September 28, 1977

Agr Asst Sec Robert H Meyer, who owns substantial land in Calif's Imperial Valley, approaches members of Cong and other Carter Adm officials seeking special treatment for area in enforcement of Fed water resources law; says there is no conflict of interest involved in his activities; Agr Sec Bergland says Meyers can discuss issue as long as he does not discuss Carter Adm policy on it (M)

Fed grand jury in Washington, DC, indicts Hancho C Kim for allegedly lying to grand jury and conspiring to defraud US; charges stem from probe of alleged S Korean influence-buying in Cong; indictment reveals that alleged effort had code name Operation White Snow, and that Kim used rented telecommunications equipment to send messages directly from his Md home to Korean CIA hq in Seoul; charges that Kim received at least $600,000 in US currency to support operation, but does not describe how money was spent or name Cong recipients, if any; indictment appears to rely heavily on testimony of Kim Sang Keun, former Korean intelligence officer who defected and who is named an unindicted co-conspirator, as is Gen Yang Doo Wan, former KCIA station chief in US; indictment notes that Hancho Kim caused 2 articles favorable to Korean Govt to be inserted in Cong Record by Repr Tennyson Guyer and former Repr Vernon W Thomson; Hancho Kim, who is naturalized Amer citizen, protests his innocence; he and wife, Soon Duk Sim, are also under indictment for income tax evasion in 74 and '75 (M)

Soviet Foreign Min Gromyko affirms Moscow's readiness, under arrangement with US and GB, to suspend underground tests for a time without waiting for China to join, as Russians have demanded in past, Sept 27 address to UN (M)

Carter's tax reform pkg, Adm sources say, will almost certainly propose limiting income tax deductions for business meals to 50% of tab; speculation on pkg noted possible phaseout of preferential treatment of capital gains; Treas Dept has recommended imposing capital gains tax on assets upon death of asset owner (exempting small businesses and farms), and elimination of deferral of taxes on corp profits earned in foreign countries and reinvested there; Repr Ullman opposes 'death tax'; Sens Byrd and Long request for delay of tax message recalled (M)

HR, 252-164, affirms support for ban on Medicaid abortions except when mother's life is endangered; action may break Sen-HR 3-mo impasse on legis because Sen conferees demanded vote as condition for further conf sessions; Sen Warren Magnuson says Sen will yield on term 'medically necessary' if HR will include abortions for women with certain debilitating diseases; hopes HR will allow Medicaid abortions in rape and incest cases; Reprs comment; Speaker Thomas O'Neill says he supports bill although he declined to vote (M)