COLBY EXPLAINS 'MISSTEPS' OF THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77M00144R000800070047-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 23, 2001
• Sequence Number: 47
• Publication Date: June 22, 1975
• Content Type: NSPR

,
'0
CD
-n The 'Weather
.0 .
Toilay--;-Sutmy, high near 90, low
li6ar 70. The" chance of precipitation
gfe near zero today and tonight. Mon-
, ' iSay?Mostly sunny, high near 90.
? "csterday's temperature range was
:rssom 85 to 71. Details on Page B7.
,o
tth Year ??? No. 199 '
1973,? The Washinzton Post go:
SUNDAY,T JUNE 22,
1975
? Phone [phone] ?
? .
' ? X/
? CD
By George Lardner Jr.
? -NI
Wa3hicigton Peat Staff Writer
. -g The Central Intelligence Agency
.-Clao,nducted a hurried,. cursory check of
IA misdeeds in the wake, of the
'atergate scandal, failed to tell- the
ellite House of its, iindings and de-
: :7aroyed some of the records of its Me-
g' activities.
0 CIA Director William E. Colby said
Ciao ordered the destruction Of various
IA files in 1973, but said he regarded
as a routine step at the time.
? : "Even before 1973, prior to that
me," Colby said. "people had been
trning up collections of files that we
natally had no business owning. Tills is
4,natura1 process of any bureaucracy."
. Now, with the benefit of hindsight,
'Colby said he recognizes that he
?:should have reported the miSstcps to
the -.Justice Department. that the old
....Oandards which made. the CIA virtu-
? ally sacrosanct have slipped away. ?
Colby x fans Wiisst?
The .CIA director. disciissed - these
:matters in an hour-long Interview in
his 7th-floor suite at tit' agericy's head-
quarters Friday, coupling e candid ad-
' m ssions with o .peatod eee:fee:ssions of
: concern about? the-hazards of, unaccus-
tomed Pubiic :posure.
In Colby's view, there has-7been -too
mucli puelicity already. The:... agency,
he insisted, has served the coUntry far
botter than it realizes.
But Colby acknowledged,' too, that
oven he had no char Wen of the avmses
lurking in its past until the investiga-
tion by the Rockefeller _commission
waS"completed this month. Even more
sweeping congre!sional inquiries lie
ahead.
The seeds were planted on;.May 9,
1973: when then-CIA Director Tithes B.
Schlesinger sent a memorandum to all
employees calling for immediate re-
ports on any questionable activities,
past or present, that they might know
, about. .
The impetus for the directive came
,from the Watergate scandal. The 1971
Ellsberg case burglary, which G. Gor-
don Liddy and E. Howard Hunt Jr. car-
'?ried out with CIA technical assistance, -
had just come to light, and Schlesinger .
said he intended to do all he could "to
confine CIA activities to those which
fall within a strict interpretation of its .
legislative charter." e - ?
..?
?
The result, Colby agreed, was a rush
job that could not even be called a
genuine investigation. The CIA inspec-
? tor general's office, which handled the
assignment, submitted a report just 11 -
days later, on May 21, 1973. ?
"It was an accumulation rather
than an investigation, if you get the
? distinction," Colby said. "In other
words, the Schlesinger memo went to
? all employees. Well,, the first employ-
ees it went to was the command line.
And the command' line basically re-
ported what it beard down through the
regular hierarchy; what do you know,
what do you know, what do you
know.-And that was gathered together
and given to the inspector general.
"In addition," Colby said, "few em-
ployees went to the inspector general
with something they remembered. But
... inspector general didn't go out and
look through every file drawer in the
place or anything like that." ? .
The report included a section on as-
sassination plots and schemes. Other
portions were just a rehash of old in,
Clasallied 223-5200
Circulation 223.6100
Index
Amusements El
Books E Sect.
Classified )D16
Editorials 1-,C 6
Financial . :F 1
Gardens K 1
Living K 1-
Metro B 1
Obituaries B 6
Sports ? D 1
Style H,1-,
Travel G 1
Detailed Index, Page A2
Higher bel'olid Metropolitan area
See Bo's Al
spector general reports that CIA ;offi-
cials pulled out of their desks, appar-
ently including information on testing
LSD on unsuspecting subjects, part of
a controversial program that lasted
from 1953 to 1963.? '
The White House was not Informed.
but not, by Colby's account, because of
any preoccupation with the Watergate
scandal. The day after Schlesinger
wrote his May 9, 1973, memo, President
Nixon nominated him to become Secre-
tary of Defense, and Colby, who was
then CIA deputy director for\ covert
operations, was named to take over the
spy agency. .
"This one does embarrass me a bit,"
Colby said of the failure to notify the
White House. "I think what happened,
quite frankly, is. that it' fell between.
the stools?of ' Schlesinger's leaving
.7' and niye:taking over. I imagine he
thought maybe I was going. to take
care of the National. Security Council
[the White House agency which is sup-
' posed to supervise the CIA) and I im-
agine that I thought he was."
?e? The Justice Department also was
kept in the dark by virtue of a long-
standing agreement. diselosed and de-
nounced by the Rockefeller commis-
See COLBY. A5, Col. 1
WILLIAM E. COLBY
?"This one does embarrass .
ci?Or-Release.2092/01102': CIA-RDP77MQ0144R000800070047-9
,
Ex lains CiA 'Misstep
CoblY, From Al
p4 I
ion, to let the CIA deeide whether a
11:i . ? ? .
,-crime had been committed by its dm-
ia ,?Piciyees oii agents and whether security
,:4onsiderations precluded prosecution
eVett when 'a crime had taken place. -
Organized ,,
in January with the in-
a
pe or general's 1973 report as one of
:..,its basic primers, the commission con-
1.3.4;luded this month that the CIA had
ngaged iri "plainly unlawful" conduct
I b--from burglary 'through bugging to
teAth'e LSP testing and other activities.
I 3 "itut ' CalbY . indicated that he never
,..,
..-i-ieven contemplated going to the Justice
bepartment at the time. ? . ,
r"In retrospect, I would say yes, , I
1thowledged. "No question about it, we
ehould have," the 55-Year-old Colby ae-
1 tsholild have done it." '
i,ColbY Said he fire reached that con-
r;Clusion '"sOmetinie ' in December"-L
, which was the month that The New
York Times disclosed some of the ac,
tlivities recounted in the 1973 report.
The bIA director said he realized that
i ste,
,44*month that "I do have an obligation to
1 I t - ,
i '4 actUallY carry down to the Department
i. of Justice and let them make the deci-
, *Csion as to whether anything should be
F'I 4 sproseCuted or not."
A After. conferring with Schlesinger, /
,
?
' franklY didn't care at - that point whether any proiecutions should be
whether it was 20 cases or, 40, meth The
fact was there .weren't going to be any,
more.", .
The Rockefeller commission found
more instances of burglary, bugging,
and other misdeeds than he was aware
of, Colby indicated, Another reason for
the eicalating statistics, he said, wag
the fact that he agreed with the com-
mission at the outset that the 'CIA
would not interview former employees
? to avoid any suggestion that the
agency was trying to influence their.
testimony.
Consequently, Colby said, "the com-
mission knows more than, I
do . . . There's a couple of cases, a
undertaken. ?
Colby said he was confident that no
CIA employees will be indicted be-
cause, he' said, he fells, they, were .act-
ing under the belief that whatever
they did/while perhaps "technically"
illegal, was permisaible +It 'course
of their duties." '
Among Colby's August, 1973, &tree-
tivea was an order that the "CIA will
not engage in aSsassination nor induce,
assist or suggest to others that assas-
sination be employed," buthe said an
earlier ban had been issued by Helms
in March, 1972, three months before
the Watergate treak-in..,.,
Asked what prompted the Helms
couple of incidents mentioned in the , edict, Colby said it was issued because
commission report] that I didn't know of the heavy amount of publicity stem-
about. I don't challenge the fact that ming from Colby's 1971 congressional
they happened. But they're not in our testimony on Operation Phoenix in
records." South Vietnam, which critics charged
think any less dedi-
cated group of people
would have all flown
away long ago . . .
relied heavily on
sination.
The 1972 directive, Colby said, was
written "just to make clear what his
[Helms] policy and my policy were.
to clarify the records so that it's clear
what our policy was." , ?
The Helms order was not widely dis-
seminated, however. Neither the White
? , House nor congressional overseers
4'"who in a sense did direct me" to go to The commission also Said in its re- were told about it at the time, Colby
Papitol Hill, Colby said he .briefed port that some CIA records had been said. Even the CIA's general counsel
,.1)Oth Rep. Lucien Nedzi (D-Mich.) and ordered destroyed in 1973, including
' in 1972, Lawrence Houston, who is now
Sen. John C. Stennis (D-Miss.), the
152 separate' files on the drug-testing retired, said he never heard of It until
rhairmen of the Senate and House sub-
torture and assas-
L "? .
Fommittees in charge of CIA oversight, Colby said he had various documents
in late May, 1973, on the, agency's im- .
-.,,, aestroyed, and indicated that the drug-
'proprieties. But clearly, Colby agrees testing records Were among them.
i.? now, "that isn't enough." ?
, "We had files around here w
Nose chairman of the special House ,
' committee investigating the CIA, , shouldn't own, some of these surveil-
,
Nedzi, who has recently come under ,? lance things and stuff like that," he
- fire for taking no action, two years ago, said, "and, I ha& directed, 'let's get rid
"asked a lot of acilirtional questions"
of that stuff,' in 1973". Colby recalled
it was publicly disclosed several days
ago.. .
Voicing high praise for the CIA and
its employees despite the current furor,
Colby said he has no idea when the
investigations will end, but made plain
that he hopes they will close down as
quickly as possible.
"I think any less dedicated group of
that former CIA Director Richard
r4II M. people would have all flown away
. Y
Otfied ivith the answers he got and did
ot inform his colleagues. , , Helms took a similar step with, tapes ," long ago, but this is an enormously
, PP Y
1Is Colby did not characterize Stennis' he had On leaving the agenciin am highly motivated, dedicated, talentedt., - ,
eaction, but he has long been a stolid ary, 1973.
and Nedzi accepted Colby's assur-
e [ e ms] sai telligence is the best in the world."d, it didn t have any- Unquestionably, Colby said, the CIA
knees that corrective action -would be
? he
thing to do with Watergate, [that] he made mistakes, but he called this the
-Ittaken. , , ( was just getting rid of all this junk i result Of an old tradition that its work
? , - ,
No?follow-up investigation was On- people collect, you know," Colby said. ?? was not supposed to be talked about,
,
:ducted, including within the CIA to ' ' Asked whether,he now fel?li t t a climate that no longer exists.
h
A ? group(of people," Colby said. "Our in-
'defender of the CIA. Apparently both "H l ?
'determine :whether anY . of the 4cti.i(ii.,;' documenti I he 1, Ordered ,, 'tielstrnyed. __,?...
"ties warranted prosecution, or to, f,inti.1:shiitild'hiVe' been 'sent' th .tito us ie. , operate with tit controls 1 and without
lit' ildw OLtensivei they actually werq,.4,4 .4,..: , 7,7 , supervision, it . will get in some trou,
aiinOnt. in 1973. ,along With, the In .` ' ble," Colby Said, but even so, he said,
'llepeatedly; Colby emphasized that his ., .;",Y1)
?4,Mind was ,,oh ? the., future,: 01,Makingi ctor:?:neral's ' findings, ' C011iy:,,, lithe ' cdtintiT's been Well served by
terliti?eftaeliVitiineluded' in t.11e" n-,,' -
.1toiis\v, ith ?respect ic;ch i di ,.:bie''' 1 -1: ''''it '
I,
41 that,:ndtotild liasi,e . - - ,
, ' "better.'
tice, since '56 e 6f the incidente Viere''d '''' ,In anY, ease; Colby Said with a grin,
.rsPe1.1973, banning some, laying dewn 'strict ' agreed, ' li: b '
ettir general's report" on Aug. 29, rather flimsy' but other documents he
1,,,
pro a ly , should have been
' he plans to "tear up" klot more files
.* -.rules for others and declaring still oth- sent Wier. , tahsesmo.ori as investigators are done with
. . ,
I - era permissible. . The Justice Department is studying ',':, Have a bonfire? he was asked. ,
Concerning the CIA's "following of the evidence compiled by the Rockefel- '.. "Damn right," the CIA (Break' said,
i people around in America," Colby said, ler commission, concerning' both do-. pointing out the Windows to the closely
e
A? for example, he "issued a directive say- mestic spying and CIA involvement in ' guarded 219-acrp site. "Right out
' ; ?
,ng 'you won't do that any more' .. ; ;JI ., assassination plots, to determine there." ?
1.. .
.1 11 ,
IC.you let any large organization
44tute they didn'thappenaghin. And said, Softly, and .I think it will be well
be.,I ',don't know" 'Then acideii,?$, served ihr .4 in the future, even
re".4.: 4e !said 'he -hinted thstri!C?13, . may
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25X1A
UNCLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL I SECRET
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EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
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Oat.
3631 (1-75)
Approved For Release 2002/01/02 : CIA-RDP77M00144R000800070047-9
MAJORITY MEMBERS
JACK BROOKS, TEX., CHAIRMAN
L. H. FOUNTAIN, N.C.
JOHN E. MOSS, CALIF.
DANTE B. FASCELL, FLA.
TORBERT II. MACDONALD, MASS.
WILLIAM S. MOORHEAD, PA.
WM. J. RANDALL, MO.
BENJAMIN S. ROSENTHAL, N.Y.
JIM WRIGHT, TEX.
FERNAND J. ST GERMAIN, R.I.
FLOYD V. HICKS, WASH.
DON FUQUA, FLA.
JOHN CONYERS, JR., MICH.
BELLA S. ABZUG, N.Y.
JAMES V. STANTON, OHIO
LEO J. RYAN, CALIF.
CARDISS COLLINS, ILL.
JOHN L. BURTON, CALIF,
RICHARDSON PREYER, N.C.
MICHAEL HARRINGTON, MASS.
ROBERT DRINAN, MASS.
EDWARD MEZVINSKY, IOWA
BARBARA JORDAN, TEX.
GLENN ENGLISH, OKLA.
ELLIOTT H. LEVITAS, GA.
DAVID W. EVANS, IND.
ANTHONY MOFFETT, CONN.
ANDREW MAGUIRE, N.J.
LES ASPIN, WIS.
NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS
Congre55 of tbe illnittb 'tate
jf)out of IttpresSentatibeil
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
2157 Rayburn JbOUfk Office iguitbing
Iji
aobington, Ei.e. 20515
March 1, 1976
Honorable George Bush
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D. C. 20505
The committee herewith submits to you the enclosed
bill, H.R. 12039 , upon which the committee
would appreciate a prompt report, together with such
comment as you may desire to make.
Will you kindly transmit your reply in triplicate.
Respectfully,
Enclosure.
MINORITY MEMBERS
FRANK HORTON, N.Y.
JOHN N. ERLENBORN, ILL.
JOHN W. WYDLER,
CLARENCE J. BROWNASHIO
GILBERT GUrq.? MD.
PAUL N. MCC' .SKEY, JR., CALIF.
SAM STEIGEI..,RIZ.
GARRY BROW,,, MICH.
CHARLES THIW1E, NEBR.
ALAN STEELMAN, TEX. I
JOEL PRITCHARD, WASH,
EDWIN B, FORSYTHE, N.J.
ROBERT W. KASTEN, JR., WIS,
WILLIS D. GRADISON, JR., OHIO
MAJORITY-225-5051
MINORITY-225-5074
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Approved For Re
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lit
,st
Wron
By IRVIN MOLOThIY tt) Westchester tC
ost Americans Jmet, the idents.
1.7,:qa?dirn% for, filing A similar.situation had ex=
aJ income tax retUrns, isted in 'New Jersey until
.,but ilsag_t_expelience is any a sizable dent was made in
thousands o of the backlog because that
,people _yy1-16. -are--e-fifitIM to state has many medium-sized
retuncrs_wort:_tgetrahem. , newspapers that serve Limit-
'ed areas, and the Internal
undeliverable_ cause the
Revenue Service has found
_
that many people respond
:_wrong iddiess is on_ the
forms," said a spokesman for . when local papers carry lists
the 'Internal Revenue Serv-
of taxpayers in their commu-
. rtookl-
'OfgFe in
nities entitled to refunds.
li
?lyn, ",Whirch 'tiliii.ifill3Ist.tartlyn, A recent compilation
Queens_andI!klassau and Suf- showed that 900 checks des-
falk-Cousities. ,tined for Essex County res.-,
However he was at a loss_ idents and worth $8,113 had
to w,hy_there were '
so been returned undelivered,
.i-n,c2orrenEws--e-s-g-e-s in as were 825 checks Worth
hi di4strict. At a recent? $5,433 in Passaic, Bergen and
l
count, 2,086 checks
Morris 'Counties conibined,
more=
year,s refunds 700 worth $2,862 in Hudson,
senting last and destined for Queens-
rndi_ 170 'worth $614 in Middlesex,
viduals and 3,273 for people -30? worth $1,585 in Union'
land 120 worth $2,863 in
In Brooklyn were returned
to the government as uncle- IVI?111nputh?
Liverable. Their face value For the country as a whole,
was just a bit under $1 mil- as of? Last sumrrter. 89000
lion. checks worth $25.million had
In Nassau - County 372 be returned to the Govern-
checks were undeliverable ment . as undeliverable.
and .in Suffolk there were People who think they should
351 Together, they had a have received refunds last
face value of $165,000. year but did not should call
Milton A. Waldman a the Internal Revenue Service
,
spokesman for the Manhat-
in their Those who have moved tan district, Said, "Returned
checks are almost traditional. since filing can call the officE
The number ma vary, but - with jurisdiction for their ote
y
it happens every year." -
Here are recent figures for
returned checks in the Man-
hattan district: 4,265 checks
in Manhattan and 2.131 in
the Bronx with a combined
face value of nearly $1.5
million; 110 checks sent to
Staten Islanders with a value
of $25,000; 106 checks worth
$33,000 sent to Rockland
County residents and ?426
checks worth $119,000 sent
addresses without charge by
using the , list of toll-fret
numbers available in I.R.S
pamphlets, including Publi
cation 17, "Your Federal In
come Tax."
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