MEETING WITH GARY CORNWELL
Agency: CIA
Originator: CIA
From: BRECKINRIDGE, S. D.
Document date: 8/4/78
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

104-10065-10096

GLC $78 2501

4 August 1978

78.5011

MENORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT: Meeting with Gary Cornwell

1. Cornwell cane out today to complete arrangements

for the Mexico trip.

After talking with his people on

the HSCA work area, he met with Niles Gooding, Norbert

Shepanek, Martin Hawkins, Bill Sturbitts and

Wewhad heard that the Embassy had not located

persons to be interviewed (but were told to not upstage

State) so asked if the trip was on. Cornwell said it

was, despite what seemed few to interview.

2. The Mexican trip poses no unrecognized problems.

The HSCA people will first interview Agency employee

Flores in alias, on Monday afternoon if possible, as

(Flores is scheduled for leave.

Gooding will arrange the

interview of the safehouse person who has agreed to come

his recent exposure by the Communist affair in Havana

and is not available for interview in Mexico City.

have not been able to locate June Cobb Sharp or Henry

Lopez.

Cornwell apologized for the use of Agency pictures

without checking with us.

He said he simply did not recall

the limitation that accompanied them. I

said we "probably

would have agreed to using them, but probably would have

liked to intluence the way in which they were presented.

I added that it provided an opportunity to speak about

handing out material, also saying that is an ill wind that

blows no good, as it

had resulted in identifying one of the

people. We told him the material would be available for

review soon.

4. He asked about access to the Hidalgo OPF.

pointed out that the issue of unrefined access to OPFs

had been the subject of a lotter to Blakey, explaining

the

questions in the minds of employees about their future

carcers.

We were asking for a refinement in the information

requested - what periods of service did they wish for what

SECUET

06160

---

## Page 2

14-00000

purpose.

He then

aslied if he could see the Hidalgo filc

for the 1960-63 period. It was pointed out that

the

interest had been understood to be

Hidalgo's period as

case officer for AMMUG, which didn't conmence until 1964.

He said he would like to start at the 1960-63 period and

go from there.

I replied that this approach would take

us back to where we had been and that it would be preferted

if consideration were to be given just what is wanted and

why, and submit it in writing.

He said it would he out

first thing Monday morning and I promised first attention.

5.

Ile asked about AMMUG's file. Messrs. Sturbitts

and Hawkins explained the problem presented:

the record

revealed the extensive use of MUG after he became available

to us,

and this had to be reviewed in detail by a number

of different desks.

This took time. It becane apparent

that they were really interested in

the "Mexican" period,

which may suggest how the file is of interest to them.

6. He asked about Casasin's file. Everything had

been agrced

about his interview in Paris, but as

a former

employee his file had been retired to Archives and had to

be retrieved.

It was now in and would soon be available.

As the HSCA investigator was not planning travel for some

time yet, there was time to handle this.

7.

He asked about the Proenza file. I said that I

had offered to brief Blakey cither at the Agency when no

next appears there, or at his office. I felt that when he

understood the nature of the case, and what

he

would understand why it was not relevant. I said we didn'

know why they were interested in Proenza, so had to guess

at it.

She had been iccalled to Cuba shortly after the

assassination of. President Kennedy, which may have: inter-

ested brilled, and I declined in favor of waitin

but we knew why she was recalled. He wanted

to bricf

Blakey.

8.

I took the occasion to speak again,

as had been

done several times before in both writing and orally, that

there is a need to bring some order to the requests tron

HSCA.

We knew there was

a loss of interest in some re-

quests--material had been untouched for months after it

had been made available. At the same time, as time con-

straints grow, his young men are getting excited

and each

feels that his current request should receive priority

over others.

In, the absence of stated priorities. we simply

have to work on

the carlier requests in order to prevent

a back-log accumulating; this will impair responsiveness

SACREY

---

## Page 3

14-00000

..:

to bona fide current priority roquests. He acknowledged

the presentation of the problems but made no statement

(as

is customary) .

S. D. Breckinridge

Distribution:

Orig

1

1

smand Send

OLC/Subj

SA/DDGE

DDO

DDA

- OLC/Chron

---