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T H E WH I T E H O USE
WA S H I N G T O N

A p r i l 17, 1 9 7 3

5:&GR E T / E X D I 5

M E M O R ANDUM FOR : D R. HENRY KIS S I N G E R
JO H N E HR L ICHMA N

FROM : J OHN DEl ' :.~
S U B J E C T :
,c .
Ex e c u tl v e
II. . ' .
i v i l e g e S e na t e F o r ei gn
e

Rel a ti o n s Sub c omm i tt e e R e qu est
for Chil e C a bl e s

m c onn e c t i o n ".vith t h e 1" ' 1 " 1 ' '" ( ' k , I b c a r i n g o , S enat o r C h ur c h, Ch a.i r rn a n
..... .... .... , ........
D
..... ..1....1.. ......

o f the Se nate F o r ei g n R e l ati on s Sub committee o n M u lti na ti o na l
C o r p o r a ti o n s , ha s twi c e r e ques te d in w r i ting th a t th e Depar t m e n t of
Sta t e prov ide his sta ff wi th c a b l e s betw ee n the D e p artment and
San ti a g o f o r the peri o d A u g u st 1, 1970, t o Janua ry 31 , 1971.

T h e D ep a r tm e n t repli-e d t o Se na t o r Chur c h! s f i r st le tte r ind i c a t i n g
th at it ha d previ ously r e vi e w e d its cab l e files a t O P I C ' s r e qu e s t
an d t ha t the fi le s d o not i n cl u d e a ny rep o r t o f ITT ac tivi ties i n
connection wi t h th e 197 0 P r e s i d e n ti al e le c tion i n Chil e . Se na t o r
Chu rc h r e n e w ed hi s r eque st o n A p r i l 2 , ass e r ti ng th at t h e q ues ti o ns
of "wha t U . S . p oli c y in Chi le wa s and w hat instructions o u r Ambassado r
re c e i v e d have become c e n t r a l to the S ub c o m mi tt e e ' s un d erst a n d i n g
of the i ssues b ef o r e it . I I

A s you k now , the Sub c o m rrr i t t e e hearin g s f o c u s e d on a llegati on s o f
I T T a nd US G invo lve m e n t in the 1 970 C h i l e a n e l e c ti o n , b as ed o n
t h e IT T memo r and a p u b li shed in a J ack Ander s o n co l u m n . One
all e g a ti o n i s th at A m bassa d o r Ko r ry r e c ei v e d a n i n stru cti on in t he
n a m e o f P r e sid en t Nix on t o d o " all p o s s i b le - - s h o r t of a D o m i n i c a n
R e p u b li c - ty p e ac tio n -- to k eep A llende from tak ing p o wer . "

(
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. . . ...
• J

SANlrlZ D C py

O
B o t h Io r rn e r Ambas s ad or Korry and forrner Assistant Se cretary
Meyer ha ve t e s tifi e d be fore t h e Subcorrun i ttee . Ambassador Ko rry
d e cl i n ed t o an swe r ques tio ns a s to w ha t i ns t ru c tio n s he re cei ved
f ro m W ash ing ton a nd wha t r e co rrun en d a ti on s he made . M r . Meyer
was q ues tione d c o n c e r n i n g p o si ti o n s taken in the 40 Committee,
i n cl u d i n g the F' r e s i d e n t t s attitude towards the e lection of Allende , but
d e cl i n e d to di scu ss th e m att ers. B o th A mb a ss ad or K o r r y an d
M r. Meyer te stifi ed that the U . S . pursued a po licy of non -interventi on
w i th respect to t h e Chilean Presi den tia l e lection of 1 9 7 0.

Sta te b elie ves t h at the d i sclos ure o f t h e in str u ctions sent to
Ambas sador Kor r y and o f h i s r e c om m e n d ati o n s t o the P r e sident
d u r i n g the period in question would seriou sly prejudice t h e
f ore ign r elatio n s i n te r es t s of t h e U n ite d Sta t es , a n d a d vis es t h at
t he d i s cl.o su r eof t h e c a b-l e traff ic wi t h-Erriba s s y Santiag o
wou ld r e veal shar p po li cy debat e withi n
t h e A d m i n i st ra ti o n, prop o sa ls w hi c h w ere no t b rough t t o a c tio n
f or v a r i o us re as ons , an d a numb er of sensi tive matt ers in cluding
de l ib erations of the 40 Committee . F o r these r e a s o n s , S tate req uests
and recommend s the invo cation of executiv e privil ege if n ecessary
t o a voi d di scl osu re of th e c abl e s r equ es t ed ( s e e T ab " A " ) .

T h e Depar tment of State is pr e sen tly explorin g alte rnati v e s wi th
Se n a t o r Church which woul d s ati sfy t h e ne eds of t h e C omm it t ee .
It is p r oba ble , h owever , that t h e Sub commi tt ee will settle f o r
nothing l e s s th an the pr o d u c ti o n o f a ll of the cables requested .

T h e De par tm en t o f Ju sti c e 1S o f t h e o p i n i ori t hat a s a g e ne ral
m a tt e r ins tr uc tions to and re commendati ons f r om an Ambas sa dor ,
a n d other in terna l Ex e cu ti v e Bran ch c o m m u n ic a ti o n s , f all w i t hi n
the s cop e of executi ve p r iv il e g e a nd th at i ts ex er c is e in t hat
re s p e c t w ou ld be co nsi stent with th e P resident's statement of
Mar ch 1 2, 1 9 7 3 , and his memora ndum to Cabinet offi cers of
March 2 4 , 1 96 9 .

T h i s is , of c o u r se, not a very pr opitiou s time to c o n s i d e r an exer cise o f
ex e c u ti v e pri vi leg e , and espe cia ll y so s ince we would want to av oi d
a n y infer enc e that we wer e d oi ng anyt h ing suppo r tive o f I TT 's
all eg e d ac tivi tie s . Nonetheless , Sta t e ' s justifi cations f or this r e q u e s t,

' I T ~ Z[ D coPY - dl!I: JJ

and the J u s ti c e c orrrrn e n t s , i n d i c a t e th at s uc h a n ex e r c i s e i s
appr o p r iate i n thi s in stanc e . Therefore , in the e v cnt Stat e is
unsu c c e ssfu l in its neg otiati ons w ith C hur ch, I wou ld r e c o rnrri e nd
that the Pr e s ident dir e ct Statc n ot t o r el ea s e any p o r ti o n s of the s e
cab le s wh i ch w ou l d r e v e al internal poli cy making d elib e rati on s o r
instructions or w o uld otherwise be pre judi ci al to o u r nati onal inter e s t s .

Agr ee
--- ------------
Disag r c e
- - ------------
C om m en t
--- --- ---- -------------------

~ d. YI " J

THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON

April 19, 1973

MEMORA NDUM FOR: DR. KISSI NGER'S OFFI C E

FROM: LINDE ZIER
Fred Fi elding's S e cr etary

Enclosed is the attachment to th e memo s ent by
John Dean. to Dr. Kissing er y esterday, entitled
"Executiv e Privile ge-S enate Forei gn Relations
Subcommi ttee R equest for Chile Cables".

Sorry for th e del ay.

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•
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vI U· c· !...<.. ~,
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COP Y ;211 0
si s 730673 9
DE PA R T M E N T OF STATE

W a s hln l:lon. D. C . 20 520 ..

April 12, 1 973

HEI·I0 Rll~ D UH F OR MR. J OHN W. DEAN I II

TBE 'JHI TE HOUSE

S ub j e c t : E x ecut ive Privile g e - SFRC Re q ue s t
fo r Chile Cabl es

S e n a t o r Chur ch, Ch ai rm an of t he S e n at e F oreign

Re l a t i o n s S ub c o mrnitt e e o n n ul tin at i on al Co r p o r a t i o n s ,

has t wi c e wr i t te n the Depa r tme nt r eque sting t h a t c abl es

b e t we c n th e Department and S an ti a g o for th e pe r io d

Au gust 1 , 197 0, to J a n uary 3 1 , 1 971, be made ava ilable

to Co mmi t t e e s taf f in c onn e c ti on w i.t.h t he ITT h e aring s.

Th e De p a r t n:e n t r e pli ed t o Sen ator Ch u rch ' s first l e tt er

o n Ha r c h 2 6 i n d i catin g t h at i t h ad pre vious l y r e vi ewed

i ts c ab l e fi l e s a t OPIC I S r e q u e st an d th at th e f i l es

d o no l.. Ln c i uc;o a n y .r e f>0 :ct 8£ 2: ~T ric: t i v i t i e s in

conn e ction li 'l:i:: U 1C E:7 0 I?re~· i<,~ ·.o'll -L-.ia.l c.: 1 ,:;;(; t..::LU l'l i n C11i}.c,

S e n a t o r Ch u r c h ' s s e c ond l e tt e r o f April 2 a s s ert s t h at

I
t h e que s t i o n s o f "wh a t . S . p o l i cy in Chi l e wa s 'a n d

wh a t i n struct i o n s our Ar.~as s a do r rece ive d h a v e be come

I
cent ra l to t h e S ub co rr~ i t t e e's unders t a n ding o f t he

i s s ue s be f ore it. II ' .

Th e S ub c oIT~ i t t e e h e arin g s f o cuss ed on a l l e ga t io n s
of I TT an d USG invol v e me n t i n th e 1970 Ch il ean el e cti on,
b a s e d o n th e I TT rne rno r an d a p u b l is hed in th e J ack
And e r s o n col u mn i n t-I a r c h 197 2 . One a l le g a t ion in th e s e
me rno r a n da i s t h a t Am a s s c do r Ko r r y r e c eiv e d a n in struction
o
in th e n ame o f Pre s i d e n t Ni x o n t o do " all poss i b le -
s h o r t of a Do rni n i. c an Re public - type ac t ion -- t o k e e p
A·lle n e e f r o m t. a k i n q p owe r Ano t her a s s e r t.i. on P.",a d e in
v "

q u e s t i o ni n g by Commi t. t.e o s taff i s th a t t h e eS G e st e.b
lis h e d a $400 ,000 f ~~d fo r u s e in conn e ct i o n wit h the
19 7 0 Chil e an elec ti o n . A CI A witness t e st ifi e d th 2t h e
had d i s CUSBGd with I TT t h e fe a si b ility of c e r tai n me a s u r e s
to a p p l y some e con omi c p res s ure o n Chil e wi t h a v iew to
inf l u e n c i n g v o t e s i n Chi l e a n Con gress whe n it el ecte d
t he P r e s i d e n t a. £ t er t he pop u la r v o t e f ail e d to dec ide
the issue .

SANITIZE copy

D
... ~ E C RE 'f/E)~ 2

Both for mer Amba ssador Korry and former Assi stant
Se c r e t a r y t-leyer testified in public session. Ambassador
Kor r y decl ined to a n s we r questions as to what instructions
he r e c e i v e d from ,yashington and "that recornrnendations he
ma de. 1-1r. Meyer was also asked ab out the instructions
an d he was pressed to comw.ent on positi ons taken in the
40 Commi t t e e in cluding the President's attitude towards
th e election of Allende. Mr. Meyer also declined t o
go i n to the se matters . Both Arnb a s s a do r Ko r ry and Mr .
. M y e r testified that th e U.S. had pursued a policy of
e
n o n- i nt e r v e n t i o n with respect to the Ch i l e a n Presidential
e l e ct i o n o f 1 9 70 .

Th e li n e o f i n q u i r y being pressed by the Commi t t e e
i mp i n g e s d i r e c t l y upon the privac y of communication between
th e P resident (and the Department) and h i s Ambass ador , and
t h e i nte r n a l policy dGliberations of the USG, i n c l u d i n g
me e t i n g s of th e 40 Committee. Th e Department h a s and wil l
con t i n u e to make eve ry effort to satisfy the n eeds of
t h e S ub c o r~ i t t e e without invoking executive privilege .
Howe ve r , c on s i s t e n t with the policy establish ed b y the
P r e s i d e nt we will not disclose information wh i c h wo u l d
be i n <.;uii,p .:: t il::- :!. e wi, th the public interest or would impa i r
t h e operation of the Executive D~Q~ C~.

We believe that disclosure of the i n s t r u c t i o n s sent

t o Amba s s a d o r Kbrry and of his reco~mendations t o the

Pre s ident during th e period in question would seri ously

p r e j u d i c e the foreign relations in terest s of t he Unit ed

st a te s and would compromis e the pri v acy of deliber ation

"' i t h in th e Executive Branch which is es s ential to the

e f fec t i v e conduct of government . Discl osure of t he cable

tra f fi c vzi t h Embassy Santiago

wo u l d reve al sharp policy deb ate within the

Admi n i s t ra t i on , proposals which were not brought to

act i on fo '- various re asons, and a number of sensi ti ve

rnatte r s , ~,lcluding deliberations of the 40 Commi t t.e e ,

th at h a v e not been dis closed. Such di sclo sur e:: s would

a l s o e mb a r r a s s Chilean friend s of the United St a t e s and

U s. ci t i z e n s who p r o v ide d information a n d a dvice t o t h e

.
gove r n me nt in good faith r eliance o n the confidentiality

. o f t h e i r c ommuni cations. Di sclosure of this information
wo u Ld seriously d arna qe th e position o f the democ rati c
fo r ces in Ch i l e whi c h h as alread y b een hurt by p r e s s
repo rts o f U.S. support. It could also ha ve marked

S EC RE ~

l1",A V i
J?i h ~ ! fZEO COP

..:.. SE CPE T »IE x ors
-=- 3

a dve r s e e f f e c t s o n f riends of the United States else
wh ere, p a rt i cu l a rl y i n Latin Americ a. For all these
r e ason s, we beli e v e th at e xe c u t ive p rivil e ge sh o u ld b e
i n v ok e d if ne c e s s a ry to avoid disclo sure of the cables
r e q ue s t e d b y Se n a t o r Chur c h . W are explorin g alter
e
n a t i v e s vr i.t.h Se n at o r Church a n d wou l d not in voke
e xe c u t i v e priv i l ege in our ne xt letter. How e ve r , h e
may p r e s s t h e ma t t e r to an e a rly confront ation.

The De pa r t me n t of S t a t e h as con sulted wi t h t h e
At to rn e y Ge n e r a l , t h r o ug h the Office of Le g al Coun s el.
Th e Of fi ce o f Le g a l Co u n s e l has con c luded th at as a
g e n era l matte r i n s t r u c tions to a n d r e c ommen d ati o n s
f r om an Arrba s s a do r, and other intern al Executi v e Branch
c ommu n Lc a t i, on s , f al l · 'vi thin t he s cope of e xecuti v e
pri vilege an d t h a t i ts exerci s e in that res p e ct wo u l d
b e cons i s te n t wi t h t h e President's statement of
Ma r ch 12 , 1 9 7 3 , an d h i s memorandum to Cabin et offi cers
of March 2 4 , 1 9 69.

Th e re f o r e, we ar e r eques ting auth o r i t y to i nvo ke
e xec u t i ve p r ivi l eg e , if n e c e s s a ry, to pre vent d i s c l o s u re
of t h e c ab le s t o an d from Ernb a s s y Santi a g o for the
pe rio d Aug us t 1, 19 7 0 , to J an u a r y 31, 19 71.

~,~tThlJ yrJ
Theodore L. Elio t , J r .
E xecuti v e Secre t aL1

Ericlosu r e s:
1. Co py o f l1ar c h 7, 1973, letter
f r om Chu r c h to the Secretary
2 . Co p y o f Mr. W i g h t' s letter
r
of March 2 6 to Ch urc h
3 . Co p y o f Ap r i l 2, 1 97 3 , le t ter
fro m Ch u r ch t o W i g h t .
r

SEC~

J. W . f'"Jl . " I G ' I T . ".-toe,. C .. ....HH.( A~'
G r (l ~ '-. ,. O. " t fl; r N, yr •
. JG"H ~ '!'i.r.. II'I. ....... II. ,I t " .

... , "" , ,. , At l ' , f" I ( L U . "".H4 T", Cl " ' ~"' ''' O ''' . c ..-sr , N.•.
, Pt•• , . ... c , 'u l ·...lI 1[, ,, ,1(.) j _ CClr ' 1'<. J"- V'IT :io. H .Y .

t ' U .-.M f ~ 't " " H'-" l( MO, ' i IJ G U ~ ., ·Ol' T. r».

:llCn i(cD ~ ( cd c~ ,$ cn o (c
I"l ,
J "' ''"U S ii , r ·( "'J4 ~ (lN . t( A P-o ' .
C, " Ir.,j ·' r.t. e r i t. . fe . 1.
O". l W . l l C C. l t. y.,YO , C ...... ' H I ... ft . ,.r ACt . I LL . •
I O ~ l I N "" • • """U '."'l {, ~4A IN( « o or e r e , G R I " I N . MICH,
(j, f On G l. .... e G CNI "'1'4 , 'S, O AK.. COMMI TTee ON ronC'GN ne LATI O NS
HUDE K ' t l. M U I.,H 'IIR l Y . ~r~ N ,
WASHING TON, D .C. 2 0510

C.A.RL MA l l eT. c H l t r o r 5 "- A ,. "

A.Rl~UR M. "" u t t L . G H I C r C L [RK

March 7, 1973

15
: ACT I O t~
The Ilo n o r a b l.e is as sig ned fo
"711 1 ),0.J1 P . Roce rs
';
Se cre t a r y of State
'Ha s hi nGt on , D. C. 20 520 .1/ / / / / ~~
Dear M . Secr e t ary:
r
A s yo u k nov , the Sub co rt i,tt e e on Nul ti nation al
m
Corp or a t i on s is enge.ged in t he inves ti gation of t he
act i vi t i e s of t he In t e rn ati o ~al Te l ephon e a nd
. Tel e Grap h Com any in c onne ction ':Ii t h- t h e ele c t i on
p
of Sal v a dor All en de Cos s en s as Pre sident of Chil e.
(
I n conn e c ti on wit h thi s inv esti gati on, it would
be h el p f ul to t he S ubco~m ittee if the Dep a rtment --
(
wou 'l d mak e av ail abl e t he cab les fr e m Sa rrt i ago to the
S t cd:.o Dcp 2"l~t::-:2r;-t <lrl ,j ;'j- 0 li'J t~2 S'ts:t e Dp:::art;-,'1c nt to
Sant i a go f or t he pc r ied .l. ugust 1) 1 970) t.h r ou gn
Janu a r y 31 , 1971. Ei the r l.ir , J erorr.e Lev ins on or
lilT. J ack Bl um of t h e s taff of t h e Subcommittee Hould
be av a ilabl e t o examine the document s a t your
conve ni enc e .
You r c oop e r at i on "ill )'j g re a t l y app reciate d .

?ril er elY , ~
»:«:
~h:~;m~~~r~~bco~mitt ec on
M ti nat ional Co rp or ati on s
ul

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041773 execpriv

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