Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, National Security Affairs, Volume II, Part 2

A/MS files, lot 54 D 291, “IIA, 1953”

Memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Administration (Scott) to the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Policy and Plans, United States International Information Agency(Connors)

confidential

[Washington,] February 27, 1953.

The Office of Security has been doing everything possible to be of assistance with reference to your memorandum dated February 20.¹ They have been in contact with the FBI, CIA and House Un-American Activities Committee and have been informed that these agencies do not have any such list as you request. If IIA will submit a list of people whose work has been used in the past as well as a list of people whose work IIA intends to use in the future, the Office of Security will take these lists and conduct “name checks” with the FBI, CIA, House Un-American Activities Committee and the Division of Biographic Information in the Department. The results of these checks could then be passed along to IIA for their guidance and use.

It may be necessary that funds be made available by IIA to cover the costs of these checks, particularly if the number of names submitted is large.²

W.K. Scott

1. Ante, p. 1673.
2. On Mar. 2, Scott transmitted to Scott McCleod, the new Administrator of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, copies of this memorandum and of the Connors memorandum of Feb. 20. In a covering memorandum, Scott wrote that in view of McCleod’s assumption of office it was important that McCleod be apprised of “this important problem promptly”. (A/MS files, lot 54 D 291, “IIA, 1953”)