LETTER TO NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER FROM W. E. COLBY RE THE COMMISSION'S RECORDS ARE CERTAIN DETAILS WHICH UPDATE MY 13 JANUARY AND 27 JANUARY STATEMENTS TO THE COMMISSION (W/ATTACHMENTS)

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01481979
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2017
• Case Number: F-2007-00094
• Publication Date: March 27, 1975

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01-1yrkLI
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
The Honorable Nelson A. Rockefeller
Chairman, Commission on CIA Activities
Within the United States
The White House
Washington, D. C. 20500
Dear Mr. Vice President:
27 .March 1975
(b)(3)
� Ad Hoc Staff
Attached hereto for the Commission's records are certain details
which update my 13 January and 27 January statements to the Commission.
As you know, the Agency has had certain of !_ts activities under continuing
review by its Inspector General and the updating is necessary for purposes
of accuracy.
First, in my statement of 13 January, I described the nature of CIA
prograwb to survey and open selected nail between the U.S. and certain
foreign countries. I said there has been no mail survey in this country
by CIA since February 1973. For purposes of clarity, the words mail
openings are more accurate than mail survey. The latter activity, i.e.,
surveying, is not improper when falling within the proper charter of the
Agency, and there have been a few such since that date.
The second area concerns files on members of Cony ss. Over the past
eight years, the Agency's counterintelligence program holdings have included
files on four members of Congress, one deceased. These files are all
inactive. TWo of them were destroyed in 1974--one in October, the other
in early December. None contained any information that originated in CIA,
with the exception of (a) a travel cable from a CIA Field Station listing
the names of Congressional participants in a conference abroad and requesting
Headquarters guidance concerning a Station briefing for the Congressmen if it
were to be requested; and (b) two cables regarding the holding of an inter-
national conference which quoted foreign press comments on the impending
event.
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Surveillance of aliens was usually carried out in connection with
determining their reliability for a possible operational relationship with
CIA. Foreign defectors were surveilled to check on their authenticity as
defectors and, in some cases, to ensure their protection.
I attach, as annexes, the changes we wish to -make in my two January
Statements to the Commission. Also attached are updated copies of the
Statements with changes inserted and underlined.
We will keep you advised of any further updating as may he required
by our review, which continues. -
Respectfully yours,
Colby
irector
Attachments
1. Annex A and 13 January Statement
2. Annex B and 27 January Statement
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Annex A
13 January Statement
1. P. 26, first line, change Interagency to Intelligence.
2. P. 26, fifth line, delete State.
3. P. 28, fifth paragraph, change Interagency Domestic
Intelligence Unit to Inter-Divisional Information Unit.
4. P. 28, last paragraph, fourth line, delete inserted
ten agents...Washington, D.C. area. Substitute: used
ten agents to monitor the activities of dissident organ-
izations operating in the Washington, D.C. area. The
monitoring involved attendance at meetings, demonstrations,
and protest marches.
5. P. 32, delete last paragraph on the page, beginning
Mr. Chairman, our findings. ...Substitute: Mr. Chairman,
over the past eight years, our counterintelligence pro-
gram holdings have included files on four members of
Congress. With the exception of one file on a deceased
Congressman, these files are inactive. Two of them were
destroyed in 1974. None contained any material that
originated in CIA, except for one travel cable and two
cables quoting press announcements of conferences abroad.
6. P. 33, mid-page paragraph beginning "Our internal in-
vestigations...." It should be noted that CIA's con-
tinuing review since 13 January has revealed additional
instances of surveillance activities. Details are con-
tained in a classified summary (Summary Report of
Domestic Surveillance Activity) forwarded to the Staff
of the President's Commission on 21 March 1975. An
addendum to this summary is currently in process.
7. P. 34, revise the last paragraph to read:
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8. P. 36, first paragraph, first sentence, add: or
that they might be involved in activities that
could make them susceptible to blackmail leading
to the disclosure of sensitive and classified
information.
9. P. 36, last paragraph, line 5, change two to four..
10. P. 37, first paragraph, line 3, change two Communistt
to foreign, primarily Communist.
11. P. 37, first paragraph, line 6, delete sentence
beginning "One other..." and the remainder of the
paragraph. Substitute:
One of a limited nature took place in 1954.
The primary purpose of these activities was
to identify for counterintelligence purposes
individuals in active correspondence with
Communist countries, the results being shared
with the FBI. They also were designed to shed
light on the nature and extent of foreign
governments' censorship techniques and to give
leads to persons (foreign and American) who
would be interested in cooperating with CIA in
foreign intelligence operations. In addition
to the above, international mail passing through
an American port was opened for a brief time in
August 1967. I repeat there has been no mail
opening in this country by CIA since February
1973.
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- -
IntealigEnce
The Huston Plan was not implemented, but an/l-n-tasQnr�y
Evaluation Committee, coordinated by Mr. John Dean, the
Counsel to the President, was established. The Committee
was chaired by a representative of the Department of Justice
and included representatives from CIA, FBI, DoD, Trb-el
Treasury, and NSA. Its purpose was to provide coordinated
intelligence estimates and evaluations of civil disorders
with CIA supplying information on the foreign aspects thereof.
Pursuant to this, CIA continued its counterintelligence
interest in possible foreign links with American dissidents.
The program was conducted on a highly compartmented basis.
As is necessary in counterintelligence work, the details
were knOwn to few in the Agency.
We often queried our overseas stations for information
on foreign connections with Americans in response to FBI
requests or as a result of our own analyses. Most of these
requests were for information from friendly foreign services,
although there were instances where CIA collection was
directed. In most cases the product of these queries was
passed to the FBI.
In the course of this program, the Agency worked
closely with the FBI. For example, the FBI asked the Agency
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abroad and would be initiated only in response to requests
from the FBI or in coordination with the FBI, and that any
such information obtained as a by-product of foreign intelli-
gence activities would be reported to the FBI.
In the course of this program, files were established on
about 10,000 American citizens in the counterintelligence unit.
About two-thirds of these were originated because of
specific requests from the FBI for information on the activities
of Americans abroad, or by the filing of reports received from
the FBI.
The remaining third was opened on the basis of CIA
foreign intelligence or counterintelligence information
known to be of interest to the FBI.
For the past several months, we have been eliminating
material from these files not justified by CIA's counter-
intelligence responsibilities, and in this process about
1,000 such files have so far been removed from the active
index but could be reconstituted should it be required.
In 1967, the Department of Justice' established an
_Inter-Divisional Information Unit
/1--Eitcrageamehs4.-i-c (IDIU) . In May
1970, the Department of Justice provided us with a
machine-tape listing of about 10,000 Americans developed
by the IDIU. The listing could not be integrated in CIA's
files and was destroyed in March 1974.
should note that concurrent with the counterintelligence
program beginning in 1967, the CIA Office of Security--acting
on the basis of concern for the safety of Agency personnel and
installations in the Washington, D.C. area--
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�32�
The initial responses and our review of them culminated
in fresh policy determinations and guidance issued in August
1973. This guidance is a matter of detail in the classified
appendixes I will provide to this Commission.
As I have said, Gentlemen, this review continues in
order to insure that our activities remain proper.
Let me discuss our findings with respect to the press
allegations.
(1) The New York Times article of December 22,
1974 declared:
"At least one avowedly anti-war member of
Congress was among those placed under
surveillance by the CIA, the sources said."
'Our findings are that there is no--and to my knowledge
never has been--surveillance, technical or otherwise, directed
against any member of Congress.
The New York Times article also indicated that "Other
members of Congress were said to be included in the
CIA's dossier on dissident Americans."
over the past eight years, our counterintelligence
Mr. Chairman, /otzEivrae�.1:4.�Rpt.e
program holdings have included files on four menbers of Congress.
With the exception of one file on a deceased Congressman, these files
J-xtv,J1,:ry Ir.1C
are inactive. To of them were destroyed in 1974. None contained
any material that originated in CIA, except for one travel cable and
4-13 ___
two cables quoting press announcements of conferences abroad.
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We do have other files on current or former members of
Congress. These fall into categories such as ex-employees,
some who were granted security clearances in pre-Congressional
jobs, some who were sources or cooperated with us, some who
appear as references in applications or security clearance
procedures on our personnel, and some whose names were included
in reports received from other Government agencies or developed
in the course of our foreign intelligence operations.
(2) The New York Times article also referred to
"break-ins," and said no "specific information about
domestic CIA break-ins" could be obtained.
Our internal investigations to date have turned up a total
of three instances, which could have been the basis for these
?Ibm. ,allegations. Each of the three involved premises related to
V-Inex A
Agency employees or ex-employees.,
In 1966, a new Agency employee, inspecting a Washington
apartment he was thinking of renting, saw classified documents
in the apartment, which was the residence of another employee.
The new employee advised the CIA Security Office. Subsequently,
the new employee and a security officer went to the apartment,
were admitted as prospective renters, and removed the documents.
The second instance occurred in 1969. A junior Agency
employee with sensitive clearances caused security concern by
appearing to be living well beyond his means. Surreptitious
entry was made into his apartment in the Washington area. No
grounds for special concern were found.
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�34�
The third instance occurred in 1971 in the Washington
area. An ex-employee became involved with a person believed
to be a Cuban intelligence agent. Security suspicions were
that the two were engaged in trying to elicit information
from Agency employees. A surreptitious entry was made into
the place of business occupied jointly by the two. Results
were negative. An attempt to enter the suspect agent's
apartment was unsuccessful.
(3) The New York Times article also referred to wire-
1-)a Raia no specific information could be obtained.
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(4) The New York Times article also.alleges physical
surveillance of American citizens.
The Agency has conducted physical surveillance on our
employees when there was reason to believe that they might'
be passing information to hostile intelligence services, or that they*
This was done on rare occasions, and in recent years only
three times -- in 1968, 1971, and 1972.
In 1971 and 1972,
physical surveillance was also employed against
We had clear indications that
they were receiving classified information without authoriza-
tion, and the surveillance effort was designed to identify
the sources of the leaks.
Also, in 1971 and 1972, a long-standing CIA source --
a foreikner visiting in the US -- told us of a plot to kill
the Vice President and kidnap the CIA Director. We alerted
the Secret Service and the FBI and we carried out physical
four
surveillance inAwo American cities. The surveillance came
to involve Americans who were thought to be part of the
plot -- and the mail of one suspect was opened and read.
*1might be invollmo in activities that could make them susceptible to blackmail
leading to the disclosure of sensitive and classified information.
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(5) The New York Times article also refers
to "surreptitious inspection of mail."
From 1953 until February 1973, CIA conducted several
programs to survey and open selected mail between the United
to foreign, primarily Communist,
States and/t-ee-C-4,4=f- countries. One occurred in a US city
from 1953 to February 1973, when it was terminated. One took
place during limited periods in one other area in November
One of a limited nature
1969, February and May 1970, and October 1971. /Qa.a....a4,Uor
took place in 1954. The primary purpose of these actiy,i,tie- was to
ePeettrrca 2-and
for counterintelligence purposes individuals in active correspondence with
aft# ' � � ividuala iR active eo�rreelpors4cRoe
Communist countries, the results being shared with the FBI. They also were designee
, �
to shed light on the nature and extent of foreign governments' censorship techniques
purpocog, thco rgsvot9 .4fh -"P. 'PR 911-1P rri-bprq
and to give leads to persons (foreign and American) who would be interested in
. 4-
cooperating with CIA in foreign intelligence operations. In addition to the above,�
ecncorchip tochniquoc. Th-g Aug-ug.t 195-7 ca o was to -try to
international mail passing through an American port was opened:for a :brief tirad:in
loam n thc forcign oontaotc of a numbcr of AmoricRiag r�f erllir14-cr---
AugList 1967. I repeat there has been no mail opening in this country 1j CIA
iNtpe1-1-4-reetie�e�into-r-ect.- I rcpoat that thoro hac baon
since February 1973.
The activities discussed above were reported as a result
of the Director's 9 May 1973 notice and were reported to the
Chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees--
the Congressional bodies responsible for oversight of CIA--
in May 1973.
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Annex B
27 January Statement
1. Page 7, first full paragraph. Delete second sentence
beginning "Several times each year ..." and substitute
the following:
Several times each year, in cooperation with the
Metropolitan Police Department, a "student" from the
Agency is arrested by an Office of Security employee
in the presence of a high-ranking Metropolitan Police
official. The student is charged with a serious crime;
escorted from the scene of his arrest in a police
vehicle; interrogated for several hours at Police Head-
quarters; and generally made to feel uncom:fortable.
2. Page 9, Lines 2-7. Delete the sentence beginning
"With my approval...." through to the end of the
paragraph. Substitute the following:
With my approval, two exceptions were made in
connection with attempts to enhance the intelligibility
of the White House tapes. In one instance, the equip-
ment and a technician to act as a technical adviser in
setting it up were loaned to the National Security
Agency. In the other instance, our equipment (but not
our personnel) were loaned to Judge Sirica at his request.
3. Page 21. To the first full paragraph, beginning "From
December 1971....", add the following sentence:
Some booking slips onscalls between the U.S. and
the Soviet Union were received from February 1972 until
May 1973, but none thereafter.
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conditions, accidents, and safety recommendations relating
to the Headquarters compound. Fairfax County Police and
the United States Park Police have concurrent jurisdiction
over the roadways adjacent to the Agency grounds and are
periodically called upon for support and assistance, for
example, to investigate accidents which occur at the com-
pound.
Finally, the Office of Security presently receives
assistance from the Washington Metropolitan Police Depart-
ment with respect to an Agency training exercise which
prepares our operational officers for overseas assignments
Several times each year, in cooperation with the Metro-
in denied areas. /Sovo:Tal timoc oaoh y ar, a.4-44.44,&t
poll-tan Police Department, a "student" from the Agency is arrested by an Office
of Security Security employee in the presence of a high-ranking Metropolitan Police
official. The student is charged with a serious crime; escorted from the
scene of his arrest in a police vehicle; interrogated for several hours at -
Police Headquarters; and generally made to feel uncomfortable.
�
houro, pre.s-anste faa Alaaoy offiaal, at Peaio
violation
hims, The CIA trainee, who does not know his arrest is not
for real, is eventually told of the ruse and is graded on
his performance under pressure. He is emphatically made
aware he might run into this type of harassment during an
assignment abroad, and several have in fact been subjected
to it.
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Se\ot
is limited to assistance in speech-processing techniques
Withrwapplxmal,
only, and not to processing the tapes themselves. /;4�1-i...bi.r
two exceptions were made in connection with attempts to enhance the
girmatatiarpownatior..atinioraiar mado, in no Inotanoo f r
intelligibility of the White House tares. In one instance, the equipment and
a technician to act as a technical adviser in setting it up were loaned to the
National Security Agency. In the other instance, our equipment (but not our
personnel) were loaned to Judge Sirica at his request.
Voice enhancement equipment is a natural subject for
CIA research and development. Our collection of foreign
intelligence abroad includes use of audio surveillance
devices, and we often profit from an ability to amplify
and enhance voice sounds resulting from such collection.
In December 1970, the Director of the Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (MUM)) asked the DCI
for assistance in spotting suspected corruption in his
organization. He wanted help 4:11 recruiting a net of in-
formants within his organization to work against these
elements.
In February 1971 the DCI, after. discussions with the
Attorney General, agreed to help. Through a proprietary
in the Washington Metropolitan Area, U.S. citizens were
recruited, cleared, and trained. They were then employed
by BNDD/DEA to monitor illegal activities of other em-
ployees of that agency. In August 1973 I directed that-
CIA will not take part in operations to penetrate another
9
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dissident organizations in the Washington area to gather
information on efforts by such groups which might endanger
CIA personnel and facilities. In addition, from December
1967 to June 1973 the Office of Security, in its field
offices, collected clippings from campus newspapers,
radical "underground" publications and other press
sources. Again, the purpose was to identify potential
threats to Agency personnel and installations. Over the
course of years, our personnel recruiters.in the field
had been subjected to some abuse and harassment. It
should be noted, however, that under, this clipping project
no attempts were made to recruit informants or sources.
The project was terminated in June 1973.
From December 1971 through May 1972, the Domestic
Contact Service received from an
telephone booking slips for calls between the United States
and China. These of course identified the maker and re-
cipient of the call, but not its substance. The purpose
of this exercise was to develop operational leads for our
Far East Division. In late March 1972, the operation was
Some booking slips on calls between the U.S. and the Soviet
terminated./union were received from February 1972 until May 1973 but none
thereafter.
Far East (now East Asia) Division conducts a project
using long-time agents directed against foreign intelligence
21
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