Security is reputed to possess extensive files on the domestic activities of American citizens. David
Aaron, Brzofficials were "upset" that Gambino had gone to work for tezinski's deputy at the Carter National Security Counche Bush camp. According to Aaron,il, recalled that some high Carter
"several [CIA] people took early retirement and went to work for Bush's so-called security staff.
The thing that upset us, was that a guy who has been head of security for the CIA has been privy to
a lot of dossiers, and the possibility of abuse was quite high, although we never heard of any
occasion when Gambino called someone up and forced them to do something for the campaign." [fn9]
Other high-level spooks active in the Bush campaign included Lt. General Sam V. Wilson and Lt.
General Harold A. Aaron, both former directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Another
enthusiastic Bushman was retired General Richard Stillwell, formerly the CIA's Chief of CoveOperations for the Far East. The former Deputy Director for Operations Theodore Shackley wasrt (^)
also on board, reportedly as a speechwriter, but more likely for somewhat heavier work.
According to one estimate, at least 25 former intelligence officials worked directly for the Bush
campaign. As Bill Peterson of the Washington Post wrote on March 1, 1980, "Spresidential campaign in recent memory--perhaps ever--has attracted as much support from theimply put, no (^)
intelligence community as the campaign of former CIA Director George Bush."
Further intelligence veterans among the Bushmen were Daniel C. Arnold, the former CIA Station
chief in Bangkok, Tformer clandestine agent, became a member of Bushailand, who retired early to join the campaign during 1979. Hh's paid staff for the Florida primary. CIAarry Webster, a
veteran Bruce Rounds was Bush's "director of operations" during the key New Hampshire primary.
Also on board with the Bushmen was Jon R. Thomas, a former clandestine operative who had been
listed as a State Department official during a tour of duty in Spain, and who later worked on
terrorism and drug tof the CIA in Langley, attended some of Bush's pre-campaign brainstorming sessions as arafficking at the State Departement. Andrew Falkiewicz, the former spokesman
consultant on foreign policy matters. According to an unnamed former CIA deputy director for
intelligence who allegedly talked to Rolling Stone magazine in March, 1980, "the Bush campaign
is, I think, embarrassed by all the crazy spooks running around trying to help them." Another retired
top spook told the Washington Post that "there is a very high level of support for George Bushamong current and former CIA employees."
Some worried that all this intelligence community support might have damaging by-products for
Bush. "I can see the headlines [now]," said one former clandestine officer during the primaries:
"BUSH SPRINKLES CAMPAIGN WITH FORMER SPOOKS."
One leading bastion of the Bushmen was predictably David Atlee Philip's AFIO, the Association of
Former Intelligence Officers. Jack Coakley was a former director and Bush's campaign coordinator
for Virginia. He certified that at the AFIO annual meeting in the fall of 1979, he counted 190 "Bush
for President" buttons among 240 delegates to the convention. [fn 10]
During the course of the 1984 Debategate investigation, a number of Bush campaign activists were
depositioned about possible abuses in the course of this campaign. Most revealing was the sworn
statement of Angelo Codevilla, a former naval intelligence officer who was a fixture for a number
of years on the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Under questioning by John Fitzgerald,who was acting as counsel for the House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Don Albosta, Codevilla
responded:
I am aware that active duty agents of the Central Intelligence Agency worked for the George Bush
primary campaign. However, I cannot now remember some of these persons and I am not at liberty
to identify others by names or positions because to do so would compromise their cover. [fn 11]