SENATE VOTES TO BAR IDENTIFICATION OF SECRET AGENTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080014-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: March 18, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080014-7
. P.RTICL?E 1UPPEARED
ON PAGE
NW YORK TIMES
18 M-aRCH 1982
Si&-nate Vote
:,',BY DAVID SHRISMAN teli.igence Agency officers by Philip
Spedwto w'iewYo rmx'es Agee, a former agency employee who
WASHINGTON, March 17-The yen- has written books about the agency, and
ate-today joined the House of Repre by assertions by American intelligence
sentatives in approving an amendment . officials that the identification of agents
thatnwould make it illegal for individu restricted their activities or exposed
als,_.?ircluding journalists, to identify themtophysicalharm a
American intelligence agents if they
had "reason to believe" that the disclo- BushLobbled for Amendzaent
sure would harm American intelligence Today's approval of ccthe. Chafee
activides- amendment to the intelligence identi
The amendment, which was offered ties protection act came after an in-
by SenatorJohn H. Chafee; Republican tense lobbying effort by theAdrninistra.
of Rhode Island, would make it a crime ti.on? Vice President Bush, himself a for-
to hgage in a "pattern of activities" mer Director of Central intelligence,
that' would identify American intelli- presided over the vote and was credited
gene personnel. The measure passed by. supporters of the amendment for
by'a55to 39 margin. winning at least six uncommitted votes.
language tden- The action was swiftly condemned by
In approving y press and public interest: groups. John
tl aT'fo that passed in the House in late H. F. Shattuck, Washington director of
September, the Senate adopted a less the American Civil Liberties Union,
stringent standard for. prosecution than called the approval of the amendment
is J4 'ciary Committee had recom "a devastating blow to freedom of the
mended. Under the version passed press" and said his group was prepared
todat;' Which has strong White House for court action to challenge it.
suppovt, reporters could be prosecuted - The bill provides for a fine of as much
even; i they did not intend to "impair or as $15,000 and three years' imprison-
impede" American intelligence activi- I ment.
es; ,ti-' "y The , language that was adopted
Tl l measure, which was aimed at al earlier by the Judiciary Committee, by
ual because it could expose to prosecu-'
tion those who publish the identity of an
agent in the course of an article that
was, not intended to jeopardize Ameri.
can intelligence activities or expose an-
American agent to physical harm.
Senator Chafee said the bill posed no
-threat to general l-scirculation newspa-
pers and magazines: "I don't think the
C.I.A. is going to go around trying to
nab everybody," he said. ''The legiti-
mate press has always showii: tremen-
dous restraint."
But Jack C. Landau,'director of they
Reporters Committee for the Freedom
of the Press, one of the groups that has
led the battle 'against : the Chafee
amendment, said the measure was "un-
constitutional "'ws:
"The First Amendment only permits,
the conviction and jailing of news peo-j
pie for publishing information whichl
..does a direct, immediate and irrepara-
ble injury to the national security," he
said, "and does not permit prosecutions
.for disclosing information which is
merely embarrassing or causes some
discomfort to the Government. "
The Senate still was considering an
amendment from Senator Bill Bradley,
Democrat of New Jersey, that would re-
strict prosecution to those engaged in a
"pattern of activities" whose "mam?dia
rection" is "to identify and expose coy ??I
ertagents."
The intelligence identities protection
act is all bit certain"to be passed in this
Cone'. +'. ...s.,;s s"r t 1
series of intelligence newsletters " but ! a 9-to 8 vote, was directed. at persons I
woufodaffect the general press as well, who identified American: intelligence
was_pXompted by the disclosure of the. personnel "with intent to impair or im-
identities of more than i,000 Central In. , pede foreign intelligence activities" of
theUnited States..... : ?,, ?~..; .,
The concept of outlawing the publica=
tion of agents. names has broad support
on Capitol Hill. The debate focused in--
stead on the Chafee proposal, which
called for prosecution of-,lany person:
who, in course of pattern of activities in-
tended::to identify and .expose covert
agents and with reason.to believe such
activities would impair..orimpede for-
eign. intelligence activities" of -the
United States or "discloses identity of a;
covert agent:',
. ,
,L; CrltlcsSayTooEasytoConvict_ ;i
Critics of the Proposal said. that the
"reason to believe' standard : would'
makelit=.too easy to cnnvict4n individ
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/11: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201080014-7
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