F.B.I. TOLD TO YIELD FILES ON INFORMERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400450003-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 9, 2004
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: August 20, 1977
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2005/01/13 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400450003-9
THE NEW `.YORK T1AIL:S
20 August: 1977
FJaL TOLD TO YIELD.
FILES ON INFORMERS
'Socialist Workers' Party Seeks ? 18
Names,.in' $4C Million ..Suit-=
Court Ruling Is Appealed;
A judge has.ruled:in unusual secrecy
that the Federal. Bureau of investigation
must .give 'its= files on 18 informers to
lawyers for- the Socialist Workers' Party.
The-decission by Judge Thomas P. Griesa
in' Federal District Court in Manhattan
grew out 'of the party's $40 million suit
-against, the .bureau and other agencies.
The party's -lawyers want the files on
the informers to see if the Government
tried to. illegally disrupt the activities of
the party for many years.
Judge Griesa's decision to compel the
bureau...to.'turn,over the files has been
stayed--to-wait-for the'outcome of the
Government's appeal to the United .States
.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The appeals court reserved its decision
after 'hearing-. arguments yesterday in.
:Manhattan..
Until.'the,arguments were heard in the
appeals court,.,there had been no discla
sure ' f - Judge; -Griesa's decision, which
-was made in his private chambers more
'.than two months ago. The judge had ord-
ered the transcript of his decision sealed,
;apparently to- maintain as much secrecy
as possible about the highly confidential
informer:; .frles.._
Daniel R. Murdock, a Chief Assistant
United States. Attorney, urged the appeals
court to hear: the ;arguments in closed
session to'prevent the disclosure'of- any
information-regarding the informant files.
But ' his' request. was rejected by Judge
Eltsworth''?.??A: Van Graafe.iland,. -iwho
presided over the'appellate hearing. ; . _.
:,I,300Informants Used
The ~Gcivernment, fighting to preserve
the secrecy`ofthe filescontends that
. it, is essential to maintain the confiden-.
tiality of informers to protect them from'
retalliation and harassment. The 18 uni-.
dentified, informers In the, present dispute
Were reportedly among 1,300 informers
used to obtain information about the. so-
eialistgroup.,
The party asked for- the files ;of only
18, which it wants selected as a cross-sec-
tion oft the-- informers who it, contends
secretly supplied the bureau with. infor-
C iq `l.-o - Ff3r
Leonard B. Boudin,.a lawyer for the
Socialist Workers' Party, argued before
the appeals court that the party was enti-,
tied to the files on the informers because
the bureau -had used the informers as }}
art of an illegal program to disrupt the]
p
party's., political activities. He called it
a ."most unusual attempt to destroy a
polidcai.party '- .- e
For?40 years, Mr. Boudin said, the bu-
reau ipvesti;ated the party without find-
ing it. had committed any illegal acts.
He said' the investigation was designed
-to, combat the party's political positions,
mot to enforce the law. ~ ? ?
The party filed-its suit four years ago,
in an effort to get a permanent injunction
to prohibit what. it said was the Government's -use 'of informers, burglaries and
surveillance. Last year; while court hear-;
ings were continuing in the case, the Gov-.
ernment' announced that it was . ending
the investigation of the party.
The.-..Socialist Workers continued the
court case for' an injunction and as well
as the millions of dollars in damaees.
Judge Griesa issued. a series- of orders
to uncover information about the Govern-
ment's' activities : against the Socialist
Workers, a left-wing., group that says' it
has 2,Ei0O active members.''
Under'. ? the ,,-court-ordered discovery
procedures;-the Government. turned over,
more ,than . 30,000 pages of documents
from the files of several agencies, includ
ing rria'terial disclosing that the bureau
had burglarized the. Manhattan offices of
the Socialist Workers''Party more than 90
times from 1960 to 1966.
The'Government also -turned over the
.files on seven informers whose identities.
had become publicly known, including the
file one= Timothy-Redfearn, identified. as
a bureau informer who burglarized the
Denver offices of the party last year.
However, the Government has vigor-
ously resisted -the party's efforts to obtain
the 'files' on -additional .informers, -who
have not been -identified: A trial date for
the.'suit' has;been delayed. indefnitely as
the party's lawyers seek to discover evi-
dence
activ+hies.- >:-,.;:,t~, P-lease 2005/01/13 CIA-RDP88-01315R000400450003-9