WHITE HOUSE DISCUSSION OF AGENCY CONGRESSIONAL LIAISON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00380R000100030003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 9, 2002
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: December 26, 1972
• Content Type: MFR

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
26 December 1972
SUBJECT: White House Discussion of Agency Congressional Liaison
1. Today I attended a meeting in the office of Bill Timmons, Assistant
to the President for Congressional Relations, at his invitation. Also present
were Dick Cook, Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs (House); Tom
Korologos, Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs (Senate); Max Friedersdorf,
Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs (House); and Wallace Johnson, Special
Assistant for Legislative Affairs (Senate).
2. A couple of weeks ago Korologos had tipped me off that Timmons
wanted to talk to me about postponing my retirement and Timmons opened the
discussion by saying he hoped I would stay on for the next two or three years,
or at least until the new Director got well settled in and a replacement could
be found for my job.
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3. I said I had agreed with Mr. Helms to stay until the end of 1973 and
was still prepared to do this if Dr. Schlesinger so desired, but I felt he should
have his options. Timmons said he would "make sure" that this was all right
with Schlesinger. I said I was flattered to be asked to stay on but felt sure
that within a year a fully qualified replacement could be found, adding that my
present deputy, I could take over the job tomorrow if need be and
that once Dr. Schlesinger and the White House liaison team got acquainted with
him they would undoubtedly agree. I briefly described background and
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4. In response to their questions, I identified the other members of
OLC and their respective responsibilities. To their further questions, I
explained in some detail what our day to day work amounted to and the most
common problems that we encountered.
5. In reply to questions, I said that Helms would certainly be missed
within the Agency and by a number of key people on the Hill who held him in
the highest regard, but I saw no reason to think there would be congressional
opposition to Schlesinger. Korologos remarked that he had accompanied
Schlesinger recently on visits to Senator Stennis in Mississippi and Representa-
tive Hebert in Louisiana and things had gone smoothly. Timmons said I should
be sure to pass on to Schlesinger any suggestions as to how he should reply
to questions that might come up during the confirmation hearing.
6. When queried about the outlook for the coming year, I said a new
Director, like a rookie defensive end, could expect quarterback Fulbright to
try to run some tricky plays over him before he got settled in his position.
In addition, I said Congress was likely to focus on three main areas of concern
regarding the Agency:
a. Increased knowledge of, and control over, its funds ;
b. Broader access to the intelligence product; and
c. Closer scrutiny and tighter legislative controls over
political and paramilitary operations.
7. To questions regarding my personal views on the LIG (Legislative
Interdepartmental Group), I said these meetings sometimes provided a useful
device for discussing broad congressional issues of concern to the CIA and
other Executive agencies. For example, I said I thought it very important
that the full legislative resources of the Administration be coordinated in
order to forestall disruptive and restrictive congressional intervention in
Agency operations.
8. In response to further questions, I explained the general pattern
and policies of our congressional briefings, how we handle sensitive material
(including custody of transcripts) and policies governing clearances of
congressional staff personnel (of both committee staff and staffs of individual
members).
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9. To the question of coordinating congressional briefings with other
agencies, especially Defense and State, I said that our substantive experts
were in close daily communications with their opposite numbers in these
agencies, and serious substantive differences between them were rare. I
added that short of trying to sweep major substantive differences under
the rug, we worked closely with our opposite numbers and I was in frequent
touch with Dave Abshire in State and Rady Johnson in Defense.
10. Timmons said they were concerned about a replacement for
Abshire and he wondered if I had any views. He said they had approached
former Congressman Armistead Selden, but had been turned down. He
wondered whether I knew Jack Marsh, former congressman from Virginia.
I said Marsh was indeed an old personal friend, and a very good friend of
the Agency and a supporter of the Administration. However, I said I had
understood that his health may have been a factor in his retirement from
politics and this might create a problem. In response to their questions
about career Foreign Service Officers, I said one of my best personal friends,
who was also an officer whom I admired professionally, was Tap Bennett,
former DCM Athens, Ambassador to the Dominican Republic and to Portugal,
and now Deputy U. S. representative to the UN Security Council. I remarked
that Bennett, a native of Georgia, had been a protege of Senator Russell's
and I thought was well connected with Capitol Hill.
11, In closing they asked me to give further thought to candidates
for the State Department job and to see if I could come up with some names
of congressional staff members. One name they mentioned was Marian
Czarnecki, Staff Coordinator, House Foreign Affairs Committee. I said I
had a very good impression of him although I had never worked closely with
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JOHN M. MAURY
Legislative Counsel
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OLC/JMM:rw (27 Dec 72)
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