SENATOR ATTACKS SECRECY BREACHES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000100280001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 6, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 5, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

...L-Ai Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/06: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100280001-9
ON PAGE ,,, NtW YUKK '1'1b1ES
5 April 1986
SENATOR ATTACKS
SECRECY BREACHES
Intelligence Panel Head Holds
Executive Branch Officials
Largely Responsible
By STEPHEN ENGELBEAG
Special to The New Yo,t Tim.
WASHINGTON, April 4 - The chair-
man of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence said today that officials in
the executive branch were largely to
blame for unauthorized disclosures of
secret information affecting national
security. administration has faced the Senator Dave DurTM New enberger Tt~
problem of leaks, but none so much as, ?That disclosure clean
this one," the chairman, Senator Dave y served tie
Durenberger, Republican of Minneso- interest of one side in the debate within
ta, said in a speech before the Chicago the Administration over policy for
Council on Foreign Relations. The arms for control t R~ati~ in p
speech text was made available by his tiOn fo eagan-Gorbachev sum-
office here. mit," the Senator said, referring to the
Mr. Durenberger asserted that no November meeting of President Rea-
group in Congress or the Reagan Ad- gan and Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the
minstration took greater care to pro- Soviet leader.
tect secrets than the Senate panel. Late Mr. Durenberger also criticized Rea-
lest year the Director of Central Intelli- gas Administration officials for
gence, William J. Casey, said that Proposing last month to make public
members of the Senate intelligence part of a classified C.I.A. document on
committee had compromised sources the propaganda plans of the Govern-
and methods of intelligence gathering meat of Nicaragua. In the end the docu-
by discussing secret matters in public. ment was not made public for fear that
"Those who malign the committee it-would reveal sources and methods of
for overt or covert release of classified intelligence gathering.
information," Mr. Durenberger said, Mr. Durenberger said, "When the!
"are more often than not seeking to de-
stroy the credibility of the oversight
process, rather than to improve
security. "
Influencing Public Debate
Mr. Durenberger said that in this Ad- j
ministration and others classified in- i
formation was often disclosed by offi-
cials trying to influence public debate
of particular issues. He cited the dis-
pute over whether the United States
could adequately monitor Soviet com-
pliance with arms control treaties.
He said that a newspaper column
-late last year by Rowland Evans and
Robert Novak quoted a classified re-
port by the Central Intelligence Agency
as disclosing difficulties in monitoring
Soviet compliance with treaties.
White House offers to release classified:
intelligence reports in order to sway
votes in Congress, the lack of concern
for sources and methods sends just the
wrong message to subordinates in the
Administration, namely, 'You, too,
may play fast and loose with
security.' "
Few Are Caught
Senator Durenberger acknowledged
that few of those who disclosed classi !
fled information were caught or pun-1
ished.
A spokesman for the Federal 13ureaui
of Investigation would not say today
how many people were currently under
investigation in cases involving disclo-
sure of classified information, but offi-
cials in several agencies have said in
recent weeks that many such inquiries
were under way.
Law oz'cement officials have said
that the bureau generally dislikes such
investigations, because they rarely
lead to arrests and sometimes impli-
cate high-ranking officials.
Mr. Durenberger offered several
suggestions for reducing the number of
disclosures of secret information. He
urged the Administration to offer a
complete public response when partial
versions of secret material appeared in
the news media. He said this would re-
move the advantage enjoyed by those
who release such information in the
hope that contradictory data will re-
main secret.
Mr. Durenberger also called for a re-
duction in the amount of classified in-
formation, and said fuller public dis-
cussion was needed of issues that are
now discussed only in secrecy.
He said he would consider supporting
a law that would punish unauthorized
disclosure with criminal penalties.
The Reagan Administration last year
wolf a conviction against Samuel Lor-
ing Morison, a Navy analyst accused
under an espionage law of selling a
classified photograph to a military af-
fairs weekly.
It was the first time that statute had
been used against someone charged
with passing information to a
journalist.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/06: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100280001-9