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The b?i?asisiasg?ton Merry-?n-Romnl

ByJock Anderson and Les {Written

For years, the Central Intelligence
A'gency has known all about illegal
foreign payofi?s by multinational cor-
porations. The
partments, too, were at least aware that
foreign leaders were being systemat-
ically bribed. .

life-have pieced together the story
from several government sources.

It was standard policy, they report.
for the multinationals to keep in con-
tact with the CIA about information
that would be helpful in securing con-
tracts abroad.

Our sources recall that
Lockheed representatives, for example,
participated in briefings with the CIA
in various ES. embassies.

Like their holdings, the power of
these great multinational. multibil?
lion~doliar consortiums extends be-
yond any national boundaries. Some
have become governments unto them-
selves, with their own foreign service,
intelligence apparatus, secret codes
and other governmental trappings.

Some corporations, including Loci:-
heed, have used a secret intelligence
group composed of former CIA agents
in London. Although Lockheed claims
to have cut its ties with the group, our
sources say the secret organization is
still operating. .

CIA officials, questioned behind
closed doors by Sen. Frank Church?s
'subcommittce, denied any knowledge
of the foreign payoffs. The agency,
nevertheless, provided the subcom?
.mittee with a biography of Yoshio
Kodama, Lockheed's $7 million con-
sultant in Japan.

We have also established that the

tale Department lrepttabs on multi-

tate and Defense tier

2*
a

national dealings. including the under-
the-tabie payments. Foreign Service
officers made it their business to know
whom the corporations were dealing
with on foreign soil, informed sources
swear. Yet for the record. the State
Department also has denied any knowl-
edge of the bribery.

The Defense Department also main-
tained a secret list of foreign agents

who received commissions on defense

contracts from multinational corpora-
tions. The military brass should have
been aware from the list, say our
sources, that illegal money was being
slipped to foreign bigwigs. -

Incidentally, our sources acknowl-

edge somewhat ruefully,r that the bri- 
bery often produced contracts.
White House Revolt President

Ford?s speech researchers threatened
to well: out en masse just as he was
hitting stride in his political campaign
two weeks ago.

if the five researchers had quit, Mr.
Ford would have been deprived sud-
denly of experts who search out the
facts not only for his politiical
speeches, but for his foreign and do-
mcstic pronouncements. They also pro-
duce research for the White House
staff on a variety of subjects.

The squall blew up in the office of
Robert Hartmann. the veteran Ford

aide, who supervises presidentai
speech writing and theresearch that
goes ll?ltO it. .9

?lter three unhappy Speechwriters
quit last December, Hartmann reor-
ganized his office. As part of the
change. be assigned a trusted political
aide, Gwen Anderson, to supervise the
researchers even though she has little
research experience.

Home mediator.

5 5 . 71/ 91:10 15.. - 9 
Cid rinses oi Hermeneutics agrees

Anderson tangled with the respected
White House research chief. Agnes
Waidron. and tried to fire her. ?When
li?alclon?s loyal staff heard the news,
they all threatened to quit, with var)"-
ing degrees of vehemcnce. 

But they deferred the walk-out until
?Waldron could get a hearing before Dr.
James Connor, the amiable presiden-
tial Cabinet secretary, who has also-
developed into an informal White

Connor, as diplomatic with staffers
as he is with testy department heads,
urged everyone to-"cool it" while a
solution was worked out that would
keep President, Ford supplied with
research. 

At this writing, ll'aidron is still at'
the White House. but there is no as-
surance she will stay. Meanwhile,-
is holding her own supervi-
sion of the speech researchers to a
cautious minimum. -

Footnote: Hartmann could not be
reached for comment. Some White
House insiders blame him for the
flare-up, while others say he is help-
ing to resolve it. Anderson and Wei?
dron did not return our ca is.

Another Revolt?To appease the
powerful friends in Congress,
the House intelligence committee's
criticism of the FBI was watered
down*on orders of the staff chief, A.
Searle Field.

This caused a mini-revolt among the
staff members who prepared the FBI
section cf the report. lniuriated, they
fired off an angry letter of protest
to Field, charging that the weakened
report was an ?unhappy structure,"
which "we don?t like."

3 1975. United Feature Syndicate. Inc.

Approved For Release 2005/01/11: CIA-RDP88-01315R000300450031-9