LAROUCHE GROUP, LOG ON THE POLITICAL FRINGE, GETS MAINSTREAM SCRUTINY AFTER ILLINOIS PRIMARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000100640011-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 5, 2010
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: March 28, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/05: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100640011-8
1RTICLE APPEARED
ON PAG
rWmcs AID roucY
mist for the National Security Council and
now a vate consultant "A White House
person asked me to meet with them (Mr.
LaRouche and his associates)," says Mr.
Bailey, who adds that he found Mr.
LaRouche's information to be valuable
even though he disagreed with his tactics
and theories.
The LaRouche group claims to raise
enough money for a $30 million annual
budget, but some of its financial activities
are questioned by law-enforcement author-
ities. Federal and state prosecutors say so-
LaRouche Group, Long on the Political Fringe,
Gets Mainstream Scrutiny After Illinois Primary
By Etter Hunts
staff R.porter *f T= WAIL STRZET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON- "The British Crown Is
In fact the head of the drug lobby."
The International Monetary Fund "is
engaged in mass murder on a larger scale
than the Nazis" because it created the
AIDS epidemic: A conspiracy to take over
the world is led by Zionists, the KGB, the
British Intelligence Service and "cults,"
including Yale University's Skull and
Bones Society.
That is the world according to Lyndon
LaRouche, two of whose followers stunned
the Democratic
Party In Illinois last
week by winning the
primary nomina-
tions for lieutenant
governor and secre-
tary of state. The
question is whether
their high-profile
victory will backfire
as people scrutinize
Mr. LaRouche's ex-
treme views and his
well-financed group,
called the National
Democratic Policy Lyndon LaRouche
Committee.
Mr. LaRouche is a one-time Marxist
who more recently has allied himself with
the ultra-right. His group, formerly known
as the National Caucus of Labor Commit-
tees and the U.S. Labor Party, has a his-
tory of harassing public figures and is cur-
rently under investigation by federal and
state officials for credit-card fraud and
other activities. His young, generally well-
educated supporters see him as a Plato-
like figure who alone can save the world
from financial collapse and nuclear war.
And Mr. LaRouche, who has run for presi-
dent three times, says he plans to run
again in 1988.
Surprisingly Good Connections
The 63-year-old, former self-employed
computer operator, has surprisingly good
connections. Portraying himself as a con-
sultant with a private intelligence network,
he met in 1981 with then Mexican Presi-
dent Jose Lopez Portillo, and in 1983 with
the late Indian leader Indira Ghandl to dis-
cuss the world monetary system. He also
has won the ear of some Reagan adminis-
tration officials.
Mr. LaRouche met with "people in the
White House the CIA, Interior ecret
James Watt" The
meetings caused officials to back off. says
Norman Bailey, the former chief econo-
licitations by LaRouche followers have
been used improperly to help Mr.
LaRouche obtain nearly $1 million in fed-
eral matching funds for his presidential
campaigns.
For years, his well-dressed young fol-
lowers have collared passers-by at airports
with catchy signs such as "Feed Jane
Fonda to the Whales," signing up backers
for their pro-nuclear, pro-"Star Wars,"
and-drugs, anti-AIDS and other cam-
paigns. Without mentionins their
raEouche ~mliation. they ask Deonle to
subscribe to Official 9oundina DublICq Ions
like the "Executive Intelligence view "
groups.
Credit-Card Charges
Federal officials say hundreds of pur-
chasers have been overcharged on their
credit cards and others unwittingly have
ended up as political contributors to Mr.
LaRouche. U.S. Attorney William Weld, in
a recent Massachusetts court filing, says a
continuing federal investigation "indicates
an extensive nationwide pattern of the un-
authorized use of credit card numbers by
LaRouche-related entities and individ-
uals."
The Federal Election Commission re-
cently extracted a $54,000 repayment and
$15,000 penalty against the LaRouche or-
ganization after accusing it of "willfully
and knowingly" submitting "false and mis-
leading" Information in order to receive
federal matching funds in 1980. For exam-
ple, the commission described how a man
named Harold Harper bought $40 of publi-
cations and, unbeknownst to him, the
money was listed as his political contribu-
tion eligible for federal matching funds.
Janice Hart, the LaRouche follower who
was the successful Democratic nominee
for Illinois secretary of state, and her hus-
band, Robert, appeared to have signed
money orders that were improperly repre-
sented as being eligible for federal match-
ing funds, the elections panel said. In a
1982 deposition, the Harts denied buying
the money orders and said they "could not
recall" making the contributions. They
weren't charged with any violation.
Mr. LaRouche, who operates out of a
heavily fortified estate in Leesburg, Va.,
denies all charges of wrongdoing. While he
has aligned himself more with the ultra-
right in recent years, he retains the con-
spiracy theories previously promoted by
his former Marxist groups, which were
known for harassing public officials and
unions and for physical violence In some
disputes.
There haven't been any violent clashes
between LaRouche followers and other
groups in recent years, but there have
been some harassment incidents. When
Henry Kissinger and his wife were walking
through Newark airport in 1982. on his way
to heart surgery, LaRouche follower Ellen
Kaplan shouted to him, "Do you sleep with
young boys at the Carlyle Hotel?" Mrs.
Kissinger grabbed her by the lapel,
prompting Ms. Kaplan to file assault
charges that later were dropped.
More recently, one reporter critical of
LaRouche encountered leaflets inviting
neighbors to a "gay coming-out party" at
his house; another found leaflets detailing
her purported prostitution ring. New
Hampshire reporter Jon Prestage discov-
ered a dead cat on his doorstep each suc-
cessive day his LaRouche stories appeared
in the Manchester Union Leader.
In a trial last year In which Mr.
LaRouche tried to sue NBC for,defamation
after it aired two reports on him, he was
instead ordered to pay $202,000 in damages
to the network. NBC charged in federal
court in Alexandria, Va., that LaRouche
followers made repeated threats and posed
as NBC and Senate aides to falsely cancel
an NBC interview with New York Sen.
Daniel Moynihan. In that case, Mr.
LaRouche testified that he hasn't had any
income for the past 12 years or filed any
income-tax returns. Judge James Cacheris
concluded that Mr. LaRouche was "com-
pletely lacking in credibility" and that "he
lives like a millionaire."
Member Was 'Brainwashed'
Former members of his group claim in
affidavits filed in the Alexandria court
that Mr. LaRouche runs a totalitarian cult
that "controlled every aspect of your life"
by cutting off outside friends and family.
"I do feel that I was brainwashed," testi-
fied one former member, who said that
even though the group has ties to the right-
to-life movement, members were encour-
aged to have abortions because "you can't
have children during a revolution." In tes-
timony, LaRouche followers denied the for-
mer members' charges.
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/05: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100640011-8