NEWSPAPER CITES OFFICIAL PRESSURE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100130006-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: May 18, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012_/02/28 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100130006-1
ON PANE --~~ 18 May 1986 ~_-
NEWSPAPER CITES
OFFICIA6,PRESSURE
U.S.-Washington Post Talks
on Article With Secret Data
Called 6th Casein Year
BT SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
Th
'
e Administration
s current discus-
sions with The Washington Post about
publication of an article based on clas-
sified information mark the sixth time
in the last 1Z months that Government
officials have pressed the newspaper to
withhold or alter an impending article,
Leonard Downie Jr., the managing edi-
tor of The Post, said Friday.
In two cases, Mr. Downie said, The
Post congplied with the Administration
and did not dlsclase the name of a fig-
ure in an article because Adminstra-
lion officials said identification would
have endangered the person's life.
Katharine Graham, the chief execu-
tive officer of The Washington Post
Company, said no decision would be
made on the current article until Ben-
jamin C. Bradlee, the executive editor,
returned from a trip abroad.
Mr. Bradlee was scheduled to amve
back in Washington this weekend, but
Mr. Downie said no decision was immi-
nent orwould be made before this week
at the earliest.
Request Treated `Seriously'
"They've made a request that's been
made before," Mrs. Graham said.
"It's a serious request, and we are
treating it equally seriously."
This instance differs from the previ-
ous ones, however, because it is occur-
ring against the backdrop of what Mr.
Downie termed the Administration's
' mcressingly aggressive" stance
against officials who leak classified in-
formation and newspapers and maga-
zines that publish it.
The Director of Central Intelligence,
Will am warn i n h
t t e wou consider rasecutin The
ast ~
tt pu is
a art c e
v Z3nb
?
e
can mte
l en
ce a
l
lt
es.
more itenera terms
r
~v
threat to rin
es a a' t
n_ewspacers a mal;azlnes t at pu
c ass in orma on.
The A ministration has recently dis-
missed officials in the State and De-
fet~se Departments on accusations of
leaking material to the press.
Secretary of State George P. Shultz
on Friday ordered the dismissal of
Spencer C. Warren, a member of the
State Department's policy planning
staff, for "an unauthorized disclosure
of classified information to the news
media." He was reported to have
leaked a highly classified cablegram
that was sent to Mr. Shultz last month
by Frank V. Ortiz Jr., the American
Ambassador to Argentina, criticizing
the behavior of the House Speaker,
Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., and other mem-
bers of adelegation that visited Argen-
tina.
Pentaaen Aide Dismissed
Last month, Michael F neMLt..~ an
Assistant Under ec ry of Defense,
was dismissed after he reportedly
failed to pass a polygraph test. He was
suspected of having leaked to The Past
~' and the syndicated columnists ,~g_
~ ~ land E and Robert No~valc~forma-
S ' i`tdn t at r. Csb'~T gii~one ~o Mgola
to arrange for the covert shipment
'through Zaire of antiaircraft missiles
to Jonas Savimbi's insurgent Mgolan
forces.
On Friday. r?e s~>~o* a apps
ate with The New York Times or
o er news r ro n m orma-
t en e
Mrs. Graham confirmed that "a
whole series of exchanges" between
Post editors and Administration offi-
cialshad occurred over the last several
weeks regarding the article by Mr.
Woodward and Mr. Tyler. Mr. Downie
said the meetings had taken place at
neutral sites - neither The Post nor
Government offices -and had been
augmented by telephone conversa-
tions.
"I think the Administration has a
genuine concern," Mr. Downie said,
'and all you have to do is look at the
subject and you know why.
'Mr. c yr nd o h r c nior Admin
'istration otNctals have raised some
CIT1n~~jer+ionc national ~ ~ rity ob
sections that cA!+'*_ be li h Iv dic_
missed." he said. "Md this very re~i
threat to prosecute has been made."
Administrat on~o{~icia~ have said
the information obtained by The Post
might have included some of the classi-
fied data -about American systems
used to intercept communications -
that Ronald W. Pelton purportedly de-
livered to the Soviet Union. Mr. Pelton, ~
a former employee of the National Se-
curity Agency, is now in jail awaiting '~
trial on an espionage charJte.
Tries to Play Down 'Contacts'
Mr. Downie has in some ways tried to
play down the discussions with the Ad-
ministration, calling them ' `contacts"
rather than "negotiations," the term
White Hottse officials have used in dis-
cussing the matter. Mr. Woodward and
Mr. Tyler, the reporters for the article
at issue, have said they are not con-
cerned about the discussions.
"It's the policy of this newspacer
that wetTt'e ppy to r m e A -
ministration ev _ ave some con-
cerns." said Mr. Woodward. lice assist-
ant manaaitis a for o The Past and
the au wr o a comin book on the
C.. a t a is ."
e a t not believe the
AdmWstration's concerns with the ar-
ticle were justified by its content.
Mrs. Graham wrote in The Post's
Outlook section in April: "I want to em-
phasize that the media are willing to -
and do -withhold information that is
likely to endanger human life or jeop-
ardize national security."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/28 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100130006-1