Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Opens to Committee Chairman FRANK CHURCH asking CIA Director WILLIAM COLBY if members of the CIA who were responsible for the preservation of CIA held toxins, after a Presidential directive had ordered their destruction, are still in the employment of the CIA - Colby responds that he knows one still is. End of Tape 1
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Beginning of Tape 2. Church recognizes Senator CHARLES MATHIAS, Mathias after discussion with Colby wants the record to show there was a good faith compliance with the Presidential directive that just didn't get carried out by the low levels of the agency.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Mathias and Colby discuss the CIA's relationship to Army base Fort Detrick, U.S. center of biological weapon development, and how the toxins moved from there to other storage facilities.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church recognizes Senator WALTER HUDDLESTON, Huddleston asks if there had been any research requests for the shellfish toxin during its five years in CIA storage.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church recognizes Senator SCHWEIKER (?), Schweiker asks Colby about an account of U2 pilot GARY POWERS carrying the toxin on his failed mission, Schweiker then goes on to discuss with Colby who had access to toxin storage facilities, Schweiker finally requests that an inquiry be made of the Army about the discrepancy in toxin amounts at Fort Detrick.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church recognizes Senator MORGAN who asks if orders were issued by the Secretary of Defense for the toxin's destruction.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church recognizes Senator GARY HART who discusses with Colby and Dr. STEVENS their own investigation of CIA members possession of the shellfish toxin, Hart then confirms that vulnerability tests conducted by the Department of Defense (vulnerability to chemical or biological attack) and observed and analyzed by intelligence agencies were done so to investigate offensive weapons possibilities.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Senator WALTER MONDALE asks for the identity of a code name (P-600) that appeared on the containers holding the shellfish toxin - Colby and Stevens do not know.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church recognizes Mathias, Mathias asks for a household type measurement of how much shellfish toxin there was - Stevens responds 2 teaspoons - Mathias then asks if the CIA was aware of the Department of Defense's destruction processes of their chemical and biological weapons - Colby responds in the affirmative.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Church closes out the morning's session, he says that tomorrow former Director of the CIA RICHARD HELMS will testify and that later this afternoon Dr. NATHAN GORDON will testify but that this will not be covered on TV or radio as Gordon has invoked a rule which Church then reads aloud that a witness can testify without media coverage.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
DO NOT USE - Hearings host JIM LEHRER voices over a summary of the testimony to come and the morning's testimony.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
Co-host PAUL DUKE conducts an interview on the hearing's room floor with Church, among a milling gallery, Duke asks Church if there was a direct refusal not to follow orders on the part of the CIA, if there was any wink by White House administration not to destroy the CIA toxins, if the CIA might have kept the poisons to use in assassination plots, what's to prevent this from happening again, why the committee is not conducting the CIA assassination investigation in public.
Church Committee Hearings - CIA Director William Colby
DO NOT USE - Shot switches to Lehrer at broadcast setup outside hearing room, Lehrer introduces guest DAVID WEISS, an expert on the Intelligence community, they discuss the morning's testimony.