LEGAL, MILITARY EXPERTS DEBATE CASEY MOVE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100110003-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: May 20, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100110003-6
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
20 May 1986
LEGAL, MILITARY EXPERTS DEBATE CASEY MOVE
BY DANA WALKER
WASHINGTON
$I CIA Director William Casey's public campaign against leaks could have a
chilling effect'' on news coverage and may be drawing unwanted attention to
top secret information, media and military experts said Tuesday.
Casey has asked the Justice Department to consider prosecuting NBC News under
a 1950 national security law for a report naming a Navy intelligence project the
network said was compromised by accused spy Ronald Pelton, now on trial in
Baltimore.
NBC News and the correspondent who reported the story declined comment
Tuesday except to say the network's lawyers were meeting in New York.
Retired Adm. Gene LaRocque,, director of the Center for Defense Information, a
military policy ''think tank,'' said Casey, by pressing the issue over the NBC
report, may have given the Soviets unintended intelligence information.
''If this man Pelton did provide information to the Soviets as alleged, the
Soviets now know through Mr. Casey's action that that information was highly
sensitive, important and prejudicial to U.S. interests,'' he said. ''Up to now
the Soviets could only hope that they had received accurate information.''
The CIA declined comment on the assessment.
Jane Kirtley, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of
the Press, said Casey may be succeeding in intimidating the news media even
before taking formal legal steps.
She said, ''That can have a chilling effect just as much as (formal legal
action), but it's even harder to deal with.''
A network spokeswoman said it was NBC's understanding that the secret
intelligence project, known as ''Ivy Bells,'' had been reported before and U.S.
intelligence experts said the NBC report did not appear to contain any
revelations.
Attorney General Edwin Meese said the Justice Department would investigate
Casey's complaint and most media organizations indicated they were waiting for
government action before deciding to make any changes in newsgathering policy.
CBS News executive John Huddy said, "I would certainly not want to publish
or air anything that would cause the loss of life in a covert operation or a
catastrophic setback in American intelligence.
''At the same time, history has been such that you never know when you're
being victimized, that maybe this is the first step in a move by this or any
other administration to shut down the press.''
Casey's accusation against NBC News followed his charge earlier this month
that The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Washington Times and Time and
Newsweek magazines also had broken the obscure law with reports about
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100110003-6
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100110003-6
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Two top officials, one at the State Department and another at the Pentagon,
have been dismissed recently for passing classified information to reporters.
The NBC report, by James Polk, discussed the activities of Pelton, a former
National Security Agency employee accused of giving Soviet agents information
about U.S. interception of Soviet communications.
Polk reported: "Pelton apparently gave away one of the NSA's most sensitive
secrets, a project with the code name Ivy Bells believed to be a top-secret
eavesdropping program by American submarines inside Soviet harbors."
Details of the information Pelton is accused of turning over to the Soviets
is hidden behind secrecy laws, but court records reportedly indicate ''Ivy
Bells'' is so secret its code name is classified.
''Ivy Bells,'' according to a defense analyst who asked to remain anonymous,
is part of a $1 billion naval deception, submarine reconnaissance, electronic
warfare and intelligence operation.
Similar operations of U.S. submarine surveillance in Soviet waters, possibly
even its harbors, have been reported in detail by experts on U.S. intelligence,
including in the authoritative International Security journal at Harvard
University.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100110003-6