MEMO:TELEPHONE CONVERSATION W/KENNETH BROOTEN, FORMER ASST. COUNSEL HSCA
Agency: CIA
Originator: CIA
From: CUMMINS. OLC
To: THE RECORD
Document date: 05/16/1977
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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104-10147-10128|

GONFIDENTIAL

OLC 77-1971

L6 May 197

INd - BrooteN

HS CA

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

77-0041

SUBJECT: Telephone Conversation with Mr. Kenneth Brooten, Former

Assistant Counsel, House Select Committee on Assassinations

(HSCA)

1. On 11 May 1977, the Office of Legislative Counsel received a

telephone call from the office of Representative Henry Gonzalez

(D., Texas) asking that this office contact Mr. Brooten, who is now

practicing law in Florida.

It was stated that he had information of

interest about the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

The

undersigned responded to this request but was unable to reach Mr.

Brooten until this date, since he was out of town.

2. I reached Mr. Brooten in his office in Florida and identified

myself to him as representing the Office of Legislative Counsel of the

CIA. I reminded him of the last time we had met in December 1976 when he

was still a member of the HSCA staff.

He said that he recalled that

Mr. Brooten stated that he had been receiving "dribbles of

information"', which he termed as third hand and hearsay, indicating to him

that someone who purported to represent CIA was making general inquiries

about the modus operandi of Mr. Richard A. Sprague, the former Chief

Counsel of the HSCA. When I learned the intent of his call, I asked

Mr. Brooten for his permission to have my secretary monitor the conver-

sation so that we could have an accurate transcript.

He agreed to this.

The purpose of his contacting us was to offer his views on how Sprague

and his people had operated in the past and would operate in the future.

When I mentioned that Mr. Sprague was no longer

with the Committee, Brooten answered most emphatically by saying Sprague

"hired most of the people on that staff except me." I responded that

the HSLA was George Cary's and my account and that I knew nothing about

any such

inquiries nor would I even know why such questions would be

asked.

3. We ended the conversation on a pleasant note and I tried to

leave the impression with him that we would not be contacting him further

on this matter.

Office of Legislative Counsel

Distribution:

2. i

i signer

Original - OLC Subject 1 - OLC Chrono

1 - OGC (Morrison)

1 - SA/ DO/O

* - Asst, to DDCI (Lou Lapham)

1 - IG (Leader)

1 - Dir/OS

22213

OLC: DTC: hms (16 May 1977)

CONFIGENTIAL

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