Rufus Taylor

In late 1967, DCI Richard Helms asked Taylor to oversee a difficult, intra-CIA dispute involving Yuri Nosenko, who had defected from Soviet intelligence in 1964. CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton had almost immediately accused Nosenko of being a double agent and provocateur sent by the Soviets to penetrate American intelligence. As a result of this dilemma Nosenko was held for several years by CIA pending resolution. Taylor conducted his "independent review" of the "immense files" and began to interview the CIA officers involved. Finally Taylor concluded that Nosenko was not a double agent and that Helms should set him free.[11][12]

In his exhaustive review Taylor also had relied on an internal CIA report by Bruce Solie of October 1968. Despite strong objections from CIA counterintelligence, in March 1969 Nosenko was released and put on the CIA payroll as a consultant. Angleton, however, kept insisting Nosenko was a counterspy, until in 1974 Angleton resigned from CIA. A further internal CIA report by John Hart in late 1976 confirmed Nosenko's bona fides.[13][14][15]

Spy Wars, a 2007 book by a former CIA officer, follows the view of Angleton. It presents the case that Yuri Nosenko was a Soviet counterspy.[16]

In May 1968, DCI Helms had appointed three top CIA officials to a special review board, which was given the case of Sam Adams, a mid-level analyst at CIA. The board was chaired by Taylor and included CIA general counsel, Lawrence Houston, and OSS and CIA veteran John Bross, assistant to the DCI. It was "as high level a [board] as could be found within the agency."[17]

Adams in 1966 had challenged the prevailing view of the number of Viet Cong guerrillas, known as the Order of Battle controversy. The Army's MACV had lower numbers and forcefully asserted its position. These lower numbers were attacked as being the result of a politically motivated effort to present the American war effort in a more positive light. The conflict between the Army officers in the field and CIA analysts in Washington had become a serious concern for the intelligence community. By statute DCI Helms had to arbitrate the dispute. Taking into consideration the prevailing political views of the Johnson Administration, and of the military leaders, in late 1967 Helms finessed it. Adams cried foul at the compromise which favored the lower MACV numbers, and filed a formal complaint against Helms.[18]

By August 1, 1968, the special review board determined that, although Adams' numbers were probably more accurate, his methodology could not provide certainty.[19] While Adams himself had followed correct CIA procedure re his complaint, the CIA also had given him a fair opportunity to present his case. The board recommended another opportunity be granted Adams: a presentation to General Maxwell Taylor chairman of the PFIAB. That November Adams discussed the situation in person with Helms. Never fully reconciled to Helms' policy stance, Adams resigned from the Agency in 1973.[20][21]

Nota Bene: Adams starts his memoirs by referring to "a letter from Admiral Rufus Taylor, the agency's otherwise kindly deputy director, who intimated that the CIA would be better off without me." As Adams recalls, "The letter was Admiral Taylor's last official act" at CIA, on January 31, 1969. The letter ends suggesting that Adams "submit [his] resignation." Adams instead reflected on troubles at CIA, and "the damnedest set of misdeeds that U.S. Intelligence had ever strung together," e.g., the Order of Battle controversy. "Despite his letter I had no intentions of quitting. Instead I removed from my dest a manilla folder of classified documents... walked past the guard... and drove home." Adams buried these and other documents, afraid they "might vanish" at CIA. They later supported the controversial 1982 CBS documentary The Uncounted Enemy and then were produced for the 1984–1985 trial Westmoreland v. CBS.[22][23]