REAGAN TALKS TOUGH ON LEAKS

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90-00552R000505380011-0
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
August 12, 2010
Sequence Number: 
11
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
June 4, 1986
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
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PDF icon CIA-RDP90-00552R000505380011-0.pdf44.06 KB
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Approved For Release 2010/08/12 :CIA-RDP90-005528000505380011-0 ~~~ 0 CHICAGO TRIBUNE ON PA(;IE 4 June 1986 Reagan talks tough on leaks WASHINGTON SAP]-Presi- dent Reagan, weighrng strategies to curb leaks of classified and xn- sitive information, said Tuesday his administration rs bound by law to prosecute people who make material public that could under- mine natronal security. The President conferred for an hour with aCabinet-level group Monday, discussing the problem of leaks and what to do about them. "It was a discussion. It was not a decision-making meeting," said Edward Djerejian, a White House deputy press secretary. "There will be more discussions and meetings and recommendations made to the President." Reagan, posing for pictures Tuesday before a meeting with Re- publican congressional leaders, was asked whether he agreed with CIA chief William Casey that members of the news media should be prosecuted for leaks. ?_. "It isn't a case of what we may think about it," he replied. "There is a law that was passed-I believe it was in 1954- that's very specific and not just about the media. It's about anyone who makes public information which could be dangerous to our national security. And I would think that all of us are bound by that law." He apparently was referring to a 1950 law against "publishing any classified rnformation concerning the communications intelligence activities of the United States." He did not elaborate on his ro- marks, and Djerejian and another White House spokesman, Peter Roussel, refused to discuss the. substance of Monday's meeting. However, NBC Nightly News re- ported Monday night that Reagan and hrs advixrs agreed that then would be no blanket ux of lie de- tectors by the federal government, and that each agency would deci 1e for itself whether they would be used. The Washington Post, in Tues- day's editions, said the "prevailing view" of the group was that offi- cials who leaked secrets should be fired or punished. But it said the group did not reach any agreement on whether stringent new procedures are needed. Approved For Release 2010/08/12 :CIA-RDP90-005528000505380011-0