Memorandum from Arch K. Jean to John E. Peurifoy

STANDARD FORM NO. 64 CONFIDENTIAL (2) Office Memorandum UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO : A - Mr. Peurifoy DATE: June 20, 1950 FROM : DP - Arch K. Jean SUBJECT: Report d_meeting with Mr. Flannagan, Senate Investigations Staff As you requested, I met with Mr. Flannagan of the Senate Investigations Staff this morning and found him to be a personable individual who knows that he has a disagreeable job to perform and is searching for ways and means to accomplish his task without fan- fare and without embarrassment to the agencies or the people involved. We talked for approximately an hour and a half, more or less at random, so it is difficult to relate accurately the conversation. Nonetheless, here are the important matters that were discussed. They are not given in their order of importance necessarily. 1. He attempted to rationalize his position with respect to release of agency files to the Committee. He stated definitely that we would be formally requested to give our files to the Committee for such use as they may deem proper and necessary. I told him that I believe the President's order on release of confidential personnel information would preclude our complying with such a request, but that in the final analysis only the White House could make that determination. It was his view that unless the files were released to the Committee the investigation would reduce itself to a fiasco, and in such event, the Department of State specifically would suffer in the eyes of the public. I expressed no opinion of my own on this point, other than to say that I could foresee the possibility of their conducting a meaningful investigation without the use of the investigation files. It seems to me that names of individuals and circumstances surrounding their cases would not necessarily help them in determining a procedure to be followed by all agencies in the handling of the problem. 2. Mr. Flannagan stated that we should be prepared to state our views with respect to the security risk involved in the employ- ment of a homosexual. Likewise we should be prepared to tell the Committee how we view homosexuals from the sociological standpoint. 3. Flannagan asked me who in the Department I would consider to be well informed on the subject and therefore who the Committee might call to testify. In this connection he stated that he was aware of the part Finlator has played. In answer to this question I told him that in my personal opinion you, as well as Sam, Pete, Don, Don Smith, and myself are all conversant and of like mind with regard to the subject. Fmlata is an mustey tor who has been working on this problem 4. He asked M Bankon head of offerin M antwes m Martin Permanen CONFIDENTIAL m Small Foreign Should premied m. Nicholson Security Division