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CHURCH COMMITTEE REPORTS

APPENDIX
"CHRONOLOGY OF HUSTON PLAN AND INTELLIGENCE EVALUATION COMMITTEE" PREPARED BY SENATE SELECT
COMMITTEE STAFF
Date Central event Related developments
1965 As a result of Senator Long's wiretap hearings,
Hoover terminates "black ball" jobs.
December 1966 ._._ FBI terminates break· ins.
1967-68.._.... .... Capt. Thomas Charles Huston. U.S. Army.
works at DIA in the area of covert aerial
reconnaissance.
1968••_._. ._. Huston works part time in the Nixon cam·
paign.
April 1968.._._. • __ ...... • • •__ •• __ Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr•• ia murdered;
May 1. 1968_._. • Posotur dPeenot prlieo'ab amtaCrcohlumhbeiaadsUnfoivrerWsitaya.hington
from Memphis.
June 5. 1968 • • • .. • • • Robert F. Kennedy is murdered in Los Angeles.
Aug. 28. 1968_.. •__ • • • ._... __ •• Chicago police and some 3.000 demonstrators
confront outside the Chicago Hilton.
January 1969....._. Huston begins employment at the White
House on the Speechwriling and Research
staff.
March 1969••••••••• _., •• _. ._. _••_._ student riob at SIn Francisco Stete College.
April 1969... -. - -. - -. -. - -•. Ri:~'1en\nri:~ J:::~~~'::r~~II~hlCago.
April 1969 _.. . __ •__ . • .. •• EhrJichman prepares a report for Nixon on
foreign Communist support of campus dis·
orders: the White House concludes that
present intelligence collection capabilities
were inadequate.
May 1969..... ..._. ._._. ._. ._. Nixon places first of 17 tapa on government
otficlala.
June 1969. __ ._ ... _._ ... Huston ia aasigned by Ehrlichman (through
Krogh) to investigate poasible foreign aup·
port 01 campua disorders; receives briefinga
and reporta from CIA and FBI; obtains little
evidence to sUPJlort the hypothesia. though
is displeased With quality of dau-peel·
ally from the Bureau; has first contact with
the intelligence community since entering
the White House. .
July 1.1969 _ _._._ _ _._._ .. _ __ .. ._ .. Huston advises IRS to move allainst leftist
organizations.
July22.1969......... ..... .... _. • • • . Mitchell establishes the "Civil Disturbance
Group" (COG) to coordinate intellillence,
policy'and action within Justice concerning
domestic civil disturbances-apparenUy because
he doubted the edequacy of FBI
efforts in this area.
October-November 1969. DUring the demonstrations. Huston monitors
FBI intelligence estimates for the White
House;, Krogh. Haldeman. and Ehrlichman
complain about quality of FBI data.
December 1969 Huston asks Sullivan to have the Bureau pre-
Plre areport 011 the Novembermoratorium,
showinll that the Weathermen were to
blame for the violence not the NewMobilization
(a conclusion allreed upon by Huston
and Sullivan and contrary to the pOSition of
the Department of Justice). i
January 1970.. __ .. __ .. _ _ __ Army domestic surveillance prollram s
revealed; Ervin bellins investlption: Huston
continues responsibilities tor monltorinlland
disseminating FBI intelligence to the White
House; student riots at UC Slnte Barbare.
March 1970 _ _._ _._ _._ __ ••• _._ _ Exp,loslon of Greenwich Vlllaae townhouse
'bomb factorY;" Weathermen bomblnga of
COrporat!OII ollices In New York; Increase In
bombing incidents throughout the United
States.
, (983)
984
"CHRONOLOGY OF HUSTON PLAN ANO INTELLIGENCE EVALUATION COMMITIEE" PREPARED BY SENATE SELECT
COMMITTEE STAFF-Continued
Date Central event Related developments
June 4,1970 Huston recommends to Nixon thai Sullivan be
named chairman of work group for Special
Report; earlier, Huston and Sullivan had
met together to outline the restraints on
Intelligence collection which Huston could
show to Nixon in order to persuade him to
establish the Interagency Committee on
Intelligence (ICI) (ad hoc).
June 5, 1970 Nixon holds meeting in White House to create
ICI (ad hoc); Hoover named chairman;
present at the meeting with Nixon are:
Hoover, Helms, Bennett, Gayler, Haldeman,
Ehrlichman, Finch, and Huston.
June 8, 1970 Hoover convenes meetinl\ of intelligence
principals to plan the wnting of a Special
Report for the President; names Sullivan
work group chairman; meeting attended by
Helms, Hoover, Gayler, Bennett, Huston,
Sullivan, and G. Moore.
June 9,1970 First meeting of ICI (ad hoc) work group at
Langley; discussion on the purpose of the
assembled group; each agpncy assigned
task of preparing a list of restraints hamperJune
10,1970 ing intelligence collection. Sullivan is promoted to No.3 man in the
Bureau, succeeding Oe Loach as Assistant
to the Director; De Loach retires on July 20,
1970.
MalCh 19, 1970 Executiva Protaction Service established,
Apr. 4, 1970 40,p!lOlaOcingmaarchheavdioewrnguaPrednnasryoluvnadniaemAbvaes.sieins.
washington, D.C.
Apr. 22,1970__ • Meeting in Haldeman's office: Huston is told
to meet regularly with intelligence agencies
on questions of domestic violence and
report to the White House; decision that
Nixon should meet with intelligence community
principals regarding intelligence
gaps; Cambodian incursion prevents meetMay
1970 ing from being held in May. Kent State and Jackson State shootings; antiwar
demonstrations; Hoover terminates FB I
Iiasion to CIA; Army phases out domestic
surveillance program.
June 12, 1970 Second meeting of work group _
June 17, 1970 Third meeting of work group _
June 23,1970 Fourth and final meeting of the work group___ wi June 23, 1970 Hoover terminates all FBI formaillalson .th
. NSA, DIA, Secret Service, and the military
services.
Early July 1970 In a memo to Haldeman entitled "Operational
Restraints on Intelligence Collaction,"
Huston recommends that Nixon selact most
of the options relaxin~ restraints on Intelfigence
collection; hiS recommendation,
he says, reflacts tne consensus of the Ie
(ad hoc), not just his own viewpoint. Huston
writes a separate meRlO encouraging Nixon
to implement the Special Report options
in a face-to-face meeting With the Agency
chiefs; otherwise, thought Huston, Hoover
might not accept the relaxations.
Ju'y 9,1970. In a memo, Huston proclaims himself the
"exclusive" contact point at the White
House on matters of domestic intelligence
or internal security.
July 14, 1970 Haldeman writes memo to Huston saying that
Nixon had approved Huston's planJthough
he did not agree to the face-ta-llce announcement
of the decision. Nixon tells
Haldeman, who tells Huston, that he did
not want to take the time to call the I\&ency
Directors in.
June 25, 1970 Principals meet in Hoover's office to sign the
Special Report.
June 26, 1970 A copy of the Special Report delivered to
July 1970 Huston at the White House. John Dean transfers to the White House from
Justice, where he had often represented the
Government in discussions with protest
leaders about demonstration permits for the
Washington, D.C. area.
985
"CHRONOLOGY OF HUSTON PLAN AND INTELLIGENCE EVALUATION COMMITTEE" PREPARED BY SENATE SELECT
COMMITTEE STAFF-Continued .
Date Central event Related developments
late Augus!. Haldeman shows Dean the Huston Plan and
asks himto implement it.
Aug. 25,1970 In a memo to Haldeman, Huston urges White
House expansion of Subversive Activities
Control Board via an Executive order.
Sept. 10, 1970 Huston writes a memo to Haldeman on the
SUbject of air hijacking in which he states
the need for improved intelligence community
coordination, referring to Hoover as the
chief obstacle.
July 23,1970 Huston prepares a memo on Nixon's approval
of the extreme options, has the memo approved
by Haldeman, and sends itto Helms,
Hoover, Gayler, and Bennett. Sullivan calls
Huston soon thereatter to say that Hoover
was furious about the memo and intended
to see Mitchell" Hoover calls and writes
Mitchell to complain (the first time Mitchell
hears about the Special Report). Hoover
goes to Mitchell's ollice to object to the
removal of restraints on intelligence collection
methods; Mitchell supports Hoover's
objectives.
Ju Iy 27, 1970. • Mitchell confers with the President. Haldeman
calls Huston to say that Mitchell has talked
to Nixon about the Huston Plan, and the
July 23, decision memo was being recalled
so that Nixon, Hoover, Mitchell, and Haldeman
could reconsider the plan. David McManus
of the White House Situation Room
telephones each agency to request the return
of the decision memo and the Special
Report. .
July 28, 1970__ • The agencies return the decision memoran·
dums to the White House Situation Room.
Aug. 3,1970 Huston and Haldeman "hassle" verbally
about whether Nixon should let Hoover's
Objections to the Huston Plan prevail.
Aug. 5,1970 Huston writes a memo to Haldeman urging
implementation of the Presidential decision
reflected in the July 23, memo.
Aug. 7, 1970 In a memo to Haldeman, Huston advises (1)
that Haldeman meet with Mitchell to secure
his supportfor the President's decision; (2)
that the FBI Director be informed the decision
will stand; and (3) that all intelligence
agencies are to proceed to implement them
at once.
Aug. 10, 1970 Huston is shitted to a subordinate position
under John Dean, who is charged with
assuming Huston's intelligence responsibilities
in the White House. Henceforth,
Huston's main responsibilities related to
conflict of interest clearances and the reo
view of Executive orders, though he occasionally
prepared intelligence reports for
Haldeman and continued to be the liaison
in the White House for FBI information.
Huston also worked on a White House history
of Vietnam negotiations.
Allg. 14,1970 • Huston asks IRS for a progress report 0". its
review of the operations of Ideological
organizations.
Sept. 17, 1970 Mitchell has lunch at CIA to discuss possi·
bility of improved interagency coordination;
meets with Dean in the afternoon and says
that he opposes Huston Plan but (unlike
Hoover), approves of an interagency evalua·
ation committee to improve intelligence coordination.
In a memo to Haldeman. Dean
recommends the establishment of such a
committee as a first step toward implementing
the Huston Plan. Haldeman concurs.
Sept. 18, 1970 In a memo to Mitchell, Dean recommends the
creation of an IntelliJllnce Evaluation Committee
(IEC) for the Improved coordination
and evaluation of domestic intelligence. The
Interdivisional Information Unit in the De·
partment of Justice would provide cover for
lEe. (The IDIU monitOred information on
civil disturbances for the AG.)
986
"CHRONOLOGY OF HUSTON PLAN ANO INTELLIGENCE EVALUATION COMMITTEE" PREPAREO BY SENATE SELECT
COMMITTEE STAFF-Continued
Oate central event Related developments
Sept. 21, 1970 • In a memo to Haldeman, Huston complain.
that the IRS has failed to take any notable
actions against ideological organizations.
In a memo to IRS, Huston recommends that
the Agency put together a small group of
agents to use information gleaned from tax
records ''to harass or embarrass" certain
individuals.
Oec. 3
L
1970 IEC holds first meeting in Oean's office _
Jan. b, 1971. An unsigned memo on Department of Justice
stationery goes to Mitchell, Ehrlichman,
and Haldeman, recommending implementation
of the Huston Plan and supposedly
reflecting unanimous IEC opinion.
Feb. 3,1971. Hoover refuses to provide FBI stafl for IEC _
Mar. 29, 31, 1971. Hoover, Helms, Gayler meet in Mitchell's
office to discuss relaxation of restraints on
intelligence collection.
June 13,1971. Pentagon Papers are published; Huston returns
to law practice in Indiana soon thereafter,
but continues to serve as aconsultant
July 2, 1971. to the White House thro•ughout the year. Erhlichman forms "Plumbers" group at
Ocl6, 1971.. • SuNlliivxaonn'srerseigqnusefsrol m the Bureau.
May 2, 1972 • • Hoover dies. .
May I-June 1972_. Watergate break-lOS.
Ocl7, 1972 Huston is named a member of a census
Bureau Advisory Committee on privacy and
Apr. 30..1973 JochonnfDideeanntiaislityfir.ed as White House Counsel.
June 19/3 ._ IEC abolished _

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