HSCA - A PROJECTION (KEY QUESTIONS AND TOPICS).
Originator: CIA
From: GABRIELSON, RODGER S.
Document date: 04/26/1978
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

SECRET

OLC 78-1544

26 April 1978

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT: House Select Committee on Assassinations - A Projection

1. (S) With less than eight months remaining until its final report to

Congress is due, the HSCA investigations have narrowed to a few key areas

which involve the Agency. Though the Committee mandate covers both

the King and Kennedy Assassinations, the majority of our contact has been

with the Kennedy investigators.

2. (S) The Kennedy Subcommittee is addressing four questions:

A. Who shot the President?

B. Was it a lone assassin or a conspiracy?

C. How did the agencies perform:

(1) prior to the assassination;

(2) protecting the President;

!.:.

(3) during the subsequent investigations?

D. Is any new legislation necessary?

(S) Initally, the Kennedy Subcommittee had organized into four

functional groups:

A. Cuban-Connection Task Force led by Bill Triplett

B. Oswald Task Force led by Ken Klein

C. Organized Crime Task Force. led by John Hornbeck

D. CIA Involvement in the Assassination and Performance During

Subsequent Inquiries Task Force led by Mickey Goldsmith.

Most recent contact between OLC and HSCA staff has involved the Oswald and

ClA Involvement-Performance Task Forces. All groups have had access to

CIA files, principally from Personnel, Security and DDO.

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4. (S) Following are what now appear to be the possible topics for

public hearings which involve the Agency and issues which may arise

with HISCA.

CUBAN CONNECTION TASK FORCE

This grouphas reviewed post Bay of Pigs material including the

Cuban Counterrevolutionary Handbook, 1964, which details personalities

and operations of Miami-based groups. G. Robert Blakey, Chief Counsel

and Staff Director, has been to Havana.

(1) (S) Possible Topics for Public Hearings

(a)

Results of the Havana visit which may include a Castro

sponsored interview with AM/LASH. This may require a CIA

spokesman to define the CIA - AM/LASH connection.

(b) Operations of anti-Castro Cubans, Miami-based, for

which CIA documents (Cuban Counterrevolutionary Handbook

- 1964) may be necessary.

(c) Former DCI Colby discussions with Claire Booth Luce

regarding the Bayo-Pawley affair.

(d) The scope and nature of CIA files regarding Marita Lorenz-

Castro-Sturgis. This may require CIA spokesman.

(2) (S) Issues:

No major issues at the moment.

OSWALD TASK FORCE

This group has reviewed most of the Oswald file as well as many other "20ls"

referenced therein. Though the Epstein book may drive the majority of the public

hearings toward the Nosenko issue, the group is exploring other issues which may

be aired.

(1) (S) Possible Topics for Public Hearings

(a) Nosenko's knowledge of Oswald and his own credibility.

Nosenko can be expected to be called, possibly Golitsyn, too. Not

Deryabin (too dated) • This may require a CIA spokesman to

attest to the present CIA position on credibility.

Others may be

called: Helms, Colby, Angleton, Bagley, Miler, Hart, Epstein

and possibly Len McCoy and Bruce Solie.

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DGI.

(b) Rameriz Ortiz's knowledge of Oswald's file in Cuban

Rameriz Ortiz, presently in Leavenworth Prison, wrote

of a file on Oswald in Cuba. LA Division has reviewed the.

Rameriz Ortiz book and provided follow-up items to the Committee.

As this is new material, it is likely to be aired and may require

a CIA spokesman.

Rameriz Ortiz has given executive session

testimony already.

(c) Priscilla Johnson McMillan may be called to discuss

her contacts with Oswald in Moscow at which time her CIA "witting

source" affiliation may be exposed. She gave executive session

testimony last week, and staff indicated that they had follow-up

issues as a result but would not share their issues. If the CIA

relationship is presented, Gary Coit (retired, DCD) may be

subpoenaed.

(d) James Wilcott, former CIA finance officer in (Tokyo

(Station, testified in executive session that Oswald had a

relationship with the CIA. The press picked it up, and the HSCA

has been forced to pursue the issue.

HSCA staff have interviewed

former Tokyo Station officers and are about to interview former

Agency employees stationed at the Atsugi U-2 base. Oswald

served at Atsugi in 1958, although at an entirely separate

location from our activity. Though Wilcott may be recalled for

public hearings, the course of the staff interest is not firm

enough to predict. At the maximum we may be called to define....

our activities at Atsugi, 1957-60. A CIA spokesman may be

required.

Serendipity may get Garbler/Kovich before the Committee.

Garbler/Kovich may be called to exemplify the fallout from

the Nosenko/Golitsyn issue. The most recent tip-off of this

possibility is that the Committee has asked to interview former

COS and DCOS of Moscow during the Garbler era. The Committee

may provide the forum that both may revel in and, since the HSCA

is chartered to recommend legislation as a result of its efforts,

it may be a possible source of private-bills for them. Messrs.

Colby and Bush may also be called.

(2) (S) Issues:

(a) HSCA has requested Nosenko's 1964, 1967 polygraph

charts.

After reviewing these, they may/may not request to polygraph

Nosenko himself. What is our position?

(b) If documentary material is requested for Nosenko

hearings, should it be provided? (Transcripts of OS interviews, etc•)

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(c) Should Nosenko's executive session hearing, scheduled

for 31 May, be video taped such that the tape could become the

basis for any future public hearing?

(d) If Nosenko requests counsel, who provides/pays?

Should the Hart report be made available, as it appears

the HSCA is backing into its substance anyway?

ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE

After an initial surge of interest by the HSCA staff in CIA files last year

of Johnny Rosselli, William Maheu, et;al, no investigators have followed-up.

The scope and nature of any future hearings are difficult to predict. No issues

are pending:

CIA INVOLVEMENT/PERFORMANCE TASK FORCE

Officially, this group is an adjunct service element to the other groups.

Its activities hop from issue to issue but some areas appear of specific

interest to them.

(1) (S) Possible Topics for Public Hearings

(a) Performance of Mexico City Station in reporting on

Oswald. Anne Goodparture's testimony in executive session may

be reviewed in public session. She may be called to comment

upon the personalities of Win Scott and Station personnel.

Phillips appeared in executive session, too. (Barbara and Herbert

Mannell will be deposed in lieu of a hearing. Any public hearing

on Mexico City will ultimately hit upon sources and methods (Soviet/

Cuban Embassy tele-taps and photographic surveillance). One of the

issues being investigated is the Agency's management of those

operations.

A CIA senior spokesman may be needed to testify to

protect sources and methods.

(b) David Christ was questioned about his activities on

22 November 1963.

He resembled the "unidentified man"

of Dallas.

Our records on his exact activities are vague. As this is a "flashy"

issue, the Committee may press for a public hearing. This would

jeopardize Christ and the others and would be tantamount to

having the U.S. Government admit publicly to an old CIA operation on

Cuban soil at a time when the Administration may be courting Cuba.

(c) E. Howard Hunt may be called to discuss a report of the

assassination which he purportedly wrote while at the Plumbers Unit.

HSCA has requested access to our files on Hunt/Watergate. We have

no known records of any such report.

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(2) (S) Issues:

(a) The Agency did not provide any of the previous

investigations (Warren-Church) the depth of access to its files

as we now are to the HSCA.. Nor do we provide the same degree of

access to either the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence or

the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (i.e. DDO

201 files and other sources and methods material).

prepared to comment upon our relationship with this Committee.

(b). The Agency released to the public through the Warren

Commission Report a cropped version of the Mexico City

"unidentified man" photograph. As this photograph was from

a photographic surveillance operation and as several other

photographs from the same operation have been cropped and

supplied to the Committee, are we prepared to release all

of these other photographs

to the public if requested?

5. (S) The immediate future of the Committee as it involves the

Agency is:

Deryabin interview

- 27 April

Golitsyn interview.

- 4 May

Deposition - 19 May

Nosenko interview

- 11 May

- 25, 26 May

- 30 May

Executive Session Hearing - 31 May

Bruce Solie interview - 9 May

Deposition - 22 May

June and July will see a flourish of executive session hearings in preparation

for August recess.

September will see approximately 20 days of public

hearings on King and 20 days on Kennedy

6. (S) Although the King Subcommittee has not been active with our

files, one memorandum of conversation with Office of Security, May 1965,

indicated "King might possibly be assassinated"

, and Security presumes this

"this information was passed to FBI through normal liaison channels. HSCA

has not yet reviewed this file although it is available to them. There

do not appear to be any other preassassination items in the King file.

At the cónclusion of the HSCA's investigation, we may be left

with material gathered in response to HSCA requests which has not been

completely reviewed by HSCA staff investigators. They are far behind at the

moment. The Committee has requested access to files on over 368 individuals.

DDO has 245 files ready for review of which 105 have been reviewed. Security

has 146 files and two polygraphs ready for review of which 50 files have been

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reviewed.

Their options may be: to rapidly scan all remaining material

so they can reflect in their final report that they had seen it all; to not finish

their review and remand the material to 30 years storage under our Memorandum

of Understanding; to pass the material to the custody of the House Permanent

Select Committee on Intelligence for use in developing any needed future

legislation, i.e. an intelligence charter.

Regardless, I believe we must

prepare all materials for 30 years retention and should be prepared to see

the material remanded to a safe storage out of our custody.

If the material

remains unreviewed by HSCA staff at the conclusion of their investigation,

then the future skeptics may still have a cause celebre. In the final analysis,

it works to both the CIA nad HSCA image to complete the job and I have attempted

on repeated occasions to call this to G: Robert Blakey's attention.

Distribution:

1 - OLC Subject

1 - OLC Chron

OLC:RSG:jms (26 Apr 78)

EGRET.

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