NAME HJU064000 EXHIBIT EM-5 MEESE TESTIMONY BEFORE HOUSE JUDICIARY PAGE 53 12541 because the money is just in the process of being used by 1255 the states. 1256 1257 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 What we are doing, however, is trying to !. supplement the funds that the states are putting into drug enforcement, which is a considerably lower percentage of their law enforcement resources than we put into federal law enforcement. What we are trying to do is to provide some additional funding through sharing the forfeited assets of drug traffickers with the local law enforcement authorities. We think that this is a better way to approach. Mr. HUGHES. Well, I hope that once you evaluate that that 1266 1267 1269 1270 1271 1272 you can keep an open mind on it. Mr. Attorney General, I am sure that like many of us you have looked at the Tower Commission Report. I am sure that 1268 your attention was drawn, as mine was, to a reference to you in a communication between Oliver North and Robert McFarlane. The subject was organizing a private ransom effort funded by H. Roth Parrot to free the hostages. Let me read to you from Page B-13 of the Commission 1273 report. It is referring to a nemo from North to McFarlane dated June 7, 1985, and I quote: ''The second plan involved 1275 the private ransoming of two hostages, including Buckley, 1276 for $2 million. This operation would take considerable 1277 time, contacts inside Lebanon, financial transactions, and rental of yachts, safe houses and so forth. Thus, it was 1274 1278 EXHIBIT NAME HJU064000 PAGE 54 12791 possible to undertake it at the same time as the private 1280 1281 1283 ''To implement this proposal, North asked McFarlane to 1282 contact the Attorney General to secure the services of two officers of the Drug Enforcement Agency who would work with the NSC staff on this particular matter. McFarlane approved and wrote North to follow up on June the 10th.'' 1284 1285 1286 1287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300 1301 Did Mr. McFarlane or anyone else contact you or anyone else in the Department of Justice about securing the services of the Drug Enforcement Administration or its agents in ransoming hostages? We provide congressional oversight of the DEA. Was there any contact with you made in that regard? Attorney General MEESE. Contact was nade, Mr. Hughes, with me. I have a recollection, a fairly vague recollection, that contact was made with me for assistance of some DEA agents who might have information that would be helpful. At no time did anyone talk to me about ransom. It merely had to do with providing assistance of DEA agents who might be helpful in regaining custody of our hostages. Mr. HUGHES, Well, I understand- Attorney General MEESE. And I did authorize the DEA to 1302 cooperate with the National Security Council staff in 1303 anything that would be helpful to get back the hostages, but NAME: HJU064000 PAGE 55 13041 ransoming or the plan was never discussed with me. 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 Mz. HUGHES. So your understanding would be that any contact would be in reference to securing information as opposed to operations, using DEA agents for operations? Attorney General MEESE. Yes. It was not my understanding they were to be used for operations. Mr. HUGHES. DEA agents are not used for intelligence gathering, I presume? Attorney General MEESE. Oh, yes, all the time. Mr. HUGHES. In non-narcotics matters. Attorney General MEESE. Xo. Mr. HUGHES. That concerns me because I know you know very well that one of the reasons we enjoy such a tremendous amount of cooperation in host countries is because DEA is a 1318 mission agency that deals with drug enforcement. If other 1319 countries believed that they were engaged in espionage, 1320 counterespionage, counterintelligence, we would not enjoy 1321 that kind of cooperation. 1322 1323 Attorney General MEESE. Yes. These types of activities were not contemplated, to the best of my knowledge. Mr. HUGHES. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman 1324 1325 The CHAIRMAN. Mr. McCollum. 1326 1327 1328 Mr. MCCOLLUM. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Pursuant to our conversation this should go to the President for his signature and should not be passed around in any hands below our level. Finding Pursuant to Section 662 of the Foreign I have been briefed on the efforts being made by private parties to obtain the release of Americans held hostage in the Middle East, and hereby find that the following operations in foreign countries (including all support necessary to such operations) are important to the national security of the United States. Because of the extreme sensitivity Of chese operations, in the exercise of the President's cons:: tutional authorities, I direct the Director of Central Intelligence not to brief the Congress of the United States. as provided for in Section 501 of the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, until such time as I may direct otherwise. |