C.I.A. EASING REQUEST TO EXEMPT ALL ITS FILES FROM INFORMATION ACT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000403890004-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 29, 2010
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: May 30, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP90-06552R000403890004-5
T\=Tv' YORK TIMZS
C?I?A..~CrSITt~' Request to Fxernpt But the bill says es a distr deri to
'' from the exemp files and ad distributed d to
other parts of the agnycy has no special
A11Its onal
be required to o search h its its ape operational
Files From Information het on. In ear t mpy
flies for information about covert ac-
fivities whose existence has already
B RU been confirmed by the Government_
s-' >a 2n.tat.YertR Goldwater Deteads Plan
7
i
s a
s joss. a
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n dues not u ust:a~.e
WASHINGTON, May 29 - Lawyers mation that is now available, we would the essential purposes of the Freedom
for the Central Inteligence Agency and never go along withtbis proposal," said of Information Act," Mr. Goldwater
the American Civil Liberties Union say Mr. Lynch. who }ins been irrvo)ved in said.. "Requesters will continue to have
they `nay be close to agreement on a litigation agairzst the ageocc for the last access to CIA files cantainiag the ia-
iormuiE Product and to information
for amending the Freedom of elgnt years. 'T'pe bill relieves ,the - tellige ice
L:10 native- Ac to exempt numerous agency of the administrative burden of cc policy questians and debates on-these
files relating to the agency's.clande.- reviewing whose contents are al- . director of the Wash-
; tine operations. ready exempt. It doe; not Shatruc
exempt any ington office of the civil liberties union,
Spokesmen for - the drill liberties additional information from r^eiease." said that-if the bill became law it might
unior said the formula would-preserve 'Ihe key to the bill is the assumption . lead other Fesieral agencies to seek ex-
public access to all documents that that the C.I.A., because of its computer- emptious from the disclosure law. Be
must be disclosed under eurxentlaw. ized fie system,?cat separate the fruit said he would be concerned about any
The C.I.A 's strtrpor. for -the-plan re- of intelligEmce garb g f se=trve attempts tc amend the law "in piece.
f leer a majorchange f?ota its nrrvious data about sources of intelligence and meal fashion to provide relief to individ--the agexi irtsiste oe that it should be- `rely ex
IIcy s metboQS in gathering the cal agencies.
mtorma=
empt fro theiiiaclos a its , atxard? Tbetormu la in the Goldwater bill was
Mg t E:aest Nrayerfe)d, deputy gen- itetas Eze:apud Fro= Search tailored to the needs of the Central ln-
era1 camseloftheintelligenceagency, The bill would authorize-the Directs- telligetxx Agmcy. "ora"bere kf is ao eer
of C&==al Intelligence to designate car- dance tier it would wZis far a^y OthC
Introduced by Goldwater twin files as "exempt tivm sea,T r agency " Mr. Lynch said.
The compromise is contained in a bill vrew, publication or disclosure" under
i troduced r eceaUy by Senator $arr1 the Freedom of Information Ac
Goldwater, the Arizona Republican who Presumably, hs oetrvii ~atia
is rhP:-ma: of the Senate Select Com? could be challenged and r reviewed in
mot, on lateliigezce, t, just as pis may now chat.
Under the bill., the agency's "ope;e- leage the agency s contention that a
be-
ti=h' flim," which show how it gathers comment should not discloser bb
cause it is property classified.
intelligence, would be exempt from the.. "if someone challenges a `classified'
closure and the agency would be re- stamp," 1t-. Mayerfeld said, "we are
lieved e: its. .responsibiii tz? to search obliged in court to justify the classifica.
such files in response to information re- `ion of every piece of paper and every
ouestts under the act. But unclassified portion of the documea-"
political.. economic and scientific infor? To qualify for an eaemptioa ti ? >
mation obtained through intelligence must be situated in one of
operatic c would stiD be accessible to branches of the agency: the Directorate
o he publit, as it is now supposed to be. of operations. the Directorate tar So.
ence and Technology or the Office of Se-
T ne Reagan Adr..inistration has of. entry. Under the bill, a file could be ea-
fered many proposals to limit the soave empted from the search-a?rdi`osure
of the Freedom of Information Act and requirement if it dealt with one of tour
has take:, several steps to prevent the topics: "scientific and technical"
unauthorized disclosure of classified In. means of coliecring int ~.,,?,~, for.
formation, leading critics to charge eigo intelligence and counte;mtelli-
i that President Reagan is trying ? to gence operations, background investi?
achieve a new era of secrecy in the &m.. gations of potential informers and liai-
errmmcz:. Admmistratioo officials insist son arrangements with foreign govern-
the: are romtriitted to the spirit of^the mom'
law and the original objectives of Con-
gress in passing it.
Mark E. Lynda staff attorney for
the civil liberties union, said the Gold.
water bill could speed disclosures be-
cause the C.I.A. would no longer have to -
search files that, in practice, yield no
releasable documents. The agency has
a large backlog and is just now comply.
ing w:th request submitted two or
three years ago.
If we thought we were losing infor-
Mr. Maver16d said he was speal .g
tar the Director of Central Intelligence,
William J . Casey, in saying, "W-e favor
this bill:"
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP90-00552R000403890004-5