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Memorandum for The Director RE: PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON THE 7 SPACE SHUTTLE “CHALLENGER” -- x At 10:37 a.m. on March 4th, Emily Trapnell, attorney, President' s Commission, 453-1405, located at Suite 760, Capital Gallery Building, 600 Maryland Avenue, Southwest, Washington, D.C., called me and said that she had discussed the request for FBI Agent assistance with Dr. Al Keel, the Executive Director, and he had requested her to coordinate arrangements with the FBI. She said she formerly was the Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel at FAA and that Peter Rostoven is handling the broad legal issues for the Commission while she is handling the coordination of the investi- gation. She said they presently have several military and FAA investigators assigned to the four panels into which the Commission was divided. She said they now have a need for special investiga- tive expertise to "close some loops. * She said they need our Agents to conduct one-on-one interviews that will be penetrating and that will compare existing testimony with statements being given by witnesses. She said that some of the people to be interviewed are NASA employees but that some are contractor-type personnel. She said it is very important that the Commission not appear to be conducting a criminal investigation and they do not want to seem to be looking for culpability in their interviews. She said they do not want to intimidate any of the witnesses. Rather, they would like for those interviewed to be encouraged to come forward and furnish full information and even suggest “what else we need to think about." She said for example that there is a critical telephone conversation in which there had been 30 participants in several locations. Ten of these persons have testified and the Commission would like to have complete statements from all of them. She said that their immediate need is to have two Special Agents by the end of this week. There will be some travel involved in the inquiries and she mentioned Utah, Huntsville, Alabama, and Florida as places where interviews may need to be conducted. Emily Trapnell said that their longer term needs for two other Agents are to review certain records and letters where people have voluntarily contributed information which may contain some evidence. She said that the persons selected should be able to put aside their “FBI-person" and take on a “Commission-person" identity. 4 I told Ms. Trapnell that I would make the appropriate arrangements and return her Call. z- Ee ¥ CONTINUED - OVER