HW 53216 eo 13 September 1977 MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. Anthony E. Goldin Assistant General Counsel (DDO) FROM > Joyce R. Herrmann Chief of Operations, NE Division SUBJECT : Use of Communication Information Obtained From U.S. Firms for use Against Foreign Targets . REFERENCE : Your Memorandum to C/NE/TOS Concerning Collins Radio Company Activities in Morocco dated 16 August 1977 1. This memorandum which grows out of the conversation we had in your office on 8 September 1977 in which Mr. Michael Prompovitch (C/NE/TOS) participated, will serve to update the information on which your memorandum of 16 August 1977 is based and to correct any earlier misconceptions. 2. Over the past year Mr. Prompovitch has collected technical information on various sensitive communications systems in numerous Middle East and North African countries from U.S. commercial company personnel with whom he has been in contact because of his duties. Because of the good personal rapport he established with various officers in these companies he was able to obtain from them blue prints, drawings, and other technical data, specifically; frequencies, location of sites, network drawings, channel allocations, and user identities. We plan to use this foreign intelligence to penetrate selected communications targets abroad. 3. Appearing below is a list of the companies and the officers from whom Mr. Prompovitch obtained the information, and the countries where we hope to mount operations: E2 IMPDET CL BY 054979 o4e oki GIA Ge et AOA Ee. Docld: 32358065 Page 15
SECRET Company Officer | Country Motorola Radio Corporation Vice President in Morocco Chicago, Illinois Le ' Charge of Marketing Algeria , for Middle East © - Egypt Abu Dhabi Vice President in Syria Charge of Marketing , for Africa - Collins Radio Company Manager of Special Egypt Dallas, Texas. Projects Division Morocco Datotek Corporation President of Dato- Egypt Dailas, Texas © tek Corporation Telcom Corporation Executive Vice Pres- Saudi Arabia Tysons Corner, Virginia ident in Charge of — Jordan oe Domestic Sales Uganda | Egypt Stromberg Carlson Corporation Marketing Agent for Various Arab Syracuse, New York Domestic Sales States 4, In every case the corporate officer knew that Mr. Prom- ~~ povitch was a CIA officer and a specialist in communications and realized that the information he was passing to Mr. Prompo- vitch would be put to further use by the U.S. Government. In | every case the information was given freely to Mr. Prompovitch; no rewards of any kind were given for the documents received from these companies. 5. We are attaching a determination by C/NE that the information obtained by Mr. Prompovitch constitutes foreign intelligence pertaining to the communications systems used by foreign powers and as such can be used by us or by NSA over- seas. It is our intention to obtain similar information by similar means from other U.S. commercial companies for further operational use overseas. 6. The Central Cover Staff (Mr. Joel Keys C/CCS/CC) has ‘been informed of the above. Reeth, PUVAAM Cec Joyce R. Herrmann Attachment ec: = 6CCS 2 —S-E-¢ REE AW .53216. DocId: 32356065 Page 16
SUBJECT: DETERMINATION THAT CERTAIN INFORMATION CONSTITUTES FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE I am aware of the contents of the documents obtained by Mr. Michael Prompovitch from the various U.S. commercial firms listed in the accompanying memorandum and have determined that this information ‘constitutes foreign intelligence as defined in Section 5(a) (5) of Executive Order 11905. SIGNED: (lindane _ | . | C/NE : . DATE: — 9 [A -B2 IMPDET - CL BY 056109 HW 953216 Docld:327358065 Page 17
OGL 71-9726 16 August 1977 MEMORANDUM FOR: C/NE/TOS ATTENTION : Mr. Michael R. Prompovitch FROM : Anthony E. Goldin. Assistant General Counsel (DDO) SUBJECT - +: Memorandum of 25 July 1977 Concerning Collins Radio Company Activities in Morocco 1. This memorandum is in response to your question as to whether the Subject documents can be disseminated to the National Security Agency (NSA). 2. It is understood that an acquaintance of yours, employed by Collins Radio, gave the Subject documents to you without your asking him for them and without your either offering to pay or paying him for his voluntary act. It is also understood that your acquaintance is witting of your CIA employment. The Subject documents are: (1) a Collins proposal, already presented to the Government of Morocco (GOM), for a high frequency communications system; and, (2) an interrial Collins memorandum proposing a Collins response to a GOM request for a foreign broadcast monitoring system. Collins did not specifically authorize its employee to pass Subject documents to this Agency and is not aware .that they have been given to us. “Sr 3. Section 5(b)(7) of Executive Order 11905 prohibits a CIA from the collection of information, however acquired, concerning the domestic activities of United States (U.S.) persons. "Collection" is defined at Section 5(a) (1) to mean any one or more of the gathering, analyzing, disseminating and storing of non-publicly available information without the informed express consent of the subject of the information. A U.S. person is defined at Section 5(b)(9) to be a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident alien or a corporation or organization incorporated or organized in the U.S. : . x 4. Based upon the above facts, I see no issue of legality or propriety in your having received these documents E2 IMPDET HW 53216 Docld:32358065 Page 18 CL BY 198950
from the Collins employee. This is an example of what is referred to as the "silver platter" doctrine -- you did nothing to solicit, encourage or reward the Collins employee; you did not intentionally or purposefully "gather" the documents. 5. CIA cannot, however, disseminate the documents, which apparently constitute non-publicly available information, unless authorized by Executive Order 11905. Section 5(b)(7) (1) of the Order is an exception to the Section 5(b)(7) restriction, and it authorizes us to "collect"! information concerning corporations which constitutes foreign intelligence or counter- intelligence. Foreign intelligence. is defined at Section 5(a) (5) to mean information concerning the capabilities, intentions and activities of any foreign power, or of any non-U.S. person, whether within or outside the U.S., or concerning areas outside the U.S. It is as much a substantive decision as it is a legal determination whether these documents constitute foreign intelligence. 6. I recommend that a decision whether the documents constitute foreign intelligence be made by Chief, Near East Division (C/NE), or another, appropriate senior officer in NE Division. I think C/NE could properly determine that they constitute foreign intelligence based upon my understanding that they describe the communications system a foreign power is acquiring or seeks to acquire. I am not, however, "au courant" in the fine points of such matters. . If C/NE determines the documents constitute- foreign intelligence, I believe it would be prudent to delete the names of the U.S. persons mentioned in document (2) (described above) before sending it to NSA. nthony E. HW 53216 Docld:32358065 Page 19