News Coverage of CIA Director Turner's San Francisco Remarks on Operation Midnight Climax (August 1977)

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Channel 2 - KTVU 11 pm news (Oakland)

Newsman: The Director of Central Intelligence appeared today in
San Francisco and he asked the city's forgiveness for that spy agency's
operation of a bawdyhouse at 2250 Chestnut Street during the mid-fifties.
Turner said that Operation Midnight Climax wherein unsuspecting citizens
were lured to this Telegraph Hill apartment for the CIA's drug experi-
ments were, in his words, "abhorrent." But the CIA Chief said he didn't

know much about the operation since he hadn't spoken with the mastermind.

Turner: The CIA is not involved in investigating Americans and we
also did not want to appear to be influencing Gottleib in any way to
testify or not to testify. I have not communicated with him since these

new documents became available.

Newsman: Admiral Turner said there were no such operations now.
He did emphasize, however, the CIA continues to be deeply interested

in the international drug trade but the CIA's "mind-control" experiments,

he said, are all past history.

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‘alt

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Channel 5 — KPIX-TV 11 pm news (San Francisco)

(Opening comments regarding "CIA's brothel in San Francisco" were
missed. )

Newsman: .«eseFederal government's Bureau of Narcotics office in
San Francisco and he died two years ago. Today, CIA Director Stansfield
Turner, the man who first revealed the existence of the operation, appeared
for a news conference here in San Francisco. Reporter Avery was there too
and he asked Turner about the apartment, about Colonel White, and about
information the experiments were tape-recorded by CIA. He even asked
about four DD4 microphones connected to two F301 tape recorders. Very
detailed information.

Turners You've got lots more details than Ido. I'm not ina
position to discuss with you the names of individuals involved in this
because the laws of this country quite properly prohibit my doing so.

I have turned over to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence every
name, every bit of information we have available, for their use in pur-
suing their investigation."

Nowsman: Today in Washington, four men who used to work for the
CIA on Operation Midnight Climax, the Senate Intelligance Committee

issued subpoenas to bring them to the Hearing rooms next monthe

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ae

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Fri., Aug..5, 1977

*& *& * S.F EXAMINER—Page 3

CIA chief deplores CIA brothels

By Jim Wood

A CIA operation. in which
private citizens were lured to a San
Francisco brothel and unwittingly
drugged was denounced today by

‘the director of the CIA.

Adm. Stansfield Turner said
ithe brothel drug ‘ experiments
ended some 12 years ago and that
_ “zero” such r bordellos are being
; dperated now’

- They are all past hiory,” said
Turner who is in San Francisco for
+a Commonwealth Club speaking
engagement. '

. “fL.., Jig.egi

_«, “The most inexplicable part
was simply that here in San Fran-
“eisco and some other places in the
‘country, in the name of under-
- Standing the potential use of drugs
to be used against our people and
“against our intelligence activities,
sthere were apparently tests con-

“ducted on individuais without their —

consent,” Turner said.

The director said that today
“that is certainly‘

abhorrent to you and to me
and I can assure all of you that this
activity is not and will not be
tolerated in our intelligence sys-
tems.” _

In Washington, meanwhile,
three former CIA employes and a
former CIA consultant refused to
testify before a Senate inquiry into
the drug and bordello operation.

Turner said that the four had
made the decision not to testify
independently and that the agency

.had not bsen in touch with the four

since documents disclosing the op-
erating were discovered.

The four had been expected to
appear -before the Senate Health
and Intelligence’ committees head-
ed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-
Mass.

- When the committees’ investi-

gators were notified of the four’s 7

refusal to testify, subpoenas were
issued for the appearance Sept. 9. .

One of those subpoenaed was
Dr. Sidney Gottleib who headed the
MK-Ultra program, according to
documents released. by the CIA
under the Freedom of Information
Act. :

The program ran an elaborate-
ly decorated brothel in San Francis-
co under the code name Operation
Midnight Climax.

Documents made public by the
CIA indicate private citizens were
taken to the bordello by $100
prostitutes and drugged without
their knowledge, usually with LSD.

CIA researchers then watched
through a two-way mirror, filming
what happened when the subjects
went into the bedroom with the
prostitutes, according to documents
and testimony given to the Senate

probers.

_ The purpose of the research,
Senate investigators were told, was

to learn about thought control and

sexual behavior.

The two other. former CIA
employes identified in the subpoe-
nas were Robert Lashbrook and
Walter Pasternak.

The consultant is Dr. Charles
Geschickter, a highly respected
former Georgetown University pro-
fessor, who headed the Geschickter
Fund for Medical Research.

Documents obtained by the
committee from the CIA indicate
that the fund was used as a conduit
for research money from the CIA.

The committee met in closed
session this morning after being
notified that the four witnesses had,
refused to appear voluntarily.

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10 San Francisco Chronicle # Sat., Aug. 6, 1977

‘Speech in S.F. - |

- Chief Vows New Course

Central Intelligence Agency direc-
tor Stansfield Turner said here yester-

day the CIA has steered a new course’

more in conformity with the nation’s
ethical norms.

Under a reorganization plan pushed
by President Carter, he said, the nation’s
intelligence community is being over-
seen by a three-member watchdog com-
mittee that has immediate access to Car-
ter.

Turner conceded that its new con-
cern with moral scruples puts the CIA at
a disadvantage with foreign rivals who
play rough.

“But I would not trade our position
in any way,” he said.

Turner discussed the agency’s ethi-
cal role in a speech at the Com-
monwealth Club before more than 450
people.

At a press conference, Turner again-

claimed the CIA got out of the business
of running brothels a long time ago and
doesn’t intend to get into the trade
again.

“Zero,” he said when asked how
many whorehouses the agency is operat-
ing these days. ;

‘ The question came up as a result of

revelations that the CIA ran a brothel in

San Francisco more than a dozen years
ago in the interests of science.

According to documents found in
CIA archives and made public Wednes-
day in Washington, the agency wanted
to study the effects of drugs, such as
LSD, which were given to brothel
patrons without their knowledge.

. “TI can assure all of you that this
activity is not and will not be tolerated in
our intelligence operations,” said Turn-
er, who added he found the practices
“abhorrent.” ; oe

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