LUNCHEON FOR CONGRESSMAN PORTER HARDY, JR., SECOND DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA - TUESDAY, 26 MARCH 1957

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP01-01773R000300110030-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 27, 2007
• Sequence Number: 30
• Publication Date: March 27, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/02/28: CIA-RD.P01-01773R000300110030-7
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MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
0( A 4 c1 37 o
27 March 1957
SUBJECT: Luncheon for Congressman Porter Hardy, Jr., Second District
of Virginia - Tuesday, 2 March 1957
1. Congressman Hardy opened the conversation by telling General Cabell
that he wondered as e- greeted all of the IAC members leaving the building
how U.S. intelligence had been caught short by the Suez crisis. General
Cabell told him that he didn't think this was the case and then
proceeded
with a long explanation of events. Hardy said that it was his impession
by everything he had heard from both the military and diplomatic sideet that
2. At that point Mr. Dulles entered the room and picked up the
discussion pointing out that Nasser hadn't known about the attack and that
he also had been curious as to why the U.S. had evacuated its nationals.
CIA Mr. Hardy said he did not wish to pursue it but that certainly from all
the President and Secretary of State had said it didn't look as if the U.S.
government had been very well informed. Mr. Dulles said that he thought
the President and the Secretary of State were saying only that British,
French and Israels had not advised them. Mr. Hardy said that they may meant that but that the public and most of Congress thought that the vaunted
CIA had fallen on its face.
3. Congressman Hardy then went on to say that he thought something
should be done very quickly to keep Congress
orame a ou t CIA .
e said that there was considerable cr is sm, in fact a majority in the
41 House, of the fact that CIA was not under Congressional supervision and that
there had been a bill introduced every year to investigate CIA. He then went
/~tl~- on to say that one of his colleagues had told him that he had called up the
Director to ask about something but had been told that it couldn't be discussed
over the phone, and if the man would come down the Director would talk to
him about it. This man came down and the Director advised him that it was too
highly classified a matter to discuss. Consequently, this Cone
sJ~ he had no confidence in the Director or anybody else in CIA. gre man said
Mr. Dulles
stated that he didn't know who this could be because he had neve
r treated any
Congressman in that fashion. He then went on to point out that CIA regularly
briefed the subcommittees on Armed Services and Appropriations. gsaidly
that he had discovered this only a few weeks ago but had been unable t find
any staff man who knew about the briefings inasmuch as Bob Smart was too
busy. Hardy went on to say that he did not think it did CIA any good to
,have the fact that these briefings were conducted held so closely.
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4. Hardy then discussed what committees had legal jurisdiction over
CIA pointing out that in the Senate it had been the Armed Services Committee
that had worked on the bill, whereas in the House it had been the Committee
on Government Expenditures which is now the Committee on Government Operations.
He said he planned to discuss the matter with Chairman Vinson and to decide
what should be done. There was discussion of the President's Board, and
Congressman Hardy said while he thought all of the members were fine and
able citizens that he felt the Board was window dressing. The Director
then mentioned the problem o finding Congressmen who could spend the time
to do the job. Hardy said that he recognized this but didn't think we
ought to hold it against a Congressman because he was junior. He pointed
out that he ranked 11th on the Democratic side of Armed Services and yet
had been on the committee 9 years.
5. The Director offered Congressman Hardy a briefing, and he said that
he would like very much to have this and that he did not intend to bother
us unless he could do the job correctly.
STAT
.uyman b. rparc
Inspector General
cc: Legislative Counsel
roved For Release 2007/02/28: CIA-RDP01-01773R000300110030-7