BERNSTEIN ON THE SNEPP CASE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400340009-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 2004
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: March 13, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

A- I
LETTERS Bernstein on the Snepp Case
In an act that I find abhorrent and con-
trary to the American democratic sys-
tem, Griffin Bell, Attorney General of
the United States, moved Feb. 15 to
sue Frank Snepp, author of "Decent
Interval," a book published three
months ago by Random House. The'
government's lawsuit alleges that Mr.
Snepp, a former CIA agent, broke his
contract with the CIA and "unjtly
enriched" himself by not submitting his
book to the Agency for review prior to
publication.
In the months to come there will be
many legal statements about the Snepp
case. I am not a lawyer. I write as a
publisher and a private citizen, and as
one who is deeply concerned at the ero-
sion of our constitutionally guaranteed
liberties.
Let there be no mistake about what
is at issue here. The democratic prin-
ciple requires participation of the
people in the government, which is the
creature and servant of the people. It is
the people's right, indeed duty, to mon-
itor the government's performance.
Only if the public has access to infor-
mation-both the good and the bad-
can it judge, support, and if necessary
cleanse the system. The espionage law
rightly insures that highly sensitive
matters involving national security can-
not be revealed to the public. With that
one legal exception, it is essential to the
health of the American democracy that
the people know what has happened.
And this is what Frank Snepp made
possible when he told the story of the
American debacle during the last days
of Vietnam.
I believe that Attorney General Bell
and President Carter have made a
grievous error in trying to punish Mr.
Snepp for his courageous effort to in-
form the American people. . . . This
suit, if upheld by the courts, will do
real harm to the First Amendment right
of freedom of speech and of the press.
One day after his Attorney General
announced that he would sue Mr.
Snepp, the President said he will sup-
port a law to protect "whistleblowers"
in government. The contrast between
these two actions is stunning. The lat-
ter is desirable; were it not for such
whistleblowers, the CIA would not be
going through its current reorganiza-
tion. But wouldn't it be ludicrous if the
President chose (as now seems appar-
ent from the Snepp case) to protect all
whistleblowers except those in the
CIA.
Before Mr. Snepp resigned from the
CIA, he first requested the Agency's
permission to write an internal report
of the final days in Vietnam. He be-
lieved it was essential that the true sto-;
ry of what happened be known, so that.
a repetition of the mistakes that were
made could be avoided. The Agency ig-
nored him. Mr. Snepp had to stand by!
.as the Agency selectively leaked infor-
mation to the press that gave, in his
judgment, a false picture of the end of
the war. Only then did Mr. Snepp begin
work on his book.
He became convinced that if he sub-
mitted his book to the CIA for prior re-
view, much of what was in it would he
suppressed-not because it jeopar-
dized national security, but because it
challenged the "official" version of the
facts. Mr. Snepp decided that the only
way to fully inform the American
people was to take his manuscript di-
rectly to a publisher. When Random
House received the book, we read it
carefully many times, checking to
make sure that we violated no law
and-convinced that the book was an
important work of contemporary his-
tory, and that it should be made a part
of the public record-we published it as
expeditiously as possible.
In deciding to sue Mr. Snepp, the
President and his Attorney: General
are, I believe, sending a message to the
American people, to American publish-
ers, and to future Frank Snepps. It
says: If you are an American citizen
working for our government and you
see things being done that you consider,
wrong, follow your contract and not
your conscience.
One must ask what would b Lai wn
today about Watergate, My
self-dealings at the highest levels of
government, including the Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation, if that standard
governed the flow of information to our
citizens....
The leaders who were in power dur-
ing the Vietnam period have signed
enormous publishing contracts to tell
their stories of what happened during
that time. . . . None or these men, each
of whom had far more sensitive infor-
mation at his fingertips. than Mr. Snepp,
will have to submit his book for review
to the CIA or anyone else. One must
ask why there should be two kinds of
government employees-the higher-
ups who publish with impunity, and the
lower-level officials, whom the govern-
ment seeks to silence by lawsuit....
In our judgment as publishers, the
conflicting accounts of the last days of,.
Vietnam should be debated in public.
We believe that the publication of "De
cent Interval" contributes to that de-
bate in the most constructive and re-'
sponsible way....
ROBERT L. BERNSTEIN
Chairman and President
Random House, Inc.
Approved Fqr Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400340Q09-5 __