Charlie Rose

Charles Grandison Rose III (August 10, 1939 - September 4, 2012) was a Democratic congressman who represented North Carolina's 7th congressional district for twenty-four years, from 1973 to 1997. He became a vocal public advocate for the Grill Flame remote viewing program and later, alongside Rep. Tom Lewis (R-FL), applied congressional pressure that contributed to the Department of Justice reopening its inquiry into The Finders case.¹²

Background

Rose was known informally as the "mayor of the Capitol" for his work as chairman of the House Administration Committee from 1991 to 1994. His committee assignments also included the House Intelligence Committee, and he chaired a 1991 House committee investigation into the Bush administration's role in selling military supplies to Iraq. He died on September 4, 2012, at age 73. His congressional papers are held at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Special Collections).²

Stargate Advocacy

Rose became a staunch supporter of the Grill Flame program after being briefed on it in the late 1970s by General Edmund Thompson and Jack Vorona, head of the DIA's Scientific and Technical Intelligence Directorate. He toured remote viewing facilities at Stanford Research Institute and Fort Meade, chatting with remote viewers and witnessing practice sessions, and discussed the program with President Jimmy Carter. Despite representing a Bible Belt constituency, Rose publicly advocated for the program, believing it to be a "hell of a cheap radar system."¹

In a 1979 interview for Omni magazine, Rose condemned skeptics and "publicity-shy" intelligence officials, citing remote viewing data he had seen on an unnamed Soviet target: "What these people 'saw,' was confirmed by aerial photography. There's no way it could have been faked."¹

Finders Reinvestigation

In October 1993, private consultant Henry "Skip" Clements provided Rose and Rep. Tom Lewis with copies of U.S. Customs Special Agent Ramon J. Martinez's 1987 reports on The Finders. Rose and Lewis applied congressional pressure on the DOJ. The CIA's response was dismissive - a CIA spokesman told Rose, "This story is a non-story. I think of it as a nothing-burger." Nevertheless, the combined congressional pressure and the prospect of a CBS 48 Hours segment prompted the DOJ's October 26, 1993 memo from Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Keeney to FBI Assistant Director Larry A. Potts, tasking the FBI with a preliminary inquiry.³

The Documents

Charles Rose, a Democrat, represented North Carolina's seventh district in the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997 and chaired the evaluation subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He died on September 3, 2012, at 73.⁴

On October 25, 1978, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Evaluation, Rose wrote to Ruth Davis, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Advanced Technology: "I have recently had occasion to become acquainted with some interesting research involving paranormal phenomena, specifically that relating to remote viewing. Clearly, while this phenomenon might well result in opportunities for the collection of intelligence otherwise denied us, we have a strong obligation also to learn what Soviet research is underway and what emergent capabilities they may have so that we may protect our own classified activities from this potential source of surveillance. I would therefore like to see the Department of Defense undertake those efforts deemed necessary and appropriate to investigate remote viewing and other related phenomena. As research continues in such areas it will be incumbent on us to understand and safeguard our citizens' proper concerns about their individual rights and the appropriate role of government. I am ready to assist in this venture as best I can." Davis forwarded the letter to Jack Vorona with her memorandum of November 20 setting the questions for the oversight groups DIA was to establish.⁹⁰⁰

Briefings

On February 9, 1978, the CIA's legislative counsel met Rose and his aide Dick Giza at the agency's front entrance for four briefings, one of them at the Office of Technical Service, the office that had funded the SRI remote-viewing work, "largely handled by the Chief of OTS, Mr. David S. Brandwein." In July 1979 the chairman of the Defense Department's Grill Flame committee, Jack Vorona of the DIA, missed its meeting because he "was briefing Congressman Rose on DoD efforts and interest in parapsychology"; Rose and Representative Young "were primarily interested in the funding of such projects within the DoD." The committee's minutes of January 10, 1980, recorded that "as a result of that interest, arrangements were made to present the INSCOM briefing," that "Congressional concern and support were expressed for funding the program in FY 80, 81, and 82," and that "Congressman Rose will be on the CIA Life Science Panel." The Army's assistant chief of staff for intelligence, Major General Edmund Thompson, wrote in an eyes-only memorandum: "Congressman Rose is a topic worth discussion. It has been about three months since he was briefed on program specifics, and we should keep in mind his oft-repeated desire to be kept up to date on a continuing basis. A situation as before in which the last briefing was done at his instigation, forcing us to be reactors rather than action takers, should be avoided." INSCOM's chronology lists him briefed on January 16, 1980, February 11, 1981, and, "on human use issue," April 16, 1981 (Watt's memorandum of the April briefing says he had last briefed Rose in January 1980, so the February briefing was given by someone else).⁵⁶⁷

At 2 p.m. on January 16, 1980, Lieutenant Colonel Murray Watt "briefed Congressman Charlie Rose (Chairman, Evaluation Subcommittee of The House Permanent Committee on Intelligence) on the INSCOM GRILL FLAME Project," at Rose's request "via Dr. Jack Vorona," with Major General Thompson, Vorona, "Jake Stewart, NSC Staff Member," and "Dick Giza, Office of Congressman Rose" present. "Congressman Rose stated that he wanted the briefing taped so that other members of the House Subcommittee would have the opportunity to review the proceedings"; "Page 3 of Incl 1 was not provided to the audience at the direction of MG Thompson." Rose "was very receptive to the briefing (which lasted a little over an hour). He stated that we had made more progress than he had realized and encouraged us to continue with our program. He expressed strong concern about the Soviet threat that might be posed in this field and hoped that the U.S. Intelligence Community would rapidly make some 'break-throughs' of parapsychology."⁹⁰¹

April 16, 1981

At 10:30 that morning Lieutenant Colonel Murray Watt, the project manager, briefed him at Fort Meade with Thompson, Giza, a committee staffer, Annette Smiley, and officers of the Army's congressional liaison. "Congressman Rose opened the meeting with the comments that he was concerned that research into this field had to continue in an orderly manner and that the program had to be funded properly." He had lately visited SRI and been briefed by Hal Puthoff and the DIA representative there, and "had come away with the impression that perhaps the Army would like to break off future contacts with SRI-I"; Thompson and Watt "informed the Congressman that Army was still very much interested in working with SRI-I," and Thompson said that Ingo Swann "had expressed similar thoughts to him." Rose "stated, again, that Remote Viewing potentially was a most valuable asset for the intelligence community and that work in that area had to continue," was "willing to help in any way that he could, but mentioned the commitment one makes when one 'signs his name on the line,'" and "expressed concern with us being operational on what might be a premature basis." He "told us to keep-up the outstanding work," and the meeting ended at 11:45.⁶

Afterward

A 1979 magazine article identified him as chairman of the House subcommittee on intelligence evaluation and oversight, and CIA files preserve his public remark that "I've seen some incredible examples of remote viewing, so much so that I think we ought to pay close attention to developments in this field and especially to what the Soviets are doing." When the program was made public in 1995 he was reported as declining to discuss it: "Most of what I have seen in this area has been classified."⁸

The Finders

In October 1993 the Florida consultant Henry "Skip" Clements, who had obtained the 1987 Customs reports of Ramon J. Martinez on The Finders, met Rose and Representative Tom Lewis of Florida, and the two "subsequently applied pressure to the Department of Justice"; the acting assistant attorney general, John C. Keeney, tasked the FBI with a preliminary inquiry on October 26, 1993.⁹