JUSTICE DEPT. PROBING FIRED DEFENSE OFFICIAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100130015-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: May 1, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

~~ eclassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100130015-1
WASHINGTON POST
1 May 1986
Justice De t. Probin
p g
Fired. Defense Official
Investigators Seeking Source of News Leah?
By Joanne Omang
Washington Poet Statt Writer
The justice Department is inves-
tigating Defense Department ex-of-
ficial Michael E. Pillsburv. who was
fired for allestedly leaking class fied
infnrmatinn to he press knowl
edaeable officials said yeste~rda~
The decision to probe further
into the Pillsbury case is the latest
development in an apparent crack-
down by the Reagan administration
on the steady flow of unauthorized
information from the government.
Pillsbury, a political appointee,
was dismissed Monday from his job
as assistant un ersecreta o e-
fense or po icy planning after he
~ not pass a o ra test ac-
cor mg to entagon sources. The
sources said the test was part of an
e ort tom t o source o a ea o
e as ngton os ast mon
about a Reagan administration de-
clston to supp v an - e tmger
ground-to-air missiles to anticom-
munist rebels in AnQOIa an f-
hanistan.
Although officials yesterday de-
clined to comment further about
the ustice Department investiga-
tion, some pointed v reca t~
case of Samuel Loring Morison a
former Naw in II'gence ~n~~?~~+
who was sentenced in December to
two ears in rison for sending clas-
sified satellite photograp is tot e
British ma azine ane's Defence
Weekl . He was the trst person
criminally convicted of ea cmg c as-
sified information to t e me ia.
Pillsbury was unavailable and the
Justice Department declined to
comment.
Morton H. Halperin, director of
the American Civil Liberties
Union's Washington office, said the
ACLU regards the use of criminal
penalties for unauthorized leaks as
unconstitutional and inappropriate.
"A probe [by the Department of
Justice) would be consistent with
their interpretation of the law in the
Morison case, but we think the rel-
evant statutes relate to espionage
and not to release of information to
the press," he said.
Although the government has the
right to fire employes for unautho-
rized disclosure of information, Hal-
perin said, "we object to the use of
polygraphs" because they "are not a
reliable indicator."
Responding to a series of espi-
onage cases, the Reagan adminis-
tration last November authorized
polygraph tests for all individuals
with access to highly classified in-
formation, but narrowed the scope
of the order after Secretary of State
George P. Shultz said he would re-
sign if asked to take the test.
President Reagan has complained
about the relatively free flow of
data from his officials, most recent-
ly in a speech to the American So-
ciety of Newspaper Editors earlier
this month when he said the White
House "is the leakiest place I've
ever been in."
The administration and Congress
also have exchanged charges about
which branch of government is
most responsible for unauthorized
disclosures.
The Defense Department in
1981 tried to fire John Tillson, a
civilian executive in its manpower
and logistics office, after he failed
three polygraph tests regarding the
leak to The Washington Post of a
Pentagon briefing on the possibility
that Reagan's rearmament program
could produce a $750 billion cost
overrun over five years.
Tillson fought successfully to
keep his job and later was recom-
mended for an outstanding service
award. Washington Post reporter
George C. Wilson later said publicly
that Tillson was not the source of
his report.
Leaks are common sources of
news articles from every branch of
government.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100130015-1