“… Gottlieb, he was informed that President Eisenhower had ordered the assassination mission against Patrice Lumumba. Gottlieb's mission to the Congo was both preceded and followed by general cables urging the "elimination" of Lumumba sent from CIA headquarters in an extraordinarily res …”
“… a cryptic cable to Leopoldville to arrange a clandestine meeting between the Chief of Station and "Sidney Braun,” who was traveling' to the Congo on an unspecified assignment: [”SID”] SHOULD ARRIVE APPROX 27 SEPT. .WILL . ANNOUNCE HIMSELF AS- "SID FROM PARIS" . . . IT ■ URGENT YOU …”
“Leopoldville., 9/22/60). * Due to fear of reprisal from Lumumba's followers, the Chief of Station for the Congo from mid-summer 1960 through 1961 testi fied under the alias "Hedgman" (Hedgman, 8/21/75, p. 2; 8/25/75, p. 4). NW 50955 DocId: 3242353 …”
“… ar view three days before, in the ■ presence of the. President at an NSC meeting, stating: Mobutu appeared to be the effective power in the Congo for the moment but Lumumba was not yet disposed of and remained a grave danger • as long as he was not disposed of. (NSC Minutes, 9/21/6 …”
“… station contacts,, he indicated that the Chief of station and his colleague" presumably the man identified as ."Sid" who was to arrive in the Congo shortly to explain the PROP operation to Hedgman -- were to be afforded considerable latitude . in exercising their judgment on the condu …”
“… GARD BOTH YOUR PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENTS. (CIA Cable, 9/22/60.) * This is probably a reference to agent QJWIN, who was later dispatched to the Congo. His mission is discussed in Sections } , and , infra. NW 50955 DocId: 32423539 Page 264”
“… 75, pp. 20-21). Hedgman indicated that Ithis paraphernalia was for administering the poisons to Lumumba: Q: [W]hen he [Gottlieb] came to the Congo to give you lethal biological agents for the assassination of Lumumba, was it clear at that time that the means for administering those …”
“… MODERATE HASTE" (CIA Cable OUT 75900,' Fields to Leopoldville, 9/30/60.) According to the report of the Chief of Station, .Gottlieb left the Congo to return to headquarters on October 5 in view of the "EXPIRATION DATE HIS MATERIALS" (CIA Cable IN 24171, Leopold ville to Tweedy, 10/7 …”
“… sination mission was to move forward. He went on to request Hedgman's reaction to the prospect of sending a senior . CIA case officer to the Congo on a "DIRECTED ASSIGNMENT.. . TO CONCENTRATE ENTIRELY THIS ASPECT" (CIA Cable OUT 81396, Tweedy to Chief of Station, 10/15/60). This refe …”
“… Chief of Station, 10/15/60.) * For a full account of the meeting between Bissell and O'Donnell and O'Donnell's subsequent activities in the Congo, see Section 5(a), infra. HW 50955 DocId: 32423539 Page 276”
“-31- This series of cables sent during, and after Gottlieb’s visit to the Congo demonstrated a clear intent at CIA. headquarters to authorize and support rapid progress on the assassi nation mission. The cables also …”
“… man said that he does not recall taking the - poisons out of his safe on any occasion other than when he disposed of them on the banks of the Congo River: I think that I took them out probably in a briefcase, or an air bag of some sort, and I believe that the things like the rubber …”
“-36- The cable traffic conforms to Hedgman's, recollection. For two months after Gottlieb’s arrival in the Congo, a regular stream- of messages flowed between the Leopoldville Chief of Station and - headquarters through the PROP channel. In late Sept …”
“… ING SEASON. (CIA Cable III 28936, 10/17/60.) The first sentence of Hedgman’s recommendation clearly refers to sending a.sniper rifle to the Congo via diplomatic pouch. The rest of the message is probably an oblique reference to the possibility of shooting Lumumba at the "OPENING OF …”
“November 27; Lumumba was virtually a prisoner in UN custody, but inaccessible to CIA agents and the Congolese: TARGET HAS NOT LEFT BUILDING IN SEVERAL WEEKS. HOUSE GUARDED DAY AND NIGHT BY CONGOLESE AND UN TROOP.... CONGOLESE - TROOPS ARE THERE TO PREVENT TARGET'S ESCAPE A”
“… d instructions to destroy those cables (Hedgman, 8/21/7.5, p. 96). Hedgman said he had never before in his tenure as Chief of .Station in the Congo destroyed cable traffic because of its sensitivity (Hedgman, 8/21/75, p. 91). But he stated that the cables relating to assassination wer …”
“-40- that eventually I destroyed a great deal of traffic, because the Congo was a highly sensitive area in ' which — at one period I recall we had all of our files in the burn barrels. I mean, when you wanted a f …”
“… weight of the .evidence demonstrates that the assassination effort was the "highest priority" at CIA head- quarters among operations in the Congo., Bissell has no direct recollection of Gottlieb’s mission to the Congo and Tweedy can recall nothing more than consideration of the fea …”
“-42- Station, 9/19/60) and the cable of October 7 indicating that he had debriefed Gottlieb upon his return from the Congo (CIA Cable OUT 78336,Tweedy to Chief of Station, 10/7/60). Tweedy was also the "Eyes Only" recipient of Hedgman’s reports on Gottlieb's …”
“-43- When asked his opinion about the truth of the testimony received by the Committee that poisons were delivered to the Congo by Gottlieb, who carried instructions that they were to be used in the assassination of Lumumba, Tweedy replied: There is nothing in …”
“Planning To Implementation But It Was Not Against Agency Policy to Seno Poisons to The Congo Richard Bissell testified that he did not remember discussing the feasibility of assassinating Lumumba with Bronson Tweedy, but it see …”
“… nd such a cable without my signing off on it. (Bissell, 9/10, p. 8) Bissell believed that Tweedy would have known of Gottlieb's trip to the Congo, although it was possible that Tweedy was”
“… including assassination" (Bissell, 9/10, p.60). Although he had no "specific recollection," Bissell assumed that, if Gottlieb went to the Congo, he.had approved the mission, (which "might very well" have dealt with the assassination of Lumumba) (Bissell, 9/10, pp. 18, 20, 44). De …”
“Gottlieb carried poisons to the Congo (Bissell, 9/10, p. 35). Bissell testified that it would not have been against CIA policy in the fall of 1960 to send poisons to the Con …”
“-51- He classified "the act of taking the kit to the Congo.. as still in the planning stage" (Bissell, 9/10, p. 49). Bissell acknowledged, however , that the dispatch of poisons and paraphernalia …”
“-52- 5. The Question of a Connection Between the Assassination Plot and Other Actions of CIA Officers and Operatives in the Congo .Justin O'Donnell, a senior CIA officer in the clandestine operations division in 1960,. testified that during, this period he had been …”
“-53- (a) O'Donnell's Operations in the Congo (i) Tweedy and the Thief of Station Agreed That a Senior" Case Officer Should be Sent to the Congo to Concentrate on the Assassination O …”
“… 11/75, p. 7). 'Donnell said that Gottlieb "didn't even hint that he had been in the Congo and that he had transported any lethal agent to the Congo" (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, p. 7-A). After speaking with Gottlieb,”
“… ly dismissed" this prospect (O'Donnell, 6/9/75, p. 14). Despite his refusal to. participate in assassination, 'Donnell agreed to go to the Congo on a general mission' to "neutralize" . Lumumba "as a political factor" (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, pp. 43-44): I said I would go down and I wo …”
“… ng at other ways of neutralizing Lumumba" (Bissell, 9/10/75, p.53). Although O'Donnell did not formulate a precise plan until he reached the Congo, he discussed a general strategy with Bissell: HW 50955 DocId:32423539 Page 302”
“-57- Mr. O’Donnell: I told Mr. Bissell that I would be willing to go down to neutralize his activities and operations and try to bring him out [of UN custody] and turn him over to the Congolese authorities, that is correct. Senator Mondale: Was it discussed then that his ”
“… sations with Bissell: Mr. O'Donnell came to me and said that he had been approached by Richard Bissell ... to undertake an operation in the Congo, one . of the objectives of which was the elimina tion of Patrice Lumumba. He also told me that he had declined to undertake this assi …”
“(Harvey, 6/25/75, p. 9). ..O'Donnell said that within forty-eight hours of his second dis cussion with Bissell, he departed for the Congo (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, pp. 45-46).. * Helms testified that he did not follow-up on this conversa- tion in any way. He did not recall why …”
“… t least postponing any- thing further1along that line. (Bissell, 9/10/75, pp. 25-26). In Tweedy's mind, O’Donnell's eventual mission to the Congo was linked to assessing the possibility for assassinating Lumumba rather than to a general plan to”
“draw Lumumba out of UN custody (Tweedy, 9/9/75,.p. 26). (iv) O'Donnell Arrived in the Congo and Learned That a Virus Was in the Station Safe On October 29, the Chief of Station was informed through the PROP channel that Justin O …”
“… Leopoldville to Director, 11/4/60). Chief of Station Hedgman testified that he had been made aware by cable that O'Donnell was coming to the Congo (Hedgman, 8/21/75, p. 40). Hedgman said it was "very possible" that as a new Chief of Station he took the dispatch to the Congo of a sen …”
“When O'Donnell arrived in the Congo, he met with the Chief of Station, who informed him that there was "a virus in the safe" (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, p. 7-A; 6/9/75, p. 16). 'Do …”
“… that it probably would have emanated from his office. (O'Donnell, 6/9/75, p. 28.) Hedgman did not recall discussing Gottlieb's trip to the Congo with O'Donnell, but "assumed" that he did so (Hedgman, 8/21/75, pp. 60-61). O'Donnell was "certain" that the virus had arrived before he …”
“assumed that its purpose was assassination: *When O'Donnell was informed about Hedgman’s testimony on the visit of Gottlieb to the Congo and the plot to poison Lumumba, he said, "I believe absolutely in its credibility" (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, p. 53). O'Donnell found nothing i …”
“-64- explored the means by which such access could be gained, nor would he have undertaken a mission to the Congo if it involved assess- ment of the situation for an assassination operation by someone else (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, p. 26).. O'Donnell wa …”
“… to Congolese Authorities and Requested the Assignment of Agent QJWIN to Leopoldville as" His Alter Ego After Justin O'Donnell arrived in the Congo, he formu lated a plan for "neutralizing" Lumumba by drawing him away from the custody of the UN force which was guarding his residence: …”
“… nnection with his effort to draw Lumumba out. of UN. cus- tody, O’Donnell arranged for a CIA agent, whose code name was QJWIN, to come to the Congo to work with him (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, p. 19):. What I wanted to use him for was counter-espionage [.]... I had to screen the U.S. part …”
“… contained no exploration of this sense of urgency about the "operational circumstances." ' (b) Agent 1960--QJWIN - --’s-Mission -- _ —the Congo: November-December in QJWIN was a foreign citizen with a criminal background, recruited in Europe (Memorandum to CIA Finance Division, …”
“11/2/60.) ' * Part of the purpose in dispatching QJWIN to Africa was to send him from the Congo to another African country for an unspeci fied mission. QJWIN’s mission to this country is not explained in the cable traffic between CI …”
“… 9/60). The CIA Inspector General's Report said that.QJWIN had been recruited earlier by Arnold Silver for use in a special operation in the Congo [the assassination of Patrice Lumumba] to be run by Justin O’Donnell. (I.G. Report, p. 38.) However, both O'Donnell and Bissell testifi …”
“… TO THE ACTION? (CIA Cable OUT 98314, Chief of Africa Division to Chief of Station, 11/30/60.) O'Donnell said that agent QJWIN’s stay in the Congo was "co extensive with my own, allowing for the fact that he came after I did." (O'Donnell, 6/9/75, p. 19.) O'Donnell said he left the …”
“Lumumba was captured by the Congolese army. In a memorandum to arrange the accounting for QJWIN’s activities in the Congo, William K. Harvey — under whom O'Donnell had worked before being detached for assignment to the Congo — noted the success of QJWIN’s mis …”
“… lutely not" (O'Donnell, 9/11/75, p. 35). Harvey did not recall the meaning of the memorandum, but he assumed that O’Donnell’s return from the Congo constituted the "completion" of QJWIN’s mission (Harvey, affidavit, p. ) . - Despite the indication in the Inspector General's Report th …”
“that tended to show that QJWIN was related to that plot. The Chief of Station had a "vague recollection" that QJWIN' was in the Congo working for Justin O’Donnell. (Hedgman, 8/21/75, p., 95.) But Hedgman did not recall why QJWIN was in the Congo. (Hedgman, 8/21/75, p. 95 …”
“… , 61). *William Harvey, from whose division QJWIN was on loan for his Congo assignment, had no specific knowledge of WIN’s activities in the Congo: I was kept informed of the arrangements for QJWIN’s trip to the Congo and, subsequently, of his presence in the Congo. I do not know …”