SECURITY VS. CIVIL RIGHTS?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080008-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: March 21, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080008-4
ARTICLES ,A?FEARED
CST a'^_~. `~
By David Rogers ..
WASHINGTON `-"Richard Welch,
was the son of an established Rhode Is
land family. who gradiuated from Har
yard with..honors in. Greek and class
cal languages, he was shot to death six
years ago last-Christmas shortly after
being publicly Identified as the CIA sta:
tion chief in Athens: Last week in Con-
gress. he was remembered as another
Rhode fslander,'John Chafee,.push
ate avcontrover
'..sial bill making
It a crime for-
anyone - includ-
Ting journalists
to reveal. the-
identity of.
agents operating
undercover
abroad.'.
CHAFES A conference `
must still be held with the House _
-, which -has adopted similar legislation;
but last week's roll call marked the end
of a fight running back through at least
the last Congress and posing. a classic
*'confrontation between questions of na-
BOSTON' GLOBE
21 MARCH 1982
Instead of the criminal standard of Chafee in the Navy.
"intent," the new language set a 'Set alongside these credentials is the
broader rule requiring only that it be fact that, Chafee has one of the strop
shown the disclosures were made with I gest civil rights records of any senator-
i
STAT
f 'reason to believe" that the revelations' and the same conservatives-who target
;r,W uldjmpair or impede intelligence op
tions: It was.-the same provision the
4. CIA iai -soddhf? unsuccessfully in' '-the
year. Politically, the CIA needed the '
ed liberal Democrats in the 1980 elec-
last Congress , but with pressure from freshmen to win, but it also needed a .
.. sponsor who could prevent the debate
the Reagan Administration; the-agecic 1-1
prevailed firsfii fheHouse last Septem; from becoming too ideological and pick
ber and more importantly now in the up critical support from moderate Re-
Senate The thrust of the bill i8to male it
possible for the government to pros-
ecute a: relative handful:of. people who
have systematically pub] shed list s of -,.
undercover, Agents, ands-?the"final
votes indicated, there i:~`iroad'. agree-
ment with:thls goal. Where the differ,;.`
ences la}i was in liaiua the govern
ment could intrude ori`Me First Amend
meat, and the 'CIA's success reflects a -,
greater' conservatism-.in both houses ,with the same standards they set for
f and a will ingness in Congress, as an in others
stitution, to put more trust In the agen? ; in the final day. Chafee successfully,
-~
T'wa years; ago.`Sen'Edward Kenne-
dy was chairman-of the Judiciary Con
mittee and able to'?make his own inu-
J print on the same bill' Last week, the..
Massachusetts Democrat was,'neither~:
chairman nor in the majority as he
spokevatnlyatgainst ;the. amendment.
No senator approves of,'Intentional
efforts. to endanger our covert'intelli-ir,
gence officers or to end their useful-.
tress.- Kennedy said. "The question Is
how Topunish -such? attemptstvithout .
rendering. our legislation unconstitu
tional and without unnecessarily chill
-ing a vigorous free press." 'Among the 16 Republican freshmen
~^only three opposed the Chafee amend-
``F'rient: but-as easy as it may be to see a
. ,trend-in Congress,: It is not as simple to
type Chafee himself.
Secretary of the Navy during part of:
the Vie- tnam:War,the Rhodelsland'Re
publican'is'a Marine:veteran of World-
War 11 and Korea and a ranking menu-
berof_ the Senate. Inte;ligence,Commit-
tee, Forfnnr:.ClA`Director. Star'isfield
Turner; who'lobbied for the:agent iden-
titles l`egislation` during the-Carter Ad-
miiitstratfonswas once a former aide to'-
publicans:
"I think we could have beaten them
if they didn't have Chafee,'-'' said an op-- ?
`ponent of the' CIA amendment.: and` r
with this- victory,.Chafee may have a
special resposibility to clatify what-has
been won.
Those who tamper with constitu
tional rights may intend to do no?harm.
But if they have "reason. to believe"
damage has. been done, they must live
,resisted a change in his own amend
,.went. Before the conference is done,
there will be time for report language to'
spell out again what. protections re-'
tional security and civil liberties
As much as Welch's murder contrtb' -
uteri- to demands for the legislation,:
Chafee was the sponsor of the principal
amendment-sought b y the CIA, and if-
; agents are better protected as/a result,
reporters and the First Amendment,
perhaps, are not. ~.~
As reported by the Senate Judiciary
Committee, the bill was already unprec
edented in making ita crime for ajour
nalist or private citizen to -reveal the,;
Identity of an intelligence?agent, even it
the information comes from nonclassi-
fied sources. Fines of up to $15,000 and-
up to three years- imprisonment could;
be imposed. in these cases. and where-"-+
Chafee's amendment:went further was
in setting a standard of proof to make it
easier for the government to prosecute:-;..
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080008-4