THE POST, Frederick, Md., Friday, November 7, 1975 — Page A-3 Senate panel reveals secret info WASHINGTON (AP) — Ignoring Ford said, the companies were told that committee began asking questions about technology. administration protests, the Senate agents would read only those telegrams it, Church said. Meanwhile, Atty. Gen. Edward H. Intelligence Committee disclosed related to foreign intelligence targets. Since 1949 there is no evidence that any Levi told the committee that the NSA's Thursday a highly secret arrangement But he said that when it ended, the NSA of the companies involved ever asked as- ability to eavesdrop on overseas tele- by which U.S. spies, for 30 years, read up was reading the telegrams of many surances that what they were doing was phone calls might be subject to the to 1.8 million international telegrams a Americans as well. proper or had toplevel government Fourth Amendment ban on year. According to the Church statement, approval, Church said. unreasonable searches of American The release of information on the this is how the operation worked: Church said he was authorized to citizens. National Security Agency's "Project "RCA Global and ITT World make the information public after He avoided a direct statement on the Shamrock" was the first time a Senate Communications provided NSA with the seeking a ruling from the Senate parlia- legality of the NSA's sophisticated committee has acted on its own to great bulk of their international message mentarian that disclosure did not violate surveillance techniques, saying only that disclose classified information that the traffic, which NSA then selected for Senate rules. these present somewhat different legal executive branch wanted to keep secret, traffic of foreign intelligence targets. questions from those posed by domestic committee staff members said. "Western Union International sorted bugging and wiretapping. The decision was attacked by Sens. the traffic itself and provided NSA only At present, Levi said, "there is no John Tower, R-Tex., and Barry with copies of the traffic of certain National scene warrantless electronic surveillance Goldwater, R-Ariz., as completely foreign targets and all the traffic to one directed against any American citizen." unjustified and dangerous to national country." He said he will not authorize any such security. Church said that during a 1947 meeting I surveillance in the future "unless it is White House officials have objected to with Secretary of Defense James clear that, the American citizen is an release of the report but had no Forrestal, company representatives In making that finding, the active, conscious agent or collaborator immediate comment Wednesday. were promised that if they coopera- parliamentarian said Project Shamrock of a foreign power." The disclosure was made and ted "they WOuld suffer no criminal apparently violated the 1934 "Surveillance without a warrant will defended by Sen. Frank Church, D- liability and no public exposure, at least Communications Act and the Fourth not be conducted for purposes of security Idaho. He said the information as long as the current administration Alnendment to the Constitution which against domestic or internal threats," demonstrates that Congress needs to was in office." forbids unreasonable searches and seiz- Levi said. write a basic law governing NSA Forrestal told the firms the ures. In another development, the House operations that would be similar to the arrangements had the approval of Church said that because Project intelligence committee voted 7-2 to legal charter which is intended to govern President Truman and Atty. Gen. Tom Shamrock involved a "simple transfer of subpoena U.S. intelligence reports to the Central Intelligence Agency. C. Clark, Church said. the telegraph traffic to the govern- determine whether estimates of Soviet Project Shamrock began in 1947 with Project Shamrock was stopped ment" disclosure would not compromise strength and weapons are being the approval of President Harry S. suddenly last May, just when the any of NSA's secret communications distorted. Truman and his top military and legal advisers, Church said, and involved the cooperation of three giant international telegraph companies— RCA Global, ITT World Communications and Western Union International. Reading from a statement authorized by the committee in a 7-3 vote, Church said the agency has "selected about 150,000 messages a month for NSA analysts to review" from all of those available to it. "Thousands of those messages in one form or another were distributed to other agencies in response to 'foreign intelligence requirements," Church said. At the beginning of the operation, he .