CARTER'S FBI CHARTER BOON TO SUBVERSIVES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000100390016-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 6, 2004
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: September 1, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2004/10/28: CIA-RDP88-01314R0001
HUMAN EVENTS
1 September 1979
Boon . -ub
But the Middle East is only the latest
"Who's in charge, anyway?" Presi- problem the President has bobbled.
dent Carter was merrily chugging along When Congress returns from the
the Mississippi River last week in the August recess, both the Senate Judici-
Delta Queen-Steamboat One, as re- ary Committee, chaired by Sen. Ed-
porters refer to it-stopping every so ward Kennedy (D,-Mass.), and
often to jog, host a radio talk show, the House Judiciary panel, headed by
and kiss a ton of babies. This, one sup- Rep. Peter Rodino (D.-N.J.), will take
poses., is the new and forceful leader- ~ up legislation that many security ex-
ship he was pledging on national perts believe will deal yet another
television about a month ago.' But no
one-or, some might say, too many,: deadly blow 'to an already terribly -I
r
am:
people-seemed to be tending store. flawed U.S. internal security prog
While the President was obviously, the President's proposed FBI Charter.:I
Mildly criticized by the American:
hugely enjoying himself on his."non--l y y
political" cruise, who, one wondered; i Civil Liberties Union (though that or-
was taking command for the Adminis- ganization greatly shaped the bill's fea-;
tration as the critical problem of then turcs) and dutifully. backed by FBi!
Mideast began to bubble? Andy Young, Director William Webster, the Char-
despite his resignation, which won'ti ter, according to these experts, will',
take effect until at least the end of thel pour into legislative concrete language
month, was saying one thing; Robert that will dangerously tie the hands of
Strauss, Carter's special envoy, an- law enforcement officials iii cases in-
other; Secretary of State Cyrus Vance volving both domestic security and ter-!
something else. Supposedly both Vance rorism. While the Bureau's efforts in
and Zbigniew Brzezinski-but not these areas are currently hampered by
Strauss-were behind a move to pro- :'guidelines issued in 1976 by then Attor-
pose a new U.N. resolution tilting ney General Edward Levi, they can be
somewhat toward the Palestinians, but changed by any attorney general who
this was suddenly cancelled. Then the wishes to rewrite them. But the Char-
word was out that Vice President Mon-'j ter, according to its hardline critics,
dale was really in charge of working
everything out on the Mideast, but:
only temporarily. Meanwhile, Israel,
Egypt and the PLO were issuing threats
and pummeling American diplomacy.
virtually cements the most harmful
aspects of these guidelines into perma-
nent law.
Ray Wannali, who retired, in-1976 as
CONTINUE
But the President appeared quite head of the Bureau's intelligence divi-
relaxed in the wake of this chaos, sion, after having worked in that divi-
preferring the refuge of Mark sion for 29 years, is less than enamored
Ti aln's old haunts to the strain of df the new Charter. He bluntly informed
the Oval Office, us:
"Can Mr. Carter have any idea what "I see no provision which would per-
all this looks like on the nightly news," mit the investigation of a domestic or-
asked the Washington Post, "when,, ganization of a revolutionary nature.
after a full complement of foreboding'!. As I see it, the Charter would not per-
and menacing statements issued from mit the investigation of the Socialist
the capital, the U.N., and the Middle Workers party and Progressive Labor
East, the now far&fiprctVddcF? rR&easktvl~~~`~fl15 i ~1b
0100390016-6
9
ope-like music introduces the President cou conccivy, e ,
of the United States and tells tts: how . a probe of the Communist party..
STAT
? Moreover; said Wannall, even the
gathering of information on many rev-
olutionary groups-as distinct from
probing them-would be prohibited.
The FBI, he noted, is also being
removed from conducting background
checks of those being "considered for
sensitive positions" in numerous
governmental fields, including