great disservice to this Agency, to the Congress
and to our national interest. If persons dealing with CIA on a confidential
basis, both in this country and abroad, must assume that information they
provide will be subject to later publication, valuable sources and methods
of intelligence will be terminated or seriously impaired. I urgently request
that the Committee give serious consideration to the need for the publication
of those documents and the individual transcripts of those witnesses. If any
part of this material is to be published I believe it should be strictly limited
to that which is absolutely essential to support the findings in the Committee's
report, and we offer to be of assistance to you in this regard.
I assure you of this Agency's continued cooperation with the Committee
but I do point out that neither the Committee's investigation, nor the
investigations of the Agency's four oversight Committees, the Federal Grand
Jury, the Special Prosecutor, and currently the House Judiciary Committee,
have developed the existence of any prior knowledge on the part of this Agency
or its officials of the Watergate breakin or the breakin of Dr. Fielding's
office. More importantly, however, I wish to personally assure you that
my own intensive internal investigation has developed no relevant material
beyond that provided to the above investigative bodies.
Sincerely,
Enclosures
cc:
Senator Howard Baker
Senator John Stennis
Senator John McClellan
3
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W. E..-C-olby
Director
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SAM J. Enviri, in., N.C., CHAIRMAN
HOWARD H. SANER, JR., TENN.,VICE CHAIRMAN
HERMAN IL TALMADGE. GA. EDWARD .1. GURNEY. FLA.
DANIEL K. INOUYE, HAWAII LOWELL Po WEICKER, JR," CONN.
aRNISPH Ma MONTOYA, N. MEX.
SAMUEL DASH
ewer COUNSEL AND STAPP oiRuccroA
FRED D. THOMPSON
MINORITY COUNSEL
RUFUS L. EDMISTEN
DEPUTY 00,0111114
epu y .L.egisIativeCounsel
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D. C. 20505
Dear
1310, i-3c;
9,1Cnife.b Zfcacz Zemzie
SELECT COMMITTEE ON
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES
(PURSUANT TO IL RES. 65,1130 CONGRESS)
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20510
June 19, 1974
As we discussed on the telephone, the Senate Select Committee has today
authorized the Chairman to request the CIA to complete the declassifi-
cation procedures, which we have been discussing for several weeks now,
in time for the inclusion of part or all of these materials in the Committee
final report. In order to comply with this request, the procedure will have
to be completed by Thursday, June 27th.
With regard to Mr. Cary's comment at this late date in his letter to Sam
Dash and me of June 17 that the CIA is not in possession of certain
transcripts which conceivably could contain classified material, we
assume that you are aware of the fact that those transcripts, along with
all the other CIA-related transcripts, have been in the possession of
George Murphy for several months and available for your inspection.
There seems to be some intimation that Senator Baker was sent CIA
comments with regard to the Ba-ker Report. This, of course, is not
true. The only information we have had is that the matter has been Left
up to the determination of the oversight committees, although the staffs
of those committees have told us that this is not at all their understanding.
In light of the Committee's unanimous action today, I am sure the Agency
does not want to leave the record as it now stands.
S4icerely yo
r ed D. Th mpso
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CZNTRAI. :NTELLIGENCE. i%G:F.NCY
. WASH INGiON. D.C. 20505
01,C 74-0589
3 April 1974
Honorable Howard H. Baker, Vice Chairman
� Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities
� United States Senate
� Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear Senator Baker;
I have your letter of 1 April :974 concerning the steps you
propose be taken in connection with you report.
You suggested Agency action in two areas--a declassification/
sanitization review, and submission of comments on the report.
Unfortunately, neither can be completed by your deadline since, as
you know, all of the relevant transcripts are not yet available. I
have, however, prepared some preliminary comments which we
may wish to expand upon when the additional material has been made
available and we have had an opportunity to review it. As requested,
I have also recommended certain security deletions from the report.
I am forwarding today to Senator Sohn Stennis and Senator John
McClellan, the Chairmen of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriationi
Committees, my preliminary comments and suggested security deletions
in the report for such disposition as they feel appropriate. This
procedure is in keeping with existing policy guidance and is consistent
with your forwarding your report to them.
Sincerely,
re)
w Colby
Director
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