Two other British intelligence officials that were colleagues of Angelton and Philby had previously defected, but Angleton never imagined that Philby would become "The Third Man". The already famous 1949 film noir penned by Graham Greene was a cautionary tale. For Angleton, it was a humiliation that changed his life forever.
Angleton used CI/SIG in a ruthless manner, destroying the lives of innocent CIA agents and anyone else in the cross-fire. By the time Angleton was fired in the midst of the Watergate era, he was accused of being a Soviet mole himself.
The CIA was eager for ways to see inside the Soviet Union, which had closed itself off from many aspects of Western society. One way was to cultivate contacts that spoke the Russian language. That led inquiring minds to Harvard University, its Russian department, and a Radcliffe graduate student in the department named Priscilla Johnson.
A wealthy and attractive Long Islander whose father was in the textile trade, Priscilla Johnson, Bryn Mawr '50, was a catch. Internationally minded, she was a member of the United World Federalists and other liberal groups. She applied for a job with the CIA in late 1952 as graduation beckoned the following spring. Just when it seemed that Johnson had successfully jumped through all the hoops, her application was rejected in March 1953 because of her membership in the United World Federalists, the League of Industrial Democracy, and her questionable associates.
Johnson landed on her feet. In April, she joined the research staff of the new senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy. In fact, she withdrew her application before the rejection came in. Johnson may have nailed the JFK post thanks to the aid of her mentor and Long Island neighbor the CIA's chief of International Operations, Cord Meyer, Legend Maker #2. Johnson told military historian John Newman that she thought Meyer "was waiting for me to grow up".
In 1947, Meyer was one of the founders of the United World Federalists, a group hoping to stop the spread of atomic weapons and to build a stronger United Nations. He was engaged in postgraduate studies at Harvard while building the movement. However, the tides of history were working against Meyer. In 1948, the Soviets threw up a blockade around Berlin that lasted for months. In 1949, the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb. In 1950, a devastating war broke out on the Korean peninsula, taking millions of lives. Meyer saw his hopes for arms control wane, and his frame of mind steadily became more anti-communist. He left Harvard and joined the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), headed by Frank Wisner.
By 1953, Meyer's duties included shepherding Operation MOCKINGBIRD, an infamous program where the CIA used the American news media "like a mighty Wurlitzer". Many reporters did the CIA's bidding and basically churned out stories as unpaid shills for the Agency. It was a great way to develop sources and advance one's career. MOCKINGBIRD established a pattern of a media/intelligence alliance that many believe has only accelerated to the present day. Johnson was willing to sing like a mockingbird, and built her career on it. She was to become Legend Maker #3.
The CIA wanted spotters at Harvard
Claiming that her passion was the oxymoron known as "Soviet law", Johnson made her way to the USSR in December 1955 for a four month trip. The highlight of her stay was landing a temporary paycheck as an "emergency" translator with the State Department, covering the historic Soviet Party Congress where Khrushchev denounced the legacy of Joseph Stalin. Johnson also picked up work at the New York Times office during her Moscow stay.
Upon her return to Boston, the records indicate that Johnson was then vetted by the CIA to work as a "legal traveler into USSR - spotter". Johnson denies knowing anything about this application to use her as a spotter. Without taking Johnson at her word, it's fair to say that the CIA may have used her or planned to use in ways that she did not know about, and the events surrounding her should be analyzed with that in mind.
The CIA's consideration of Johnson as a possible spotter marks an opening gambit in REDSKIN, a program designed to look at Russian-speaking students and recruit them into the legal travelers program to the USSR.
It's been a matter of record for some time who actually was a spotter of Russian-speaking students at Harvard during 1956-57 --Richard Snyder, the consul at the American Embassy who met with Oswald at the time of his defection in 1959. Snyder was to become Legend Maker #4.
Although Snyder was a CIA officer between 1949-1950, he went so far as to deny on the record that he had any relationship with the CIA after 1950. This hurt Snyder's credibility with the House Select Committee of Assassinations (HSCA), the body that reviewed the JFK case in the late seventies. The HSCA unsuccessfully tried to repair the damage done by the Warren Commission's irresponsible investigation immediately after the assassination.
The HSCA was displeased by Snyder's denial of any CIA relationship after 1950, as it was documented that he was a spotter at Harvard while studying Russian, and had access to students that might be going to the Soviet Union. Snyder was working for Nelson Brickham of the Soviet Russia division within the Directorate of Plans. Brickham was responsible for running black propaganda, false flag recruitments and the gathering of information on Soviet missile silos.
"Black propaganda" consists of statements that blame one side for the actions actually committed by the other side. Similarly, a "false flag" recruitment means that a recruiter is not telling the truth about the purpose for the recruitment. It seems apparent that Brickham and Snyder were recruiting Harvard students into what was known as Project REDSKIN.
Three Priscillas?
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