INTERAGENCY CONFLICT MAKING ESPIONAGE PROBE A 'MESS'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403620002-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 16, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403620002-8
T
16 April 1587
Interagency Conflict Making
Espionage Probe a `Mess'
Wa~6iuqum 1'oxt titan Writcrv
The government investigation of
espionage charges against U.S. Ma-
rine security guards is "a mess" be-
cause of interagency conflicts and
problems with the initial interroga-
tion of a primary suspect, a knowl-
edgeable administration official said
yesterday.
Another informed official said the
issue of providing immunity from
prosecution to some guards in re-
turn for their testimony is being
hotly debated within the adminis-
tration.
The allegations came as the Ma-
rine Corps began its first judicial
hearings in the expanding security
scandal, which has led to the arrest
of three Marines on espionage
charges and one for allegations of
improper fraternization. In addition,
at least 40 Marine guards have
been recalled from their posts
throughout the worts-le connection
with the invest tion.
Sgt. Claytod J. Lanetree. 25, ap-
peared before a military investiga-
ting officer in a daylong Article 32
hearing at Quantico Marine Base
yesterday that will determine
whether the military. has enough
evidence to charge him formally
with espionage and other offenses.
Lonetree, while serving as a Marine
guard at the U.S. Embassy in Mos-
cow, was allegedly a central figure
in major security breaches.
Lonetree, whose admissions of
sexual relations with a Soviet wo-
man at the embassy sparked the,
worldwide investigation, is accused
allowing Soviet agents access to
sensitive areas of the U.S. embassy
in Moscow. He allegedly was lured.
into cooperating with the agents by
the Soviet woman, who worked at
the embassy.
The administration official who
said the investigation is "a mess"
also said the probe is being ham-
pered by the institutional resis-
tance-of conflicting government
agencies trying to protect their in-
terests. Agencies with a role in the
investigation include the State De-
partment, ' Defense Department,
Navy Investigative Service, Marine
Corps and Central Intelligence
Agency. In addition, the chief of the
Justice Department's internal se-
curity section has been providing
informal advice to the military in-
vestigators, according to officials.
Marine spokesman Lt. Col. John
M. Shotwell said reports indicate
that the agencies are "all working
pretty closely together" but added,
"perhaps there's been some com-
munication problems."
Another administration source
said yesterday that investigators
"are having difficulty putting to-
gether a case." The official added,
"The initial questioning of [Lone-
tree] was probably less than care-
fully done from a law enforcement
standpoint."
Marine Corps officials said yes-
terday they could not comment on
the allegations because the actual
investigation has been conducted by
the Naval Investigative Service
(NIS). The Navy also declined to
comment.
One official said that White
House national security adviser
Frank C. Carlucci has proposed giv-
ing immunity to Lonetree or his
partner at the Moscow embassy,
Cpl. Arnold Bracy, who also has
been charged with espionage. Car-
lucci reportedly made the recom-
mendation so that the administra-
tion could conduct a "damage as-
sessment" of how badly security at
the embassy was compromised, the
source said.
The official said the suggestion
was vigorously opposed by the Jus-
tice Department, which has the
right to prosecute the Marine
guards if the military declines.
"I just can't imagine that one of
the most serious espionage cases of
the century would be let go so we.
could do a damage assessment,"
said one administration official. An
administration official declined to
comment on Carlucci's role.
The Article 32 hearing on the
espionage and fraternization
charges against Lonetree will con-
tinue today in a secure room de-
scribed as a "vault" in the basement
of an administration building at
Quantico. A similar hearing on the
charges against Bracy will begin
today.
Michael V. Stuhff and William M.
Kunstler, civilians representing
Lonetree, said yesterday that the
case against their client was flawed
from the outset. Kunstler, who had
previously released copies of state-
ments that Lonetree made to Navy
investigators in late December, said
the statements should be sup-
pressed in court because there
were large gaps between the time
the agents gave Lonetree warning
of his constitutional rights and the
time the statements were taken.
In one instance, Lonetree signed
a statement of rights on Dec. 24 in
Vienna, but the statement that fol-
lowed was dated Dec. 26, Kunstler
said. Kunstler also charged that the
statement consisted of paraphrases
and was inaccurate.
Stuhff and Kunstler said the
State Department had focused
much of attention on the trial be-
cause, as Stuhff alleged, "there are
a lot of bureaucrats trying to pro-
tect their careers." Stuhff said some
of the security problems at the em-
bassy "border on criminal" viola-
tions.
In a related matter, a military
court of appeals yesterday denied a
request that Staff Sgt. Robert S..
Stufflebeam be released from
"house arrest" at Quantico, where
he is being held on charges of frat-
ernization with Soviet women at the
Moscow embassy. Stufflebeam, 24,
was the deputy commander of the
guard unit at the embassy while
Lonetree and Bracy were assigned
to the post.
Meanhile, Sen. Lawton Chiles
(D-Fla.), chairman of the Senate
Budget Committee, yesterday re-
leased a National Bureau of Stan-
dards report on the new U.S. Em-
bassy in Moscow, which warns that
"important deficiencies" in the con-
struction must be corrected to as-
sure adequate safety standards be-
fore the building is occupied. It did
not attempt to address the question
of repairs that might be required
because of Soviet-implanted eaves-
dropping devices.
Officials estimated the repairs
would cost $1.1 million at Washing-
ton prices, and an addititional.
$341,000 for other suggested re-
medial measures.
Stafwriters Molly Moors and
David Ottaway contributed to this
report
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403620002-8