FBI MAY PROBE LEAK OF SECRET DOCUMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100030133-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 133
• Publication Date: April 8, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

S~,Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100030133-1
THE WASHINGTON T1MES
8 April 1983
BI,may probe iea~
$y Jeremiah O'Leary.
rw.sHwcroH'nMES sr~s .
The 'White 3~ouse, anfur~ted~y the
leaked publication ..of a ,top-secret
National Security :Council :.document
E detailing plans forycovert and~political
action against Nicaragua, may call for
an FBI investigation of the incident.
National Security Adviser~illiam P.
Clark said yesterday he was?;"trnu'l;led"
by the leak and publication bv:~he New
York Times of the detailed document.
But other V~'hite House officials said
they were furious and wanted the leak
of the highly classified document
tracked dowT. The FBI wilt intervene
oni}? if requested to do so by'the White
House, and last night no decision .had
been made.
The authenticity of the document was
not questioned by the ?'hite House. But
officials said they were informed
ities of -the Sandinista government-fin guerrillas, operating-from Honduras,''=
support of leftist rebel groupsin EI Sal- against the Marxist military forces of "
vador and Guatemala. ?The original =Nicaragua:ltisfrom~Nicaraguathatthe
~'3dational..Security Decision Directive . United States=believes revolution .and;
. -17; which. was approved by..Reagan in arms are .being exported. to the neigh-'
November 1981;.approved a broad ,plan ~~g Central l~merican states: , ; :.. ,::;~
:~ ~f CIA, military assistance and;political Deputy WhiteHouse Press Secretary
';;~.plans:to prevent "the ~roliferstion.of - Larry Speakes cautioned that reporters
' -Cuba-model states" in Central America. should "try to understand what this`tioc-`
;
_
+. The classified document published ument is. at whatt-oint it may have been -
=summary. paper-:detailing U S. ~objec- ,point isthat the president's policies Kzthf
-Awell informed White House sourcede-
scribed the publication as devastating
as well as a serious infringement of theirpresencethereffitdtheexpansion-
__ security regulations. __ -__ ___ ist ideas they have"
The heart of the debate within -the Reagan apparently attended the
arently is chat some .April 1982 meeting ai which it was
a
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State Department officials consider the decided to carry out a U.S. effort in Cen-
policy to be a violation of the law, teal America under terms of NSDD Ii.
because cutting off Nicaraguan arms ib This plan gave general approval for
insurgents in' one country was ,?the covert, military, political and economic
original objective, and in practice, the measures. The April document went
-- __ _ - into considerable detail about such
objective has become the unseating of things as increased intelligence activi-
the Sandinista regime. - ties in Central America as well as
stepped up military training for govern-
Officials said yesterday that ttie time ment forces in the region's republics.
for objections to a policy is during the Although the printed document is a
stage before a decision is made. After year old, its publication comes ata time
the president signs off on a policy, they when guerrillas operating from Hondu-
said, it is the obligation of officials to ras are causing increased alarm among
abide by the policy or leave.the?goverti- the Sandinistas in the northern regions
ment.
of Nicaragua.
beforehand that The >\ew York Times
intended to publish the document,
~?hich resulted from an NSC planning ,
group meeting on Central American
policy. "V+'e understand the newspaper
had a ret}~ped copy of the document, but
we have not yet completed a .word-for-
wordcheck;'saidone informedtifficial.
The document apparently was re-
t}-ped to remove the arcane government
heading and to conceal the identity of
the official who gave it to The New York
Times.
The incident brings sharply into
focus the distress in the White House
and the NSC about reported differences
of opinion with the State Department
abourAmericaneffortstocounteractiv-
Clark is reported to be increasingly
disturbed by the inabilit}? of administra-
tion officials to obtain unity of opinion
and execution in the career foreign ser-
vice. The administration also is coming
under heavy verbal fire from -Capitol
Hill because of the policy of supporting
regard to Cuba are well known. We cer-
tainlyoppose whattheCubans are doing
.and the Soviet resupply of Cuba and
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100030133-1