LETTER TO THE HONORABLE FRANK CHURCH FROM W. E. COLBY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77M00144R000500110066-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 29, 2004
• Sequence Number: 66
• Publication Date: March 11, 1975
• Content Type: LETTER

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CENTRAL HNT.E.LLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.G. 20505
The Honorable Frank Church,
Chairman
Select Committee to Study Governmental
Operations with Respect to Intelligence
Activities
United States Senate
Washington, D. C. 20510-
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This .letter will confirm and reduce to, writing some
of the matters agreed upon at our recent meeting.
At the outset, I should like to express my deep
personal appreciation for the candor and helpfulness of
you and Senator. Tower in that meeting and for your
sensitivity to the respective responsibilities under our
Constitutional framework. of the Select Committee and the
Central Intelligence Agency in the area of your review.
For my part, I should like to renew. again, for myself and
the CIA, my promise of cooperation with respect to the
important work of the Select Committee. In my judgment,
a spirit of good faith and cooperative effort is not only
necessary to enable your Committee to discharge its
responsibilities fully and expeditiously, but is indeed in
the best interests of the intelligence community as well.
I am convinced that a responsible and. thorough review of
U.S. intelligence activities will serve t6 vindicate the
CIA and enhance the public's understanding of the important.
contribution that the intelligence efforts of this nation
can make toward the goal of preserving and strengthening
our democracy.
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I am particularly appreciative of your recognition
that certain sensitive aspects of our intelligence
activities must receive special consideration and treatment
by the Select Committee in the course of your work. As we
discussed, such matters as the identities of our sensitive
sources, the material provide p.o ?Qreign
intelligence services, the deta.~_: techra~.a1 devices and
systems.and_._?f operational methods, the identities __of Certain
of our employees who could be targets of kidnapping or
assassination, the identities of American citizens and
organizations who have cooperated with U.S. intelligence, and
some additional materials the public disclosure of which would
create serious foreign policy or national security problems,
should be protected not only from exposure, but in e6d from
the risk of exposure. We should also work together to protect
cerrtain other information which, if improperly disclosed,
might impair the__privacy rights of individuals. Where these
kinds of considerations are present`I anticipate that appro-
priate understandings can be arrived at to avoid the.-risk of
exposing such matters and at the same time to satisfy the
Select Committee's need for a full understanding of our
activities.
As I stated to you, employees of the Central Intelligence
Agency will be available to the Select Committee for staff
interviews and for testimony. As we have discussed, this
might require, in some circumstances, special arrangements to
protect the identity of particular employees whose physical
safety or future career might be placed in jeopardy by exposure.
I anticipate that suitable safeguards can be established to
avoid such dangers. I assume the Committee will make its own
arrangements with respect to ex-employees as to whom I no
longer have the authority to direct their cooperation. However,
I am available for whatever assistance I can provide in this
regard.
As you are aware, all employees of the Central Intelligence
Agency are required to sign a secrecy agreement when they enter
on duty. This is a condition of employment, and it requires
that they keep forever secret all classified information gained
during the course of their employment. The secrecy agreement
further requires that they may not disclose classified informa-
tion,either orally or by. publication, without prior authoriza-
tion from the Director of Central Intelligence. Under the
secrecy agreement, an employee's obligations with respect to
the protection of classified information continue after his
employment with the CIA has been terminated.
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It is my desire that the secrecy agreements signed by
our employees shall not impair the necessary work of the
Select Committee. To accomplish'this, and in recognition
of the security protection contemplated by the Select
Committee, I have determined that disclosure of otherwise
protected information to the Select Committee or its designated
staff members will constitute an authorized provision of infor-
mation within the meaning of the secrecy agreements. This
letter may be used to indicate such authorization for any
Agency employee or ex-employee to furnish information to
the Select Committee or appropriate staff members on matters
which would otherwise be covered by their, secrecy agreement,
but which are not among the particularly sensitive matters
such as mentioned above. With respect to those particularly
sensitive matters, different procedures are obviously neces-
sary. Accordingly, where any matter included in these sensi.
tive categories would be involved in responding to the Com-
mittee, the employee should express his concern and, if
possible, propose a way of responding to the Committee without
exposing such sensitive details. if the Committee believes
that a disclosure of those aspects is nevertheless necessary,
the matter will be discussed between the Committee and the
Agency. I am prepared to consult with the Committee at any
time to avoid difficulties in this area and quickly determine
together the appropriate course of action to be taken.
With the good faith evident in our discussions on these
matters, I believe that these arrangements will enable me to
discharge my responsibilities to protect intelligence sources
and methods from unauthorized disclosure, while at the same
time to provide the Select Committee with all the information
it needs to accomplish its task.
As we have agreed, it is in the national interest as well
as that of the Select Committee and the U.S. intelligence
community to ensure that your review proceed as smoothly and
as expeditiously as possible. Toward that end, I have in-
structed all CIA personnel to respond in a spirit of coopera-
tion.
W. E. Colby
Director
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