PLAN TO FIGHT OFFICIAL LEAKS PUT 'ON HOLD'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505090001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 10, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 30, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

clan to Fight
Official Leaks
Put 'on Hold'
By Lou Cannon
Washington Post Staff Writer
WASHINGTON POST
30 May 1986
White House officials said yeste
day that the recommendation of
midlevel group of government of-
fifcialg for a crackdown on leaks of
sensitive government information
has been placed "on hold" because
of internal opposition to the propos-
als.
Referring to the proposal, which
calls for the establishment of a spe-
cial strike force of FBI agents to
probe such disclosures, a senior
Wh$$t. -Hem official said; "[t cer-
taieljr Will be subject to a lot of mod-
ifications if it ever sees the light of
day.
pcoWendations were con-
t et' memo presented
to national security adviser John M.
Poindexter last week.
Senior officials said that critical
questions about the recommenda-
tions had been raised by White
House chief of staff Donald T.
Regan and Treasury Secretary
James A. Baker [II, who was de-
scribed by one administration
source as "urging caution" on the
plan.
Officials said they also expected
objections from Secretary of State
George P. Shultz to at least one
aspect of the recommendations, an
increased use 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
change 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
will be taken unless the entire
group is present, a senior official
id.
The group includes Central In-
Iligence Agency director William
Casey, a persistent advocate of
unitive action to prevent leaks and
unish leakers, plus Attorney Gen-'
ral Edwin Meese III, Defense Sec-
tary Caspar W. Weinberger, Na-
onal Security Agency director Lt.
en. William E. Odom, Poindexter,
egan, Baker and Shultz.
The classified secret memo of
the midlevel officials was prepared
for the Cabinet-level group, sources
said, and delivered to Poindexter.
One official familiar with its. con-
tents said it included calls for stern-
er measures against employes who
leak classified information, in-
creased use of polygraphs and the
creation of the special FBI group.
Several officials compared the
proposal for the FBI strike force to
the "plumbers unit" that operated in
the Nixon White House during the
early 1970s. One senior official
called the proposals memo "a non-
starter from beginning to end" and
said it would provoke complaints
from the news media and Congress
that the White House was using
unconstitutional means to suppress
information.
A senior official said that the pro-
posal by the midlevel group was in
some respects "remarkably similar"
to the recommendation made to
President Reagan in 1983 by then-
national security adviser William P.
Clark, Meese and Casey calling fov
a Justice Department investigation.
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 specific" 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,%
said an official. Poindexter is a vice
admiral in the Navy who has re-:
tained his active duty status while
serving as national security advise1
None of the recommendatiots
have yet been put before Reagan;
who in a speech yesterday to vets
erans of the World War II Office of
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 2010/08/10: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505090001-3