University of Virginia Library

FBI Request

Bill Small, CBS Washington bureau chief,
was requested by the FBI to relinquish Mr.
Schorr's personal file to them. Mr. Small,
suspicious of the agents' reasons, refused to
comply. Irving R. Levine, an NBC
correspondent, was quizzed about Mr. Schorr's
behavior as the CBS Moscow correspondent
from 1955 to 1957.

Each person interviewed was told by the
agents that Mr. Schorr was under consideration
for a "position of trust and confidence" in the
federal government. Mr. Salant, who was also
suspicious of the probe, was told that, since it
was a "very important job", the FBI was called
in by the White House to speed the
investigation.

Normally when a person is being
considered for important government positions,
a routine background investigation is carried
out along with a check into that person's back
tax records. In Mr. Schorr's case no such check
was made.

Wednesday night a White House official
said that Mr. Schorr was being considered for
"a high position in the environmental area." He
also said that the FBI investigation was started
as a matter of routine by Frederic V. Malek,
chief White House recruiter.