LETTER TO THE HONORABLE JOHN STENNIS FROM JOHN A. MCCONE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R000300090035-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 11, 2003
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: January 17, 1964
• Content Type: LETTER

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THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
i
1,7 January 1964
f
The Honorable John Stennis
The, United States Senate
Washington, D. C.
This is in reply to your letter of January 13th. As I told you
when I saw you at my meeting with your Committee on Friday
afternoon, the press report of a "CIA press conference" was
something of an over-statement of fact, although circumstances
were such that I can understand the reason for the statement.
What happened was that several reporters received unclassi-
fied information on the Soviet economy from us and one of them
featured the CIA attribution. This brought an avalanche of requests
from other reporters who felt that one had been favored with some
"inside information. " Therefore our people prepared a brief
memorandum of just what had been told and invited the inquirers
to come out and pick it up. All who inquired were asked to come at
a particular hour. The fact that they were met and talked to by
a CIA officer during the course of distribution of the memorandum
gave rise to the report that it had been a "CIA press conference, "
which, I think, overstates what happened.
I have been concerned over the fact that the CIA attribution
has been given such wide-spread publicity and frankly dontt
understand why because in this area, namely Soviet economics, CIA
has been a recognized authority and has for the past 10 years issued
volumes of unclassified reports of one sort of another which have
been distributed to libraries and universities. Moreover, the subject
was a favorite subject of my predecessor who looked upon it as one
area which he could treat freely and publicly in open forum. You may
recall there was an open hearing by the Joint Economic Committee on
13 November 1959 at which the Director of Central Intelligence
testified.
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 ?
in view of all this, I cannot criticize the authorized attribution.
The above, backcrounci of CIA interest in, and continued study of,
the Soviet economy is so well known to the press that a request for
non-attribution would most certainly not have been respected. Never-
theless I have restated our rules so that no such circumstance will
again occur without my consent and approval; and this, I assure you,
would be given only after consultation with all. interested parties.
I have tried to answer your questions by the above explanations
but I assure you that there is no change of policy which will be a
precedent for the future.
JAM/mfb
Distribution:
Orig by hand to addressee (via Mr. Warner)
lcc - Mr. warner w/basic
lcc - DCI chrono w/cy basic
lcc - DCI Congfile w/cy basic
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- ER w/cy basic
3cc - Exec Dir (these copies went to ExDir with another paper
separately)
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 JOHN STENNIS, MISS,
HARRY FLOOD RYAD, VA.
:TLIART SYMINGTON, 510.
HENNY M. JACKSON, WASH.
LEV ERS"Il' SALT ON:iTALL, MASB
MARGARET CHASE SMITH, MAINE
.1. GLENN BEALL., MD,
IANRY GOLOWATcR, ARIZ.
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RICHARD E. RUSSELL, GA., CHAIRMAN
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January 13, .1964
Honorable John A. McCone
Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Washington 25, D. C.
Dear Mr. McCone:
Recently I read an article stating that the CIA had held a press conference
during which the Soviet economy was discussed.
My impression is that the holding of press conferences is a distinct de-
parture from CIA's past practice. I would appreciate it if you would advise me
of the significance of this occurrence and whether it represents a change of
policy which will be a precedent for the future.
Sincerely,
( a
John Stennis
United States Senator
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