1 The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign ...

MILLER: Some, say they're taking it back. The Special Select Committee on Emergency
Powers and War Powers was good fun. It was wonderful for me, working, for example,
with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, the chief justice, all of the clerks, of course,
but many of the justices and the retired justices were very intelligent and very helpful.
Justice Tom Clark was still active, and somehow he had extraordinary knowledge of this
problem. His awareness went back to the time of the Youngstown steel case in 1948. So
this committee’s work was a way for me to really learn about the workings of the Court,
and all of the departments and agencies of the Executive Branch couldn't have been more
helpful. The legal community and the academic community, legal community, were all
tremendously helpful to us. It was one of the most interesting things I've ever done. It was
also one of the most difficult.
That led to, the Intelligence Committee because of Church and Mathias ...
Q: This is Senator Church of ...
MILLER: Idaho. Frank Church, who had been a partner of John Sherman Cooper on the
Cooper-Church end the war amendments. Senator Church had led the cause to stop the
invasion of Cambodia. He was a decent, wonderful man, very interesting to work with.
He had a great wife, Bethine, who was daughter of the former governor of Idaho. Bethine
was, in many ways a better politician than Frank Church, but they were a very good team.
The Senate inquiry into intelligence has its origins in the "family jewels" report called for
by CIA Director, Bill Colby. The “family jewels” was the list of improprieties, abuses and
allegations done by CIA officials over the years. It was an internal compendium of self
criticism. Sy Hersh's articles in the New York Times about abuses by the intelligence
agencies that affected the rights of American citizens were based on the “Family Jewels”
report to Colby.
The family jewels was a collection of allegations and evidence reported by members of
the intelligence agencies themselves of illegalities or improprieties. They were collected
by the inspector general of the CIA in a report to Colby. A copy had somehow gotten out
to the press and Sy Hersh. The report included charges of activities by CIA agents against
legal activities of innocent Americans. Among the charges were that CIA had made
assassination attempts against foreign leaders. It was clear from the public and press
reaction that there needed to be an investigation to clear up the situation. Majority leader
Mike Mansfield decided there had to be a separate Senate inquiry into the issues raised by
the charges of inequalities and improprieties raised by the Colby Report. Mike Mansfield
asked me to be staff director even before he had chosen the senators who would be
members and before he had chosen a chairman. This was a highly politically charged
issue, as you might expect, and the issue of who should be chairman was an extremely
difficult one.
The chairman Mike Mansfield first had in mind was supposed to be Phil Hart of
Michigan, who was much beloved for his objectivity, fairness and gentle nature, and for
the Republicans, Barry Goldwater was to be the co-chairman. Phil Hart in fact had been
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