MEETINGS WITH HSCA COMMITTEE AND STAFF MEMBERS
Originator: CIA
From: S.D. BRECKINRIDGE
To: MEMO FOR RECORD
Document date: 1978-08-14 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

# DOCID-32401173

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JEK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD NUMBER

:104-10145-10332

RECORD

SERIES

JFK

AGENCY FILE

NUMBER

80T01357A

DOCUMENT. INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : CIA

FROM

: S.D. BRECKINRIDGE

TO : MEMO FOR RECORD

TITLE

MEETINGS WITH HSCA COMMITTEE AND STAFF MEMBERS

DATE

08/14/1978

PAGES : 4

SUBJECTS : HSCA

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER

CLASSIFICATION

:SECRET

RESTRICTIONS

1B

CURRENT STATUS

RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

: 08/09/93

COMMENTS

: JFK59: F11: 1993.08.09.09:38:00:400053

Heleased under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of

1992 (44 USC 2107 Note). Case#:NW

65924 Date: 10-26-2021

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

104-10145-10332

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.=

?

OUS NAMOND OUT

21010 47 2 745

14 August 1978

HSCA

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT : Meetings with HSCA Committee and Staff Members

1. Messis. McMahon, Hitz and I met on Friday afternoon

with Representative Devine, Chairman Stokes, Representative

Preyer of the HSCA and then with Staff Director Latimer of

HPSCI. Upon return to the Headquarters building Mr. Joannides

and I met with Mr. Cornwell of HSCA and with Messrs. Hardway

and Berk of his staff. This last meeting resumed early

Monday morning with Mr. Cornwell meeting with Messrs. Sturbitts

and Hawkins of LA Division, Mr. Shepanek, Mr. Joannides and

the undersigned.

2. In the meetings with the three Representatives, Mr.

McMahon outlined our concerns over sensitive matters involved

in the Mexico City and Nosenko issues and requested that if

that subject matter is to be treated in the hearings that it

be in executive session. He made it clear that the treatment

of Nosenko by the Agency was not, of itself, subject to

sensitive

security considerations; however, any discussion

of his bona fides and the sensitive information received from

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him should not be exposed to publicity.

3. Representative Devine is clearly supportive. He

stated that he is opposed to "spreading defamation" of

Government

agencies. He had opposed creation of the Committee

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F.873

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but when it was

established asked to be on it. He

appreciated

the points on intelligence protection and recommended talking

to other

members.

4.

Mr. Blakey was with Chairman Stokes when we met with

the latter. Chairman Stokes expressed his appreciation for the

need to exercise care in conducting public hearings. Apparently,

not having been kept up to date by Mr. Blakey he said that we had

refused access"to our agents, an impression that we corrected.

Although his statements were appropriate they were also

general and we emphasized the need for adequate lead time

in planning how to handle the matter. Representative Preyer

was interested in a series of specific questions. Most of

these questions arose out of the propaganda show currently under-

way in Havana. In addition to talking about the sensitivity of

the telephone and photography operations, explaining how the

Warren Commission had handled the information, we also addressed

the questions of whether or not Oswald was the person who

went to the Cuban Consulate, the question of whether AMLASH

was a double agent, and the general line being advanced from

Havana as part of an attack on CIA. Representative Preyer was

clearly familiar with a number of the issues and asked for

our suggestions and help.

5. The meeting with Tom Latimer was to apprise him of the

fact that we were talking to members of the Committee and

trying to have those portions of the testimony that are sensi-

tive held in executive session.

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6. The meeting with Cornwell ran from about 1745 to

1930. It involved a discussion of files. We discussed our

requirment for a refinement and

specification of the informa-

tion that they wanted from personnel folders. We took the

occasion to urge them once more to give some consideration

to a more orderly approach to doing business with us,

pointing out that the priority claims by independent

investigators Cannot be honored in the absence of written

verification by the Staff Director. We agreed to look

into the question of the Mexico City history and asked that they

consider those elements that they really wish to see.

7. At this morning's meeting I first described to

Mr. Cornwell the nature of the Proenza case. In response

to his questions I ascertained and reported to him that the

Agency had no contact with Proenza, nor did we have any

record that she had been in contact with Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. Cornwell did not say that the information I gave him

would suffice,

so we may hear from him further on this.

I asked him to report the result of our discussion only

to Mr. Blakey and Representative Stokes.

8.

We discussed the file of AMMUG, which Mr. Joannides

understands is now ready for review. The only Office of

Personnel file that we discussed was that of former Agency

employee, Bill Harvey, now deceased. The period in his

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SEGRET

career in which they are interested is from the end of 1961,

when he was first assigned responsibility for the plot with

the criminal syndicate, through his service as Chief of the

Cuban task force and his period as Chief of Station, Rome

(the interest in the latter assignment being due to Harvey's

reported contact with Johnny Roselli). Arrangements were

made to use this file as a test case for reviewing OPF's,

discussing the problems presented and settling them.

9. The history presented a different problem. It is

almost entirely devoted to the history of the Mexico City

Station for the period 194 until the late 1960's when it

was written. Only a few pages treat with Oswald: and the

questions arising out of the Warren Commission investigation.

Some of the facts concerning Oswald are in error, showing.

his arrival in Mexico City the day before he got there,

with his departure being four days later than it actually

was. After one minor sanitzation, we agreed to show the

Table of Contents to Mr. Cornwell, without his taking notes,

following which he was to request those sections he was

interested in seeing. The sections that he requested are

on their face far broader than his area of authorized

investigation, which he was told. We undertook to review

these sections

and then discuss with him the questions

presented by his request.

CC: SA/ DDCI

DDO (Mr. Shepanek)

LA Division (Mr. Sturbitts)

OGC (Mr. Rininger)

632!

4

S.D. Breckinridge

Distribution:

Orig. - OLC/Subject

- OLC/Chrono

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