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157-10005-10224] 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F_ KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
Date:10/01/93
Page: 1
JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM
IDENTIFICATION FCRM
AGENCY INFORMATION
AGENCY SSCIA
RECORD NUMBER 157-10005-10224
RECORDS SERIES
AGENCY FILE NUMBER R174 1 OF 3
DOCUMENT INFORMATION
ORIGINATOR SSCIA
FROM
To
TITLE
TRANSCRIPT/REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS WITH EXHIBITS
DATE 06/02/75
PAGES 111
SUBJECTS
houstom LAHRENCE EXECUTIVE SESSIOM COMMITTEE MEETING
houSton WAS FORMER CIA EMPLOYEE FROM 1947-1973
CIA OPERATIONS WITH REGARD TO CASTRO , FIDEL
DOCUMENT TYPE PAPER TEXTUAL DOCUMENT
CLASSIFICATION T
RESTRICTIONS REFERRED
CURRENT STATUS P
DATE OF LAST REVIEW 10/01/93
OPENING CRITERIA
COMMENTS
BOX 248-1
[R] ITEM IS RESTRICTED
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trouble come see you?
8 2 Mr Houston Oh , no , there S a number of times . For
1
5 instance, I think it was back in the 50' s , there' $ a lot of
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them , but a couple might illustrate in those days we were
5 doing a gooa deal of political action abroad in the sense of
giving guidance to factions in foreign countries that U.S _
policy favored in organizing elections I don t mean in
rigging them , but how to get down to the grass roots the old-
fashioned political advice on how to run 2 political campa ign
10 We didn t have many trained officers on this. We had
11 one or two who were excellent and they wanted more, and they
12 came to me with the proposition that a 8 thts Was an
election Year ,
1
0 13 which One I have forgotten M that We put officers in both the
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14 Republican and Democratic campaign parties to get the practical
15 experience , and I advised A
actually, I went over and talked
16 with Malcolm Wilkie, who was then the legal counsel in the
17 Department of Justice, and this was most ill-advisable, and I
18 went back and they dropped the project.
0
19 More recently=
# our
Ecommuication]Eellows
down in Virginia
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20 found they coula eagily monitor Long_distance -telephone
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21 convergations]from Latin American to Canada and in some cases L
22 to New York
0
and thege frequently carried {conversatlong J
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23 involving narcoticgJin great detail. They had no [telephone
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24 discipline at &ll, security discipline on Ltheztagephone] And
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8
25 they woula ever give the name of the pergon who 8 going to
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amt
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1 receive the @aEcotics Jand where.
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8 2 However this immediately got us into an internal security
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and 8 police function. I told them they had to drop it, and
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they did And it' s too bad because nobody else has found a way
of doing it, and this information is floating
over our heads
right now and we canrot use it_
Mr Schwarz. Have there been any instances where you or
your office advised the Agency that it should not do something
when nevertheless the Agency went ahead and did it?
10 Mr _ Houston. I should think I would remember an occasion
11 like that, but I don' t.
12 Senator Mondale . Thank you.
0
{
13 (Senator Mondale left the hearing room )
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14 Mr Schwarz. Mr Houston , with the Senator abbent
8 You
15
don t have to go ahead _
16 Mr Houston . Fine, fine.
17
Mr Schwarz . I'm going to go on to another subject_
18
Doeb anyone else have anything else about the Robert Kennedy
19
meetlng?
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Mr _ Kirbow . I have only one other question, and perhaps 20
8
21 more about the leadership of the Agency . |
22
Mr Houston , your reputation over the gome twenty-six
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23
twenty-eight years you were General Counsel was one of intense
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24
loyaltr to the Director and the Deputy Director of the Agency .
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25
Mr _ Houston . That is correct.
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chest operator but So far as I know he always operated in the
2 line of command _ and something like this I think I should have 8
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5 been consulted but I can understand the operator S viewpoint.
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They might have felt there were reasons I should not be
5 consultzd
But just what went on in the line of command between
Marvey and the Director I just cannot fathom this.
Mr Schwarz. Harvey worked for Helns at the time, did
he not?
10 Mr Houston That' $ right.
11 Mr Schwarz _ And what was the nature of their relationship
12 as You understood it?
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Mr Houston . They were not too compatible 49 people, but
6 13
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14 I have never known that there was any difficul in complying
with the chain of command _ I wouldn t necessarily have know 15
if there had been , but I didn € know it.
16
Mr Wides . And Harvey had worked for Mr Helms in Berlin?
17
Mr Houston . He had been LChieftef _Station; in Berlin ,
18
he had been @ieE @E_Station in Rome , and I'think it was after
19
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the Rome as8ignment he came back and took over the staff_
20 i
Mr Wides . But in connection with some of the operations
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like Ithe Berkr" funnel- and other intelligence operations he
22
Wj
J; had a pretty close-working relationship with Mr 0
Helms?
23
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Mr Houston They were all in the DDP and certainly
24 1
8 anything of the importance of tha Berlinlunnel
#
they wwould ba
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could You think of anything which would be of benefit to this
8 2 Committee that we have not inquired into?
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5 Mr _ Houston _ The only thing I thought You might ask that
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4 I thought You were going to mention it
E somewhere , and this is
5 Very vague in my mind , both where I heard it, in what context ,
and what the timirg 0f the event was, but I have heard and I am
sure You must have heard of the delivery of 3 sniper 5 rifle
8 to the Embassy in Havanna , which may have been intended for
some sort of assassiration attempt.
10 Mr Schwarz . The Embassy when We still had an Embassy
11 there?
12 Mr _ Houston It was apparently when we still had the
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0 13 Embassy .
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14 Mr Kirbow Was this a couched delivery, covert
15 delivery, much like the later deliveries into the Dominican
16 Republic?
17 Mr _ Houston. I think 30 .
18 I don know much about it. I just; through a vague
19 recollection _ I don t know any details or any specifics , it'$
3
20 One of the things you pick
up .
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21 Mr _ Kirbow Wher woula that have bean? I am trying to |
22 date when we no longer had an Embassy there.
4
23 Mr Mideg . MG UNoll I think Me Noll} wasitherstatjon
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24
{chief-EJim NolI and I believe he left in late 1959
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25 Mr Kirbow . Was that about the correct time?
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