FATE OF REPORT ON NEWS LEAKS: IT'S LEAKED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100080063-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 63
• Publication Date: February 26, 1978
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
.i1 Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R0001 00080063-4
ON PAGE -?--3 26 FEBRUARY 1978
Fat;z, of. Kvpurt un Nc,ws ca
it's L~~ked d',
..a
who "was responsible for allowing A Dec
United ~~u International ember 1971 incident involy- !
By Daniel F. Gilmore Ellsberg to reviev: highly classified ing Yeoman Charles Radford and a .1
cables, ' Stewart said. sailor the National working in the Security mail Council room of
A security expert says the gov----
vestig had carried through on its, THE MATTER WAS made known cerned, Stewart said, "the transmit-
emment
investigations of security leaks, Dan to Secretary of State William Rogers, tal of highly classified documents
iel Ellsberg. the man who released Stewart said, but was never reported stolen from the briefcases of Dr.
the Pentagon Papers, would have to the FBI - "it couldn't be without Henry Kissinger and (White'House
been been uncovered. as a security. Richardson being accused also." Chief of Staff) Gen. Alexander
risk longbefore Watergate. "Each - Haig." It was "a classic case of an
W.' Donald Stewart, former espio- - U.S. agency and military investigation being impeded by not
nage supervisor for the FBI and then department 'operates independently;,, only the White House but by Sen.
chief investigator for theDefense De- 'of each other with - practically no John C. Stennis and his Armed Serv-
partment, claims in a- report to. be internal coordination,' Stewart said... ice committee. --'-:
released this week. that U.S. intelli ':'Matters of national security interest "Although Radford =confesseed - to
gence and the government operate are often buried rather than have the purloining these documents and his
"like amateur night" when it comes. military department or government boss, Rear Adm. Robert 0. We-
to leaks and associated matters. - agency suffer any embarrassment lander, and Welander's boss, Adm.
In his report Stewart identifies resulting from a,`goof', by one of its Thomas M. Moorer, admitted receipt
Elliot Richardson as one of the gov- employees." _ ; . of them, no action was taken," Stew-
art said.
ernment officials who permitted Ells-
berg to look at classified State De- "Some= persons have been dis- THE YEOMAN AND the sailor
partment cables which led to an anti- charged to solve (a) military com- were transferred to posts of tVietnam War story. Nothing was mander's problem." Stewart said. choosing and "are spo s of their
defused
un- done so as not to embarrass Richard- "One was granted immunity to con- im bombs dnd srel enjoy the stateson. a well-connected bureaucrat fess an espionage contact by the per- of the 'Sacred White Cow of India,
who later became defense secretary son's commanding officer . . . Inves- Stewart said.
and attorney general. tigations (of leaks) are often aborted "Never have I seen the` White
because of characters and 'privi- House so shook up," said Stewart,
? Ste art's contention that investi- leged leakers' ' (high government when reporter William Beecher dis
gations into security leaks are officials and members of the House
usually swept under the rug is con- and Senate) involved." closed in The New York Times in
March 1971 -that the United States
before delivether The situation, ;Stewart said, brings had asked the Soviets to join in a mis-
Wednesday twined in a or report he Thursday will
-:-.
Senate Intelligence subcommittee on to mind a memorable quote from the sile moratorium.
secrecy and disclosure. In a town- -,.cartoon character Pogo: "We have . -"President Nixon was furious be-
which thrives on leaks, Stewart's re- met the enemy and they is us. cause Beecher 's article disclosed our'
port was leaked to UPL The government would not have fall-back position in the SALT discus=
very many security breeches, he . sions planned in the next day or:
,..said;'. if the'. investigatory process- two, ' he said. --
STEWART SAID CLASSIFIED was allowed to' proceed to the end is IfAgain this investigation "met with
.
leaks during the Vietnam war which ? -which would result in criminal and-0r obstruction." Stewart said, after it
were published in_. The = New York, administrative action taking place.? ."led to- the doorstep of Sen. Henry
Times in 1968 were referred' to thee' Sometimes there were potentially Jackson." The. FBI was never given-
disastrous mistakes ca
"Because the new secretary used. by authorization to interview Beecher.- . .
FBI for prosecution. disastrous
of he said, citing Although Beecher was the subject j
.de-=-._,.sheer carelessness," 2 leak o
fense, Clark relations Clifford, with the press, to have have 'the -loss for about a month in early of 't , Stewart l
the -1970 of the top secret Annual Report `said he was later.. appointed deputy. ?
better
as. -stant defense-Secretary in 1973
FBI was told that the Defense De- of: Nuclear Stockpile- Information s
ppa~rtment had, changed its..mind." sent to Defense Ministers of NATO $rd acting assistant defense secre.
The CIA also decided not to pursue countries... r?..~. ' `;.'? taffy in 1974-75.
b ' M .iIT WAS MISTAKENLY 'sent by
the case. - ,
An investigation, :Stewart 't said.: ordinary surface mail, rather than
"would have uncovered Daniel Ells-' hand-carried by couriers., of A he De-.
berg (a former Defense Department.. tense Intelligence Agency
employee) as its source. His identi-,' :':."We managed: to track the- mail
C ?-fication would have, spared its the' from. Washington to-New York..by
Pentagon Papers, the Pentagon - boat,to Europe and' thereafter by
Plumbers and all that-followed. in- train-to certain foreign countries.'' cluding Watergate :?.nd President, The mail traveled all through Yugo-
Nixon 's resignation. Ellsberg con- slavia and finally showed `up in
.-firmed he would have been trapped." Athens. Greece."
A 1970 Washington Star article on ' If it hadn't been tampered' with in
:Vietnam was traced to Eliot Richard- Yugoslavia.: he said,. then Yugoslav
_? ~. ,*e _.ett:..e....e Aueorvnd to be abolished.'
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100080063-4
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