WASHINGTON POST GETS U.S. WARNING OVER PUBLISHING INTERCEPTED SECRETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201490002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 10, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: May 8, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000201490002-7
~i ~Pf~t3E
BALTIMORE SUN
8 May 1986
-Washington Post gets U.S. warning
'over publishing intercepted secrets
Lyk Denniaton
aahington Bureau d The Sun
WASI-IINGTON - A senior editor
of The Washington Post said yes-
terday that the newspaper has been
warned that It and other news orga-
nizations may be charged with
crimes for publishing stories dealing
with U.S. inter+ceptlons of other na-
tions' secret messages.
Leonard Downie Jr., the Post's
managing editor, said the warning
came last Friday from Central lntel-
llgence Agency Director WWiam J.
Casey -the same day that Mr. Cas-
ey reportedly discussed such proee-
cuttons -with a high Justice Depart.
meet afilcial.
Mr. Downie said that the CIA d1-
rector had said that he was not
threatening the Post or any other
news outlet, but that he personally
was satisfied that a 1950 law
against revealing such tntercepttons
had been vk~lated.
The Post's
? editor
said the warning
came last Friday
from CIA Director
William J. ~.
The spokesman said that "there
18 no clear Indication as to what we
to the department wW do, if any-
~~ Konen would not confirm a
report by Post editors that Mr. Casey
had met with Deputy Attorney Gen-
eral D. Lowell Jensen to talk about
possible prosecutions for disclosures
of "communications intelligence."
The CIA referred all calls about
the matter to the Justice Depart-
It became clear to the rnnversa-
tion, Mr. Downie said, that Mr. Cas-
ey was talking about alleged viola-
tions of a 1950 law that makes it a
crime to publish anything "concern-
ing the communication inteWgence
activities" of the United States or of
any fortlgn government, when pub-
licarion is done to a way that is "preJ-
udk:fal to the safety or interest d the
United States." The law carries a
maximum penalty of 10 years to
prison and a 810.000 fine.
No news organization has ever
been prosecuted !n a criminal case
for an alleged violation of that law,
or for violation of any other federal
law designed to protect U.S. secrets
and intelligence-gathering tech-
~M Casey, according to Mr.
Downie's account of their Friday
luncheon conversation. described as
violations of the 1950 law stories to
the Post and Newsweek magazine
about U.S. tnterceptiona of secret
messages from the Libyan govern-
ment. and unspedfied storks tnvoty-
ing "communicatkms tntelUgence" in
The New York Times, The Wash-
ington Times, and Time magarlne.
Mr. DowNe said he understood
the conversation to be part of an ef-
fort by the Reagan administration
"to crack down" on publication of
government secrets. Mr. Downie
~atd that an editor of the newspaper
~eiso had been told by National Secu-
~'ity Agency Director Gen. William
'Odom -under circumstances Mr.
~ownie would not reveal -that the
overnment was "dusting off" the
950 law as a way of dealing with
eaks to the press. An NSA spokes-
man refused to comment on that re-
en . e on t ave anything to
The editor added that Mr. t "W d h
had said he would recommend
ecution of the Post tf tt went ah
with a planned story dealing wi
so-called "communications into -
gence." Mr. Downie would not dis-
clox the contents of that story or
say whether the Post planned to
publish it.
At the Justice Department,
which would handle any criminal
prosecution under federal law, offi-
ctals were making an effort yester-
day to avoid involvement in the new
government-press controversy. A
spokesman, Patrick Korten, said
that Attorney General Edwin W.
Meex III '~vanta us to give a 'no-
comment' on anything having to do
with this."
y about it at all," spokeswoman
n Foster sa1d.
Mr. Downie said that he and Post
ecutive editor Hen,~amin C. Bradlee
met with Mr. Casey last Friday, at
Mr. Casey's rcqueat, regarding the
Post's preparation of the still un-
published story about communica-
tkms inter+ceptlons.
This was one of a number of in-
stances in recent months. Mr.
Downie said, in which government
officials have "called to express rnn-
cern" about potential Post stories
bearing on natku~al security. The ed-
itor said that, in response to thox
calla, Post editors have decided
against publishing some stories and
in favor of publishing others.
While talking over a specific fu-
ture story with Mr. Casey, according
to Mr. Downie,. the Post editors were
told "sit of the blue" that the govern-
ment had identified stories already
published by the Post and four other
news orgariizations as "absolute cold
violations" of federal law.
rt.
Meanwhile, to another new Qov-
ernment-press controversy, Justice
Department officials Indicated that
they had no plans to try to force the
NBC-TV network to disclose the lo-
cation of its interview this week with
Mohammed Abbas, who 1s the target
of an an~est warrant issued by U.S.
ofllcials in connection with hfs al-
leged role in the hl)acking of an ltal-
tan cruix ship, the AchWe Lauro.
An American passenger was mur-
dered during that hi~ackinq.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/10 :CIA-RDP90-009658000201490002-7