AGENTS' DISCLOSURE BILL A THREAT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000605830017-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: July 29, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000605830017-3
ARTICLE A1-!'EA D
OBI
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
29 July 1981
Agee allegation is wrong
Agents!. dME a
To the rditc r
Yo' r recent editorial, "Agents'
disclosure bill must address in-
tent issue," contains some ngisun-
derstandings, which we, as one -
target of the proposed legislation,
wish to answer.
First, the CovertAction Infor-
mation Bulletin is not "thework
of a renegade, ex-CIA agent Phi-
lip Agee." Mr. Agee has on occa-
sion written an article for the.
bulletin, but has nothing to do
with the production of the maga-
zine or with the "Naming Names"
column. The three of us who
publish it are journalists who
never have worked for the U.S.
government and do our research
entirely from unclassified mate-
rials.
With respect to the bill's lan-
guage, you place too much reli-
ance on the efficacy of an intent
clause. For one thing, no matter
what one's intent, should the
government be able to crimina-
lize the- publication by private
citizens of unclassified material
gleaned from unclassified
sources? For another thing, it is
common knowledge that the CIA
takes the position that any disclo-:
sure of any information about
the agency impedes its activities,
and all journalists know this.
How could one disclose any-
thing and claim that one did not
think it would, to some degree,
impair or impede the functions
of the CIA?
The alleged protection of the
intent clause in the proposed
legislation affords no protection
at all. It is little comfort that the
House version of the bill is slight-
ly less unconstitutional than the.,
Senate version.
Unfortunately, many people do
not realize the grave threat to
freedom of the press and to ev-
eryone's First Amendment right
of free speech that this bill repre-
sents. The bill's very name is
misleading, since it does not only
cover identities'of intelligence
personnel, but speaks about "in-
formation that identifies" an
undercover source or operative.
Any journalist or historian
knows it is impossible to write
about intelligence matters with-
out treading on the thin ice that
the bill's broad language creates.
Our current issue is 56 pages in
length, of which 11/4 pages make
up the "Naming Names" column,
researched entirely from unclas-
sified information found in the.
public domain. If all we did-was
publish the CIA names, without
any. discussion of what the CIA is
doing around the world in its
many-faceted covert action pro-
grams - intervening secretly in-
the affairs of sovereign nations
via bribery, extortion,, corrup
tion, buying of elections; recruit-.
ment.of local persons to work for .
the CIA against their countries or
via- arson, bombing.. mercenary
and paramilitary groups, torture
training or assassination then,'
perhaps, we could not justify our':
publication.. The CIA is account '
able for its actions done in the--
name of the American people and
with the people's tax monies-
This. bill originally was written
in 1978 by. the CIA, not by Con-
gress. Despite. the minor techni
cal modifications made since i
that time, it still represents an.
underhanded attempt to create-
an official secrets act- in this:
country. The CIA seeks, through.,;
this bill and other initiatives, to
widen the wall of secrecy that for;
so many years has kept the Amer-,l
ican people in the dark about its;
illegal activities and secret inter-.
ventions.
ELLEN RAY :
WILLIAM SCHAAP =
LOUIS WOLF
CovertAction..
Information Bulletin
Washington.,.,.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000605830017-3