by a foreign intelligence service in Washington DC, or anywhere in the United States. It is equally
implausible that Bush, Walters, Landau and other officials were unaware of the chain ofinternational assassinations that had been attributed to DINA." [fn 48] One might say that Bush had (^)
been an accessory before the fact.
Bush's complicity deepens when we turn to the post-assassination coverup. The prosecutor in the
Letelier-Moffitt murders was Assistant US Attorney Eugene M. Propper. Nine days after theassassinations, Propper was trying without success to get some cooperation from the CIA, since it (^)
was obvious enough to anyone that the Chilean regime was the prime suspect in the killing of one
of its most prominent political opponents. The CIA had been crudely stonewalling Propper. He had
even been unable to secure the requisite security clearance to see documents in the case. Then
Propper received a telephone call from Stanley Pottinger, Assistant Attorney General in charge ofthe Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Pottinger said that he had been in contact with (^)
members of the Institute for Policy Studies who had argued that the Civil Rights Division ought to
take over the Letelier case because of its clear political implications. Propper argued that he should
keep control of the case since the Protection of Foreign Officials Act gave him jurisdiction.
Pottinger agreed that Propper was right, and that he ought to keep the case. When Pottinger offeredto be of help in any possible way, Propper asked if Pottinger could expedite cooperation with the
CIA.
As Propper later recounted this conversation:
Instant, warm confidence shot through the happened to be a personal friend of the CIA director himself, George Bush. Pottinger called himhe telphone line. The assistant attorney general replied that (^)
"George." For him, the CIA Director was only a phone call away. Would Propper like an
appointment? By that afternoon he, [an FBI agent working on the case], and Pottinger were
scheduled for lunch with Director Bush at CIA headquarters on Monday. A Justice Department
limousine would pick them up at noon. PWashintgton as access. [fn 49] ropper whistled to himself. This was known in
At CIA headquarters, "Pottinger introduced Propper to Director Bush, and Bush introduced the two
lawyers to Tony Lapham, his general counsel. Then, graciously, the Director said, 'Would you
gentlmen care for some sherry?" An old butler in a white coat served sherry and cheese horsd'oeuvres. Then the group moved into the Director's private dining room, where an elegant table (^)
was laid on white linen."
There was some polite conversation. Then,
when finally called on to state his business, Propper said that the Letelier-Moffitt murders weremore than likely political assassinations, and that the investigation would probably move outside (^)
the United States into the Agency's realm of foreign intelligence. Therefore, Propper wanted CIA
cooperation in the form of reports from within Chile, reports on assassins, reports on foreign
operatives entering the United States, and the like. He wanted anything he could get that might bear
upon the murders.
If Bush had wanted to be candid, he could have informed Propper that he had been informed of the
coming of the DINA team twice, once before they left South America and once when they had
arrived in Washington. But Bush never volunteered this highly pertinent information. Instead, he
went into a sophisticated stonewall routine: "Look," said Bush, "I'm appalled by the bombing. Obviously we can't allow people to come right
here into the capital and kill foreign diplomats and American citizens like this. It would be a
hideous precedent. So, as Director, I want to help you. As an American citizen, I want to help. But,
as director, I also know that the Agency can't help in a lot of situations like this. We've got some
problems. Tony, tell him what they are."