SECRECY AGREEMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP57-00384R000700040004-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2001
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: June 13, 1953
• Content Type: MEMO

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OGC HAS REVIEWED.
13 June 1953
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director (Plans)
SUBJECT : Secrecy Agreement
1. I refer to the news item you sent to me on 11 June con-
cerning the refusal of- to testify before the Senate Sub-
committee on the grounds that he had signed a secrecy agreement
about his OSS work. I agree it is unfortunate the news item re-
ported Senator Jenner as treating such a claim lightly, but, in
our opinion, the Senator was technically correct in his position.
Under normal circumstances a witness questioned about information
he believed might be confidential could plead such a secrecy
agreement in order to gain time for instructions or guidance
from the proper authority. A tribunal or committee could be
expected to withhold the questions for a reasonable time for
the witness to get such guidance, but the secrecy agreement of
itself does not create a privileged condition. Refusal to tes-
tify must be based on the existance of confidential material
necessarily involved in the answers desired.
2. The secrecy agreement has the following main purposes:
a. It has a valuable psychological effect as most
people do not treat lightly a formal undertaking of that
nature. (That is why it is couched in formal legal wording.)
b. It may be a basis for discharge of an employee who
violates its terms. In some cases involving security dis-
charges it may have considerable weight in persuading the
employee to submit a resignation.
c. It may be of crucial importance in a prosecution
under the; Espionage Act as determining guilty knowledge or
intent.
d. It serves as a reminder to an individual called
before a court or a congressional committee that he should
obtain clearance from the appropriate governmental author-
ities on what matters within his personal knowledge are
still confidential.
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SECURITY INFORMATION
3. You will recall our difficulty in Seattle last fall when
the Federal Court felt we had no valid claim of privilege because
material about which our witnesses were to testify had largely been
published. The Court would not accept our position that it was a
confidential relationship that needed protection and wished
demonstration that there was actual confidential information
involved. Similarly, a congressional committee would not accept
a witness' statement that he has general instructions not to
testify. Instructions must be specific and must be based on the
grounds that the information sought is of a confidential nature
and relates to matters in the fields relegated by the Constitution
to the Executive arm of the Government.
4. In the case of SSS witnesses, I feel that technically the
clearance or instructions to witnesses should come from the
Department of Defense since OSS, as you know, was created by a
military order of the President and was under the Joint Chiefs
even though it was a civilian agency in other respects.
5. In short, Senator Jenner's position would tend to weaken
the psychological effect of the oath but does not constitute a
basic change in regard to secrecy agreements.
LARMCE R. HOUSTON
General Counsel
cc: Inspector General
Director of Security
CONFIDENTIAL
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