THE TELLING DEBATE OVER WHAT SHOULD BE SECRET

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100030132-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 17, 2012
• Sequence Number: 132
• Publication Date: April 10, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

3 Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100030132-2
~? P.~GL ~ -~~ to ADZ ~ 9~3
The Telling
Debate Over
What Should
Be Secret
WASHINGTON -whoa President Reagan recently
signed a dir~eetive "safeguarcitag natla~nal security infort
marina," white House offidals expected critics to com-
plain about the iacreesed reliance oa polygraphs as a tool
for investigating news "leaks." Few of them expected the
furorov~ another provision, requiring "prepublication
review of manuscripts written by employees and former
emPlaYees nth acxss to highly classified iatonaatioa
The critics, who iaUude civil liberties groups, Pub.
lis.Lets and Federal employee unio~as, consider prepubli_
marina review a euphemism for censorship. Pr'o'poamts of
the new system say tt will curb unlawful disclosures of
sassified information that damage aatiaaal security, but
have never hem sucx~asfully prosecuted.
The Presidential directive itself is ao devoid of details
that it is highly ambiguous. "AII perms" ~~ authorized
access to classified faforraatia~n mnst saga a secrecy
agreement, ft says, and .everyone with acxeas to highly
dassified data dealing with intelligence sources and
methods -that is, "sensitive compartmented ~o~.
tiott" -mast submit maauscript~ to the Government m
tasttre deletlaa of classiSed material. Each agency is to
establish its own net of rules.
Much o! the alarm over the directive stems from the
? fact that it will extend to teas of thousazids of C*werrimeat ~
employees the same kind of requirements that now apply
Seaa~D d Fagmta. "Prepub2lcation review,., warned
~,~ ~ used to Durtaberger, Republican of Minnesota,
delsy or Prevent publication of ember.
rassiag information, rather rhea real secrets." Gary
Hart, the Colorado Senator seeking the Democratic Presi-
deatial nomination, denounced the order as "ace ofSdal
aeCr!!tS aCt."
But Richard K Willard, a Justice Department oi8-
cisl wLo Las taken thele~ed fa~defeadiag the new order,
said that it "equalizes the burden" am those who produce
iateillgmce information cad those who coaaume it. Both
groups wotild now be subject w prepublication review. In.
telligmce ofSdais have long chafed at the way in which
State sad Defense Department officials and whin House
aides disclosed tidbdts of secret information to score
P~ ~ policy debates ar budget battles. Ace argument
over the United States'a covert activities fn Central Amer-
ics heated up last weeks _
a document sLowiag President Reagan's approval of coo.
em activities, i~gured prominently in the debate.
Following the C.i.A.
Mr. Willard said that the Justice Depart:umt would
be the first to issue its ataadards for prepublication re.
view sad that they would "serve as a model" for other
agencies. Only the Central Intelligence Agency has had
ezttastve experience with such a procedure. Its Publica-
tians Review Board has examined more than 800 menu.
scripts cxmtainiag a total of 70,000 pages since it was es-
tablished in 1977. C.I.A. employees sign a secrecy agree.
meat Promising to obtain the agency's approval before
Publishing "nay iatormatioa" that relates to the agency,
its activities or intelligence activities generally. The
agreement has been stringeauy eaforcxd by the agency
which squires employees w submit works of 5ctiou, book
reviews, letters to the editor and magazine amides, as
well as memoirs.
T~ House subcommittees will hold ~oiat hearia~s on
the President's new order later this month. The harshest
critics of the Wile assume that other agencies will follow
the practices of the C.I.A. If that happened, they say, it
would stifle public debate m defense and foreign affairs.
However, Mr. Willard said the prepublicatio? review
procedure would net be so onerous for other Federal
R'?r~ pause, in most cases, they did not deal with
daasiSed information nearly ao much as Central Intelli-
genceAgencyemployees.
Steven Garfinkel, director of the Federal office this
coordinates "information security" throughout the Gov-
erament, :aid he hoped m finish drafting the text of three
new secrecy agreements by the and of May. "At their dis-
cretioa," he said, the heads of Federa] agencies may re?
quire employees to aigo a prepublication review commit-.
meat fi they have access to dassified data but net to
"sensitive compartmented" fntormatiaa. '
The Supreme Court upheld the use of secrecy agree.
meats is a case Sled by the Carter Administration against
Frank w. Saepp 3d, s former Central Intelligence agent
who tailed to obtain clearance for his book about the Piet.
Wart war. Even aside from his written agreement, the
Court said, Mr. Saepp had a "Sductary obligation" to sub-
mit his manuscript, and in failing to do so, he violated the
trust placed in him b3' his employer,
Ice theory, nay Federal employee might incur a simi-
lar obligation whey given access to classified informs.
lion. But no one has defined the limits of the Goverameax
Power authorized by the Supreme Court in the Snepp case.
Robert L. Bernstein, chairman sad president of Random
House, which published Mt. Snepp's book, described Mr.
Reagaa's new order as "a legacy of the C.I.A.'s determi?
nation to hide its blunders." Mr. Bernstein, who is also
chiirmaa of the United States Helsinki watch Commit.
tee, a human rights group, added: "The President's di-
rective is clearly sa attempt to keep still more taforma-
tioa from the American people, and ft tPill have a aLarply
iatimidatiag effect on America's fndepmdeat book pub-
lishers. It can tie up publication of nay book by a Govern.
meat offidai indeSnitely."
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100030132-2