U.S. IS CONVINCED THAT K.G.B. AGENT WANTS TO GO HOME

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000303570018-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 12, 2011
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: November 6, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000303570018-6
NEW YORK TIMES
ON PAGE tiJ.i6 November 1985
U.S. IS CONVINCED
THAT K.G.B. AGENT
1ANTS TO GO HOME
6
By STEPHEN ENGELBERG
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - State De-
partment officials tonight interviewed
Vitaly Yurchenko, a K.G.B. official
who had been described as a prized de-
fector to the United States, and said
they were convinced that he had freely
decided to return to the Soviet Union.
At the Soviet Embassy, a spokesman
said Mr. Yurchenko planned to leave
the country "as soon as possible."
Mr. Yurchenko embarrassed Amer.
ican officials on Monday when he ap-
peared at a news conference: at the
Soviet Embassy and charged he had
been the victim of kidnapping and tor-
ture. ture.
Criticism in Congress
On Capitol Hill today, lawmakers
voiced sharp criticism of the Central
Intelligence Agency's handling of Mr.
Yurchenko. [Page A14.]
The C.I.A. was described by knowl-
edgeable officials as being bewildered
over the episode,
Senior intelligence officials said it re-
mained unclear whether Mr. Yur-
chenko a participant in a Soviet hoax or
a genuine defector who changed his
mind. Several officials said Mr. Yur-
chenko had been disappointed by the
collapse of a love affair with!a woman
in Canada and angered by a succession
response to a shouted question about C.I.A. for nearly three months. The
whether he was going home, he clasped State Department denied his charges
his hands above his head like a prize and said he had been voluntarily aiding
fighter and declared, "Yes, home." the C.I.A. and the Federal Bureau of
A State Department spokesman said
a doctor had seen no evidence during
the meeting that Mr. Yurchenko had
been drugged or was otherwise in an al-
tered psychological state.
As Congressional criticism spread,
the White House appeared to stand
back from the affair, saying only that
President Reagan had been informed
on Monday - nearly two days after
Mr. Yurchenko slipped away - of the
latest twist in the affair.
A senior White House official said to-
day that Reagan aides had watched
Mr. Yurchenko's televised news con-
ference to assess its significance for
the summit meeting with Mikhail S.
Gorbachev in Geneva this month.
"This shows us exactly what we are
up against in Geneva," the senior offi-
cial said. "We are all obviously keenly
aware that under Gorbachev, things
are quite different." The official was
alluding to the increasing Soviet will.
ingness to take on the White House in
international public relations.
and among former intelligence offi-
cials, theories spread quickly today.
Senator Leahy said he was convinced
that Mr. Yurchenko was a double agent
"foisted" on the C.I.A. Several other
senators questioned why Mr. Yur-
chenko had been loosely supervised
Saturday at what one official said was
a meal at a Washington restaurant. As
Senator William Cohen, Republican of
Maine put it: "When you step into the
world of mirrors, it's very hard to
determine reality from reflection."
American officials say Mr. Yur-
chenko defected to the West in August
while on a trip to Italy. Officials have
identified him as deputy chief of
K.G.B. directorate that supervises es-
pionage operations in North America.
He formerly served as first secretary
at Soviet Embassy in Washington from
1975 to 1980.
He was closely questioned by C.I.A.
agents and submitted to several poly-
graph tests. An intelligence source said
today that he had provided significant
information that had been verified.
One immediate effect of Mr. Yur- American intelligence specialists
and others familiar with the handling
chenko's decision, a Justice Depart.! of defectors said there was little likii-
ment official said, was that the crimi-' hood that the Russians had been able to
nal case against Edward L. Howard, aJ contact Mr. Yurchenko, in order to lure
former C.I.A. officer, would be consid. or threaten him, while he was in Amer-
erably weakened. Administration offs-I ican custody,
cials have said that with Mr. Yurchen-
ko's help, they were able to identify
Mr. Howard as the man who tipped off
the Russians about a valued American
intelligence source in Moscow.
Mr. Howard has fled the United
States. An F.B.I. spokesman said the
case was still be investigated.
of news stories about him. i Unclear What He Learned
Congressional leaders said they had Knowledgeable officials said it was
questioned the C.I.A. about` Mr. Yur- unclear if Mr. Yurchenko had gained
chenko and had been repeatedly as. sensitive information in his three
sured that he was trustworthy. months of conversations with the C.I.A.
Senator Malcolm Wallop, Republi.
'Something Is Wrong" can of Wyoming and a former member
"You either have got a de ector who of the intelligence committee, said Mr.
was allowed to just walk away under Yurchenko would certainly have be-
circumstances that I still can't accept come an expert on C.I.A. debriefing
methods and would have been able to
and cause a significant embarassment deduce areas of concern to the C.I.A.
to the United States," said Senator Pat- But an intelligence official who re-
rick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, cently left the C.I.A. said questioning in
vice chairman of the Senate Select such cases is carefully handled to pro.
Committee on Intelligence. "Or you tect important information. In addi-
Under international law, Soviet rep.
resentatives are entitled to access to
Soviet citizens in the United States -
as American representatives have
similar rights in the Soviet Union - in
order to ascertain that the citizens are
not being held against their will. But
there was no indication that the Rus-
sians had asked for or won the right to
see Mr. Yurchenko before his decision
to return home.
Although it is not known what actu
-
ally motivated Mr. Yurchenko, a
Washington lawyer specializing in de-
fectors said today that Soviet officials
seeking to lure defectors back often ar-
range telephone calls to family mem-
bers or bring them letters from home.
"One of their techniques is to let de.
fectors talk to their families on the
phone," said the lawyer, Bill Geimer,
who runs the Jamestown Foundation,
which helps Soviet bloc defectors. "The
more they talk, the more homesick
"
said Mr. Geimer, who also
on the United States and then you have be put a defector about methods of i they get,
intelli 11 to a recentlyrepresented one of the hi est.
far more than a signficant embarrass- vious. 8 ence gathering are "rather ob- ranking Soviet defectors, Arkady N
ment, you have an out-and-out calami- Shevchenko.
ty. At his news conference Monday, Mr.
"No matter what, something is Y cenko asserted that he had been He suggested that if American
wrong," he said. kidnapped, drugged and held by the agents had in fact allowed Mr. Yur.
chenko to talk to his 16-year-old son, it
Mr. Yurchenko, wearing 's tight gray might have been a mistake "There's a
suit and a sweater, walked into the surprising looseness to some of the su-
I State Department at 6:07 P.M. es- pervision," he said.
corted by several Soviet gdficials. He At his news conference, Mr. yur-
left the building an hour later, walking chenko alluded to the difficulties in
briskly past reporters' microphones. In raising his 16-year old son.
Investigation.
No Evidence of Drugs On Capitol Hill, at the White House
Approved For Release 2011/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000303570018-6