RESPONSE TO SENATOR BAKER'S LETTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00380R000100110040-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 18, 2003
• Sequence Number: 40
• Publication Date: November 12, 1973
• Content Type: MF

Approved For Release 2003/12/03 : CIA-RDP75B00380R000100110040-9
The attached memorandum and the TOP SECRET attachment have
been filed in the "Special Senate Armed Services Committee File"
in Joan's safe in front office. This is under OLC 73-1318, dated
12 November 1973.
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Approved For Release 2003/12/03 : CIA-RDP75B00380R000100110040-9
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MEMORANDUM FOR: Legislative Counsel
THROUGH Deputy Director for intelligence,-ti!
SUBJECT Response to Senator Baker's letter
1. The allegations concerning Helms' conversation
with the Watch Office on the weekend of 17 - 18 June 1972
are clearly false. The Operations Center's report on this
episode, together with its logs, is attached. For a full
account these materials should be combined with D/OS' ac-
count of the rest of the story. One point should be added.
The Duty Officer with whom Helms spoke on Saturday afternoon
and on Sunday morning has been interviewed. He has no recol-
lection of having discussed the Watergate affair with Helms
on these or any other occasions, and it would have been most
uncharacteristic for him to have done so.
2. My own recollection is that Helms told his morning
meeting on Monday that he had had a quiet evening at home
ruined by a call from Howard Osborn telling him "Boss, I
have some repulsive news for you," and going on to inform him
that Hunt and McCord were involved. I assume this is the call
which D/OS reported to the Watch Office at 2217 Saturday even-
ing and which is mentioned in Helms' testimony and mismentioned
in Rowan's column. The Watch Office is under the impression
that Helms had gone to Lewes for the weekend, but I believe
they are wrong about this and that he was at home in Washington.
The morning meeting minutes of Monday contain Helms' instruc-
tions on how to handle the affair but do not mention the
particular language I have quoted. I suspect, however, that
the others who were there will also remember it vividly.
3. St. George's reference to Kissinger's return of
estimates and memoranda with obscenities sprawled across
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them is of course also false. When Kissinger came to the
White House he had a number of criticisms of specific CIA
papers and often returned them with specific comments, re-
quests for development or clarification, or challenges to
the theses presented. He also was highly complimentary on
a number of other CIA papers during the same period. All
of this was read here as being part of the normal process
of adjustment from one administration to another.Y,
4. This story has appeared previously in print, al-
though we are unable collectively to remember where. Its
genesis is possibly Kissinger's unhappiness with the major
military estimates because they did not develop fully enough
and precisely enough questions that were in dispute, and
did not bring out fully the reasoning and evidence underlying
the various agency positions. In response to this pressure
a new approach was developed for NIE 11-8, and the new product
drew a complimentary memorandum from the President.
5. The remainder of this section of St. George's
article somehow wraps up Kissinger's efforts to improve
the production of national intelligence with the efforts
of Ehrlichman, Colson, et. al in domestic espionage in a
single package, and this in turn becomes an assault on the
Intelligence Community's "vital monopoly" as the President's
only source of intelligence information. Enough said.
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Director of Current Intelligence
Attachmen
Concur 5X1 ~
Deputy Director for Intelligence Date
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