◆ SpookStack

Approved For Release 2008/11/06 : CIA-RDP04MO 1816R000502010009-4 .. '• e 2 .. - concerning the projects. In August 1976 the Criminal Division submitted to the Attorney General a report summarizing the evidence it had acquired, and analyzing the legal questions that potential prosecutions would present. The report concluded that '· e - it was highly unlikely that· prosecutions would end in criminal con- victions and recommended that no indictments be sought. Because of the importance of this recommendation and its conclusion that a prosecution would so likely fail, the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney'General asked the Criminal Division to review its analysis and findings, and in addition asked experienced criminal lawyers in the Tax Division to undertake a review. As part of the review process, three experienced United States Attorneys, and two specially appointed consultants, Pro- fessors. Herbert Wechsler and Philip B. Kurland, were asked. to particlpate in an evaluation of the recommendations w;i.th the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney Genera~. the Solicitor General, and the Assistant Attorney General for che Criminal Division.1/ !/ In the course of these deliberations, it became clear that no decision to prosecute could responsibly be made on one of the two mail opening projects -- the West Coast Project which is des- cribed on pages 20-21, infra -- within the five yeA; statute of limitations se forth in 18 U.S C. 283 '"'In any event, it was t e ous view a, ecause t e est Coast Project was of relatively brief duration, small in scale, and directed only to incoming mail, any potential prosecution inevitably would focus on the CIA's East·Coast mail openings, described on pages. 7-19. These openings ended in early 1973, and only the last·year of the project is within the statute of limitations. This is enough, however, to allow a prosecution to be commenced with respect to these acts and the entire agreement, dating to 1953, to open mail. A roved For Release 2008/11/06: CIA-RDP04M01816R000502010009-4