MEMORANDUM FOR ALL CIA EMPLOYEES FROM JAMES R. SCHLESINGER

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP79M00467A001700040016-3
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RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
10
Document Creation Date: 
December 16, 2016
Document Release Date: 
June 3, 2005
Sequence Number: 
16
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
May 9, 1973
Content Type: 
MF
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PDF icon CIA-RDP79M00467A001700040016-3.pdf395.34 KB
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Approved For Nd /D$E: GIA4ffiIR%AMd 6AM700040016-3 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WASHINGTON, D,C, 2O5O5 OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR 9 May 1973 MEMORANDUM FOR ALL CIA EMPLOYEES 1. Recent press reports outline in detail certain alleged CIA activities with respect to Mr. Howard Hunt and other parties.- The presently known facts behind these stories are those stated in the attached draft of a statement I will be making to the Senate Committee on Appropriations on 9 May. As can be seen, the Agency provided limited assistance in response to a request by senior officials. The Agency has cooperated with and made available to the appropriate law enforcement bodies information about these activities and will con- tinue to do so. 2. All CIA employees should understand my attitude on this type of issue. I shall do everything in my power to confine CIA activities to those which fall within a strict interpretation of its legislative charter. I take this position because I am determined that the law shall be respected and because this is the best way to foster the legitimate and necessary contributions we in CIA can make to the national security of the United States. 3. I am taking several actions to implement this objective: - I have ordered all the senior operating officials of this Agency to report to me immediately on any activities now going on, or that have gone on in the past, which might be construed to be outside the legislative charter of this Agency. I hereby direct every person presently employed by CIA to report to me on any such activities of which he has knowledge. I invite all ex-employees to do the same. Anyone who has such information should call my secretary (extension 0 and say that he wishes to talk to me about "activities outside CIA's charter." ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 Approved For eose 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M004674W0f700040016-3 ADMINISTRATIVE -- INTERNAL USE ONLY 4. To ensure that Agency activities are proper in the future, I hereby promulgate the following standing order for all CIA employees: Any CIA employee who believes that he has received instructions which in any way appear inconsistent with the CIA legislative. charter shall inform the Director of Central Intelligence immediately. James R. Schlesinger Director ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 Approved For lease 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M6046W 01700040016-3 DCI STATEMENT SENATE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS 9 MAY 1973 Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 Approved For F oiease 2Q /R?n .sc -fPflT9M00467 01700040016-3 Hr. Chairman, I am here to discuss the questions which have arisen over CIA`s real and alleged role in events that occurred in 1971 and 1972. I have opened a detailed investigation into the precise nature of that role. I can report to you on what Agency records, now being intensively reviewed? reveal at this juncture. However I do not yet know that I have all the facts in the matter. Nonetheless, I am pleased to present to you such facts. as are now available, and I will certainly provide you with any further details as they come to my attention. Let me start.with the Agency's relationship with Mr. Howard Hunt, pr ose testimony has recently been made public. Mr. Hunt was a staff employee of the Agency from 8 November 1949 to 30 April 1970. At that time ne retired from the Agency. He performed one editorial job of writing up a recorrmendati on for an award for one of our officers. in November 1970. He was not paid for these services, although the Agency placed the sums of $200.00 and $50.00 in two charitable organizations for the service performed. In early July 1971, General Cushman, then the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, received a telephone call from the tthite House. He was informed that Mr. Hunt had become a consultant on security affairs for the White House, and a request was made that Mr. Hunt receive assistance from the Agency. The minutes of the Agency Morning Meeting of 8 July 1971 indicate that the DDCI (General Cushman) reported a call by John Ehrlichman stating that Howard Hunt had been appointed a t4hite House security consultant. On 22 duly 1971 '1r. Hunt visited General Cushm nat the CIA building. According to the records, Mr. Hunt stated that he had been charged with, a highly sensitive mission by the White House to visit and elicit information Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 Approved For F~se 2005/06/08: CIA-RDP79M00467i1700040016-3 from an individual whose ideology he was not entirely sure of, and for that p n-pose he said he was asked to come to the Agency to see if he could get two thins: identification documents in alias and some degree of physical disguise,, for a one-time operation. He stressed that he wanted the matter to be held as closely as possible and that he would like to meet the Agency people in an Agency safehouse. Agency records indicate that, in -the course of the conversation, 1"Mr. bunt referred to Mr. Ehrl i chman by name and General Cushman acknowledged an earlier call from Mr. Ehrl i chrnan to him. The Committee may desire to query General., Cushman whose knowledge would not come from such secondary sources. General Cushman directed the appropriate technical service of the Agency to be of assistance to Mr. Hunt, based on the above request. On ;TAT Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 Approved For PAtease 2005/06/08 : cF ,-RDP79M00467 01700040016-3 The Agency technical officers met these requests despite the absence of the procedural steps and approvals normally required by Agency regulations. o:,ever, they became increasingly concerned at the escalation of Cdr. Runt's requests for assistance. These finally included a request from Mr. aunt to be met on the morning of 27 August 1971, upon his return front California, to have a film developed and returned to him. This was done the same day- He also asked for a New Ydrk mail address and telephone-answering service .or operational use. The technical officers raised their concern with, senior officers, ,;ho noted the possibility that these activities could involve the Agency in operations outside its proper functions. As a result, again according to t.-envy records, General Cushman telephoned Mr. Ehrlichman at the White House on 27 August 1971 and explained that further such assistance could not be given. Mr. Ehrlichman agreed. The request for mail address and telephone answering service was not honored. On 31 August 1971, Mr. Hunt contacted the technical officers again, requesting a credit card, but this was refused- ;'r. Hunt had also made a request on 18 August 1971 for the assignment of a secretary he had known during his Agency career. This was also refused. The earl i er--furn i shed alias documents and other material were not recovered, however, except for the Tessina camera which was returned on 27 August as unsuitable- Since the end of August 1971, the Technical Services Division has had no further association with Mr. Hunt. As a point of reference, I would note 14 the break-in of the office of fir. Ellsberg's psychiatrist took place an or about 3 September 1971. Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 ( t. Approved ForWlease 2005/06108 CIA-RDP79M0046ftOO1700040016-3 _n.. The Agency outlined the above events to Mr. Patrick Gray, Acting Director of the FBI, in letters dated Sand 7 July 1972, and a meeting on. 23 July 1972. A series of questions were asked the Agency on 11 October 1972 by Mr. Earl Silbert, Principal Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. On 24 October 1972, Attorney General Kleindienst and i:ssistanZ httorney General Petersen reviewed the 5 and 7 duly transtrcittals together with additional, more detailed but undated materials, that had been provided to Acting FBI Director Gray on 18 October 1972. The Agency is ariare that this material was reviewed on 27 November 1972 by %Mr. Silbert, who asked additional questions on that date as well as on 29 November 1972. written responses to the foregoing questions were provided on 13 December 1972_. An additional submission was made to the Assistant Attorney' General Petersen on 21 December 1972. This material was discussed at a meating held with Assistant Attorney General Petersen and Fir. Silbert on 22 December 1972.. All of the foregoing materials can be made available to the Committee if it so desires. As a separate matter, which was not known by those who prepared the material for the Department of Justice in the fall of last year, the Office of Medical Services of the Agency prepared and forwarded to the White House two indirect personality assessments of Mr. Daniel Ellsberg. STAT In July 1971 Mr. Helms, then Director, nstructed Agency o ficers to work with Mr. David Young of the finite House Staff relative to security leaks in the intelligence community- Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 Approved ForQ (ease 2005/06/08: CIA-RDP79M0046IM1001700040016-3 STAT Mr. Young requested a study on Nr. Ellsberg in the latter part of July 1971, which Agency activity was apparently approved by iir. Velns- At that tiui';e, Mr. Young supplied raw material consisting principally of newspaper and magazine articles together with some State Department and Justice Department papers. The first assessment delivered to the Nhite FEouse dated 9 August 1971, was judged insufficient. As a result,. there-:Trere several meetings between Mr. Hunt, and Mr. Liddy, in which classified information of the Justice and State Departments was introduced. One such meeting occurred on 12 August.1971. Additional material WS transmitted by Mr. Hunt on 12 October, and another meeting was held on 27 October. These meetings led to a second version of the assessment, dated 9 November 1971. This document was delivered to the Executive Office STAT b; on 12 November 1971. Agency records indicate that Mr. Helms had previously communicated with Mr. Young indicating he had read both reports. In another contact "about October 1971," an Agency officer arranged to provide Mr. Hunt certain unclassified materials from CIA files: relative to a 1954 French case of leakage of Government documents. These were delivered to his office at the White House. In closing, I would like to stress several conclusions of my investigation so far: a. CIA had no awareness of the details of t,,Ir. Hunt's activities. The Agency's impression was that Mr. Hunt was engaged in an activity related to identifying and closing off the security leaks that were so much a preoccupation of the Government at the tire. Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 Approved Forlease 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M0046?--k001700040016-3 -6- b. The Agency clearly was insufficiently cautious in the initiation of its assistance to Mr. Hunt. Later, when the mature of Mr. Hunt's requests for assistance began to indicate a possible active involvement by the Agency in activities beyond its charter, the Agency terminated the relationship and refused further assistance- c. The preparation of a profile on an American citizen under these circumstances lies beyond the normal activity of the Agency- It shall not be repeated -- and I have so instructed the staff. This shall be made a part of the regulations. governing such activities. d. As Director, I have called for a review of all Agency activities and the termination of any which might be considered outside its legitimate charter. In addition to requesting this review from my subordinates, I have directed each employee and invited each ex-employee to submit to me any cases which they may question. I am determined that the Agency will not engage in activities outside of its charter but will concentrate its energies on its important intelligence mission. Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3 STA T STA Approved For i ease 2005/06/08: CIA-RDP79M SENDER WILL CHECK CLASSIFICATION TOP AND BOTTOM UNCLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL SECRET OFFICIAL ROUTING SLI Exec. titre Registry w7. TO NAME AND ADDRESS DATE INITIALS 2 4 5 6 ACTION DIRECT REPLY PREPARE REPLY APPROVAL DISPATCH RECOMMENDATION CO14 MENT FILE RETURN CONCURRENCE INFORMATION SIGNATURE Remarks: SENDER DA-M IAL SECR FORM no. 237 tist prarious , Iitions 1-67 t '04674Qp01700040016-3 Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79M00467AO01700040016-3