Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945–1950, Emergence of the Intelligence Establishment

215. Memorandum for the Record⁰

Washington, May 26, 1947.

At the request of Senator Gurney on 24 May, I went up and talked with him this morning. He stated that he was “holding his breath” on Section 202 of the National Security Act, which was coming up for discussion and decision this morning. He stated that General Donovan had been very active on the Hill in opposition to Section 202 and had talked with Senator Gurney, among others, about it.

Senator Gurney then asked me to read two letters and a memorandum from Donovan to him, dated early in May 1947, which included an early top secret JCS paper on the subject, and also General Donovan’s letter to Harold Smith, Director of the Budget Bureau, written in 1945.¹ Senator Gurney stated that General Donovan had told him that the clandestine operations should remain with the Army and Navy, and read a sentence in General Donovan’s letter which he felt supported this. I told him that my interpretation of that statement was that General Donovan contended that departmental intelligence functions of G–2 and ONI should be retained in the services, but then read him several paragraphs from Donovan’s memorandum which specifically stated that clandestine operations should be placed in the Central Intelligence Agency and in no other departments of the Government. This cleared up Senator Gurney’s apprehension on the point.

I then commented on Donovan’s suggestion that the Agency should be placed under the Secretary of National Defense, indicating that this would not be fair to the State Department components. I pointed out that placing us under the Secretary of National Defense would contain us within the military establishment, which was not the design at all. Senator Gurney agreed on this point.

Senator Gurney asked whether the Admiral² had talked with Mr. Cheston and I stated that I thought the Admiral was attempting to make an appointment to see him. I pointed out that General Vandenberg had written General Donovan requesting an appointment, but that Donovan had not answered our letter. Senator Gurney felt that Donovan should have answered the letter, and that this in some measure took the original burden off us in that connection.

Another suggestion in the Donovan correspondence was that Section 202 be deleted in the bill and that the whole matter be thrashed out at the time detailed legislation is submitted. I indicated that it was my feeling that there could be no harm in passing Section 202, as it merely gives legislative status to our present existence, adding that if General Donovan and his associates wished to make a fight on our detailed functions, that would be appropriate at the time our enabling legislation comes up.

0. Source: Central Intelligence Agency Records, Job 90–00610R, Box 1, Folder 2. Confidential. The memorandum is unsigned but appears to have been drafted by Pforzheimer.
1. None of these documents has been found.
2. Director of Central Intelligence, Admiral Hillenkoetter.