WHITE HOUSE MEETING OF THE LEGISLATIVE INTERDEPARTMENTAL GROUP - 17 AUGUST 1971

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74B00415R000200020126-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 31, 2005
• Sequence Number: 126
• Publication Date: August 18, 1971
• Content Type: MFR

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18 August 1971
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: White House Meeting of the Legislative Interdepartmental
Group - 17 August 1971
1. On the afternoon of 17 August I attended a meeting of the Legis-
lative Interdepartmental Group in the NSC staff conference room of the
Executive Office Building. The meeting was chaired by General Al Haig,
Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and was
attended by John Dean, Counsel to the President; Ken BeLieu, Hal
Sonnenfeldt and John Lehman, of the White House staff; Dave Abshire,
Joe Wolf and Russ Fessenden, of the State Department; Bill Rehnquist,
Assistant Attorney General from Justice; and Rady Johnson, General Jim 25X1
Lawrence and Stuart French, of Defense.
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3. Regarding the Agency Radios, Abshire commented that Chairman
Morgan, of House Foreign Affairs Committee, planned hearings in September
and State was trying to organize support for the Administration bill. He said
that if things could move along briskly on the House side the problem in the
Senate might be eased. He mentioned a proposal that Representative Dante
Fascell (D., Fla.) head a commission of congressional, executive, and
private representatives to supervise the Radios for a two-year period, and
at the end of that time make recommendation regarding their long-term
future. However, it was noted that no solution as to how such a commission
could be funded without congressional appropriation had been found. Abshire
commented that Radio Liberty's Yiddish language programs were a good
political selling point among House liberals (although I understand that in
fact Radio Liberty presently schedules no such programs).
4. Regarding the Church and Badillo bills forbidding Agency involve-
ment in, or support of, paramilitary operations, I took the position that the
matter involved an implicit constitutional question, pointing out that:
a. They concerned the President's authority to draw on the
resources of executive agencies in carrying out his constitutional
responsibilities regarding foreign policy and national defense, and
b. It would therefore be more appropriate for a policy arm of
the Administration, rather than CIA, to speak to this point.
Rehnquist commented that these bills were in effect amendments to the
National Security Act of 1947, and if it were assumed that the Agency's
authority to conduct paramilitary operations was based on that Act, then
Congress would have the right to revoke or limit this authority. Haig
agreed that the Agency itself should not be the Administration spokesman
in dealing with the Congress on this legislation and asked that we take a
reading after the current recess to see what prospects the bills had of
passing. He said if it appeared the bills were moving, the White House
would go to bat for us. However, it was noted since the provisions of
these bills might be tacked on as amendments or riders to other legislation,
we could not be sure when or how the issue might come up.
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6. The remaining discussions dealt with a number of matters
primarily relating to executive privilege and the Administration's
relations with the Congress not of direct concern to the Agency.
JOHN M. MAURY
egislative Counsel
Distribution-
Orig. - Subj.
1 - Ex. Dir. -Compt.
1 - DDI
1 - DDS (note para 2)
1 -OGC
1 -DDP
1 - C /CA (note paras 3 & 4)
1 - C /Eur (note para 2)
1 - C /FE (note para 4)
OLC /JMM:mmc /rw . (19 Aug 71)
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