TALK WITH SENATOR EUGENE MCCARTHY (D., MINN.)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R000300110005-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 18, 2005
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: November 26, 1965
• Content Type: MF

Approyed For Release 2005/11/28 : CIA-RDP80BO1676R000300110005-4
26 November 1965
MEMORANDUM FOR: The Director of Central Intelligence
SUBJECT: Talk with Senator
Eugene McCarthy (D., Minn.)
1? On Wednesday, 214 November, I had lunch with Senator
McCarthy to reciprocate for a luncheon which he had given me
many weeks ago. The reason for picking this time was to talk
with him about his upcoming trip to Europe and to ask him whether
or not he would like to visit Radio Free Europe while in Munich, where he is scheduled to makeaesp d
RRadioeech Liberty
his
coming Sunday. Since Senator McCarthy expressed an interes
t in
visiting Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, I gave him the
necessary information which would permit him to
make
tact for the briefings at these Radios. A good part pfopur con-
versation had to do with general remarks about such things son-
Viet Nam, the Dominican Republic, and the state of the world.
29 Senator McCarthy indicated that he had tried to have
his Munich speech translated into German but that he had been
unable to find a suitable translator in the Legislative Reference
Section of the Library of Congress. I volunteered our services
for this purpose, and subsequently picked up the speech from his
office. (The German translation was delivered to Senator McCarthy's
office at noon this date.)
3. Senator McCarthy told me that he had been asked to write
an article on the Agency for THE NEW YORK TIMES but that he had
told them that he would not make a decision on doing it until he
returns in the middle of December from the current trip. He
asked me if we had any thoughts on this subject.
we would indeed turn it over in our minds and thatll ould talkt
to him some time after he gets back. The Senator was
em-
phatic in stating that if he wrote an article, he wanted it to be
'Fconstructive'v. He said that he had regretted writing a couple of
pieces about the Agency which had been critical and indicated
that he did not intend in the future to
participate which took the Agency to task. He stated that an Agency esu hs
as this is necessary in the world as constituted today, that the
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continuity which the Agency represented, the expertese which it
contained and various other factors made it a national neces-
sity even though he might not personally subscribe to everything
the Agency does. It was clear that the Senator has made a con-
scious decision to avoid further public criticism of the Central
Intelligence Agency.
4. Senator McCarthy also mentioned his proposal to estab-
lish a select committee of the Senate to examine this Agency over
a period of one year's time. He pointed out that Senator Russell
next year would be involved in a life or death struggle for his
Senate seat, and that 1966 might be a good time to have the Senate
satisfy itself about the Agency's activities. I responded by say-
ing that neither you nor I would oppose any legitimate approach
made by the Congress of the United States under proper authority
and authorization. I did indicate that our only concern was to
have examination of this Agency's affairs conducted by staff men
who are relatively permanent fixtures in the Congress, since there
was nothing to stop such individuals from going back into non-
Government life and writing books about what they had learned.
Senator McCarthy replied that he understood my point and that if
a select committee were established, it should probably be staffed
by individuals who were currently working on our affairs in the
appropriate committees of Congress. His concluding observation
on this matter was to ask that you and I give thought to his select
committee idea, looking, I gathered, to a conversation with him some-
what later on although he did not specifically invite a formal con-
versation.
5. The atmosphere of the luncheon was most pleasant throughout
and I could sense no barbs or sharp edges in Senator McCarthy's
attitude toward the Agency or its management.
Richard Helms
Deputy Director
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TRANSMITTAL SLIP DATE
26 Nov 65
TO:
DC I-
ROOM NO.
BUILDING
REMARKS:
k
FROM:
DDCI
ROOM NO.
BUILDING
EXTENSION
I FFEB ORM 55 2A I REPLACES FORM 36-8 YY GPO:1957-0-439445 (47)
WHICH MAY BE USED.
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TRk...DM. +' AL SLIP
DATE
27 November 1965
TO: D/Executive Di
or/Knoche./
ROOM NO. I BUILDING
REMARKS:
FROM:
ROOM NO.
BUILDING
EXTENSION
FORM NO
I FEB 55 241
REPLACES FORM 36-8 {7 GPO: 1957-0-439445 (47)
WHICH MAY BE USED.
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