AN AMERICAN IN BARBIE CASE DISPUTES FINDING BY THE U.S.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000100370021-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 28, 2010
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: August 18, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

~ AR:'ICL~ A.pP
ON PAGE
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/28 :CIA-RDP90-005528000100370021-9
NEW YORK TIMES
18 August 1983
An American in Barbie Case
Disputes Finding by the U.s.
By STUART TAYLOR Jr.
SDeda1 to 7Le New Yorfc Ttmy
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17- One of the
six former Army intelligence officials
who were criticized in a Justice De-
partment report for obstructing justice
in 1950 and 1951 by helping Klaus
Barbie escape prosecution for war
crimes, disputed the accusation today,
but said he could not remember the
events th question.
' "That's not correct," Col. David Er-
skine said when asked to comment an
the Justice Department report's c~a-
clusion that he and several others
agreed on a plan to prevent Mr. Barbie
' iron being extradited to France, which
involved lying to United States civilian
offidals in occupied Germany about
his whereabouts.
But Col. Erskine, of Kensington,
Md., also said "it's very difficult for
me to remember anything that hap-
pened so !ar back." The colonel, who is
82 years old and retired from the Army
in 1954, said he could not recall ever
having seen Mr. Barbie or having.had
any dealings concerning him.
Col. Erskine and Joseph Vidal, of
Buena Park, Calif., also retired, are
the only two offidals criticized for ob-
structing justice in the Barbie case who;
are still alive, according to Allay A.~
Ryan Jr., the 3ustice Department of7i-
cial who wrote the 218-page report a~a
Mr. Barbie's relations with the United
States. The report was released Tues-
day.
Mr. Vidal could not be reached for
comment. '
Mr. Barbie, who was chief of the Ge-'
stapo in Lyons, France, from 1952 to'
1944, has been accused of murdering?
and torturing French Resistance right=
era and Jews and sending thousands to'
death camps. The 69-year-old former
Nazi is now awaiting trial to France for
.'crimes against humanity."
Ms. Ryan's report concluded that the
Army Counter Intelligence Corps em-
ployed Mr. Barbie as as anti-Commn-
nist spy in postwar GermarLy, hid him
from United states civilian authorities
to prevent his extradition to France to~.
stand trial for war crimes in 1950, and'
helped him escape to Bolivia is 1951.
Mr. Barbie lived in Bolivia until Feb-
ruary, whey he was expelled to France.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/28 :CIA-RDP90-005528000100370021-9
STAT