Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
(00:04:38) Opens to testimony of CIA Director WILLIAM COLBY who is explaining for Senator WALTER HUDDLESTON why the CIA was working with shellfish toxins (00:05:36) Senator BARRY GOLDWATER makes a statement to the committee that there is a danger in the Senate investigation of going to far in exposing secret operations and ruining the agencies involved, he goes on to say he is proud of the CIA and praises its representatives that have testified and recommends the intelligence agencies as a good place of employment for the nation's youth - Colby thanks Goldwater for the pat on the back (00:07:23) Goldwater and Colby discuss surveilance and defense against foreign chemical and biological weapons programs (00:08:43) Senator MORGAN gives a long winded statement as to why the nation continues to need the CIA to preserve the national security, he then asks Colby if it's possible that the shellfish toxins were not destroyed because they were part of the nation's defense program against biological or chemical attack - Colby responds that this is a weak defense, especially considering the amount of shellfish toxin the CIA had in its possession
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
(00:11:34) Morgan and Colby discuss Colby's position in the CIA at the time the shellfish toxin's were to have been destroyed and the existence of foreign chemical and biological weapons programs (00:13:27) Committee Chairman FRANK CHURCH recognizes Senator CHARLES MATHIAS, Mathias and Colby discuss the relationship between CIA operations and the Constitution, MATHIAS states there is a need to define the relationship between the constitutional process and the operations of the CIA - Colby responds that the CIA is already responsible to report to six different government committees, including a congressional one, all thier domestic intelligence operations - Mathias in turn responds that he knows many congressional members who have shyed away from attending such committees, saying they "don't want to know" (00:19:35) Church pipes in that he agrees with Mathias about congressional reponsibility to survey the CIA but he stresses that the CIA needs to do a better job of surveying itself and knowing what is going on within it, that its policy of excessive secrecy is keeping improper activities alive
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
(00:21:04) Church recognizes Senator GARY HART, Hart asks if Colby can vouch that there are no other chemical or biological poisons stored elsewhere within the country - Colby cannot - Hart then asks Colby to define the term compartmentization - Colby defines it as the keeping of sensitive information to a limited circle of CIA employees - Hart asks if the director of the CIA has limited access to compartmentalized information - Colby says no (00:23:22) Hart and Colby discuss the possibility of improper activities continuing within the CIA and staying concealed under the veil of compartmentization - Colby says that new structures of organization have been implemented to prevent this but that it still could happen, Colby adds that outside supervision (e.g. Congressional) will only help to increase internal supervision (00:27:40) Hart and Colby discuss the CIA's relationship to vulnerability tests that were conducted to see how easily susceptible the U.S. was to a chemical or biological attack - Colby says the CIA was informed about the results of the tests and says with the exception of LSD tests conducted on unwitting subjects no one was harmed in these tests
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
(00:30:30) Church recognizes Senator SCHWEIKER (?), Schweiker wants to know why there's a discrepancy in different reports issued at different times between the amounts of shellfish toxin found in CIA possession, when Colby cannot give an explanation Schweiker says this implicates the Army in trying to hold on to its supply of the toxin, Schweiker then asks Colby about codes affiliated with the toxin (00:37:10) Schweiker and Colby discuss other toxins found in CIA possession, whether or not they fall under a clause in the Presidential order to get rid of all chemical and biological weapons that allows for the possession of such weapons for the purpose of defense research, Schweiker also asks Colby about being approached by someone wanting to use the toxins for CIA operations
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
(00:39:30) Finally Schweiker asks about a carbon copy of a memorandum issued within the CIA requesting that the toxins be moved from Army base Fort Deitrich to another location in Baltimore (00:41:11) Church puts it to Colby about the above mentioned memorandum, in this memorandum, directed to the then director of the CIA RICHARD HELMS, the Presidential order of destruction of chemical and biological weapons is addressed with regard to the CIA's stock of such weapons, the memorandum gives the option of moving toxins from Fort Deitrich to a private storage lab in Baltimore with the expressed intent of by-passing the Presidential directive, Church then wants to know why a written order was not authored within the CIA to destroy these toxins - Colby says assumptions were made that the destuction would just happen, Colby adds he intends to run a tighter ship
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
(00:47:36) Church and Colby discuss the original reasoning of the National Security Council's legal authorization of the CIA to develop and possess chemical weapons such as the toxins, Colby explains that such toxins were to be used in "covert actions" such as paramilitary operations abroad, Colby concedes however that the quantity of toxins in CIA possession was excessive (00:52:30) Senator JOHN TOWER asks how prevalent insubordination is in the CIA such as that revealed in the shellfish toxin case and what is going to be done about it - Colby responds that the discipline is tight in the CIA and that this incident was an exception (00:55:03) Tower and Colby discuss the effectiveness of oral orders versus written ones then move on to when National Security Council authorization was needed with regard to use of chemical weapons
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
(00:57:09) Church recognizes Senator WALTER MONDALE, Mondale requests to speak with Mr. STEVENS, Mondale asks Stevens about his investigation of the CIA about the toxins and the failure to destroy them, Stevens says his investigation was only so thorough, that he was only able to interview a few former CIA employees and that they had no obligation to tell him everything - Mondale confirms that everyone at the CIA knew of the Presidential directive to destroy the toxins, and knew that if applied to their possessions (01:00:45) Mondale tries to get at why the Presidentail directive was not carried out - Stevens answers that the people who were working with the toxins did not want to sacrifice their chemicals and labor - Mondale and Colby discuss Dr. GORDON's hand in preserving the toxins (01:04:35) Mondale brings up the issue of accountability and how everyone dodges the blame within the CIA, Church pipes in to inquire whether people who disregarded the Presidential directive are still employees of the CIA - Colby responds that one of them is (01:06:20) Church recognizes MATHIAS who is abruptly cut off by the tape's end