JOURNAL OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL WEDNESDAY - 14 JULY 1954

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00682R000200110087-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 28, 2003
• Sequence Number: 87
• Publication Date: July 14, 1954
• Content Type: NOTES

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Journal
Office of Legislative Counsel
Wednesday - 14 July 1954
1. At the request of Mr. Johnson, of the staff of the House Post
Office & Civil Service Committee, I attended a meeting with him and Mr.
Karper, of the House Legislative Counsel's office, to review a draft of a
proposed bill which would deny Government pensions or annuities to Govern-
ment employees who refused to testify or produce documents before Federal
Grand Juries, Federal Courts, or Congressional Committees on the ground
of self-incrimination. In addition, the bill would deny pensions to Govern-
ment employees convicted of certain felonies or violations of the criminal
code. Mr. Johnson wanted to make certain that the draft of the bill would not
harm CIA personnel who might not be able to testify for security reasons. Mr.
Houston and I agreed that the reason for non-testimony by a CIA employee
would in all probability be predicated on directive from the DCI and that the
possibility that we would require an employee to take the Fifth Amendment
is so remote as not to warrant attempting to write in an exception for CIA
personnel. Similarly, the section regarding conviction for committing certain
felonies could be handled through Presidential pardon if necessary. The bill
as presently drafted does not include conviction for contempt (under which
most CIA or FBI cases would arise); but I told Mr. Johnson that if an amend-
ment were to be added which would include contempt, we would then have to
request consideration of an amendment which would exclude those cases where
the witness stood silent for security reasons.
2. Mr. Schroeder, of the staff of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee,
has made available to me on a confidential basis some 600 pages of testimony
3. In connection with the assistance we have been rendering Mr. Arens,
Counsel to the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, in the case of 25X1A
I have made available to Mr. Arens certain contradictions in esti- 25X1A
mony before the Immigration & Naturalization Service in 1947 and before the
Subcommittee in 1954. I have informed Mr. Arens that we are unable to
furnish a live witness in this case, but that the pattern of evidence which we
have made available to him lead us to the conclusion that On all proba- 25X1A
bility is a poor security risk. Mr. Arens then asked how he might best dis-
pose of the case in the absence of final proof, pro or con, and I suggested he
might wish to consider kicking it back to the Immigration Service for the
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25X1A
Summer. The alternative would be to tell lawyer, former Senator
Kem, that intelligence services of the Government had derogatory information
of such a nature that Owould be inadmissible, which would eventually
bring Senator Kem around to see the Director. I pointed out to Mr. Arens
that CIA did not wish to become involved in such a matter, and this led to
the suggestion to refer the case back to Immigration. , of 25X1A
SE Division, who discussed the case with me on 12 July, informed me that
the Desk felt very strongly regarding past activities as making him
a poor risk.
25X1A
4. The House Judiciary Committee has reported out H. R. 8334, a
bill to grant permanent residence to two of the five 25X1A
"Freedom Fliers". Iii addition, the oenute Immigration u committee is
about to take action on S. 3032, for the relief of a third member of 25X1A
the group. I have discussed this matter with Col. Edwards ani 25X1A
in view of the Immigration Service insistence that we Section 8 these cases.
If that were the Immigration Service view, then they should not have reported
the cases to the Congress. We are now in a position of having informed
Senator Dirksen's office to drop the bills as we proposed using our special
authorities. Now that bills for three of the five "Freedom Fliers" are
approaching passage, it is my recommendation to Col. Edwards that we
hold up Section 8 proceedings.
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