</s>104-10140-10233 OLC 76-3480 APPROVED FOR RELEASE 1993 29 November 1976 Cia HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM HSCA MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD HSCAA SUBJECT: Conversation with Mr. Richard Sprague, Chief Counsel, 77-0014/1/ House Select Committee on Assassinations SUBJECT: Conversation With Mr. Richard Sprague. Chief Counsel. 1. In the wake of the testimony of former Agency employee, David Phillips, before the House Select Committee of Assassinations on Saturday, 27 November, I called Richard Spragu, Chief Council of the Committee, this morning in an effort to determine what, if any, arrangements have been made or an effort in the process of being made with the FBI for clearances of Select Committee members of the to the FBI in the Agency records are an appropriate member of the Committee staff of Agency records in the subject of the following members of information on the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico regarding the Senate. specifically on whether Phillips testimony had gone into classified areas, I told that we were concerned that the lack of security clearances was preceding the Committee from getting access to pertinent classified information. 2. Mr. Sprague told me that he met the Attorney General Levi last Wednesday and that at that session Levi provided him with a copy of a Man-made investigation at that section which would be the basis for FBI clearance investigations of Select Commission staff personnel. Spragu said his people were currently reviewing the draft memorandum which Levi had provided him and he would be quite happy to have me drop by Levi has provided him he would quite happy that he has dropped by today I would look by his office at 4:00 a.m. at this time. today I took his office to his office as this afternoon. I went to Mr. Spaguaro's office in old in the FBI building at 4.00 p.m ., as scheduled but Sprague's office off in the old FBI building in the Senate Office Building and I didn't get to see him up until approximately 4:40 p. m. At that time, Sprague showed me a letter he had received from Levi Senate Office Buildings and I Didn't get him up in until immediately taken a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding negotiated by the Bureau with the Senate Select Committee against Intelligence under similar circumstances and reviewed the current draft against that backpack. The Senate Committee and reviewing the committee against similar to the Memorandum with the Understanding which I was told told I had said similar to the Bureau with Senate Select Commission on Intelligence. 19/30 JFK ACT <loc_264><loc_882>RELEASE

Summary: The document details a conversation between CIA officials and Richard Sprague, Chief Counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), regarding security clearances for committee members to access classified information related to the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico. Sprague discussed efforts by Attorney General Levi to establish FBI clearance procedures for HSCA staff, referencing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). The discussion highlighted differences between the proposed agreement and existing SSCI arrangements, particularly regarding security clearance requirements under SDICD 1/14. Sprague expressed concerns about exposing committee members to sensitive information during testimony and emphasized the need for tight disclosure controls. The document also mentions the HSCA's interest in records related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., with Sprague noting challenges in retaining such records under current FOIA policies.  

Key People: Richard Sprague (Chief Counsel, HSCA), Levi (Attorney General), William Miller (Staff Director, SSCI), George Cary (Legislative Counsel), Ben Marshall (Security Director, SSCI)  
Key Locations: FBI Building, Senate Office Building, Washington D.C.  
Key Events: Discussions on security clearances for HSCA staff, review of Memorandum of Understanding with SSCI, reference to FOIA record retention issues, mention of JFK and MLK assassination investigations  
Key Organizations: House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

MLK Declassified Files

00432253_conversation_with_richar_104-10140-10233.pdf

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