LETTER TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM B. SAXBE FROM W. E. COLBY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M01048A000300110008-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 19, 2005
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: April 24, 1974
• Content Type: LETTER

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VENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGE* gxec+utive Registry
2 4 APR 1974
The Honorable William B. Saxbe
Attorney General
Department of Justice
Washington, D. C. 20530
On 5 April 1974 Assistant Attorney General W. Vincent
Rakestraw sent to the Office of Management and Budget the
Department's recommendation against submission to Congress
of legislation proposed by this Agency to amend the National
Security Act of 1947 to furnish additional protection for intelligence
information. When I wrote to you on 22 January in connection with
my submission of proposed legislation to OMB, I noted that serious
damage had been done to our foreign intelligence effort as a result
of unauthorized disclosure of information relating to intelligence
sources and methods, and that my goal was to provide a deterrent
to such disclosure and a means for successful prosecution of
violators. The lack of sanctions or implementing authority to
support my statutory responsibility for the protection of intelligence
sources and methods is a serious problem, and I fear will become
more serious in the future. While I respect your reasons for
recommending against this proposed legislation, I cannot agree
with all of them and still feel strongly that some legislation of
this kind is needed.
Your basic reason for opposing the creation of a new criminal
offense is that the subject matter is already substantially protected
by existing law. My basic reason for seeking this legislation is that
our experience shows the opposite; namely, that existing laves is
inadequate for the protection of intelligence sources and methods
from unauthorized disclosure. As Mr. Rakestrav, notes in his
comments to OMB, a successful prosecution under the existing
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statutes most likely to cover an offense of this kind would probably
require self-defeating public disclosures in proving the relation-
ship of the information to the national defense. The alternative,
as Mr. Rakestraw notes, is abstention from prosecution. To my
mind this is hardly adequate statutory protection.
Contrary to the Department's impression that CIA seeks
harsher penalties against a larger class of persons than provided
for by existing law, what we seek here is an appropriate penalty
against a limited class of persons; namely, those who have had
access to information relating to intelligence sources and methods
as a result of employment by, or other privity of relationship to,
the Government. In this connection subdivision (3) is designed to
ensure that persons not in this limited class, such as newsmen,
could not be prosecuted under the statute or even for a collateral
offense arising out of a violation of the statute.
The Department questions the utility of subdivision (6) which
would provide statutory authority to seek an injunction to forestall
violations. Your question of the need for this section is based
partly upon our success in getting an injunction against a former
employee (U. S. v. Marchetti) and upon other case precedents which
indicate that an injunction might be granted in an appropriate case
regardless of the existence of a statutory provision. This might
be so, but I think the authority would be more certain and compel-
ling if contained in a statute for the specific purpose of protecting
intelligence sources and methods.
While I agree with your conclusion that this proposal may
arouse stiff opposition and realize that it must be carefully drafted
to avoid constitutional questions, I do not think these are adequate
reasons to forgo the submission of the proposed legislation. Neither
can I agree that its enactment would have only a marginal protective
effect or that some of its objectives are of doubtful validity. I
consider protection of intelligence sources and methods to be a
critical problem that is inadequately covered by existing law, and
feel that with the cooperation of the Department we can present a
bill that should meet our objectives without transgressing constitu-
tional limitations. ti-1y General Counsel, Mr. John S. Warner, has
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discussed the Department's objections in general terms with
Mr. Henry Petersen, who has expressed his willingness to work
with us toward what the Department would consider an improved
bill. I appreciate your cooperation in this effort, and hope that
you will be able to give us support for the kind of legislation
which I feel we must have if we are to continue a totally effective
foreign intelligence effort.
Sincerely,
[s/, W. E. Colby
W. E. Colby
Director
cc: The Honorable Roy L. Ash
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