LETTER TO VERNON A. WALTERS FROM WILLIAM J. CASEY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83M00914R002800050007-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 27, 2007
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: December 2, 1982
• Content Type: LETTER

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The Director of Central Intelligence
Washington. D. C. 20505
2 December 1982
Dear Dick,
I likes: your letter to The Boston Globe. In
your inimitable way you reinstated your membership
in the SUM Society. I didn't know what that was
either until I met Pat Clancy in the locker room
of the Everglades Club last weekend and he hailed
me as a member of the SUM Society. I asked what
in the world that was. He said, "Stand Up Men."
Yours,
William J. Casey
The Honorable Vernon A. Walters
Ambassador-at-Large
Room 6313
Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
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ARTICT2 AF PE T''
C-11 :::Ay MAG. 16
BOSTON GLOBE
28 NOVE?. ER 1982
Letters
lar to the I had conducted in Paris i ington'. Because -I speak. - eight - Ian-
with the Vietnamese and Chinese, were I guages, some felt it important that I
in progress. When I learned otherwise, I convey to these men in their own lan-
refused to restrain the FBI probe in any guages the commitment of the United
way. Indeed
I threatened to resi
if St
t
,
gn
a
es, and particularly of the American
The dictates of diplomacy . ordered to do otherwise. John Dean has intelligence community, to continue the
eff Stela was kind enough to send acknowledged this refusal in his own struggle against our enemies even in
me a copy of the cover story he. testimony .before Congress. The delay times of great domestic turmoil for us.
wrote about me ("Mystery- Man caused to the FBI, while I checked our Never in any of the meetings with
of American -Diplomacy," August. sources in Mexico; resulted in no=sub- Colonel Contreras, the head of Chilean
29). In his accompanying note, he of- stantial impairment to the investigation. Intelligence,' did the subject of Orlando
fered to interview me or to allow me With respect to the overall Water- Letelier or Chilean
space to comment passports ever arise.
upon his article. As gate matter, I can.only. say_tbat?every ' Anyone who thinks otherwise is mis-
he pointed out in the article itself, I nor- step I took at that time: was scrutinized taken. The last time I saw Contreras
mally refrain from interviews and--sel-, in numerous and endless public hear was over;-a- year before Letelier was
don comment on stories. I do so not ings. Nevertheless, I remained in office murdered. My trip to Paraguay, just be-
because I am particularly opposed to until 1976, four-years after the break-in fore .I retired in July, had nothing to do
publicity about me. Indeed, during the occurred.-In-'1974, Director of the CIA with Chile or passports or Letelier. I am `
five Years from 1976 to 1981, as a pri- James R. Schlesinger, a man respected still, however, not at liberty to discuss
vate citizen, I wrote a book, Silent Mir for his integrity, intelligence, and so- the nature of my trip.
sionA not $e seta 9 Mr,. Stem's- research phisttcatiorJ, .awarded `:.me the Olefin After I retired from the CIS; i had
suggests. Not a single US secret is con- Bed Intelligence Medal for showing nothing to do with Chile or Paraguay. I
tamed in the book. It was published in "the highest qualities- of moral integrity had never even heard of Ambassador
six languages. I- traveled widely . and and rigid adherence to his constitutional Landau's cables until August 1976,
appeared on national and international responsibilities despite a number of.se- when the CIA brought them to my
television and radio programs --hardly vere pressures to lead him to-a contrary- attention. I answered that I knew noth-
the activities of a shy or reclusive man i position." Mr. Schlesinger is not known (_ing about passports for any Chileans.
I . shun publicity because the nature of as a man who passes out encomia freely. Furthermore, I explained that I had no
my duties as Ambassador-at-Large re- When I retired, moreover,, President reason to become involved with official
quires me to move discreetly and neon- Gerald .Ford, another man respected US business with Chile or Paraguay be-
spicuously in quiet pursuit of our coun- for his straightforwardness, awarded 'cause I was,
try's foreign a private dozen. No
policy. Publicity under- me the National Security ' Medal, only mention, moreover, was ever made of
mines my ability. to do this. twenty of which 'had ever before. been Orlando Leteher.
Neverthe1&c T foot rn.,,.,nllo.i
--r-~~~ wa..- -.-^ . ... a aauVaca7lrC ICSCdICf
spond to some of the allegations con- apparently failed to discover these two
tamed in the Stein story because they awards, although both are mentioned in
call into question my personal integrity Silent Missions, from which he.quotes
during my tenure as Deputy and Acting extensively. .
Director of the CIA. .1 feel strongly that With respect to Mr. Stein's allega-
the American people must have cons_ tions about the senseless murder of Or- .:4
in the integrity of their public lando Letelier, I repeat here what I told
servants and that to allow Mr. Stein's the FBI and the Justice Department in
allegations to go unchallenged. is to 1976: I..k new nothing whatsoever of the
shake that confidence. matter. .
The first allegation relates to an old As Deputy- Director of the CIA, I
matter. Watergate. Mr. Stein, like oth- met with most heads of foreign iiutelli-
ers, continues to play the "who-knew- gence services when they visited Wasb-_
what-when" game that has always. left. I
even the'- most informed observers -l
befuddled..I do not intend to rehash the
matter- here. I 'would" simply like to
stress that when it became clear to me
that no CIA assets were endangered by
an FBI investigation, I refused, as Dep.
uty Director, on behalf of the CIA, .to
have any involvement whatsoever in the
matter. When John Dean first asked me _
to stop the FBI investigation into the
Mexico money, I thought perhaps that
clandestine meetings with Castro, simi-
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-R
Later, while living in Florida, I read
about the Letelier murder. But, frankly, readily available to him.
a connection between the CIA inquiry Once again let me emphasize: I
about passports - half* the world, by could be of no practical assistance to the
the way, seems to be seeking US Letelier prosecution quite simply be-
passports at one time or another - and cause I knew nothing about the matter.
the Letelier case did not occur to me..,. Mr. Stein spends considerable time
To have rushed to the FBI to report in other parts of his article suggesting
that I did not know anything about a - how I have undermined governments
murder in Washington, D.C., 'would and leaders in the name of democracy.
have been as ludicrous as for me to rush I These parts remind me of an article
to the FBI to announce my ignorance of along the same lines published while I
circumstances surrounding any of a host was Attache in Brazil. That article de-
of _ other crimes committed across scribed in detail how I had conducted
America on any given day. I had no coup. after coup in Latin America, in-
more reason to do so than would Mr. stalled presidents, eliminated enemies.
Stein himself. Apparently Mr. Stein_ sowed discontent, and brought down
feels that one who dedicated his life to governments. Now I had been sent to
American intelligence is so Wicked.as to Brazil..to..do the, same:_I?:reported. the.
have: need. of _ protesting his innocence article to Washington', with ' the com-'
when no accusation is even made. meat, "And on the seventh day, I
When, however, the FBI pointed out rested."'
to me the possible connection between As a public servant, .I have come
the CIA inquiry about passports and the
Letelier murder, I volunteered to assist
in any way I could. I offered to testify
under oath that I larew nothing about
the case, and I volunteered to. take a he
detector test. The FBI and Eugene
Propper, the prosecutor, apparently
thought my testimony and.a lie detector
test unnecessary to the prosecution's
case. Both offers, however, are. a mat-
ter of public record. I repeated the of-
fers before a House committee on
March 10, 1981, a statement Mr. Stein
seems to have missed, although his as-
signment to the Congressional Press
Corps would have made the transcript
to -expect scrutiny and criticism. As
Ambassador-at-Large, however, respon-
sibility usually dictates silence and
patience. With respect to the integrity
-of my actions, I am generally content to
await the judgments of our future re-
searchers and historians. I have no rea-
son to fear the day the truth be told.
VERNON A. WALTERS.
Washington, D.C.
Mr. Walters' letter uaas mailed on Sep-
tember 14; the delay in publication was
inadvertent. - Ed
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