BLAST DUE IN OTEPKA CASE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000600040026-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 15, 1998
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: September 6, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

NEW YORK
Sanitized - Approved-Forr eteease :'GIA-
SEP 6 1964
CAPITAL LETTER:
i to a,Case
By RUTH MONTGOMERY
WASHINGTON: he long=smolder
ng case o o ep a, w
was summarily removed by the Ken-.
nedy Administration as deputy chief
of the State Department's. security of-
fice, is nearing a congressional climax.
Security Subcommit-
tee's report is 'expected
to blast Otepka's su-
periors.
An . unimpeachable
source said the final
witness scheduled is
`Deputy Undersecretary
of State William
'Crackoett. Shortly
thereafter, the corn
mittee will release a
MONTGOMERY
,report, which could ,
provide. Republicans with campaign
fodder' during an election year.
"President Johnson will ' not be
pleased' with the report," one Demo-
cratic source said. "It will strike force-
fully at ' certain officials who are still
highly' placed in the department. ? It.
will then be up to Secretary Dean
;Rusk."
. A committee member said ?exeeur,
tive hearings have produced evidence
of "some., flagrant 'leaks of executive
testimony."
He predicted Rusk will be forced
.to call a department hearing on the
Otepka case, after release of the Sena
ate 'report.
The case erupted in the headlines
a year`ago this month, when the State
Department served notice on Otepka
that he was being fired as chief of
the security office's evaluation division
,,for actions "unbecoming to an officer"
of the department. He was accused of
:passing confidential' information to
unauthorized persons-to the Senate
Internal Security Subcommittee dur-
n zed - proved-Fo eleas
ment's security procedures.
His..: Congressional defenders
counter-charged that the, real reason
was Otepka's conscientious, effort to
do his job too well.
Otepka's job was first downgraded
in 1962,.after.he protested that Secre-
tary Rusk had granted 152, security
"waivers" to, high-ranking State De-,
partmerlt personnel pending a more
complete background investigation.
Otepka reportedly discovered that'
although derogatory information, in-
eluding possible Communist affilia-
tion, had been turned up about some
of these persons In agency checks,
they nevertheless were being allowed
to haindle classified, material.
Otepka, a- professional security
officer; went to the State Department
in 1953 as :a, personnel security evalu-
ator; Two 'major personnel security'
cases. on which he personally worked'
were those of John Stewart Service;
who had been separated from - the.
State Department in 1950 for turning
over documents to Philip Jaffe, pub-
lisher of Amerasia, but was ordered.;
reinstated by the Supreme Court six
years later; And William Wieland, who'
had a hand in shaping' U. S. policy.
towards 'Cuba before and after Fidel
Castro's take-over.
Otepka's , personal difficulties ap-'
parently began after he'objected to
security clearances given to .Wieland'
and Service.
Republicans will have a month to
capitalize on the Otepka case, if they
decide' to make a campaign issue of
State Department ser.nrity_
Watch for Ruth Montgomery's pen '-
trating observations in The Journal-
Anierlcan on week6ays.
FOIAb3b.
CPYRGHT
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