THE PELTON CASE AND THE PRESS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100120057-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 57
• Publication Date: May 20, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100120057-6
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
20 May 1986
7:00 P.M.
The Pelton Cabe and the Press
BROKAW: !#...s'. Government
prosecutors gave no indication
today whether they plan to act
on a request ire- or
Wi am Casey to-T-Frocharges
aoAinat NBC News
As NBC's law corle'spondent
Carl Stern reports ..n,ow, the
case involves a man accused of
spying and what he might have
iven to the Soviet Union.
CARL STERN: Today's
ews a er headline told tie
story. CIA Director William
Casey again threatening
Pro ecutioIn o f-7 news agency
for talking about intelligence
ooeratinna. At issue this
time, a report,on NBC's Today
Show about a spy trial.
Ronald Pelton, who worked
for the National Security
Agency, is accused of selling
secrets to the Russians, which
NBC said might include details
of a submarine eavesdropping
program code named Ivy Bells.
A law passed during the
Korean War bars descriptions of
intel igence techniques. he
law has been cited in warnings
to news a en.cies several times
ow by Casey. ut a lawyer for
the news media says the law has
never been applied to the
press.
BRUUCE SANFORD: It would be
unprecedented in American
history to apply this criminal
law to the press. We don't
have an Official Secrets Act in
this country, never have had up
to this point. And I think
trying to apply this law to the
press would essentially do
that.
STERN: Facts about this
submarine operation have been
known for years. It was
described in the news media in
1975. It was discussed a year
ago in two books whose author
s-aygCsastey ha its acromen'pltsaini enc rg eatbou t
thin
at
all
JEFFREY RICHELSON: It's
been known at least, publicly,
since 1975 that the United
States was conducting these
type of operations. They were
then known as Holly Stone
operations and involved going
into Soviet harbors, like
Vladivostok, to intercept
signals and to take Photographs
of the underside of Soviet
ships.
STERN: At th
Case e CIA
t
would not be oda ,
NB e would awed.
the matter. was stuay~ng
The former
the top lawyer for
ation
l
a
Security Agency,
Daniel
Silver, did comment.
DANIEL SILVER: I find it
very hard to believe that the
Justice Department actually
will prosecute NBC News*
think most people perceive itI
as a certain amount of bluster
with a hope, if not an intent,
that the press will be more
careful in the futwure.
STERN: A Justice Department
11f sei
w e ar men
agrees e
lth C9as. ?~
are a roblem
but i
It t disc tees
hat
rosIc u t in the press is a
way to solve it.
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100120057-6