COMMISSION ON CIA ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-01042R000300010020-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2005
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: February 28, 1975
• Content Type: BULL

EMPLOYEE
BULLETIN
COMMISSION ON CIA ACTIVITIES
WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
As you are aware, the President on 4 January 1975
established a Commission on CIA Activities within the
United States to 1QQk into allegations that certain Agency
activ.t.ies.conducted within this country exceeded our charter
and statutory authority.
Upon completion of its inquiry, the Commission will
issue its findings and submit recommendations to the President
and to the Director of Central Intelligence.
The President has directed that the Agency extend support
and assistance to the Commission, and I have pledged my coopera-
tion to the Commission .and its Staff.
-I have also told the Commission that any current employee
'
To facilitate interviews by the Commission Staff Officers
with CIA employees, I have advised the Commission that employees
are authorized to furnish classified information with certain
exceptions. My letter to the Vice President, the Chairman of
the.. Commission, is attached. It sets forth. guidelines for the
furnishing of classified information.
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of the
Agency is available to the Commission and its Staff for
discussions.
procedures to facilitate the Staff's work in examining topics
of concern.
The Agency and the Commission Staff have now developed
sufficient working experience so that we can design additional
All members of the Commission Staff have received security
clearances and have been given badges providing them with access
to Agency offices in the Washington,D. C. area.
between the Director and the Commission.
.;Headquarters Area Offices, be given access to Agency files
related to the CommIssion'sfields of . responsibility. The
use of specific sensitive data from these files in any unclas-
.sified report by the Commission will be subject to consultation
The Commission Staff will, during their inquiries in CIA
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The cooperative spirit of our relationship with the
Commission and its Staff must at the same time take account
of the rights of Agency employees. Like other citizens,
they have the right to remain silent. The Commission' Staff
willadvise employees of their rights at the beginning of
any interview or other appearance.
My own belief, after careful review of all activities
in question, is that legal action will not be taken against
individuals. The final decision, however, must rest with
the Depar ment of Justice and other legal authorities and
risk of such action is a judgment each employee must make
for himself.
our country.
When a current Agency employee is asked to be inter-
viewed by a member of the Commission Staff, the Staff' member
may notify Mr. E. H. Knoche who is''my'assistant in charge of
liaison with the Commission and its Staff. Mr. Knoche, in
turn, will notify the employee. The purpose of this is in
no way to inhibit the work of Staff members. It is intended
to allow time for the'employee to gain general legal guidance
if he wants it, and to obtain security guidance from an
appropriate senior officer.
There is_no requirement that an employee report to his
supervisor or other Agency authorities on the nature of the
interview. This is a matter of the employee's choice.
In arranging the interviews, I am acutely aware of the
need to avoid the appearance as well as the fact of collusion
between Agency and employee. None of us has any intention
:to fabricate or mislead. I am convinced that being forth-
coming will vindicate the Agency and its eminent service to
In keeping with long-standing policy, employees with
nature ca,n follow the customary practice within the Agency of
.calling the matter to my attention or that of the Inspector
General.; This will permit me to take appropriate policy
actions with regard to any such activities. it will also
`,ensure my ability to continue to be forthcoming with all those
involved in external reviews of Agency activities.
any knowledge of activities conducted within the United States
now or in the past, which they believe to be of a questionable
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Employees should also feel free to bring any such
xtatters directly to the attention of the Commission or
the Commission Staff outside of Agency channels if they
so desire. In doing so, however, employees should bear
in mind that the Commission's field of interest is CIA
activities within this country.
To contact the Commission, employees can call the
Executive Director, Mr. David W. Belin on 456-7010, or the
Counsel, Mr. Marvin Gray, Jr., on 456-7014. The mail
address is:
Commission on CIA Activities
Within the United States
712 Jackson Place, N. W.
Washington, D. C. 20500
Names of the members of the Commission Staff and their
badge numbers are attached.
Attachment a/s
DISTRIBUTION: ALL EMPLOYEES
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5 February 1975
The Honorable Nelson A. Rockefeller
;Chairman, Commission on CIA Activities
Within the United States
,712 Jackson Place, N. W.
Washington, D. C. 20500
;Dear Mr. Vice President:
As you are aware, all employees of the Central Intelligence
Agency are required to sign secrecy agreements 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 re-
quires that they may not disclose classified information in inter-
views or by publication without prior authorization from the Director
of Central Intelligence. There is a provision in the secrecy agree-
ment that the conditions and obligations with respect to the protection
of classified information by the agreement continue after employment
with the Agency has been terminated.
As I have stated to the Commission, I will make available any
employee of this Agency to the Commission for staff interview and
for. testimony before the Commission. This letter will serve as
authorization for any such employees or ex-employees to furnish
information as .,requested by the Commission or its staff on matters
that may be classified. As has been discussed with the Commission,
there are certain sensitive items which should receive special han-
dling. Such items include names of sources, specific details of
technical devices and systems maintained in compartmented channels
by the Agency, names of employees, names of persons who may be
targets of kidnapping or assassination by foreign intelligence organi-
zations, names of organizations cooperating with the Agency, and
detailed information which would pinpoint any of the above. Some
information might also conflict with a subject's right of privacy.
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There is no purpose here to impede in any way the Commission's
investigation. I believe, however, in most cases these specific
identifying names and details are not necessary for an understanding
of our activities. Where the Commission or the staff believes that
specific identification is necessary to the purpose of the testimony
or the staff interrogation, the matter will be discussed between the
Commission and the Agency, and I will be prepared to consult with
you and the Commission to determine the course of action to be taken.
Where in the judgment of the employee a specific identification is
especially sensitive as outlined in this paragraph, an identity number
will be assigned pending resolution of the matter between the Com-
mission and the Agency, and in the meantime the identity will not be
divulged by the employee.
I appreciate the cooperation of the Commission and of Agency
employees in this regard. I am still responsible under the statute
and as a professional for the protection of intelligence sources and
methods from unauthorized disclosure. In many situations the inad-
vertent disclosure of a name or identification could have serious
repercussions, including placing lives in jeopardy, and I cannot in
good conscience put such information at risk.
This arrangement of course does not affect the Commission's
procedures for advising prospective witnesses of their rights, secur-
ing waivers, nor the employee's or ex-employee's right not to answer
certain questions if they are concerned that the answers might tend
to incriminate them.
Respectfully,
E. Colby
Director
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BADGES ASSIGNED TO MEMBERS OF PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON
CIA DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
NAME
NUMBER
Belin, David W.
PC-100
Baker, Harold A.
PC-101
Cargill, Robert Mason
PC-102
Clapper, Peter R.
PC-103
Gellhorn, Ernest A.
PC-104
Gray, Marvin Jr.
PC-105
Greene, Ronald
PC-107
Hardy, Timothy S.
PC-108
Manfredi, George A.
PC-109
Olsen, Robert B.
PC-110
Wallison, Peter James
PC-ill
Schwarzer, William W.
PC-112
Roethe, James N.
PC-113
Weidner, James B.
PC-114
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