Frank Warren Snepp, III (born May 3, 1943) is a journalist and former chief analyst of North Vietnamese strategy for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...

. For five out of his eight years as a CIA officer, he worked as interrogator, agent debriefer, and chief strategy analyst in the

United States Embassy, Saigon The United States Embassy in Saigon was first established in June 1952, and moved into a new building in 1967 and eventually closed in 1975. The embassy was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Co ...

; he was awarded the

Intelligence Medal of Merit The Intelligence Medal of Merit is awarded by the Central Intelligence Agency for performance of especially meritorious service or for achievement conspicuously above normal duties. Notable recipients *Gust Avrakotos *I. Nathan Briggs *George Ca ...

for his work. Snepp is a former producer for

KNBC-TV KNBC (channel 4) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned-and-operated station, o ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He was one of the first whistle blowers who revealed the inner workings, secrets and failures of the national security services in the 1970s. As a result of a loss in a 1980 court case brought by the CIA, all of Snepp's publications require prior approval by the CIA.

Background

Born in

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of e ...

,Ted Rabinowitz
Frank Snepp ’65, ’68 SIPA Chases the Truth From Saigon to Los Angeles
''Columbia College Today'', Fall 2013 Snepp studied Elizabethan literature at Columbia University, graduating in 1965. After spending a year at

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 ...

, he returned to Columbia's

School of International and Public Affairs The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. I ...

, graduating in 1968.

Career

CIA (1968–1976)

Snepp was recruited to the CIA in 1968, by the Associate Dean of the

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. I ...

, Philip Mosely. Initially working on

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two Nor ...

and European security, he was sent to

in 1969.Glenn P. Hastedt (2011),
Spies, Wiretaps, and Secret Operations: A-J
ABC-CLIO, p711-2 Here Snepp worked as an analyst and counter-intelligence officer, coordinating agent networks and interrogation of captured enemy forces as well as preparing strategic estimates regarding the enemy. Snepp rejected the usual 2-year rotation, and stayed in Vietnam until the US was forced out in 1975. Snepp wrote in 2009 that he was "still haunted" by the "

psychological manipulation Manipulation in psychology is a behavior designed to exploit, control, or otherwise influence others to one’s advantage. Definitions for the term vary in which behavior is specifically included, influenced by both culture and whether referring to ...

and torment of a prisoner" he was involved with as a CIA interrogator. Snepp was on hand for the

Fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of Sout ...

and was one of the last Americans to leave the

US Embassy, Saigon The United States Embassy in Saigon was first established in June 1952, and moved into a new building in 1967 and eventually closed in 1975. The embassy was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Co ...

before the city fell to the North Vietnamese on April 30, 1975. Snepp was evacuated with other American personnel in

Operation Frequent Wind Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saig ...

. On his return to the US Snepp was awarded the

in December 1975, but he resigned from the Agency in January 1976, upset at its refusal to rescue Vietnamese left behind in the pull-out, and its refusal to acknowledge mistakes made.

Memoir

Snepp wrote a memoir, ''Decent Interval'', about the evacuation of US personnel from Saigon. It was published in 1977 without prior approval from the CIA Publications Review Board. Prior to publication, and while still employed at the CIA, Snepp attempted to tell the inspector general about the problems surrounding the evacuation, but was told that it "could not deal with anything so controversial". After the book was published, CIA Director Stansfield Turner pushed for Snepp to be sued and, despite the objections of some

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

officials, Turner prevailed. Since publication of the book could not be stopped under the constitutional law forbidding

prior restraint Prior restraint (also referred to as prior censorship or pre-publication censorship) is censorship imposed, usually by a government or institution, on expression, that prohibits particular instances of expression. It is in contrast to censorship ...

of the press, the CIA sued Snepp for

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other par ...

. Snepp was accused of violating the

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...

he had signed when he joined the agency that forbade publication of any material about CIA operations without the prior consent of the agency. Ironically, President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

permitted the lawsuit against Snepp at the same time he had proposed the creation of a special unit to provide protection for civil service whistle blowers. In a press conference, Carter said that Snepp did not qualify as a whistleblower as he did not "reveal anything that would lead to an improvement in our security apparatus or the protection of Americans' civil rights." Carter also claimed that Snepp had "revealed our nation's utmost secrets", a charge which was not part of the government's suit. Snepp enlisted the help of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...

in his defense. The CIA won a court verdict against Snepp, with the US Supreme Court ruling that Snepp's book had caused "irreparable harm" to national security due to creating an appearance of a breakdown of discipline in the CIA. The royalties from ''Decent Interval'' (amounting to $300,000 by the time Snepp lost in front of the Supreme Court) were surrendered to the CIA, and Snepp forced to clear all future publications with the CIA.Frank Snepp, ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...

'', 3 July 2013
Snowden and a muzzled free press
/ref> Snepp described the court decision as a "ticking time-bomb" which exploded when the cigarette manufacturer

Brown & Williamson Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancing ...

used the precedent to force

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

not to air an interview with whistleblower

Jeffrey Wigand Jeffrey Stephen Wigand (; born December 17, 1942) is an American biochemist and whistleblower. He is a former vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the development of reduced-har ...

. In 2001 Snepp published a second book, ''Irreparable Harm'', about his court battle with the CIA.

Journalism (1980–present)

In 1980, following the Supreme Court decision against him, Snepp became an investigative journalist, contributing to publications including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...

'', the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' and others. During the late 1980s, he taught a Journalism and the Law course at California State University, Long Beach. He was a technical consultant for the comedy film ''

Spies Like Us ''Spies Like Us'' is a 1985 American spy comedy film directed by John Landis, and starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest and Donna Dixon. The film presents the comic adventures of two novice intelligence agents sent to the Soviet U ...

'' and was interviewed on his Vietnam War experiences for

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

's series ''

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam ...

and Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War''. Snepp worked in television for ABC's '' World News Tonight'' (1987–92), CBS (2003–05) and NBC from 2005. At '' World News Tonight'' he got

Eugene Hasenfus Eugene H. Hasenfus (born January 22, 1941) is a former United States Marine who helped fly weapons shipments on behalf of the U.S. government to the right wing rebel Contras in Nicaragua. The sole survivor after his plane was shot down by the Nicar ...

to confirm that he had signed a government secrecy agreement, confirming the government's involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. Snepp won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1997 for an investigation into Mexican drug trafficking. He won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

in 2006 as producer on an investigation for

-Los Angeles of a Los Angeles housing development sited on a toxic landfill. Snepp sued KNBC-TV for age discrimination after he was dismissed from his job in 2012. A jury deadlocked in 2015, and the case was settled in March 2016.

Quotes

"Disinformation is most effective in a very narrow context." ''
Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
'', February 26, 1985

"We always leave the last war thinking we have all the answers, but we end up having more questions."
University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...
, May 12, 2005

Books

* ''Decent Interval: An Insider's Account of Saigon's Indecent End Told by the CIA's Chief Strategy Analyst in Vietnam'' by Frank Snepp (1977) * ''Irreparable Harm: A Firsthand Account of How One Agent Took on the CIA in an Epic Battle Over Free Speech'' by Frank Snepp, with foreword by Anthony Lewis (1999)

Awards

(16 December 1975)franksnepp.com
CIA on Snepp
/ref> *

(1997) *

(2006)

References

External links

Frank Snepp's Official Website

US v Snepp
US Supreme Court, Feb 19, 1980 *
Frank Snepp's YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snepp, Frank 1943 births Living people American male journalists American spies American whistleblowers Analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency Historians of the Central Intelligence Agency CIA personnel of the Vietnam War Peabody Award winners People of the Central Intelligence Agency Recipients of the Intelligence Medal of Merit School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni