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44. McCone, “Memorandum on Donovan Project,” 11 October 1962 October 11, 1962 MEMORANDUM ON DONOVAN PROJECT Immediately after my discussion with the Cannon Committee {including Taber, Ford and Mahon), I went to the White House and explained to the Prosident and McGeorge Bundy the positions taken by Ford and Mahon, as covered in separate memorandum prepared by Mr. Warner, The President made the judgment that we should proceed with the negotiations, recognizing there would be some political consequences and criticisms, but he, the President, was willing to accept this as a fact. I then showed the President photographs of the crates which presumably would carry, or wore carrying, IL 28s, Saviet medium bombers, and were deck loaded on a ship which had arrived in Havana in the early days of October. The President requested that such infor- mation be withheld at least until after elections as if the information got into the press, a new and more viclent Cuban issue would be injected into the campaign and this would seriously affect his independence of action. McCone stated that these particular photographs could not be restricted as they had beon disseminated to the Intelligence Com- munity and several Joint and specified commands, such as CINCLANT, SAC, NORAD, and others and would be reported in the CLA Bulletin on Thursday morning. The President then requested that the report be worded to indicate a probability rather than an actuality because in the final analysis we only saw crates, not the bombers themselves. DCr agreed. The President further requested that all future infor- mation ba suppressed. DCI stated that this was extremely dangerous, It was then agreed that future information would be disseminated to members of USIB, with appropriate instructions that only those responsible for giving the President advice be given the information. 123