HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-THIRD CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON NOMINATION OF RICHARD HELMS FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ON HIS NOMINATION TO BE AMBASSADOR TO IRAN

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CIA-RDP91-00901R000500130001-1
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May 12, 2003
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May 21, 1973
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STATINTL , c ~h` ~ ~~ ~y e,c~~ s ,~'~/ Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1~~ NOMINATION OF RICHARD HELMS TO DE AMI;ASSADOR TO IRAN AND CIA INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES HEARIl~TGS CO~Il~I:TTEE ON I~~OREIGN .RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE NINRTY-THIRD CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON NOMINATION OF RICHARD IIELNIS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF TIIE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, ON IIIS NObIINA- '1`ION TO BE A14IBASSADOIt TO IRAN AND CIA INTERNA- TIONAL AND DOMESTIC ACTIVITIE'?S [The February 7 hearing was held in Executive Session and classified Secret. It was declassified and published on March 5, 1974.] U.5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 26-694 tiVASHINGTON 1974 CRC, 5/7/2003 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 C03IMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS J. W. FULBRIGHT, Arkansas, Chairman JOHN SPARKb1AN, Alabama DIIKL++' DIANSFIEI,D, Montana FRANK CHURCH, Idaho STUART SYMINGTON, 1lissouri CLAIBORNE FELL, Rhode Island GALE W. McGEE, Wyoming EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Maine GEORGE S. McGOVERN, South Dakota HUBEItT H. HUMPHRP;Y, Minnesota I I [Coasnsimx~u Smess NOTE That tHranmscript has sot been published.] 973, in >secutive ~ession. GEOI{GE D. AIKEN, Vermont CLIFFORD P. CASE, New Jersey JACOB Ii. DAVITS, New York HUGH SCOTT, Pennsylvania JAMES B. PEARSON, Kansas CHARLES H. PERCY, Illinois ROEERT P. GRIFFIN, D1lchigan Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 lIearing days: Page February 5, 1973------------------------------------------------- 1 February 7, 1973------------------------------------------------- l7 May 21, 1973---------------------------------------------------- 57 Statements by- Helms, Richard, nominee to be Ambassador to Iran February 6, 1973-----------?-------------------------------- 2 February 7, 1973--------------------------------------------- ~'0 Iiehns, Richaxvl, Ambassador to Iran, May 21, 1973_________________ v7 Insertions for the record Biography of Richard Helms_____________________________________ 1 "CIA Discloses It Trained Police from 12 Agencies," article by David Burnham, from the New York Times, February 6, 1973____________ 17 Letter to Hon. Edward I. Koch., Huuse of Representatives, from John :VI. Maury, Legislative Counsel, CIA, dated January 29, 1943______ 18 "Fourteen City Policemen Got CIA Training-Learned IIow To Analyze and Handle Information," article by David Burnham, fram the New York Times, December 17, 1972_________________________ 19 "4 Watergate Defendants Reported Still Being Paid," article by Seymour bT. Hersh, from the New York Times, January 14, 1973___ 27 Exchange of correspondence between Carl Marcy, Chief of Staff, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Ambassador Richard Helms, concerning exchange during Ambassador Helms' testimony, dated November 16 and December 1, 1973_______________________ 46 "CIA's Involvement Appalling," article by Carl T. Rowan, from the Washington Star-News, May 11, 1973____________________________ 59 "Watergate Case Called Broad Plot," article by Martin Schram, from the Washington Post, January 7, 1973__________________________ EO Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 1V016'IINATION OF RICHARD HELMS TO BE AMBASSADOR TO IIIAN AND CIA INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES 1 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1973 li.J'V`ITI;D STATPS tir"IENATL, CGDTDrI".I'7'LI!. ON I~ORLIGN I~1'rLATIONS, Waslzinc~ton, D.C. 'L'he conlmittec net, plrrsna.nt to Iloticc, at. 10' a.m., in room 4221, Ii~_iI?ksen Senate CJflice Ifni]ding, Senator J. ~~~. Fulbright [chairman], pros id ng. Present: Senators Fulbright, S?yrnington, McGee, Aiken, Pearson, and Percy. The CI3AIPi4rAN. The'. comrn iti ee . In another area, the Iranian Prima Minister tivas reported l)y Irturian radio as tcl].ing a group of students recently that Iran is milit-aril,y the strongest nation uI the Middle East. I3ow do you assess IraII's security position today and its aced for :military assrst- ance from the I7nited States ? About X193,000 in security assistance has been programed for fiscal 197 . 14Ir. Ilr:r,~IS. ~~'cll, I had understood, and I obviously have to learn a. great deal more about these things, but I thought the Iranians bought ~5-hat military equipment they needed from the United ~~tates and paid for it.. end as far as I know, there is nothing in the picture that would require them to ask for more military assistance from the United States than they have, in the past. II:.~NIAN TCOIVOiVI1C DF,S'1'JLOPITI;N'r PItOGP.AM rcna.tor Pz';rcx .Finally, there has been. a tremendous program. of eco- nomic develop~Iient carried on in Iran, and I vas deeply Impressed with it in my visits to that countr.?y. What lend of progress do you see being made, and in. what ways can we, as a Nation, contribute toward this progress consistent with our overall. needs? Mr. IIR1f.MS. Nell, it is my impression, and I assume it corresponds with yours, that the Shah has made a great effort to :improve the ]at of his people, to develop industry, to encourage foreign investment in Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 ~1 an efPart to build leis country up and make a better life far the people of Iran, and from all that I lxavc seen and understand, he has had great success with this so far, and there_docs not seem to be any reason why this should not progress satisfacto~'ily in the future. CORZAITNDnTI9N OF Wi'CNESs Senator Pi,rcY. ~VIr. ("hairman, ] would simply like to state that in my G years in the Senate, II~c}tarcl,Ilelms has been a superb public ser- vant. I havo never gone to his agency for impartial and factual infor- mation without getting it. Judgments were left to us, but the facts pis known were presented forthrightly. Some of the finest briefings I have had around t~xe world were from Agency personnel, who reflect the very highstandards and high quality tLtat Itii.chard Helms and his prede- ? cessors have built into the agency. Mr. IIeltns, I appreciate your bast assistance and I loop forward not only to voting enthusiastically for your confirmation, but also to improved and strengthened relationships between the Iinited St~~tcs and Iran, which is a line natior>, with, a gi_?cat potential for further progress. I think as the Px?esidcnt's representative there, you should contribute i tnmensely. 1Vh?. IIrI1~s. Thank yon, Senator Percy. crn's coNNr,c~rioNS ~vrrcr nrcrr,:rrNniioNnr, coiteorn~ioNs The ~iiLAIP~tAN. 1VIr. Iiclms, Settat:ot? Percy raised a question about tho multinational corporations, ~~clxiclx is a study that has begun, bttt wo have not had any open sessiotl,5. One of the cases which was widely publicized last year allet-ed that tl~e CIA. had a great deal to do with and was very close to one of tlto;~c corporations, si~eciEically the ITT. ~~'ottld you care to clarify that situation 2 Mr. Ht~:r,Nts. ~'t~cll, sir?, the agency h-a-s conncctians ~~s?i-th all kinds of com.panics and corporations It1 the United States for purposes of the acquisition of inform~tio~n and things of this kind, and I clo not thinly-it would. be not correct at nll to say that its relations with ITT wex?o any different than they were with any other corporation. Tho CrrnirvxnN. That raises a very serious question. I land hoped that it was unique, and that you. did not have that kind of relations with a11. of the others. ~'ott arc sa~inr? yon have similar relations with. all of the others? Mr. IIEa~nzs. No, sir, I am sorry if I The CiinixatclaN. It sotmdcd that ~vay. Mi?. HPLMS. If that was the intention, if that is what came through with yott, this tivas not what I intended. I ant not entirely sure, if you feel that its relationship with IT'P on the part of the agency that is different from that of relationships with other American companies, then I am trot sure what we are t?al~ing about, sir. The CixnatznznN. I am talking about the reports which came out, I think, last spring, in the so-called Anderson Papers, indicating that there was a very close relationship between ITT and the CIA or, to put it another way, the CIA was using ITT for purposes of espionage, collecting data. Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 10 I did not intend to raise this. Senator Percy prompted me to bring this question up, and since you are hero I might as well ask you about it. You are familiar with the Anderson Papers ? Mr. Hi;Lars. Yes, sir, but the agency was not using ITT for espionage purposes. Tho Cu ~IRbIAN. Gathering of information maybe ? Is that a better way to put it ? Mr. IIELnrs. -Well, I have no doubt in the course of dis~~ussions between members of the Embassy and ITT and Anaconda and various other companies that information was exchanged back and forth, I have no doubt of that, but this hardly qualifies as espionage. Tlie (i1zAIRDi:\N. I must say it is hard to say what espionage is. Ialsbcrg, as I understand it, is being prosecuted for espionage, but; it is hard for me to see it is espionage, too. It is ver3~ difficult. These semantics have become impossible. All I meant was gathering information. What clo ,you mean by espionage ? i~Ir. HELMS. Well, sir, espionage, in the definition that we give to it, is the hiring of an individual to acquire information without anyone knowing that the individual is (a) acquiring the information or (b) tivhat he represents. The CIrAIRIi:lN. That reminds me of another matter you might want to clarify and comment on. It seems that several of the people involved in the bugging of the ~~raterg-ate were former CIA mein. Mr. IIELrrs. Former, yes, sir. They hacl all retired, they had left. I h are no control over anybody who has left. The CHAIRMAN. I know you do nat. I am just asking you whether it is true that they were former CIA men. Mr. HELars. Yes, sir, Ilunt was, and McCord was. The CH:~1IR11rr1N. They were both former CIA. It was clear, I think, in the paper that they were no longer in your empl~~y. Mr. H;z;Lars. 'T'hey had been, both been retired at least 2 years. The CIIAIRDiAN. Two years. Finally, in this respect some years ago we heard q~zite a bit about the CIA aTr. IIa;x.Txs. Sir, let me xn an offoet to sort of close this, about this, `Watergate business, you have asked all the relevant questions. I have xxo morn information to convey and I know nothing about it. Honestly, I do not. The Cxx~xxx~xexv . 11nd y our people other than that one man who vas a consultant ~,!Ir. HEL1~iS. tiWc had nothing t,o do with it, lxonestly we didn't. The CI:[AIRMAN. Other than the training that these operatives gained from their experience withy~rt over the years. 1llr. HI:I.MB. Canld I go ott the record a minute ? The CIIAIIti1iAN. Yes. [Discussion off tho record.] Tho C1IAIxtM11N. Let the record show that on the motion of the senator from ti' erinont all six of the nominees will be reported favorably today, without objection. [~Wlxereupon, at 12:0 p.tn., the committee recessed, subject to tlic call of the Chair.] Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 CIA INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC ACTIVITIES MONDAY, MAY 21, 1873 ITNITED STATER SENATE, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 :05 a.m., in room 4221, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator J. W. Fulbright [chairman], presiding. Present : Senators Fulbright, Sparkman, 1dlansfield, Syminggton, Pell, Muskie, Ilumphrey, Aiken, Case, Pearson, Percy, and GrifFin. The CIIAIRMAN. The committee will come to order, please. The Foreign Relations Committee this morning is meeting to hear further testimony from Mr. Richard IIelms, Ambassador to Iran, and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I wish to make it clear at the outset that the hearing is being held in public session. at the specific request of Senator Symington and Mr. Helms. `I`he hearing is a followup of two executive sessions the commit- tee held with Mr. Helms in hebruary and March, at which time domes- tic activities of the CIA were explored. Subsequent developments have made it desirable to clarify the record which was made at that time. Mr. Helms, we are very pleased to have you. I want to make it clear that while I had announced last week that this would be an executive session, it was changed on very short notice this morning to an open session. I want everybody to understand the circumstances. That is correct, is it not ? STATEMENT OF PdICHARD M. HELMS, AMBASSADOR TO IRAN Mr. HELMS. Yes, sir. Th.e ~iIIt1IRMAN. Would you lilic to say anything in opening before we start questioning? DECISION TO HOLD IIl:ARING IN OPEN SESSION Mr. HE3.11IS. I do not think so, Mr. Chairman. I simply felt that, after I had read stories in the newspapers that convict mo of some wrong- doing before I had ever appeared before the committee, that perhaps it would be better to have It in open session so that I could state myself. Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 5U rented in the W:Lter;ate. `~~%hy,' I asked myself alid my friends fo.r lnolrths, `world anyone call the CIA Director in the wee hours o f the morning after some- ton Last May ~~ith Pico and the four Wate~;gate defendants from the Mivni area (Baker, ?tTartiuez, Frank Sturgis turd Virg~illo R. Gonzales). IIc said tl!at he believed be and hi- frionds were waiting to s?ee someone Prom the government-he did not know who-and that when no one showed up, they flew back home to Miatni. While in ~ti`ashiugtou, de Diego maintained, he never met James W. McCord Jr., P?. IIo~aarci Hunt Jr. or G. Gordon Liddy, the other three Watergate defendauts. McCord, the former sc^curity consultant for the President's re-election cotnmittek~, was arx?ested inside the tVatergai:e on June 17 with the four defendauts from Miami, While de Diego said he had no knowledge of any sub rosy activities by the :;roue while he was in Washington last May, other defense sources said the grotap was quite busy during that period. During the weekend of May 13-14, the chancery of the 1Jmba?ssy of Chile vas bnrglarized. {)nc source close to the Watergate defendants says now that these defendants were behind the burglary at the embassy. The Watergate team's activities last spring, the source said, also included the electronic surveillance of Sens. Mansfield, Church and Fulbright and former OAS ambassador Linowitz. All three senators said yesterday they had no indication they had been monitored. Linowitz, a liberal Democrat, could not be reached for comment. IIO`V CIA 'rV=SS INFOP.MPD OF L'P.T;AI~-IN The Cr~nlrnleN. Vas it either the FI3I or -the ~vVhite IIouse that informed the CI~1 ? ~c-es~- ~-~- :, Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 ~~ IVLI?. Hl:a.als. Informed them about what, sir ? The CiIIAIPMAN. The Watergate breal~-in ? Mr. HELMS. As I said just a moment ago, it was my impression we learned about it from the newspapers. The Ctsnln~nx. And then you were not called late at night? In other words, Mr. Idowan's article was wrong ? Mr. HLT,I~IS. l~ro, I was called one evelung by the Director of Security, Mr. Howard Osborne, to tell me that-some men had been caught in a break-in at the Watergate in the Democratic 1\Tational Committee Headquarters, and that involved in this was one of the employees of the Agency; a Mr. James McCord. I did get that call, sir. I say that I did and I told you a minute ago as to why it was a matter of pollcy that I be infortnecl about these, such matters. The CiIIAIRIYIAN. Why would ,you be informed about such domestic matters? I mean it tivas not really within the purview of the CIA's responsibility, was it? Mr. IiI;L14is. ~rcll, Mr. C11 s. No, sir. And. Senator I-Iurnphrey, you understand tlz;at the 40 Committed passes on certain types of opera~tion,3 but not all operations. Senator Hul~rrzcriF-Y. We had a. quot~ctiorz this morning, l~Tr. Helms, from. the National Security Act of 1cJ47, and that act, I tli.nk, has same ambiguities to it. There seems to be an its face same conflict of authorit ~. I+'or e~am- ~>le, you were required to--- Correlate and evaiaxate intelligence reltafiing to nationo.l security, and provide far the appropriate dissemination aY such intellir,ence r~ithin iiie Gowex7unent using, where arpropria.te, esistiur a;ancies and facilities : Provided, Tba.t the al;enc;~ shall ixave na police, subpoeaxa, law enforcement powers, or internal t~ciu?ity functions : Provided further, That, tlxe departments and other agencies of the Government shall continue to collect, evaluate, correlate, asd disseminate departmental intelli?;ence. * And then the latter part to which Senator Symington referred-- xlnd Provided Further, That the Director of Central Inteiligence steal. he re- lronsible far protecting intelligence sources and methods from unatvthorized dis- closure * * Now, does that conflict with your responsibility, I mean with the prohibition of na internal security functions? iVlr. Hr:LTrs. Well, Senator Ilumphrey, I am not a lawyer and, there- fore, I donot know whether it actually conflicts. I would simply say that that charge, the last one yoU. read, about protecting intelligence sources and me-thods from unauthorized dis closure, has been a very di.flicult charge on the Agency 'because it has left a kind of a gray area here. Senator HUbTPII:ItPY. As to whether or not it is your responsibility or that of the Federal Bureau of Investigation? Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 Approved For Release 2008/03/05 :CIA-RDP91-009018000500130001-1 77 Mr. IIT~;~MS. tiVell, our responsibility, domestic ar? foreig7x, and this whole thing is rather gray. Senator HurrrlTx~?:Y. Do you not generally assunxc that the activities of the Central Intelligerico ~~gency are directed toward forci.gn areas and foreign activities. ` IVIr. I3FLMS. l do indeed, Senator. Senator IIuMrrxrzFY. ~1nd dornc~stic or internal security matters aro in the hands of the Federal I3urcau of Ixxvestigation? Mr. HLLMS. Yes, sir. Senator HuMrrrrrT;Y. You have a close relationship? Mr. HELM6. Yes, sir. Senator IIu:MPr3RTY. You try to keep that differentiation or that delineation clear ? Mx?. ~Irr,MS.:4s clear as we can and when the lines have gotten wavy, as they sometimes do in human -life, we have worked together to txy to keep them straight anal have au understanding as to who was doing tivhat. ritrsuT~rrrrov or r3~sr5 ar :~trrrroTrx7?Y rox wur>`r: Trousr~: rrr.Runs7` Senator Hu~u'rrrr:r. When you get a request frarxr a White House staff member, 1VIr. Helms, as yotr havo aver th.e years, what is the pr?e- sumption of that request as to tlxe basis of authorrty ? Mr. HPLMS. The, presumption is that it comes front the President. Senator IItrmrrTnrrsr. That ~~~ould bo particularly true of the Chief of Staff ? Mr. IIr:LMS. Yes, sir. In other words, Senator Humphrey, most of the telephone calls that the agencies of Government get from the- Wlrite IIouse are through staff assistants, they arc not from the President hinTSel.f. Senator IIuMrrTru:Y. That is normal. operatin,~? procedure, is it not? Mr. IIrsr,nrs. Ycs, sir, and it lias been mxdex? several. adminrstrations. T~T?;T:rTVr cry ou7' or: noarr;s?rrr, roLT7~xos Senator IIiJ~rPrII;1SY. Is it your juclgn"rent that agencies life the Cen- tral Intelligence ,gency, the Federal. I3nrcau of Inti-estigation, the Se- cret Service, ought to be above participation in irivol.vement in domes- tic politics ? Mr. HELMS. Yes, sir. Senator IIuMrrrrrrr. I)id you. take all. steps possible, as fax :ts your directorship was concerned., to keep the CI 1 out of the domestic irohti- cal arena ? ~4~Ir. IIT:T,nrs. I did, sir,~tu the' ~?cry best of Tn-y ability. :1rT:. l I T"\'1'~s 7:1?T.:1Tra\ ',T 1 TP W I'r'r f c 1Lt, wTII`L'r~; TTOTJSE Senator TTuarrrnzEY. Vas :'~Ir. Tlnnt a member of the (~I ~ staff" ~~: hetT he asl~e