THE OTHER SHOE DROPS

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90-00965R000201830044-3
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
January 24, 2012
Sequence Number: 
44
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
September 22, 1986
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
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PDF icon CIA-RDP90-00965R000201830044-3.pdf118.12 KB
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l.ll. .111-WIT ll.lll IIL1liltl.li. lli'IIVJIIILAI1ll1iIIIIllI1i11111.1l : .1.11..1. I 1 I - 1 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201830044-3 ARtICIE NEW YORK TIMES ON PAOE~... 22 September 1986 Congrew The. Other Shoe Drops By STEPHEN ENGELBERG'. the Intelligence Committee may be sy?uw to The New York nine, forced to abandon the bill, leaving the WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 - When agencies' budgets in 1987 at this you push Senator Jesse Helms, he year's levels. pushes back. _ . The intelligence authorization, one The anti-tobacco lobby has discov- of the more delicate pieces of legisla- erect this the hard way. So, too, has the White House when it tries to give a job to someone the Senator consid- ers too liberal. li intelligence establiestablishment is worried t at a the could cost intelligence aneT a budget nc se for xt Amendments to Intelligence Bill between Senators Hems and Duren, The dispute began a little more Berger' "They're the meat .m that than a mon a wen a rman appetizing sandwich, the official says. , the ce rman o e a e n- to encemm ttee asked a us- lice _ - yes ate Since then Senator Hems has not been idle. He fired off angry letters to various Federal agencies and to the committee, demanding details on how the investigation was instigated. Furthermore, he told Senate leaders that he plans to try to amend the bill that sets next year's spending levels and spell outs policy, initiatives for the intelligence agencies. Congressional and Administration officials contend that Mr. Helms's maneuvering is aimed at Senator Dave Durenberger, who as the chair- man of the Intelligence Committee is responsible 'for steering the intelli- gence bill through the Senate. Mr. Helms says his amendments are not intended- as retaliation, ex- plaihing,''I have felt for a long time that we ought to. take a look at what the intelligence agencies are doing." But if he gets acceptable answers to his letters to the committee and elsewhere, he says, he may withdraw some of his more than a dozen de- tailed amendments. "It depends on what's done between. now and the time the legislation is pending in the Senate," he says. . Congressional sources say the in- telligence bill, whose exact figures are classified, caUs for some substan. tial budget increases. If Mr. Helms carries out his threatened-floor fight, erally passed on voice votes without debate, its provisions worked out in secret committee hearings. ? Senator Helms map: i t 1 ar ha in this rticular case he has no auar- rewt a ntra intelligence Agency. None a ess, one Adminis- One Helms amendment would bar- theL;.I..7.Trom rune itanviaramili- tag roram that costs m i ro on a year. s woul end the sessments on the Soviet. Union. It Started at a Party All this activity had its beginnings . at a Washington cocktail party at which,. according to -Administration officials, Elliott Abrams, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-Amer- . ican Affairs, told Senator Durenber. ger of allegations that Senator Helms or his staff had compromised an in- telligence operation in Chile. . The evidence was circumstantial: Just 24 hours after a Helms staff member received a briefing from the C.I.A. that quoted from an internal Chilean military document, a Chilean official was corpplaining to the State Department that American intelli- gence had stolen secrets .from his, country, Congressional sources say. Administration officials say the C.I.A., although quite angered, de- cided not to demand an investigation. The Senator is well-known for his ability to reward friends and punish enemies. But the State Department probably felt no such constraints: The depart- ment and Mr. Helms have been openly feuding for years over ambas-. sadorial appointments -and policy. The New Yoet Time, Senator Jesse Helms Mr. Abrams has openly assailed Senator Helms over his criticism of the American Ambassador to Chile. After the Intelligence Committee staff reviewed the allegations, Sena- tor Durenberger and Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is vice chairman of the committee, asked the Justice Department for an investiga- tion. The Federal Bureau of Investi. gation is still looking into the matter. "'T'hese charges will be proved false," says Mr. Helms. "In the meantime, my name has been smeared across the country. Any- body, a Senator or not, is entitled to dde process." He has sent a letter asking if the committee violated its rules by authorizing an investigation without the support of at least five members. A committee spokesman says the rules did not apply to the Helms in- vestigation, which was being con- ducted by the F.B.I., not the commit. tee. Members of the committee have been vociferous in criticizing the Rea- gan Administration for disclosures of classified information, and commit. tee aides said it would be hypocritical to ignore a possible security breach by a ember of Congress. Mr.'Helms has also asked the Jus- tice Department to investigate whether he or his staff were illegally wiretapped by American intellllgence agencies. "I simply want the truth to be told," he says. "I have told Senator Duren- berger that I expect him to correct the situation at the appropriate time and I've said the same thing about the State Departs nt." Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201830044-3