LETTER TO(Sanitized)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77M00144R000600010023-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 26, 2005
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: May 6, 1975
• Content Type: LETTER

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DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301
-099d
U-95/GC
Deputy Legislative Counsel
Central Intelligence Agency
Office of Legislative Counsel
Washington, D.C. 20505
6 May 1975
The following comments are forwarded for your consideration in
connection with your paper on "A Joint Committee on Intelligence -
Congressional Oversight".
First, may I compliment you on a very fine piece of work. In
order to expand the paper to more fully cover the total intelli-
gence community, you may want to insert the following information
after your paragraph A.1. Statutory Basis. You may want to add
at the bottom of the first page the following information:
The National Security Act of 1947, as amended by the
Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958 - Section
202 (c)(1) and Section 202 (c)(6) - empowers the Secretary
of Defense to carry out common service activities of the
Department "by a single Agency or such other organizational
entities as he deems appropriate" whenever he "determines
it to be advantageous to the Government in terms of effec-
tiveness, economy or efficiency".
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Secretary of
Defense and the provisions of the National Security Act of
1947 as amended, the Defense Intelligence Agency was
established as an Agency of the Department of Defense
under the direction, authority and control of the Secretary
of Defense. The Agency was established by Department of
Defense Directive 5105.21, dated August 1, 1961.
In 1952 President Truman designated the Secretary of
Defense as the Executive Agent of the Government for
communications intelligence and communications security
matters and directed him to establish the National Security
Agency. The Secretary's authority to create the National
Security Agency is found in Section 133(d) of Title 10,
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United States Code. This law provides that the Secretary
may exercise any of his duties through persons or organi-
zations of the Department of Defense. The National
Security Agency is, therefore, a means chosen by the
Secretary pursuant to law to discharge the above-noted
Executive Agent responsibilities.
In addition to the above, you may want to modify the last sentence
in your introductory paragraph entitled Premise. In order to
expand for an all-intelligence community coverage, may I
suggest this sentence be modified to read "Therefore, any
exclusive legislative charter should be compatible with the
existing structure in the Executive Branch and would involve the
intelligence community, through the Director of Central Intelli-
gence and in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency,
the Department of Defense and other intelligence community
members.
a
enera Counsel
Defense Intelligence Agency
STAT
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