CIA DIRECTOR CHARGES NEWS ORGANIZATIONS WITH PUBLISHING GOVERNEMENT SECRETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100110043-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 43
• Publication Date: May 10, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100110043-2
A9T1CLEApPEOM EDITOR & PUBLISHER
ON PAGE _.LZ..._. 10 May 19 8 6
CIA director charges news organizations
with publishing government secrets
Central Intelligence Agency Direc-
tor William J. Casey has asked the
Justice Department to consider pro-
secuting five news organizations for
"five absolutely cold violations" of
federal laws prohibiting disclosure
about government intelligence
gathering activities.
Casey recently met with Washing-
ton Post executive editor Benjamin
C. Bradlee and managing editor
Leonard Downie to inform them that
he asked the Justice Department to
consider prosecuting that newspaper
and Newsweek, which is owned by
the Washington Post Co., for pub-
lishing stories on U.S. intercepts of
messages between the Tripoli and the
Libyan People's Bureau in East Ber-
lin.
Casey also told the Post editors that
he wanted Justice to also consider
prosecuting the New York Times,
Washington Times and Time maga-
zine, although he did not specify any
stories published by them which he
felt violated intelligence laws.
The Post reported in a May 7 front
page story that Casey also warned the
newspaper against publishing another
story it was preparing on U.S. intelli-
gence capabilities.
"I'm not threatening you," the
Post quoted Casey as saying. "But
you've got to know that if you publish
this, I wouldd recommend that you be
prosecute under the intelligence
statute."
The Post noted that Casey did not
cite any specific statute. However,
the newspaper noted that in 1950 Con-
gress enacted legislation making it a
crime to disclose classified informa-
tion about ciphers, codes, crypto-
graphic systems and other types of
communications systems used in
intelligence gathering. The "Comint
Statute," Section 798 of Title 18 of the
U.S. Code, carries a maximum pen-
alty of 10 years in prison and a $ 10,000
fine.
The New York Times also pub-
lished a story about Casey's wanting
to prosecute news organizations, but
the story did not list the Times as one
of the newspapers who received a
warning from Casey.
Times executive editor_4 ,g?
Rosenthal said the newspaper pub-
lished t e information we had. Our
reporter (Philip as not told
about the New York Times."
Rosenthal said he has no informa-
tion about whether his newspaper is
one of the news organizations the CIA
wants to prosecute.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/03/09: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100110043-2