Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Ml 48104
Panthers on
the
prowl
for
FBI
Friday, February 20, 1976
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Bush committee a sham
EARLIER THIS WEEK, the Presi-
dent announced a large-scale re-
organization of the United States' in-
telligence community. His plan in-
cludes the appointment of CIA Direc-
tor George Bush to chair a commit-
tee assigned to conduct "the man-
agement of intelligence." Also, Ford
instituted a three-man "independent
oversight board" to evaluate the per-
formance of intelligence agencies.
In light of who was selected to fill
the monitoring posts, the reorganiz-
ation is nothing more than a token
reform designed to pacify an enlight-
ened an enraged public.
At a time when people are seri-
ously questioning the propriety of
the broad power delegated to Intelli-
gence leaders, the President is mov-
ing to increase the scope of the CIA
director's clout.
BUSH'S COMMITTEE will be ex-
pected to "prepare the budget
for intelligence agencies and to al-
locate their resources," according to
White House sources.
Also, Bush is a compliant Republi-
can assigned to police a body which
he himself heads. Using this ploy,
the chief executive has side-stepped
his responsibility to provide the na-
tion with an ifmpartial committee to
keep an eye on closed-door intelli-
gence sectors.
And though one would at least ex-
pect the "independent oversight
board" to be an unbiased group, it is
interesting to note the credentials of
two of the three members of that
body. Stephen Ailes was Secretary of
the Army in the Johnson Administra-
By JOHN CONROY
and LORETTA SMITH
CHICAGO (PNS) - A multi-
million dollar civil trial of FBI
and state officials now under-
way here could determine for
the first time whether the FBI
sanctioned murder as part of
its .efforts against black mili-
tants in the late 1960's.
FBI documents, recently ob-
tained by the Senate Intelli-
gence Committee, reveal that
these efforts were aimed at pre-
venting the rise of a black
"messiah" and blocking a coal-
ition of black nationalist groups
that "might be a first step to-
ward ... t true black revolu-
tion."
They included such counter-
intelligence techniques as in-
formers, illegal wiretaps, false
arrests, forgeries, slanders,
raids and armed confrontations.
The Black Panther Party (BPP)
was a specific target.
Now, six years after Chicago
Black Panther leaders Fred
Hampton and Mark Clark were
killed in a pre-dawn police raid,
their parents and seven Pan-
ther survivors are suing for
$47.7 million in damages in a
civil trial before U.S. District
Court Judge Joseph Perry.
THEY ALLEGE violations of
civil rights and personal injur-
ies in the raid, which Panther
lawyers will attempt to prove
was deliberately planned and
executed by the FBI to put an
end to the Black Panther Party
in Chicago.
The civil suit, which has sur-
vived countless legal setbacks,
was originally filed against state
and local authorities in 1970.
Earlier that year, a federal
grand jury had concluded that
police reports of the raid were
so contradictory that it appear-
ed police had participated in a
coverup. Yet the grand jury re-
turned no indictments.
In 1972, a special county
grand jury - convened under
public pressure to investigate
the raid - indicted six Cook
County officials and eight of the
14 police involved in the raid
for criminal misconduct. All
defendants were subsequently
acquitted by State Court Judge
Philip Romiti.
NOW, HOWEVER, Panther
lawyers possess information -
much of it previously hidden in
police and FBI files - which
they claim implicates not just
local authorities but the highest
echelons of the Justice Depart-
ment.
Included is a Rockefeller
Commission Report on Domestic
identity and relocated to another
city by the FBI, O'Neal testified
in a pre-trial deposition that he
provided the local FBI chief Roy
Mitchell with a floor plan of
the apartment in which Hamp-
ton and Clark were killed. The
drawing included the notation
"Hampton sleeps here."
Hampton was shot to death
by police during the raid on
the precise location marked on
the map.
According to lawyers for the
police, the raid resulted from
an FBI tip that the Panther
apartment contained an illegal
F:":" :Y:11..; "e:Sj fll. . Jf4"}::'.LS':r::}:%1: 4}A y }. ':t,:V:":"t::":ti"::".'" "l""}':.' .",.'."}:: : . :".St:Y: :fN
.. t!' iVli .": V "M1'"""" " ": V.i '."r{'t i .titiVl::Vlit:'."i ":':":'i '
x 't:. :.......M".:l. W.. ....t... . .. .1 l Vf i'::'i: :"?.....:L::ti1:I i'i{Y .. . ' 1 4 l Ati: } 1.1 :: :ti":'nf.:Y t ""'i::
'The FBI itself admits
that agent O'Neal gave
it the floor plan of the apartment, as well as
information on the Panther arsenal. But law-
yers for the justice Department deny the FBI
planned, conducted or even knew about the
raid, let alone took part in it.'
r::"se an si'r::"}'?tii:"'?4Lrr::.}}'?:.;wrrt^:: }}s};}r,::"?:%,;"}'::r.Si:r}??r::}4:::"7r -}:"a
sition. But Groth, who has giv-
en contradictory testimony on
at least two occasions regard-
ing other aspects of the raid,
refuses to divulge the identity
of the second source, saying to
do so would endanger the lives
of other people.
Panther attorneys claim the
identity of such a second source
is crucial since he or she may
still be in their midst - even
one of the plaintiffs.
Moreover, evidence that
Hampton was drugged the night
of the raid suggests the second
informant may have been the
one who drugged him. The evi-
dence of drugging was produced
by former U.S. Attorney Gen-
eral Ramsey Clark's independ-
ent inquiry, which found that
Hampton had received such a
high dose 'he didn't wake when
the shooting started.
LAST JUNE, Panther attor-
neys asked Judge Perry to or-
der police to identify any in-
former among the plaintiffs.
Perry denied the motion, say-
ing he didn't want to interfere
with the relationship of the Pan-
ther plaintiffs to their lawyers.
. Perry also refused to compel
Sergeant Gorth to name the
second informant.
Until recently Perry has also
repeatedly refused to allow
Panther attorneys access to
FBI files relating to the Black
Panther Party - files the at-
torneys claim would help prove
a government conspiracy to kill
Clark and Hampton. Perry-who
read the files in secret session
- claimed they were irrelevant
to the trial.
(Those intelligence documents
that were turned over to the
lawyers - specifically Chicago
police files - were heavily cen-
sored, with all notations that
might identify police officers or
names of informants expunged.)
PERRY'S RECENT decision
to give the Panther defense
team the FBI files followed
their submission of documents
released by the Senate Intelli-
gence Committee which they
claimed contradicted Judge Per-
ry's ruling. So far, Perry has
allowed only one such document
into evidence.
The files include documents
that reveal the Chicago FBI of-
fice had been instructed by its
Washington headquarters to sub-
mit "imaginative and hardhit-
ting counter intelligence pro-
posals aimed at crippling the
BPP" every two weeks.
Also among the documents
was a forged letter sent to a
leader of the Blackstone Ran-
gers, a rival black group, warn-
ing him that the Panthers were
plotting his murder. The FBI
said the purpose of the letter
was "to intensify the degree
of animosity between the two
groups ... whichdcouldrdisrupt
the BPP or lead to reprisals
against its leadership."
Relations between Perry and
the Panther lawyers have been
heated throughout the two years
of pretrial hearings. Panther at-
torneys have accused Perry of
"flagrant abuses" of judicial
power and moved to have him
disqualified from the case-a
motion denied in the Court of
Appeals.
THE TRIAL-NOW before a
jury of one black and five
whites-is expected to last sev-
eral months, with 400 witnesses
or more likely to take the stand.
Whether or not it results in
establishing, as Panther lawyers
charge, that the 1969 raid was
the result of a deliberate plot
to kill Hampton and Clark, ob-
servers here believe it has al-
ready revealed why the Pan-
thers existed in a virtual state
of war with law enforcement
agencies.
John Conroy is the senior
editor of Chicago Magazine.
Loretta Smith is a Chicago-
based freelance photographer
and journalist who has been
covering the Ham tpon - Clark
case for PNS.
George Bush
tion. Leo Cherne is a publisher of
books on business and has crusaded
to rescue people from totalitarian
nations. One can hardly expect them
to act responsibly on the issue of
what constitutes "national security."
IN THE EVENT of disagreement
among members of Bush's com-
mittee, the National Security Council
will preside as the appeals judge, de-
ciding on the proper action to be
taken. This provision is no more ac-
ceptable than asking Bush to be his
own disciplinarian.
We cannot passively sit by and al-
low ourselves to be force fed such
unsatisfactory reforms. It is time to
appoint an independent special pro-
secutor to dig into the core of this
intelligence quagmire.
Spying (released last June)
showing that the man sent to
conduct the 1970 federal grand
jury investigation - Assistant
U.S. Attorney Jerris Leonard-
was at the same time head of
a Justice Department intelli-
gence unit that supervised FBI
spying on the Black Panthers.
Panther lawyers plan to show
that Leonard's dual role was
part of the FBI's deliberate pro-
gram to suppress the Panthers.
Other evidence of FBI links
to the raid surfaced in 1973,
when former Panther Chief of
Security William O'Neal testi-
fied in an unrelated criminal
proceeding. O'Neal - then Fred
Hampton's personal bodyguard
and the man in charge of the
Panther arsenal at the time of
the raid-admitted having been
a paid FBI informer from 1968
to mid-1970.
SUBSEQUENTLY given a new
cache of weapons. They claim
police opened fire on the occu-
pants only when they encount-
ered fire.
In the 1973 trial in which eight
of the police involved in the
raid were acquitted, however,
testimony revealed that all but
one of about 90 shots fired came
from police weapons.
The FBI itself admits that
O'Neal gave it the floor plan
of the apartment, as well as in-
formation on the Panther ar-
senal. But lawyers for the Jus-
time Department deny the FBI
planned, conducted or even
knew about the raid, let alone
took part in it.
THE CHICAGO POLICE ser-
geant who led the raid-Daniel
Groth - claims the information
on illegal weapons came not
from O'Neal but, from a second
informant - a claim backed up
by O'Neal in a pre-trial depo-
PIRGIM REPORTS:
Ford's great energy loan
boondoggle
Don't punish press leaks
ON WEDNESDAY, PRESIDENT Ford
proposed legislation making it a
felony for government employees to
disclose information on how the CIA
and other Federal Agencies gather
and evaluate information. The draft,
if passed, would extend the sphere
of persons liable for criminal ac-
tions.
The Ford proposal does not ex-
tend punitive measures to journalists
or anyone else who might receive
this information, but by making such
leaks felonies, it empowers Federal
prosecutors to call on reporters to
testify and divulge their sources of
information.
The proposal comes in the wake of
unauthorized disclosures, made by
the Village Voice, of the final report
of the House Select Committee on
Intelligence.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Glen Allerhand, Dana Bau-
mann, Maureen Nolan, Jeff Ris-
tine, Tim Schick, Bill Turque, Mar-
garet Yao
Editorial Page: Susan Ades, Michael
Beckman, Stephen Hersh, Jon Pan-
sius, Tom Stevens
Arts Page: David Blomquist
Photo Technician: Steve Kagan
THE DRAFT BILL PUTS a ple-
thora of limitations on what dis-
closures would be eligible ;for crimi-
nal prosecution, but it enables the
Director of the CIA to seek a re-
straining order from the Justice De-
partment to prevent imminent dis-
closure of secret information by a
signatory to the secrecy agreement.
In the past, leaks of confidential
government information have done
our country a lot of good. The Penta-
gon Papers, for example, helped
raise American consciousness of the
war in Vietnam as well as setting a
precedent in determining just what
should or should not be public
knowledge.
The information revealed in the
Village Voice is of equal value and
we fully support the continued ag-
gressive spirit of the press to print
secret documents and other govern-
ment information for the benefit of
the people.
Although it makes sense for those
who classify documents as secret to
want to keep them from the public,
leaking information is sometimes
clearly justifiable. And it would be
wrong to punish leakers who are act-
ing in the right.
By RICHARD CONLIN
IF YOU ARE New York City, and need
federal loan guarantees to help you
survive until you've balanced your bud-
get, Gerry Ford chastises you for being
a wastrel and a spendthrift. But if you're
Westinghouse Corporation, and want to
take a chance on building a'super nu-
clear - reactor which you're not sure is
going to work, Gerry Ford wants to give
you a slice out of the hundred billion
dollar pie that he thinks big corpora-
tions deserve to stimulate them into ac-
tion to solve energy problems.
Incidentally, the hundred billion dol-
lars comes out of your tax money -
it's about $2,000 from every family in
the United States.
Now, perhaps some uncharitable soul
would suggest that this isn't exactly free
enterprise: it's more like a subsidy to
some very rich corporations. But Gerry
Ford points out that these are very
risky investments-too risky for private
capital markets to provide necessary
financing.
On the other hand, Ford notes, while
these investments are too risky for the
private market, they really don't cost
the taxpayers anything, since they are
loans which of course will probably be
paid back by the companies who receive
them.
HOWEVER, IF WHAT the company
tries doesn't work, and it can't pay the
loan back, then the government will just
write it off as a bad debt. And the com-
pany can apologize and ask for another
loan to try again.
An added advantage is that the com-
pany doesn't have to worry about the
government acquiring any financial in-
terest in these investments. Absolutely
not. This money may come from the
taxpayers, but if the company perfects
a process that makes a mint, it can keep
the profits. It's sort of a corporate uto-
pia - the public takes the risks, and
the companies get the benefits.
And there's another kicker in the bill.
One of the conditions of receiving assist-
ance is that the company be in sound
ors, and billions more in tax loopholes
for such struggling companies as Stand-
ard Oil.
As you can see, this is the boondoggle
of all times, the pork barrel to end all
pork barrels. And it won't even work to
achieve its purpose-energy independ-
ence. The reason is that no exotic tech-
nology can sustain the energy growth
that society has been experiencing. Ev-
ery technology either has too many prob-
lems and hazards, too long a lead time,
or too high a future cost to be economic-
ally rational.
Only serious conser
efforts and low-tech
innovations can addre
solve our problems
foreseeable future.
we concentrate on tho
are going to stay on a
mill. And Ford does
lieve or doesn't unde
tis.'
financial condition. And if it's
company, the state's Public
Commission has to sign a coni
it will assure "adequate earn
the company. So if Detroit E
Consumers Power blows a coup
lion, that's not too serious, si
can just pass the costs on to 1
tomers.
Of course, that means us. Bu
we didn't pay it in our utility b
pay it in our taxes, so maybei
make a lot of difference.
OH, AND ALL this is on top o
lion annual subsidy to nuclea
through the federal energy bud
of billions for favored defense
rvation
nology
'ss and
in theOnly serious conservation efforts and
in thte low-technology innovations can address
U'nless and solve our problems in the foresee-
able future. Unless we concentrate on
)Se, we those, we're going to stay on a tread-
treadi- mill. And Ford either doesn't believe or
n'tbe- doesn't understand this.
nt't tae- Perhaps the ultimate irony is that
'rstand Karl Marx predicted that capitalist so-
ciety, with its emphasis on constant
growth, would collapse due to a short-
age of capital. Gerry Ford seems to
buy that analysis - and wants to des-
a utility perately throw money into the sys-
Service tem to sustain it.
tract that
nings" to A MORE RATIONAL conclusion might
Edison or be to step back and take a close look at
ple of bil- your system, and maybe tinker a lit-
ince they tle with its operation instead of pre-
their cus- tending that every problem can be solv-
ed by tossing money at it. Funny, that's
if thebsamecriticism Gerry Ford used to
)t then' make about social welfare programs.
'ills, we'd
it doesn't PIRGIM is organizing and working for
energy programs that make sense, like
tax exemptions for solar and wind home
f a $4 bil- energy units, which are small-scale,
ar power technologically feasible, and offer num-
Iget, tens erous other advantages. We're also
contract- working for utility rate reform, to re-
Gerald Ford
ward energy conservation efforts and
penalize excessive consumption. We
helped design and pass an appliance lab-
eling act in Michigan, so consumers can
compare energy efficiency before they
buy appliances. And ie testified in hear-
ings in thefederal energy research bud-
get, asking for more money for solar
and wind research, and an end to the
costly and inefficientasubsidy of nuclear
power.
There are other actions that could be
taken, such as spending some serious
amounts of money on alternative energy
source research, or mandating energy
conservation standards in building con-
struction codes.
These actions would be far preferable
to the Ford $100 billion dollar rip-off of
the, taxpayer.
Richard Conlin is a member of the
PIRGIM staff.
WE M6 EGANO YOU
A
-S}
cover. ?
To The Daily:
TALKING ABOUT covert op-
erations - what's going on be-
tween the Daily and President
Fleming? From the mild cover-
age the Daily has given to the
ongoing conflict (Regents meet-
ing and February 18 Debate)
between Fleming and the Coali-
tion to Stop CIA/NSA Recruit-
ment on Campus, it is appar-
ent that the Daily staff has a
relationship with Fleming it
does not want to jeopardize.
To set matters straight,
which the Daily's Feb. 19 brief
and "objective" coverage fail-
ed to do, the confrontation was
Letters
which was documented by a
member of the coalition. Flem-
ing's condemnation of the emo-
tonal response of protesters just
reinforced the very "political"
(and un-ethical) nature of uni-
versity policy which cannot
bring itself to condemn political
assasinations, d e s t r u c-
tion, murder and war.
This intimacy between Flem-
ing and Daily must end, if stu-
dents who supposedly have
freedom of choice, are also to
experience freedom to read the
news as it really happens. We
would be wise to heed the
words of Malcolm X: "If you
are not careful, the newspaper
to
kering between
tions of UAW Local 2001 (Uni-
versity Clericals) has passed
the point of being a nuisance,
and has instead become coun-
ter - productive to the interests
of union members.
The Clericals for a Democra-
tic Unuion can only deal with
democracy when they are in
the majority. The Unity Caucus'
clamors for unity at any price,
and only on their terms.
The bigwigs of the UAW,
rather than encouraging soli-
darity within Local 2001, have
instead sent Carolyn Forrest to
Ann Arbor. Ms. Forrest has
willfully allowed herself to be-
The
Daily
the two fac-
with our local. From the out-
set, the UAW should have seen
to it that their liaison to our
local was working to heal the
deep divisions within the local
rather than consciously exacer-
bating them.
SO LONG AS THE CDU and
Unity factions continue to ex-
pend their energies solely in
the pursuit of power, the is-
sues vital to the interest of
university clericals will remain
obscured in rhetoric. In a few
months, negotiations for a new
contract will begin. Unless the
leadership of the local can pre-
sent at least a facade of unity,
we will be bargaining from an
Forrest remained arrogant
and hostile to the end. The CDU
majority on the executive board
showed a similar political naiv-
ete when they subsequently en-
dorsed a petition. denouncing
Carolyn Forrest, giving Unity
clericals both a new issue and
a martyr.
ONE THING ALL clericals
(especially the leaders of CDU
and Unity) would do well to
heed is the petition now being
circulated which calls for an
election that 6old decertify
the union. Decertification would
be a mistake, but it will be-
come more and more attractive
so long as our union cannot
or will not devote its energies
:'
'
I
I--
r
I
ml , I I I -Mrs
I
a ' _..