29. Memorandum From the Deputy Director for Coordination, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (Trueheart) to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Johnson)1

SUBJECT

  • RFE and RL

At the meeting yesterday in the Secretaryʼs office, the only public stance on RFE and RL which seemed to offer a way out of the dilemma with which we are confronted was to dissociate the radios from the Katzenbach report. That is to say, the present administration would take the position that it had looked into the situation thoroughly and had concluded that RFE and RL are not “educational or private voluntary organizations” and hence the policy recommended by the Katzenbach Committee does not apply to them.

I talked to Cord Meyer about this solution and he in turn has spoken to the RFE/RL people in New York. He tells me that the latter believe that they can live with this solution, provided we do not go further and explicitly acknowledge that the radios are supported by the government. By this I believe they mean that the position of the radios in the host countries would not be jeopardized and that the prominent persons associated with the radios in this country would not be embarrassed. I gather also that CIA itself could accept this solution.

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The proposed solution is not different in principle from one cleared with the ranking Republican and Democratic members of the CIA watchdog committees in 1967, so there should be a good chance that Congress would go along with continued CIA funding.

The remaining question is whether the approach is feasible in terms of press relations. I am inclined to think that it is. I presume that we would volunteer nothing but await a specific question about the radios. However the question might be put, the reply would be that the new administration has looked into this matter very closely, has concluded that RFE and RL are not among the nationʼs private voluntary organizations and hence not in fact subject to the policy recommended by the Katzenbach Committee. Although not essential, the spokesman should also be authorized to say that the new administration endorses the Katzenbach policy, thus heading off a charge that the government has resumed funding more politically sensitive organizations such as the National Student Association. If asked whether the government was now acknowledging government or CIA support to the organizations the reply would be “no comment.” If asked whether the Katzenbach Committee itself regarded the radios as private voluntary organizations, the reply would be that we cannot speak for that Committee but this administration thinks that they are not. (If this approach is decided on it would be desirable to discuss it in advance with Mr. Katzenbach and possibly Mr. Gardiner.)2

This approach, would, of course amount to a tacit admission that the radios are supported by CIA. However, this is not news to anyone and I should not think the press would be able to make much capital out of the fact that we refused to say so in so many words. Conceivably, the whole situation could be further defused by an advance leak (possibly to Evans and Novak, who could thus complete their exposé)3 explaining how the problem was to be handled. Such a leak could also make the point that public fund raising by RFE terminated some time ago.

I suggest you try this out on the 303 Committee tomorrow.4

  1. Source: Department of State, INR/IL Files, 303 Committee Files, January–June 1969. Secret sent through Hughes. Cleared by McCloskey and in substance by Toon. A notation alongside McCloskeyʼs clearance reads: “except for suggested leak, about which he [McCloskey] has serious doubts.”
  2. Apparently, John Gardner of the Katzenbach Committee (see footnote 2, Document 28).
  3. See footnote 3, Document 28.
  4. See Document 30.