CENSORSHIP ACCORDS SIGNED BY THOUSANDS, STUDY SHOWS

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP91-00561R000100020091-9
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
February 17, 2012
Sequence Number: 
91
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
June 14, 1984
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
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PDF icon CIA-RDP91-00561R000100020091-9.pdf116.57 KB
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100020091-9 ARTICLE APPEARED ON PAGE 77 NEW YORK TIMES 14 June 1984 Censorship Accords Signed By. Thousands, Study Shows tDAVID BURNHAM dat tb Ytta New Port lima WASHINGTON, June 13 - More dismayed at the findings." than 120,000 employees now working Senator Charles McC. Mathias Jr., for the Federal Government have Republican of Maryland, a leader in agreed in writing that for the rest of, the Senate group opposed to prepubli- their lives they will submit for censor- cation review, said the "G.A.O. report ship any speech, article or book they I makes it clear that the issue of lifetime produce that concerns the sources and censorship agreements is not dead." methods of intelligence gath ering. 'Progam Not Needed' The disclosure that tens of thousands Mr. Mathias added, "The executive have civilian and military employees branch without any significant degree signed required censorship agree- I of consultation with Congress has put in meets came four months after er strPresi- ong place a program of censorship that is, withdraw opro a prompted proposal l for for on the basis of what we know now, dent Reagan Ronseagan t t in Congress not needed." a somewhat broader censorship re-: demonstrably According to testimony before the quirement. Senate Governmental Affairs Commit- to Commit- Ail employees with access to certain tee, the prepublication review require- intelligence secrets have been required qui ment was first imposed by the Reagan t sign censorship p agreements since nce Administration in early 1981. Until early 1981 under what was then a new f then officials iven access to a special g interpretation of an existing Prsiden- , category of classified information had posed on any official who was about to there had been a sharp increase m e write or talk about "any information number of articles and books being re- concerning intelligence activities, viewed by the Reagan Administration sources or methods." in the past year or so. It said that the The requirement that had been in Defense Department reviewed 2,784 ar- place since 1981 has slightly different ticles and books in 1981, 6,457 in 1982 language. The existing requirement and 10,088 in 1983. imposes lifetime censorship on any At the time Mr. Reagan withdrew the material concerning "intelligence new censorship proposal in February, sources or methods" of intelligence and left the existing requirement in gathering. It does not include . the place, several Administration officials phrase, "any information concerning said the suspension was aimed at elimi- intelligence activities." nating a potential political problem rs,.cod by widPCnread criticism of the i tial executive order. Those required to been asked to sign an agreement say- sign include most top policy-makers as only that they would not disclose it. agencies said 34 of these instances well as a number of clerks, secretaries -1- _-,,, ,,1e, were not submitted to the Justice De. , b pos y 43 Agencies Respond to Survey time censorship would have been im- The accounting office report said th The number of individuals who have signed the censorship agreement was made public today in a report prepared by the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress. The re- port, based on replies provided by 43 separate agencies, was prepared at the request of the chairmen of the House Government Operations Committee and the House Postal Office and Civil Service Committee. Because of th_e s ial requirements of 1FieT_ r -worn the survey did not in- .1ude f.E Central Intelli_ gongs Aged or the ~Taiiona_ecun_ iy genA cy. Among other agencies that did not re- spond to the survey as of Dec. 31 were the Justice Department, the Depart- ment of Energy, the Office of Manage- ment and Budget and five other agen- cies. Representative Jack Brooks, Demo- crat of Texas, chairman of the Govern- ment Operations Committee, said in a statement that he was "shocked and Anodatad F. Senator Charles MCC. Mathias Jr., a leader in the group opposed to Government censorship of materi- als written by Federal employees. The accounting office said another One official said the White House reason the total number of people who hoped "to remove it as a sore spot, a had signed such an agreement was in- source of controversy" in an election those officials who had signed agreee- Mr. Brooks has introduced lobs. meet from i irrt& any p epnblica- The accounting office also said that ion review re wrement and r'ecrnd - the responding agencies had reported a an s uirements en in effect total of 43 instances in 1983 when classi- ~ucJr ~e -- ov e L 2 A.-ring exce t f_oremvT, fled information was disclosed. The the N.S.A. STAT Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100020091-9