LETTER TO GENE CRYER FROM GEORGE V. LAUDER RE ALL AGENCY EMPLOYEES ACCEPT, AS A

Created: 7/9/1985

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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Mr. Gene Cryer Editor

Ft. Lauderdale.

Ft. Lauderdale,ear Mr. Cryer:

Your editorial of5 suggesting that the Central Intelligence Agency wields an arbitrary censorship power over its present and former officials may tend to mislead your readers. All Agency employees accept,ondition of employment with CIA, that they will submit anything they write about intelligence to pre-publication review. This review process is designed to insure that there is no Inadvertent release of classified information, and makes no attempt to alter the views of Agency authors or to correct their errors.

The charges leveled by Admiral Stansfleld Turner, suggesting that the CIA Insisted that he remove unclassified material from his book, have no validity. Admiral Turner's manuscript was subjected to the same carefully formulated classification standards that have been applied to hundreds of other authors. The Agency's experience with this process, which was indeed instituted by Admiral Turner when he was Oirector of Central Intelligence, shows that itnly effective when the same standards are applied equally

to all.

Your statement that the CIA has not commented publicly on Admiral Turner's charges is Incorrect. In fact, the Agencytatement on5 about Admiral Turner's allegations,opyttached for your use. The committees of the Congress are well aware of CIA's publications review process, and there has been no effort to sweep this cas< under the rug.' The Central Intelligence Agency is devoted to providing itsnation's most senior policythe truth. It makes no effort to prevent either Its critics or Its supporters from writing or orally presenting their views, as long as national securityrotected.

Sincerely,

George V. Lauder Director, Public Affairs

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