BILL TO JAIL SPY-NAMERS IS NEAR ENACTMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080012-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: March 18, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080012-9
ARTICLE APP 1RBD
ON FAG1t_JJ '. t i .
sAL 1IM0RE SU N
18 March 1982
Washington . (AP)-The Senate
;cleared thel way yesterday. for ap-
-proval of - legislation under -which ~
journalists and government officials
could .be jailed or fined for. publicly
disclosing the names of covert Ameri-~
can intelligence agents.:
The proposal is strongly supported
..by President Reagan as a means of
preventing terrorist attacks on Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency agents over-
seas.
Some senators, journalism soci-
eties, and groups such'as the Ameri-.
can Civil Liberties Union condemned
. the proposal as a. direct attack -on the
:free-press -provisions' of :the - First,
Enactment'. of. the .measure' has
been delayed for months by_disagree
ment over- bow difficult it should be:
for a prosecutor. to build a .case:
against a journalist who names a co-
L The Senate resolved that issue yes:
sion that:would allow a journalist to
be convicted:provided the-.j has
"
. "Jack' Landau,' director ? of.. the Re
porters Committee for Freedom of
the Press, complained that "this bill
aloes for the prosecution and jailing
of news- reporters and authors: for
identifying agents or-their sources,.
even if the' agent or the source. is''
breaking federal . law, or is violating
presidential policy, or even if their.
names come from public. records.
""The First Amendment," Mr..Lan-
?dau said, "only permits the conviction
and jailing of news people for publish
ing information which is a direct, im
mediate and irreparable injury to the
national security, and does not permit
- prosecutions for. disclosing informa=
tion which is merely embarrassing or
causes some discomfort to the gov
ernment.
should be required to show that a re-
,'-porter deliberately set out to "impair
or impede" legitimate American in-
A supporter of the intent standard,-
Senator. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. (D,
N.Y.),' said, "We are not enacting this
:bill to ease the burden of. U,S.'attor
.reason to believe" the identification
of an agent would disrupt intelligence;
A final vote on the legislation. was,
delayed;. probably until today.' 'i
A competing version recominend-
ed by the Senate Judiciary. Commit
tee and Senator Joseph R. Wen, Jr.
(D, Del:) would have required' ' jury
t
o conclude that a reporter, intended
to disrupt US -intelligence-.;opera-
. ; agents" names,is something. we just
cannot'tolerate,";said Senator John H.
-Chafes (R, R.I.), chief sponsor.of,the
'
m
a
endment that passed.
Delta Chi, an organization of journal
ists, said ',the- measure is unconstitu-.
tional and will have a 'chilling effect
on the.. reporting of US.... activities
:overseas. This, bill. strikes at the right
erament
IIeys "
_Mr. Chafee's_amendment,
Mr. Moy-
_
nihan said Congress should make a"
clear?'distinction between "a person
who engages in the business of nam='
lug `-covert - :agents, 'and' a ';journalist .
-who reveals names as part of a legiti-'
t The -Agent Identities Bill;' ap-
: proved by the House last fall, was
former'CIA_officers.like Philip.Agee`'
began. naming names andlocations of
undercover intelligence agents in var:
station chief in Athens,.in 1975; .whose:>
cation:: Critics.-of the legislation say,'.';
however,. that-Mr. Welch. was identi
fled as workinin Latin America g and: A
,?: There have been`.-similar.;`:attacks
well known as under. CIA control:;: ,""-iY
on CIA -agents and their families
The- : legislation. . seeks 'to. crack
down on publications like the Covert
Action 'Information Bulletin,' which
has made public agents' names as
part of a campaign to limit or abolish
covert operations by the CIA
Mr. Biden and other critics of-.the
lesser burden of proof say it is possi-
-ble that a reporter might be prosecut-
ed for - exposing legitimate CIA
abuses.:
Recently, for-example, there'were
stories about "former CIA-, agents,
Francis E. Terpil and Edwin P. Wil-
arms-selling operation.in Libya.
said the legislation would. not permit
Cileegai or improper actions by theH
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080012-9