CIA DOCUMENTS AND THE ROSENTHAL CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83M00914R002100160090-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2007
• Sequence Number: 90
• Publication Date: September 24, 1981
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2007/03/05: CIA-RDP83M00914R002100160090-7
SECRET NFACALO.yf_ J4 .0c
24 September 1981
Execu~ivc ^,
MEMORANDUM FOR: John McMahon, Director
National Foreign Assessment Center
FROM Maurice C. Ernst, Director
Office of Economic Research
SUBJECT CIA Documents and the Rosenthal Congressional
Hearings
1. For the past several days the press has been covering
Congressional hearings called by Representative Benjamin
Rosenthal, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer,
and Monetary Affairs, of the Committee on Government
Operations. In two of these articles, it appears that the press
has had access to at least one classified CIA document passed to
the Rosenthal committee over the past two years and may have
access to more.
k - ays
14 kTha
 2. On three occasions since June 1979 Rosenthal has made
blanket requests to CIA for data concerning OPEC investments in
the United States. In response to Rosenthal's requests we
coordinated over 350 relevant documents with DDO,II Treasury,
and for deletion of sensitive material. As a result of the
requests we:
o Passed 290 documents for retention by the Rosenthal
committee, all classified Secret or below;
o Showed 58 Codeword documents to Rosenthal and his
assistant but did not leave any for retention;
o Neither passed nor showed 22 documents to Rosenthal
because of their overall sensitivity.
We are currently processing an additional request by Rosenthal
for declassifg of 17 of the CIA documents passed to his
subcommittee.
3. Rosenthal's effort is directed at gaining access to data
collected by the Department of Treasury. Treasury contends
however, that the International Investment Survey Act of 1976
prevents it from releasing inf
individual banks or depositors
STAT
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We receive the Treasury 25X1
information for analytical purposes under an agreement with
Treasury and the Department of Commerce, who legally controls its
distribution, but defer to Treasury on the dissemination of the
data to non-executive branch offices. I 25X1
4. We have not made a form 1 determination of the
releasability of the information
5. Attached for your reference are the copies of the two
press articles, the exchange of letters between Blumenthal and
Turner, and the memorandum quoted in the articles.II
Maurice Erns
Director
Office of Economic Research
Approved For Release 2007/03105: CIA-RDP83M00914R002100160090-7
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 Approved For Release 2007/03/05: CIA-RDP83M00914R002100160090-7
Approved For Release 2007/03/05: CIA-RDP83M00914R002100160090-7