69. Editorial Note
On December 5, 1979, Representative Elizabeth Holtzman (D-New York), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, called for National Security Council Staff member Paul Henze to resign in a letter to President Jimmy Carter. The letter was released to newspapers and drew attention to comments made by Henze during the August 15 meeting of the Board of International Broadcasting (BIB) in Washington. At the meeting, while discussing the future of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Henze referenced the May 1 interview broadcast on the Romanian service of Radio Free Europe with Valerian Trifa, a Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada. Trifa had been accused of being a member of the Romanian Fascist Party Iron Guard during World War II and responsible for instigating the Jewish pogrom in Bucharest in 1941 and was under investigation by the Justice Department. Holtzman asserted that Henze had characterized concern about the Trifa interview as “silly” and that it “certainly isn’t serious from the point of view of the White House.” Holtzman also directed the Subcommittee staff to investigate the matter. (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Horn/Special, Box 4, Chron File: 12/79)
In his August 17 report to Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Zbigniew Brzezinski on the meeting, Henze made no mention of the incident regarding Trifa. He detailed his impressions of the contrast between the Board for International Broadcasting and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Corporate Board, his impression that the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty relocation “has been blown [Page 212] out of all proportion to its real importance by the BIB Staff in conjunction with a few congressional staffers,” and the challenges faced by the Radios in obtaining additional funds for their budget in a Zero Base Budget environment and pressure for budgetary cuts across the board. Henze also sketched out his idea of combining the Board for International Broadcasting and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Corporate Board into “a public corporation with half Presidential appointees, half public members representing a wide spectrum of interests and talents,” an idea which would allow for the removal of “bothersome BIB Staff.” Henze wrote: “This has not been discussed with [Board for International Broadcasting Chairman] Gronouski yet, but there is increasing evidence that he would be ready to go along.” Henze concluded: “Do not say anything until you and I have had a chance to review all this further.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Subject Chron File, Box 112, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Voice of America: 1–9/79)
In an October 1 memorandum to Brzezinski, Henze discussed the ongoing conflict, referencing a memorandum on BIB–RFE/RL cooperation circulated by BIB staff to Congress and government agencies. The memorandum accused Radio management, and especially Glenn Ferguson of “free wheeling by the radios on the Hill.” Ferguson was also the target of an article by Jack Anderson in The Washington Post in which his compensation was made public. (Jack Anderson, “One Happy Ending for ‘Boat People,’” The Washington Post, September 7, 1979, page C13) Henze wrote: “The present crisis is not going to go away. We can solve it only by moving to solve the basic contradictions in the present management and supervisory structure of the radios.” Henze suggested that the administration combine the Board for International Broadcasting and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Corporate Board into one entity. Gronouski, Henze suggested, should be offered a different position within the administration—either at the Department of Labor or the Department of Education. (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Brzezinski Office File, Subject Chron File, Box 112, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Voice of America: 10–12/79) On October 2, Henze followed up with another suggestion for Gronouski’s next appointment: head of the Voice of America after Peter Strauss resigned, an idea which Brzezinski promised to pursue. (Ibid.)
Representative Holtzman’s investigation brought Henze’s comments at the Board for International Broadcasting meeting in August front and center. Henze wrote Brzezinski on December 7 defending himself against the charges. He stated that the attack was carried out by “elements in the BIB Staff and their collaborators among congressional staffers” who were “frustrated because their scheme for crippling the [Page 213] radios by moving them from Europe to the U.S. (allegedly in the name of economy) has fared badly.” The “selective citation” of his remarks, Henze added, “neither reflects the context nor the spirit of what I said.” Henze argued that that the Board for International Broadcasting staff had been carrying out an ongoing vilification campaign against the management of the radio, against himself, and, most importantly, against Brzezinski. The ongoing “dywersja” (Polish: diversion), Henze wrote, undermines the basic purpose of the stations. He continued: “The stations are an asset to U.S. foreign policy and an important service to the peoples who live under Communist domination.” What is at stake, Henze concluded, is the maintenance of “professional independence and integrity of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Horn/Special, Box 4, Chron File: 12/79)