THE CIA AND MEDIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504140002-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 20, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: June 6, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504140002-9
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
6 June 1986
6:30 PM
The CIA and the Media
JENNINGS: The CIA Director,
William Casey, has been causing
a lot of controversy lately by
attacking the news media fir
publishing classified inforrna-
tion which has been laaked by
government officia1g. ',:r. Case,,
has threatened to riroser.ute.
Arid t oday he sat down t o
explain hi.g t?siriun.
In Washington, AFC's Jotir,
McWethy.
JOHN MCr'4EfHY:
-_~ I n s r a r e
television apppe?irannce, CIA
rirector W111:an! Casey na(1 P d
broad d,efens,e of his threats to
prosecute r,e,.-3 or )aniz -itions
t hat '-) ro.,dCas or print
classified inrormation.
Appearing on "John McLaugh--
Iin: One on One," to he aired
Sunday, Casey explaineo:
CIA ')IRECTOR WILLIAM CASEY:
The reason we've taken this
position now is that there has
been a perfect hemorrhage of
these things. There's been a
complete flood of leaks. It's
reached the point where we're
nLE ONLY
very seriously concerned about
the impact on our basic
Capabilities.
l MCWETHY: Casey, who said he
loved the press, denied that
the White House had asked him
in recent days to call off his
attacks.
DIRECTOR CASEY: That's a
false story, entirely false.
Nobody's called me off. Nobody
has tried to call me off.
MCWETHY: Commenting on the
conviction yesterday of Ronald
Pelton on four counts of
espionage for selling secrets
to the Russians, Casey said
until a Russian defector told
the CIA there was a mole in the
National Security Agency, the
U. S. had no idea.
DIRECTOR CASEY: And even
then we didn't know who he was.
It took us quite a while to
y exactly who he was.
MCWETHY: Casey said the CIA
and FBI caught eight or nine
spies last year, more than any
previous twelve month period.
And despite leaks to the news
media that Casey said seriously
threatened the CIA's capabil-
ity, he claimed the agency is
stronger now than it has ever
been.
John McWethv, ABC News,
Washington.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504140002-9