CARTER WRITES 2 MEN ALLEGEDLY PAID BY CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100070027-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 14, 2007
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: February 24, 1977
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/03/15: CIA-RDP99-00498R0001100070027-8
WASHINGTON STAR (GR r,! LINE)
24 FEBRUARY 1977
By Jeremiah O'Leary
Washington Star Staff Writer,
President Carter has sent personal
messages to President Carlos Andres
Perez of Venezuela and former West
German Chancellor Willy Brandt
about newspaper reports that they
had received secret CIA funds and
botlr leaders have said they are satis-
fied with the tone of the letters.,
But- Perez and President Arch-
bishop Makarios of-Cyprus, who was
also reported to have-received funds
from the- intelligence agency, are re-
portedly ? considering', legal action
against the Washington Post and
New York Times.
Informed sources said yesterday
Carter-had sent.only.two personal-
messages,. those to -Brandt . and
Perez, to ease their anger over the
reports ?- that they-had-.at one. time
been on the agency payroll-
.
Venzuelan Foreign'.,Minister
Ramon Escobar Salom said: in Cara-
cas that Perez was "very satisfied"
and considers that the letter puts an
end to the incident. Reportedly,. Car-
. ter's message said - the : newspaper
charges that Perez.- had'. accepted
payments -when he was "minister" of
interior were "foundationless and
groundless."
.":Carter, meanwhile,, said at" his HE SAID, It stirs the world's conpress conference yesterday that he
? power'-
has received substantial reports on science that the earth's most
-the CIA's dealings with foreign lead=: ful nation, which proclaims the
ers. "I have reviewed the "more con.;-! values of democracy and- exalts the
troversial revelations that have been',
publicized in the last:few,days," Car-
ter said, "some -quite-' 'erroneous,.
some with some degree of accuracy.
"I have not found anything.illegat
or improper. If in the future assess-
ments, which will come quite early, I"
discover such an impropriety or ille-
~gality, I will not only take immediate
action-to correct it but also will let
the American people know about it."
;,,.!','But Carter's comments did nothing`
tii help distinguish: between foreign
leaders who did receive CIA funds
:and :those -which did not. When he;
was asked whether he shouldn't cor-
rect the record where there has-been
--erroneous - information, -Carter-
replied, `.'In some ways. we. are- cor-
recting the record but if I began to ei
they dispute' or 'confirm every indi-.
. vidual story that is written, whether
correct or erroneous,. on- every mat-
dignity of man, should shelter a rot-
ten organization whose principal aim
is to corrupt men and nations.
"Venezuela feels threatened. ? It
cannot be believed that'the untruth
ful accusation published by one of the
most - important. newspapers - in the
United States, and the mention of the
-CIA as the source, could have been
done without obeying plans which
compromise official high circles."
Carter yesterday elaborated on his
,-concern about the issue of CIA pay-
ments to foreign leaders, which was
begun when the Washington Post re-
-vealed that King Hussein of Jordan
had been paid millions of dollars over
a 20-year period HE SAID, "This is a very serious
problem of how in a democracy to
have adequate intelligence gathered,
assessed and used to guarantee the
-security. of. our -country. Sometimes
,
oth
-
e
t
ith
er governm
n
s cooperate w
us _
matters whictf are necessarily secret`,
fully. Sometimes they don't. ? But I'
would no longer be secret,"
will try to-be sure and so will Stan
FRANK TAO, press counsellor of Turner who will be the next director
the, Chinese Nationalist' Embassy-of -the intelligence: community He
- i w'II try to be sure that everything -we
h
; d
t
d
t
ll
"
dl
t
ere
en
e
as
o
a
y
goun
ess re
. A" SIMILAR message- went- to . ports in The New York Times and do' is not only proper and legitimate
Brandt, who.-is visiting in Israel. Ger-, The Washington Star that the CIA but also -compatible? with the atti"
:man news agency reports quoted a made secret payments. to the- late tudes of the American people -
atic
l D
i
S
f
h
emocr
a
or t
oc
e
spokesman
- . President Chiang Kai-shek. Thee.
party as saying Brandt was satisfied _ Times. reported..that. the denial was-
:that Carter's, letter-had put the mate backed. up by Ray S.. Cline who was.
ter.to rest. The German. Embassy, CIA station chief in Taipei from 1958:_
here said there have been no indica to 1962. f >'
tions that Brandt intends any legal ` Cline, now working at the George
action against the: American .news- town University Center for Strategic. IV _
papers-which lin?sed=himrwith-linkedand_InEernationa}-Studie3 in =Wash
payofr ington-was out,of-town and couldnoE_- -
.be reached for comment on the story.
.Other denials of involvement with .
CIA funds have come from former
President Eduardo Frei of Chile-whp:.
called the report a-4'damnable lie,
former President Luis Echeverria of
IMexico, the widow of former South
.Korean-- President _ Syngman,,Rhee
. and Filipino sources on behalf of the-
late President Ramon Magsaysay.
But the Venezuelan reaction to the
-'allegations was the - most vigorous..
'After .recalling his ambassador in-
Washington and `' calling . in -.U.S.
Ambassador Viron P..Vaky for, an
explanation, Perez sent a long- tele-
,gram to U.S. newspapers responding
Perez, Brandt 'Se11s ed'
STAT
STAT