U.S. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICIES AND PRACTICES-THE PENTAGON PAPERS (PART 1) 68-036 HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS NINETY-SECOND CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 23, 24, AND 25, 1971 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Operations U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1971 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1.25 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS JACK BROOKS, Texas CHET HOLIFIELD, California, Chairman L. H. FOUNTAIN, North Carolina BENJAMIN S. ROSENTHAL, New York FERNAND J. ST GERMAIN, Rhode Island FLOYD V. HICKS, Washington DON FUQUA, Florida JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan FLORENCE P. DWYER, New Jersey BARRY M. GOLDWATER. JR., California HERBERT ROBACK, Staff Director MILES Q. ROMNEY, Associate General Counsel WILLIAM H. COPENHAVER, Minority Professional Staff FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SUBCOMMITTEE WILLIAM S. MOORHEAD, Pennsylvania, Chairman JOHN E. MOSS, California OGDEN R. REID, New York TORBERT H. MACDONALD, Massachusetts FRANK HORTON, New York Hearings held on- Bishop, Joseph, Yale University Law School, New Haven, Conn_--- Callaham, John R., vice president, McGraw-Hill Publications Co---- Florence, William G., retired civilian security classification policy Gibbons, Hon. Sam M., a Representative in Congress from the State of Goldberg, Hon. Arthur J., former Justice, U.S. Supreme Court.. Murray, J. Edward, vice president and president-elect, American Perlik, Charles A., Jr., president, American Newspaper Guild, Wash- Page 251 213 9 234 231 Roberts, J. W., Washington bureau chief, Time-Life Broadcasting, and chairman, Freedom of Information Committee of the Radio- White, Hon. Lee, former Chairman, Federal Power Commission Wiley, W. Bradford, on behalf of the Association of American Pub- Department of Defense Instruction Document No. 5210.47_ Gibbons, Hon. Sam M., a Representative in Congress from the State Harrington, Hon. Michael J., a Representative in Congress from the State of Massachusetts, statement__ Kleeman, Richard P., a Washington correspondent for the Minneapolis Tribune, and chairman, Freedom of Information Committee, Sigma Moorhead, Hon. William S., a Representative in Congress from the Availability of Vietnam study (statement by Press Secretary Executive Order No. 10501. Information regarding existing rules or regulations of the Congress Letter, dated June 18, 1971, to Melvin R. Laird, Secretary, De- Letter, with enclosure, dated June 24, 1971, from the American Li- brary Association, re statement of the American Library Letter, dated June 24, 1971, from Mason W. Gross, chairman, Na- Sundry correspondence and material relative to hearings- Perlik, Charles A., Jr., president, American Newspaper Guild, Wash- 35 61 36 9 275 U.S. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICIES AND PRACTICES-THE PENTAGON PAPERS (Part 1) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1971 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room 2247, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. William S. Moorhead (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives William S. Moorhead, John E. Moss, John Conyers, Jr., Bill Alexander, Ogden R. Reid, Frank Horton, John N. Erlenborn, and Paul N. McCloskey, Jr. Also present: Representative Florence P. Dwyer. Staff members present: William G. Phillips, staff director; NorIan G. Cornish, deputy staff director; William R. Maloni, professional staff member; and William H. Copenhaver, minority professional staff, Committee on Government Operations. Mr. MOORHEAD. The Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and Government Information will please come to order. I would appreciate the cooperation of those in attendance in this room, it is small, and we need as much order as possible so that the subcommittee can hear the witnesses. This morning we begin a most important and timely series of hearings on U.S. Government information policies and practices. The subjerts with which we will deal are as old as the Constitution itself and as timely as this morning's newspaper. Today we appear to be approaching a constitutional confrontation of such historic proportion as to endanger the equilibrium of our constitutional system. On the one hand, there is the undoubted authority, implied in the constitutional grant of Executive power, to withhold information where its divulsion would constitute a clear and present danger to the national interests. On the other hand, we have the ultimate right to know, implied in the preamble to the Constitution and in the Bill of Rights. Related to this is the right of the peoples' representatives in Congress to know so as to carry out their legislative duties imposed on them under article I of the Constitution-powers which include declaring war and funding the armed services. As the Supreme Court of the United States has said (McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135) : |