Lawrence Houston person
also: CIA General Council Lawrence Houston, General Counsel, General Counsel for the CIA, General Counsel Lawrence Houston, Harry Houston, Houston, Larry Houston, Lawrence, Mr Houston, the Houston guy
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CIAintelligence service · 23Roscoe Hillenkoetterperson · 4Vietnamcountry · 4Allen Dullesperson · 4John McConeperson · 3Maxwell D. Taylorperson · 2Robert F. Kennedyperson · 2Washington, D.C.place · 2National Security Councilorganization · 2Harry S. Trumanperson · 2Richard Helmsperson · 2Operation Gladiooperation · 2Cubacountry · 2Air Americaorganization · 2U.S. Forest Serviceorganization · 1Desmond Fitzgeraldperson · 1Pacific Corporationorganization · 11947 National Security Actbook · 1Herbert Brownell Jr.person · 1Executive Branchorganization · 1Intermountain Aviationorganization · 1Domestic Operations Divisionorganization · 1Executive Committee for Air Proprietary Operationsorganization · 1Willard Wymanperson · 1
Claims (41)
Lawrence Houston met_with
Edward P. Morgan documented
document
“Lawrence Houston General Counsel for the CIA met with Maheu and his attorney Edward P Morgan…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.93
Lawrence Houston met_with
Senator Edward Long documented
document
“Lawrence Houston General Counsel for the CIA met with Maheu and his attorney Edward P Morgan and informed Senator Long that Maheu had been involved in CIA operations…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.93
Lawrence Houston worked_for
CIA documented
document
“On May 7 1962 Edwards and the CIA's General Counsel Lawrence Houston briefed Attorney General Robert Kennedy on the operation involving underworld figures describing it as terminated.…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.118
Lawrence Houston met_with
Robert F. Kennedy documented
document
“On May 7 1962 Edwards and the CIA's General Counsel Lawrence Houston briefed Attorney General Robert Kennedy on the operation involving underworld figures describing it as terminated.…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.118
Lawrence Houston met_with
Jimmy Carter documented
document
“I * * * briefed the DDCI in view of the possibility that the Attorney General might call him or the Director…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.120
Lawrence Houston met_with
U.S. Department of Justice documented
document
“The Attorney General was subsequently briefed by Houston and Sheffield Edwards…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.120
Lawrence Houston met_with
Marshall S. Carter reported
document
“Carter testified that he did not recall the meeting with Houston…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.121
Sheffield Edwards met_with
Lawrence Houston documented
document
“it had been written as a result of a briefing given by Colonel Edwards and Lawrence Houston to the Attorney General in May of last year…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.121
Lawrence Houston met_with
Robert F. Kennedy documented
document
“On April 16 1962 Lawrence Houston CIA General Counsel met with Miller.2 Houston reported to Edwards that Miller envisioned "no major difficulty in stopping action for prosecution. Houston offered to brief the Attorney General…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.145
Robert F. Kennedy met_with
Lawrence Houston documented
document
“with Houston and Edwards to be briefed on the CIA operation involving Maheu Rosselli and Giancana…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.146
Lawrence Houston worked_for
CIA documented
document
“The CIA's former General Counsel Lawrence Houston who was deeply involved in drafting the 1947 Act wrote in September 1947…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.12
Lawrence Houston founded
The Insurance Complex documented
document
“Lawrence Houston retired General Counsel of the Agency testified that his office established the insurance investment complex…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.223
Lawrence Houston met_with
U.S. State Department documented
document
“so the head of the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination (who was responsible for conduct of covert actions) and Mr Houston visited the Assistant Secretary of State for the Far East…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.228
Lawrence Houston moved_to
Asia documented
document
“In the summer of 1954 Houston and a consultant traveled to the Far East to observe the operation…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.230
Lawrence Houston headed
EXCOMAIR documented
document
“And so the Director of Central Intelligence set up EXCOMAIR of which I was Chairman…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.234
Lawrence Houston headed
Office of the General Counsel documented
document
“Lawrence Houston the General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1947 until 1974…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.289
CIA recruited
Lawrence Houston documented
document
“Until this year most of the lawyers in the Office of General Counsel had been recruited from within the Agency…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.288
Lawrence Houston worked_for
Senate Select Committee documented
document
“(Letter from Lawrence Houston to the Senate Select Committee 1/76 p 1.)…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.290
Lawrence Houston did_business_with
Senate Select Committee documented
document
“Letter from Lawrence Houston to the Senate Select Committee 1/76 p 1…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.301
Lawrence Houston proposed
Office of General Counsel reported
document
“There can be little disagreement with the recommendation of Lawrence Houston that any question of violation of law or legal authority should be referred immediately by the Inspector General to the Office of General Counsel.…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book I: Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.309
Lawrence Houston worked_for
CIA documented
document
“The CIA suspended its participation in the program as a result of an opinion by its General Counsel Lawrence Houston…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book II: Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans · p.303
Lawrence Houston worked_for
CIA documented
document
“Lawrence Houston the CIA's General Counsel had raised the issue with him and recommended a merger of the two organizations.…”
source: government document — Church Committee Final Report, Book IV: Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Foreign and Military Intelligence · p.43
Lawrence Houston located_in
Kansas documented
document
“No WLM group identified elsewhere or on college campuses at Columbia Missouri and Lawrence Kansas…”
source: government document — Church Committee Hearings, Volume 6: Federal Bureau of Investigation · p.597
Lawrence Houston met_with
E. Howard Hunt documented
document
“Lawrence Houston General Counsel for the CIA met with Maheu and his attorney Edward P Morgan…”
source: government document — Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders (Church Committee Interim Report) · p.93
Lawrence Houston member_of
CIA documented
“combatants as such in Laos. I know of no definition which would consider our activities in Laos as waging a war. That's from the CIA's general counsel. They're running an entire fucking war, bringing in 2,500 tons of shit every month. And h…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 31A @ 42:22
Lawrence Houston chaired
XCOM AIR documented
“was chaired by Lawrence Houston and included representatives of the plans area and the comptroller's office. Houston had already, in the summer of 1954, headed a management study for all of the air companies and argued in 1956 that the CAT …”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner- Presidents’ Secret Wars Chap 12 @ 1:00:15
Lawrence Houston stated
CIA documented
“When Helms took over the planning function, it was expanded, but was still having lots of problems. CIA General Counsel Larry Houston noted for the record his opinion regarding the legal basis for Cold War activities. The CIA's own lawyers …”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner- Presidents’ Secret Wars Chap 12 @ 51:26
Lawrence Houston headed
Executive Committee for Air Proprietary Operations documented
“The drug people are on the board of a CIA proprietary. Headquarters management was vested in the domestic operations division. On February 5th, 1963, Director McCone created the Executive Committee for Air Proprietary Operations to get a ha…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 25 (26) @ 54:26
Lawrence Houston member_of
CIA host_asserted
“And I looked it up, and apparently the first general counsel was a guy by the name of Lawrence Houston. And he was the CIA general counsel from 1947 to 1973. He's the first one that said assassinations were not legal, the Houston guy. Houst…”
▶ Shadow State 27 Secret Societies 11; The 1930's @ 44:08
Lawrence Houston member_of
CIA documented
“most were former OSS people. But in truth, the CIA had yet to attain readiness for covert operations and in important ways, it lacked authority to engage in them. Responding to the initial Pentagon inquiries, Admiral Hillencotter asked the …”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 4 (3) @ 43:02
Lawrence Houston exposed
CIA host_asserted
“And I looked it up, and apparently the first general counsel was a guy by the name of Lawrence Houston. And he was the CIA general counsel from 1947 to 1973. He's the first one that said assassinations were not legal, the Houston guy. Houst…”
▶ Shadow State 27 Secret Societies 11; The 1930's @ 44:08
Lawrence Houston member_of
CIA documented
“From the CIA General Counsel, again, Lawrence Houston, with meetings between counsel for the agency and the Army, even a session of the U.S. Intelligence Board at which the murder was the only subject. No notes were permitted to be taken. A…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 31B @ 25:35
Lawrence Houston covered_up
Operation Gladio book_quoted
“That was related to covert operations. This was, quote, acquisition of extensive indication on plans in Western Europe for the establishment of resistant elements in the event of further extension of communist control, unquote. Now, what co…”
▶ The Colonels Corner - Book Club about real history @ 22:29
Lawrence Houston headed
XCOM AIR documented
“XCOM Air, E-X-C-O-M-A-I-R, was chaired by Lawrence Houston and included representatives of the plans area and the comptroller's office. Houston had already, in the summer of 1954, headed a management study for all of the air companies and a…”
▶ OPERATION GLADIO Exposed by COLONEL TOWNER in Presidents' Secret Wars Chapter 12 @ 1:00:09
Lawrence Houston funded
BCCI Gladio operation book_quoted
“been set up with the National Security Act to do it. And they're talking about a guy by the name of the General Counsel Lawrence Houston. And it says, Houston did support one intelligence function already being performed that was related to…”
▶ OPERATION GLADIO Exposed by COLONEL TOWNER in Presidents' Secret Wars Chapter 1 @ 16:41
Lawrence Houston worked_for
CIA documented
“but was still having lots of problems. CIA General Counsel Larry Houston noted for the record his opinion regarding the legal basis for Cold War activities. The CIA's own lawyers admitted that there was no statutory authority for any agency…”
▶ OPERATION GLADIO Exposed by COLONEL TOWNER in Presidents' Secret Wars Chapter 12 @ 51:30
Lawrence Houston member_of
CIA book_quoted
“been set up with the National Security Act to do it. And they're talking about a guy by the name of the General Counsel Lawrence Houston. And it says, Houston did support one intelligence function already being performed that was related to…”
▶ OPERATION GLADIO Exposed by COLONEL TOWNER in Presidents' Secret Wars Chapter 1 @ 16:41
Lawrence Houston member_of
CIA documented
“in the 1947 National Security Act, which of course, General Counsel Lawrence Houston had said didn't give them any authority to do any of that. Ironically, after having authored a memo saying that they couldn't do that, Lawrence Houston arg…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 31 (32) @ 37:43
CIA trafficked
Lawrence Houston book_quoted
“basically saying such other functions on that directive in 1947 that we talk about all the time, the 5412-2. In October 30, 1969, the memorandum to Helms and the general counsel, Lawrence Houston, argued that the CIA had no combatants as su…”
▶ The Colonels corner president, secret wars chapter 14 continued @ 44:14
Lawrence Houston member_of
Missouri Gang host_asserted
“The first DCI we ever had, a guy by the name of Sidney Sowers, and his background was in Missouri grocery stores. So think about that. The second DCI was also from Missouri, a guy by the name of Hoyt Vandenberg. Here's the name you knew fro…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 49 (51) @ 1:06:02
Lawrence Houston spied_on
James Jesus Angleton book_quoted
“Excuse me. Investigating potential Soviet penetrations was known to be an obsession with Angleton or Gladio. One of the former attorney generals, Lawrence Houston, recalled, Jim's staff spent far too much time reviewing old historical cases…”
▶ OPERATION GLADIO Exposed with COLONEL TOWNER in The Skorzeny Papers Chapter 13 @ 46:59
Mentions (41)
▶ 44:08
And I looked it up, and apparently the first general counsel was a guy by the name of Lawrence Houston. And he was the CIA general counsel from 1947 to 1973. He's the first one that said assassinations were not legal, the Houston guy. Houst…
▶ 21:59
And it's talking about covert operations and how the CIA had been set up with the National Security Act to do it. And they're talking about a guy by the name of the General Counsel Lawrence Houston. And it says Houston did support one intel…
▶ 22:56
including information on the training of agent groups, radio operators, and their outside contacts. That is the Operation Gladio cells. Remember, because they all had weapons and they had the common radios. For secret propaganda and paramil…
▶ 23:27
entailing the procurement of huge quantities of all kinds of material involving large sums of money for expenses. The memo then declared that, quote, we believe this would be an unauthorized use of funds that had been appropriated and made …
▶ 23:55
and black operations. If such operations were ordered by the NSC, Houston concluded, it would, we feel, still be necessary to go to Congress and ask for authority and funds. And so this is the legal guy at the very beginning of setting up t…
▶ 52:27
If any future aircraft are used in drug smuggling, the Forest Service and not the DOD will suffer adverse publicity. These operations, although given presidential approval, would appear to violate U.S. federal law. According to Lawrence Hou…
▶ 53:22
By the end of the cocaine decade, the CIA had made all of its aircraft available for use by private contractors for the U.S. government. We just didn't need them anymore, and it's fairly hard to keep them going, Houston said. So we're just …
▶ 44:14
basically saying such other functions on that directive in 1947 that we talk about all the time, the 5412-2. In October 30, 1969, the memorandum to Helms and the general counsel, Lawrence Houston, argued that the CIA had no combatants as su…
▶ 51:26
When Helms took over the planning function, it was expanded, but was still having lots of problems. CIA General Counsel Larry Houston noted for the record his opinion regarding the legal basis for Cold War activities. The CIA's own lawyers …
▶ 51:52
Houston added that there was no explicit prohibition either, but they had. And that's not the way our Constitution works. If you don't have the authority, you can't do it. The examining of the language of the 1947 law, the CIA lawyer specif…
▶ 52:22
and not operational missions. Houston's conclusion was, therefore, the executive branch under the direction of the president was acting without specific statutory authorization, and the CIA was an agent selected for their conduct. Everythin…
▶ 53:18
And it's worth noting that the parallel argument that Congress had in effect approved a declaration of war by appropriating money for the Vietnam was later ruled invalid. Just because you fund it doesn't mean you're allowed to do it. Harry …
▶ 1:00:15
was chaired by Lawrence Houston and included representatives of the plans area and the comptroller's office. Houston had already, in the summer of 1954, headed a management study for all of the air companies and argued in 1956 that the CAT …
▶ 36:59
Angola, too, by the way, several years later. The hypothesis that these were private adventures is cast into doubt by the indictment of Intermountain Aviation, another CIA front company, for illegally exporting B-26 bombers to Portuguese Af…
▶ 55:26
These arguments by the CIA were undercut, however, by the legal opinions of the CIA General Counsel that was rendered on several occasions since 1947. Congressional committees obtained a copy of the paper prepared in 1974 for the General Co…
▶ 29:00
and had authored books of his exploits. He was the author of the NSD-50 study, basically setting up the whole structure. The merger idea was known as a fusion project. Both Wisner and the OSI director, who at that time was General Willard W…
▶ 23:51
and 65, you know, because we're going to start overthrowing governments there too. Well, we're going to keep overthrowing. We've already overthrown a couple. And then we would shift the focus to Southeast Asia. A few weeks before Helms beca…
▶ 24:19
admitting that there is no statutory authority for any agency to conduct them at all. In writing, Houston added that, quote, some of the covert Cold War operations are related to intelligence within a broad interpretation, unquote. Examinin…
▶ 24:51
unquote, in the act always cited in this regard, was explicitly tied to intelligence that affected our national security. Thus, wrote Houston in a January 15th, 1962 memo, it would be stretching that section too far to include Guatemala or …
▶ 25:24
the lawyer for the CIA is saying that everything that we did in Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia, not legal. Houston's conclusion, quote, therefore the executive branch under the direction of the president was acting without specific statutory au…
▶ 26:54
It's worth noting that a parallel argument that Congress had in effect approved a declaration of war by appropriating money for the Vietnam War. That would be ruled invalid by the courts. Larry Houston believed it was for the administration…
▶ 54:26
The drug people are on the board of a CIA proprietary. Headquarters management was vested in the domestic operations division. On February 5th, 1963, Director McCone created the Executive Committee for Air Proprietary Operations to get a ha…
▶ 54:56
which included representatives from the DO, the Director of Operations, and the CIA Comptroller's Office. Houston had saved the civil air transport relationship by recommending it to be continued back in 1956, when the 5412 group wanted it …
▶ 56:00
It is reported, strikingly, that the CIA could not establish exactly how many aircraft they owned. As director of the CIA, John McComb made no pretense to micromanagement. A California businessman, he understood that experts like Houston an…
▶ 8:07
other track of the Cuba operation, i.e. assassination. Soon after Desmond Fitzgerald came on board, there was a scheme to get Fidel with an exploding seashell. Sam Halpern, whom Desmond Fitzgerald retained, questioned the legality of the en…
▶ 46:52
and middleman Henry Murray de Maren, the men were accused of violating U.S. arms exports. The trial took place in Rochester, New York, where Hawk had stopped on U.S. soil during his ferrying mission. Now, again, he's doing this under CIA. D…
▶ 37:43
in the 1947 National Security Act, which of course, General Counsel Lawrence Houston had said didn't give them any authority to do any of that. Ironically, after having authored a memo saying that they couldn't do that, Lawrence Houston arg…
▶ 21:10
The issue rose to the highest levels in memoranda from the CIA General Counsel, again, Lawrence Houston, with meetings between counsel for the agency and the Army, even a session of the U.S. Intelligence Board at which the murder was the on…
▶ 43:02
most were former OSS people. But in truth, the CIA had yet to attain readiness for covert operations and in important ways, it lacked authority to engage in them. Responding to the initial Pentagon inquiries, Admiral Hillencotter asked the …
▶ 43:33
Lawrence Houston replied on September 25, 1947, arguing that the National Security Act failed to provide CIA the required legal authority. The famous language usually cited to justify all covert operations was the provision that the CIA wou…
▶ 44:05
But Houston noted that this provision was qualified by language that said the mission must be related to intelligence, meaning it could do intelligence operations, not covert paramilitary operations, intelligence operations. Covert operatio…
▶ 44:36
was to coordinate intelligence reporting. You know, actually be an intelligence agency. Houston did support one intelligence function that was already being performed. This was acquisition of extensive indication on plans in Western Europe …
▶ 45:09
That included information on the training of agents, groups, radio operators, and their contacts. For secret propaganda and paramilitary missions, Houston felt new offices would have to be established entailing the procurement of huge quant…
▶ 45:34
The memo then declared that we believe this would be unauthorized use of funds made available to the CIA. If such operations were ordered by the NSC, Houston concluded, it would, we feel, still need to be authorized by Congress with an appr…
▶ 46:04
The admiral asked whether there was offsetting considerations in the matter, whereupon the lawyer provided a second memorandum. Here, Houston stated, quote, if the president, with his constitutional responsibility for the conduct of foreign…
▶ 1:06:02
The first DCI we ever had, a guy by the name of Sidney Sowers, and his background was in Missouri grocery stores. So think about that. The second DCI was also from Missouri, a guy by the name of Hoyt Vandenberg. Here's the name you knew fro…
▶ 35:10
and John Frank was the obvious choice. But as federal prosecutors began to build a case of conspiracy, kidnapping, and homicide against Frank, the CIA's general counsel, Lawrence Houston, and Dulles himself, was disturbed. So they needed to…
▶ 29:44
to modernize the management of the Pentagon, scheduled an appointment with Dulles. Before the meeting, the spymaster requested a report on him from the CIA's general counsel, Lawrence Houston, as if he were meeting a foreign official. Dulle…
▶ 30:13
that he was an extremely bright fellow, although not particularly personally attractive. He's of Russian Jewish background. Dulles insisted on personally handling all the agency's briefings at the White House. But JFK, who was more widely t…
▶ 38:35
Unable to alter reality, he simply altered the record, like any good spy would do. On April 21st, 1964, upon returning to Washington, Dulles wrote a letter about his half-hour meeting with Truman to CIA General Counsel Lawrence Houston. Dur…
▶ 40:03
concluded Dulles' letter, and several times he said he'd see what he could do about it. The Dulles letter to Houston was clearly intended for CIA files to be retrieved whenever they needed it. It was an outrageous piece of disinformation. T…