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O- Mel Ries 65-75) il ——, aie. Pres FSE agents under investi | zation for allegedly conimit- ting iveltce have been ordered not fo taik to thetr ‘awrer: ir case tit the fawsers are vieared 'o receive seuret) govern- ment informahiog, op Justice Department sources have contirmed that the department's , Livil MEO T Pui tae Aoste ahiosut their ease lt ingat iesst 30 FBI agents in- valved in intelligence-gath- ering burgiaries during the past five years. The probe Invgives possible viglalions af the oisal richts of Ameri- CAD cliideis. ee ee The -FPI a-ents. { civen the in-tructions about their lawyers in a teletyped messaze frum FBI head. { ‘quarters asi Friday, accord- ingtu Jack B. Sulerwitz, an attorney representing some {| of the FBL men. The restriction suggests that the Justice Department probe imsalvcs break-ins that the FBI considers scnsi- \ tive national sceurity mat- ters. oo “M* clicnts cave heen told they are the targets of an investigation of surrepti- tious entvies.” Solerwitz said He declined to say how many of the agents he rep. resents or to identify them. But some are assigned to the FBI's New York office, he said: So ORT Zaid department investigators telephoned the | | | | a € F31 men™all | ‘Rights Division is investtgat” were. in an interview Wednesday. ° teit SOrmies dur- ina the weekend of June 1? to inform them thes were under investigation and that ties weuld be advised of their right tu keep caient und to retain an attarnes A teletyped messaze ivam FRE headauarters June 4 advised the azents to hire private lawyers, said, . “The Justice Department has made it clear to these agents that they will not he provided counsel” by the cevernment, he said. Under vurrent policy, the depart- ment refuses to provide law- yers to defend empiovecs in climinal investigations. Selerwitz is representing the agents for free in his ca- pacity as attorney for the Federal Criminal tnvestica- toes teegoiatian LMILS .ASSUL TELE. | The FBI message June 18 instructed the agents not to (iselose details of the case until their attorneys get se- curity clearances. Solerwitz sald he doesn’t know how long it will take to get the clearance. Such clearances normally are processed through the FBI and the de. partment. “Thave no doubt their in- ve-ligatton would not termi- ridte with these agents.” he said. “Any prosecutor would so higher.” It eoutd not he deter. mined which or how many prganizations or individuals ay have been burglarized by the FBI during the past years. | The five-year fier iod is siz . one poe -mew iP weed ponds sey 4 - . Bey zen/ sole: olor witz, | Lawyers for FBT Agents — |. Need Clearance » for Talks_ _ within a fow weeks. 1p NOV 22 976 Assoc. Dir. ~*~ ‘ > Dep. AD Adm. Z Rep: AD Inv, - Asst. Dir: fe. Admin. 24 ‘Comp. Syst. — Ext, Affairs Files & Com. | Gen. ident. Inv. Inspection Intell. Laboratory —_ f Legal Coun. _ Plan. & Eval. Spec. Inv. Training _ nificant berause sta Telephone Rm. | nificant because sta Ak limitations preciudes fed- eral nrosecutions for civil rights offenses more than five Mears Old. tier + ug The disclosure that break A ute of ; Director Sec’y _ me Wen pas al 1a WEE LUI ucted sil 197! contradicts the FBI's insistence that burglaries against domestic targets ended in 1966. The Socialist Vorkers Party was one tar- get of FBI burglaries. FRI documents released to the party in connection with 2 lawsuit awainst the bureau disclosed that agents bur glarized party offices or homes of members 44 times frum 1869 through, 2996. . Department sources have said that civil rights investi- gators examined the hun- dreds of burglaries con: ducted before 1966 but con- cluded that the statute of limitations bars any prase- cutions. iadineed In another development, _., > An4 department investigalors Phe Washington Posi have expanded their probe Washington Star-News of financial kickbacks Duily News (New York! within the FBI to include other abuses of power by past and present FBI offi- eials, it was lcarned. The na- ture of the other alleged abuses could not_be deter- mined. <a Michael Shaheen, head of the department’s Office oi Prafessional Responsibility, which is conducting | the probe, said he expects to de- liver his findings and recom- mendatians _.to Attorney General H. Levi \ | a NOT RECORDED The New York Times The Wall Street Journal The National Observer —__-_ T obec Angeles Times né LOS ANPeieS epi s —_—__—