Documents / FOIA release
This is a letter dated 24 December 1974 from CIA Director W. E. Colby to the President, with annexes attached. It responds to a New York Times article about CIA domestic intelligence activity. The letter denies that the Agency ran a "massive" domestic effort. It traces a counterintelligence program on foreign links with American dissidents, which ran from 1967 until it was ended in March 1974, and admits improper actions such as mail opening, break-ins and the surveillance of reporters. The attached memoranda restrict such activities.
“Cooper”8 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Plans Deputy Director for Intelligence Deputy Director for Support Deputy Director for Science and Technology 1. I recently have reviewed the Agency's efforts to monitor those international activities of radicals and black militants which may affect the national security. I believe that we have the proper approach in discharging this sensitive responsibility, while strictly observing the statutory and de facto proscriptions on Agency domestic involvements. 2. My understanding is that OCI carries this responsibility in the Intelligence Directorate, and that arrangements have been made in each geographic division to ensure continuing coverage of pertinent activities and systematic compilation of useful information. Mr. Corscadden's reassignment removes from the scene an experienced and knowledgeable analyst of these matters, and it is my hope that a suitable replacement will be found and developed. 3. I appreciate that there are several components in the Clandestine Service with a legitimate operational interest in the radical milieux. At the same time, it should be understood that Mr. Ober's Special Operations Group of CI Staff has the principal operational responsibility for coordinating and developing operations to collect information on aspects of activities abroad which have a direct bearing on U.S. radical and black militant movements. I expect that area divisions and senior staffs will be fully cooperative in this effort, both in exploiting existing sources and in developing new ones, and that Mr. Ober will have the necessary access to such sources and operational assets. 4. It is most important to ensure that Mr. Ober's Group has a small coterie of knowledgeable, effective officers. He needs two kinds of people: skilled analysts who can produce written material coherently and quickly, and experienced operations officers, ideally with a demonstrated ability to work in this sensitive area. If the right people are scarce and already ensconced in other activities, a select few nonetheless ought to be broken away for assignment to CI Staff. Approved for Release Date 7 MAR 1985
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 76 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.