CIA IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER WHICH PROTECTS NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01495R000200090012-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 16, 2005
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: April 21, 1972
• Content Type: MF

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OGC 72-0574
21 April 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Director-Comptroller
Deputy Director for Plans
Deputy Director for Intelligence
Deputy Director for Support
Deputy Director for Science & Technology
SUBJECT ~ CIA Implementation of New Executive Order
Which Protects National Security Information
1. This memorandum is to bring to the attention of appropriate
officials CIA actions needed under the new Executive Order in the field
of protecting national security information.
2. The new Order accomplishes certain fundamental changes
in government policy. Some will cause the Agency certain problems;
in particular, we will face problems with respect to declassification
of documents, both CIA documents and any others for which we have
responsibility. The new Executive Order is effective 1 June 1972. A
number of actions and decisions by the Agency will be necessary prior
to that date. The mast difficult problem before us is the. development
of new Agencytr~?gulations_ to.be submtitted to the White House for ap-
proval by 15 May.. Additional actions are required as follows:
a. The Executive Order calls for the implementation by
further directives of the President acting through the National Security
Council. A working draft of one such directive has been received;
Agency comments will be needed early next week.
b. A letter from the Archivist of the United States to the
Director asks that an Agency representative "at the Assistant Secretary
level" be appointed to work with the Archivist to assist him in discharg-
ing his duties under the new Order. The initial meeting of the Archivist
with designees of various departments is scheduled for 28 April. A
response to the Archivist is needed.
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c. The Executive Order calls for an Interagency Classi-
fication Review Gommittee_tc~~.~sist the Nation_ purity Council in
_....~ .
{nonit ro ng the rriplementatio~ of the Order. ,This Committee is to be
compo"sed of representatives of various named agencies, including the
CIA. It will be necessary to select our member.
d. Under the Order, ~. senior m~:rnber of CIA must be
designated to ensure Agency compliance with the Order and to_chair
a CIA committee to discharge certain responsibilities under the Order.
e. Under the new Order the Director is the only Agency
official authorized to classify information. Sut the Order also author-
izes the Director to delegate classification authority to certain officials.
It will be necessary that an appropriate delegation be made by the Direc-
tor prior to 1 June.
3. The major provisions of the Order to be considered in draft-
ing the Agency regulation are set out below.
a. Classifying
The definitions of "Top Secret", "Secret", "Confidential"
and "national security" have_been char e_d and will require appropriate
changes in Agency regulations. Also, the Order requires that each
classified document indicate on its face the identity of the classifier,
unless "the Department involve~~s~ia~l have provided some other method
of identifying the individual" who classified it. Procedures to accom-
plish this requirement will be necessary.
b. Declassification of Information Originating After
1 June 1972
Under the Order all new information automatically declas-
sifies under a General Declassification Schedule (after 10, 8 or 6 years),
except when action is taken to exempt information from automatic declas-
sification under that Schedule. Procedures will be required to assure
that decteione to exempt or_not to .exempt are made in timely fashion.
Additionally, in~nzation.~xex~pt~d~fsom. the General. Declassificatioxi
Schedule is automatically. declassified at the end of 30 years,, u~+sis
the Agehcy head at that time determines that continued classification
is required. Here also procedures for timely review will have to be
established.
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c. Declassification of Information Originating Before
1 June 1972
Under the Order all information not assigned in Group 4 of,
Executive Order 10501 is exempted from., automatic declasai.fcation. CIA
inforation is not in Group 4, but other documents in our possession may
b'e. The 30-via.~'"automi~,.,~c~e~las._,~,,~,~,~,,~xa? provision does apply with re-
spect to pre-June 1972 information. Thus, declassification of the OSS
~_ _
documents _in our' possession will occur unless the Director acts to con-,
~_.._ _
-time classification.. Since OSS was established in July 1941, our initial
reviews under the 30-year rule (to be accomplished in conjunction with
the Archivist of the United States) would be addressed to a relatively
small quantity of documents. But machinery to systematically consider
30-year-old documents will have to be developed.
d. Systematic Review for Earlier Declassification
Information originating before or after 1 June 1972 is to be
systematically reviewed for declassification earlier than required by the
General Declassification Schedule. Compliance with the requirement for
systematic review of the pre~June 1972_nformation poses immense prob-
m._ _ ~ .~_ ~ _... ___
lems. Manifestly, it is impossible for the Agency to review every year
a~Agency records dating back to the previous 30 years. The require-
ment of the Order in this regard is simply that the forthcoming imple-
menting directive by the President is to conform to the policy that clas-
sified "information or material shall be reviewed on a systematic basis
for the purpose of accomplishing downgrading, declassification, trans-
fer, retirement and destruction at the earliest practicable date. " That
draft implements the quoted provis n ere y y sayLng that information
shall be systematically reviewed "at least annually". Hopefully, the
working draft can be modified on this point.
4. I attach a copy of a lengthy summary of the Order (Tab A),
together with a copy of the Order itself (Tab B). In accordance with
the request of the Executive Director to us, we are preparing a draft
of an Agency regulation. We do not need formal comment from ad-
dressees, but we will welcome any advice, information or indication
of problems or interests of any component.
LAWRENCE R. HOUSTON
General Counsel
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