PLAN TO FIGHT OFFICIAL LEAKS PUT 'ON HOLD'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404660007-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 19, 2010
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: May 30, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404660007-6
WASHINGTON POST
30 May 1986
STAT
STAT
STAT
STAT
Plan to Filth[
Official Leaks
Put `on Hold'
By Lou Cannon
1Rasiun`ton Post Staff Writer
will be taken unless the
group is present, a senior
said.
entire
official
The group includes Central In-
elligence Agency director William
Casey, a persistent advocate of
unitive action to prevent leaks and
unish leakers, plus Attorney Cen-
ral Edwin Meese III, Defense Sec-
etary Caspar W. Weinberger, Na-
ional Security Agency director Lt.
en. William E. Odom, Poindexter,
White House officials said yester- egan, Baker and Shultz.
day that the recommendation of a The classified secret memo of
midlevel group of government of- the midlevel officials was prepared
fiicials for a crackdown on leaks of for the Cabinet-level group, sources
sensitive government information said, and delivered to Poindexter.
has been placed "on hold" because One official familiar with its con-
of internal opposition to the propos- tents said it included calls for stern-
als. er measures against employes who
Referring to the proposal, which leak classified information, in-
calls for the establishment of a spe- creased use of polygraphs and the
cial strike force of FBI agents to creation of the special FBI group.
probe such disclosures, a senior Several officials compared the
Whlh No offkial said; "It cer- proposal for the FBI strike force to
tainlyo wtsl be subject to a lot of mod- the "plumbers unit" that operated in
ifications if it ever sees the light of the Nixon White House during the
day." early 1970s. One senior official
?-, acarqnendations were con- "
'I.4e ''t memo presented called the proposals memo a non-
to national security adviser John M. starter from beginning to end" and
Poindexter last week. said it would provoke complaints
Seeior officials said that critical from the news media and Congress
questions about the recommenda- that the White House was using
tions had been raised by White unconstitutional means to suppress
House chief of staff Donald T. information.
Regan and Treasury Secretary A senior official said that the pro-
James A. Baker III, who was de- posal by the midlevel group was in
scribed by one administration some respects "remarkably similar"
source as "urging caution" on the to the recommendation made to
plan. President Reagan in 1983 by then-
Officials said they also expected national security adviser William P.
objections from Secretary of State
George P. Shultz to at least one
aspect of the recommendations, an
increased we of .polygraphs to de-
tect leaks, noting that he has op-
posed similar proposals in the past.
Whether any recommendations
are made to President Reagan for a
charge in present procedures will
be determined by a Cabinet-level
group of officials charged with eval-
uating national security intelli-
gence, officials said. This group
may not meet for several days or
even weeks because many of its
members are traveling. No action
Clark, Meese and Casey calling for
a justice Department investigatiork
into leaks and widespread use of,
polygraphs. That proposal was
scrapped by Reagan after opposi-
tion led by Baker, then the White
House chief of staff, and Shultz.
The present recommendations
are "not quite as spec" about the
use of polygraphs to ferret out leak-
ers but clearly imply the use of such
devices, said one source.
Of particular concern to White
House critics was the purported
failure of the midlevel group to dis-
tinguish between relatively innoc.
uous leaks of information that the
administration is withholding for
political reasons and genuine na-
tional secrets. An administration,
official said the group did not,
present evidence of violations to
justify the drastic actions it pro.*
posed.
"Casey just wants to stop any-
kind of leaks, anytime, and
Poindexter is a military man with
out any experience in what is per-
missible disclosure and what is not, 11
said an official. Poindexter is a vice
admiral in the Navy who has re-:
tained his active duty status while
serving as national security advise'
None of the recommendations
have yet been put before Reagan:
who in a speech yesterday to vetv
erans of the World War II Office ot
Strategic Services-a precursor of.
the CIA-praised his former cam-
paign manager Casey as "our leader
and good friend and surely one of"
the heroes of America's fight for
freedom in the post-war era."
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404660007-6