MEETING WITH SENATOR STUART SYMINGTON ON THE COLSON STORY AND THE SENATOR HOWARD BAKER REPORT

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01482019
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2017
• Case Number: F-2007-00094
• Publication Date: June 24, 1974

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OLC 74-1372
24 June 1974
(b)(3)
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: Meeting with Senator Stuart Symington on the Colson
Story and the Senator Howard Baker Report
1. Following up on a telephone call to the Director from Senator
Symington this morning, and I met with the Senator in his
office this afternoon for the purpose of discussing the Charles Colson
stories that appeared in this morning's Washington Post and also in
this afternoon's Star-News. Senator Symington immediately confronted
us with the Star article but then said that Senator Baker was quite upset
with the Agency and felt that we were impeding the work of the Select
Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities in not responding to his
requests. We pointed out to Senator Symington 'rather clearly that we
had cooperated with Senator Baker to the fullest extent having made
24 Agency witnesses available to him, none the least of which was
former Director Richard Helms as the Senator well remembered.
2. We reviewed the chronology of the submission of Senator
Baker's report to us for sanitization and our subsequent submission
of our recommendations for sanitization and comments to the Chairmen
of our Subcommittees in keeping with our normal practice. The Senator
said he didn't "give a damn" about normal practice, but wondered why
we hadn't made the' material available to Senator Baker. We tried to
explain to the Senator that we had, in fact, followed Senator Baker's
lead in that he had submitted his report initially to Senators Stennis and
McClellan, stating that he thought further inquiry was a matter within
the jurisdiction of the CLA oversight Subcommittees. Despite this,
Senator Baker went back to the Watergate Committee and obtained
authorization from that Committee to request the Agency to sanitize the
report and all the documents and testimony of the Agency witnesses. At
that point Senators Stennis and McClellan returned to Baker the copies of
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the report previously given them and washed their hands of the matter.
From that time to the present the matter has been at a standstill. We
said the Director now feels he has no choice but to provide the Watergate
Committee with our recommendations for sa-nitization of the report and
our comments thereon but he is clearing a letter to Senator Ervin to this
effect with Senators Stennis and McClellan. I left a copy of this letter with
Senator Symington.
3. Getting back to the Colson story, we pointed out there was
really nothing new in this story insofar as the Agency was concerned and
said much of this material had been gone into by Senator Symington himself
in the course of Mr. Colby's confirmation hearings. We pointed out several
such instances in a copy of the hearings which we had with us and
subsequently identified other passages on this subject for Kathy Nelson, of
Senator Symington's staff.
4. In very strong terms, Senator Symington said he felt the Director
should issue a statement to the effect there is no substance whatsoever in
the purported charges of any "spy" effort to compromise the President and
the record so demonstrates. He said he felt the Director should also see
the President himself (or attempt to reach him) and ask him if there is
anything to this. He added he would probably not get through to the President
but at least he could say he has asked to see the President about it. (Symington
said he too is going to ask President Nixon about these allegations, i. e., the
consideration of firing Mr. Colby.)
5. The Senator went on to say he will be appearing on Issues and
Answers this weekend and wanted to be sure we keep him informed of
developments since he does not want to be mousetrapped on this issue. We
promised to do this. The Senator said he also has a call into Secretary
Schlesinger and said he was going to ask him what he knew about the Colson
story.
6. In capping off the meeting, the Senator said Mr. Colby should
mind the store and not give speeches or appear before economic clubs, the
press, etc. --all of which is politics. He said Helms stayed out of politics
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and Colby should do the same, "that was how Helms was successful."
We told the Senator we felt the Director was being more "public" largely
to take the heat off of people like himself and other Senators who were
hit very hard on the issue of secrecy surrounding the Agency during the
Director's confirmation hearing and the subsequent floor debate during his
nomination. Senator Symington shrugged this off by say not to worry about
this--"we beat them down, didn't we?"
JGEGM.GE L. CAlt-Y"
Legislative Counsel
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