LETTER TO HONORABLE SAM J. ERVIN, JR., CHAIRMAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01495R000500020009-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 23, 2005
• Sequence Number: 9
• Content Type: LETTER

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
Honorable Sam J. Ervin, Jr. , Chairman
Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
We wish to submit our views on a bill you introduced on
2 May 1973, S. 1688, "To protect the civilian employees of the
executive branch of the U. S. Government in the enjoyment of their
constitutional rights and to prevent unwarranted governmental
invasion of their privacy. "
This Agency is deeply committed to enhancing the morale,
discipline and professionalism of Agency employees and to the extent
that these qualities are dependent upon a proper regard for individual
privacy, we are in agreement with the underlying principle of the bill.
However, certain of its provisions could seriously impair our capability
to protect intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized disclosure.
In this connection, the National Security Act of 1947, as amended,
provides:
". . . That the Director of Central Intelligence shall
be responsible for protecting intelligence sources and
methods from unauthorized disclosure;.... " (50 U. S. C.
403 (d) (3) ).
In addition, the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 provides:
In the interests of the security of the foreign
intelligence activities of the United States and in order
further to implement the proviso of section 403(d)(3) of
this title that the Director of Central Intelligence. shall
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be responsible for protecting intelligence sources and
methods from unauthorized disclosure, the Agency shall
be exempted from the provisions of section 654 of Title 5,
and the provisions of any other law which require the
publication, or disclosure of the organization, functions,
names, official titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel
employed by the Agency.. . . " (50 U. S. C. 403g)
S. 1688 specifically authorizes adversary procedures which
pose a serious paradox--the Agency must either remain silent in
the face of unfounded allegations (with the alleged offending officer
taking the consequences of the sanctions embodied in the bill), or it
must divulge information which it is obligated by statute to protect,
and disclosure of which might damage the national intelligence effort.
Enactment of the bill in its present form would be a most
serious obstacle to the effective protection of intelligence sources
and methods. The bill would seriously weaken the Agency's efforts
to prevent penetration by a hostile intelligence service, to ensure
that its employees are suitable in all respects for employment in this
sensitive Agency, and in general make it much more difficult for the
Director of Central Intelligence to discharge his responsibilities under
existing law.
I wanted to let you know that I have reviewed the position taken
on this legislation by my predecessors, and that I concur in their position
that the Agency be exempted from the bill. At your convenience, I
would be glad to discuss this further if you wish.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there is
no objection to the submission of this report from the. standpoint of the
Administration's program.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Honorable Stuart Symington
Acting Chairman
Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate
Washington, D. C. 20510
This is in response to your request for a report on a
statement in the Congressional Record of 2 May 1973 that was
made in connection with the introduction of S. 1688, the Federal
employees' privacy bill, that:
"Moreover, recent Central Intelligence Agency
disciplinary proceedings, in which requests for the
presence of counsel or even of colleagues from the
Agency have been summarily turned down, make
clear the need for the protections of this legislation
subject only to certain partial exemptions accorded
to these agencies. "
It is not the policy of this Agency to summarily reject
requests for the presence of counsel or of colleagues in disciplinary
proceedings within the Agency. I have had the matter thoroughly
investigated and no case has been brought to my attention. If you
or any other Senator have knowledge of such a case, I would
appreciate being informed.
In the interest of protecting intelligence sources and methods
from unauthorized disclosure certain protection has been extended
by statutes and executive orders to the Agency in connection with
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certain adversary proceedings. As a result, the Agency believes
that it has thereby inherited a greater degree of responsibility
than normal for assuring that no injustices are done. Moreover,
as a practical matter, the discipline and professionalism that the
Agency expects of its employees requiresnpositive attitude to this
end.
It is clear that the Congress, in enacting several laws
pertaining to the Agency realized the paramount governmental interest
in protecting intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized
disclosure in cases where this objective may conflict with other
important considerations such as Federal employees' rights. However,
while an employee cannot as a matter of right insist upon the presence
of personal counsel during internal investigative proceedings, we
have attempted to accommodate every reasonable request for the
presence of personal counsel at disciplinary proceedings.
In fact, even in a situation which does not involve disciplinary
action, such as our recent personnel reduction program, personal
counsel were present whenever requested.
It is hoped that the above is responsive to your interest and
if you would like anything further from us on this, please let me know.
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