AUTHORITY FOR CIA TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR THE IC STAFF

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00165A002500110039-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 5, 2004
• Sequence Number: 39
• Publication Date: February 17, 1977
• Content Type: MF

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OGC 77-1077
17 February 1977
MEMORANDUM FOR : Admiral Turner
FROM `Anthony A. Lapham
General Counsel
SUBJECT : Authority for CIA to Provide Support for
the IC Staff
1. You have requested my advice as to the authority of the Central
Intelligence Agency to provide administrative support for the IC Staff.
Whether the Agency may provide such assistance without reimbursement
is also of major importance.
2. There is considerable background on this subject. Further,
legislative and executive actions and views are continuing to address
this issue in one way or another and it seems likely that within the not
too distant future, efforts will be made to resolve this and related matters
by legislation.
3. The CIA, as an Agency in the Executive branch, may perform
services for other agencies and departments under the authority of the
Economy Act. That Act authorizes such arrangements when the head of
a requesting agency determines that the acquisition of services from
another agency is "in the interest. of the government.." Services performed
pursuant to an Economy Act request are to be paid for by the requesting
agency.
4. The particular wrinkle to the question goes to the matter of the
legal status of the IC Staff, as well as to the legal. consequences of the pro-
visions of the 1977 Defense Appropriations Act appropriating a specific
sum ($5.6 million) for "necessary expenses for intelligence community
oversight." As to the former, the National Security Act, in establishing
the position of the Director of Central Intelligence And the Central
Intelligence Agency, also provided for certain limited- authorities and
responsibilities in the Director and the Agency which extend throughout
the Executive branch. But these functions do not significantly fall
within the responsibility of the IC Staff and they do not involve admin-
istrative support for that Staff.
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 5. 1tp3.l`rwf cli i eWlea 3ROt , /Re G~St $ aVs preQy consfi~u ed,
is a successor organization to the National Intelligence Programs Evalua-
tion Staff (NIPE), established by Director McCone in the early 1960s.
The function of NIPE was to evaluate intelligence production by intelligence
community agencies, not just by CIA. It was a small office manned primarily,
if not exclusively, by CIA personnel. In early 1972, Director Helms, res-
ponding to a President Nixon directive of November 1971 - a directive
resulting from a study by Dr. Schlesinger, who at that time was with
OMB - renamed NIPE the "rntelligence Community Staff" and expanded its
functions. Director Schlesinger in 1973 brought in successive general
officers to head the Staff and inserted other personnel from outside CIA.
And finally President Ford's Executive Order 11905 in February 1976 created
the position of Deputy to the Director for the Intelligence Community as' head
of the IC Staff and prescribed certain functions for the Staff. (The position
of Deputy to the Director for the Intelligence Community existed prior to
Executive Order 11905, but the Executive Order gave it Presidential
stature.) Under all of these decisions, the IC Staff has been administered
as a CIA component by CIA administrative components, including,, in
particular, the provision of payroll, personnel, security and related services,
and the NIPE and IC Staff functions were budgeted in the CIA presentations
in' the annual appropriation process. No statute created or provided for
the IC Staff and the Staff was not created by an Executive order, although
as indicated, Executive Order 11905 acknowledged its existence by con-
ferring authority and responsibility upon it. Thus, the.IC Staff has been
a component of CIA and.this Office has so held on several occasions, most
recently in December. 1976 . (copy of our.OGC 76-6890 attached at Tab. A). -
Under this body of law and administrative actions there was no question but
that the administrative support of the IC Staff by CIA. was authorized by law,
6. The 1977 Defense Appropriations Act, for the first time, appropriated .
a specific amount for "necessary expenses for intelligence community over-
sight." The Act was accompanied and followed by a series of documents of
legislative history, including correspondence between the Director and the
Appropriations Committee chairmen, which in sum would indicate Congressional
.intenti.oq that administrative support for the IC Staff may be furnished by CIA
without reimbursement. See our advice to that effect recently addressed to
the DDA, at Tab B (OGC 77-0906).
7. A special aspect of this problem concerns the availability of the CIA
Legislative and General Counsels to assist and advise the Deputy to the
Director for the Intelligence Community and the In.lligence Community
Staff. The problem arises out of various actions accompanying the 1977
Defense Appropriations Act and, as recently as yesterday, again surfaced
in connection with Mr. Knoche's and I I appearance before STAT
the House,Appropriations Subcommittee with regard to a needed supplementary
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appropriation for the IC Staff. The conference report on the Defense
Appropriations Act states that the IC Staff, in order to comply with the
intent of Congress that the IC Staff is to be wholly independent, should
Snodgrass, a Staff Assistant on the House Appropriations Subcommittee..
indications that this issue' is almost entirely a pet concern of Mr. Charles
is apparent from the correspondence and conversations and from other
by Mr. Bush who, by letter of 17 January to Chairman Mahon, so advised
the Chairman, based in considerable part on the unworkability of such an
arrangement. A copy of Mr. Bush's letter of 17 January is at Tab C. It
preclude the IC Staff from looking to the CIA Legislative and General Counsels
for assistance. This concept was not embraced by the Senate Committee, nor
not depend on other sources for -"policy sensitive services. " In subsequent
correspondence, the House Committee indicated this restriction would
and General Counsel services to. the IC Staff appeared, Chairman Mahon
theretofore . When he reached the stage where the availability of Legislative
record a statement prepared for him which, it appeared, he had not read - ` .
thing of an issue.- . At that 'session Chairman Mahon began to read into the
with respect to its. use of CIA Legislative and General Counsels became some-
8. At yesterday's session before the House Appropriations Subcommittee,
.whether or not the-1C Staff is in compliance with the-Committee's requirements
not enamored of the statement prepared for him. At another stage, -Mr .
Deputy Legislative Counsel who was present, Chairman Mahon said he was
statement to submit for the record. Inanasidetol the CIA
broke ott from reading his statement and indicated he would have a different
asked him such questions as to what payroll he was on, who filled out his
Snodgrass, the Subcommittee staffer, challenged. presence and
STAT fitness reports, etc.'
I nswered these questions by attempting
to make the points he wanted to make, rather than the points Snodgrass
intended, by saying he was paid by CIA and was responsible to the Director.
STAT elieves Chairman Mahon has become sympathetic to the position
disposed to that view. In this connection, Mr.-Cary, the Agency Legislative
. taken by Mr. Bush in his letter of 17 January, if, in ? fact, he was not originally
Counsel, had cleared with Chairman Mahon in advance and received his
STAT . approval for the appearance of I lat that session and, indeed, Mr.
STAT I -presence was a deliberate Agency decision intended to force a
.satisfactory resolution of this issue. It may be that this matter has not yet
been put to rest, but it also appears that Mr. Snodgrass more and more is
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occupying an untenable and lone position.
for the IC Staff will continue in the future. It is apparent from the legislative
history of the 1977 Defense Appropriations Act, and other documents, that
the IC Staff is intended to be free from CIA control and dominance and the
planned move downtown (by the IC Staff) is intended as.a step to accomplish
Executive branch actions affecting the question of CIA administrative support
9. As mentioned in paragraph two above, it is':likely that legislation and
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,nat independence, as well as an effort to show independence. It is to be
expected that the issue will appear again in the 1978 budget and appropriation
process and it could be'that, this year or in a later year, it will be decided
that the IC Staff is to budget for and provide its own administrative services.
Also, a` subcommittee of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence currently
is studying the desirability of new or amended statutory charters for the IC
agencies, and the Agency and theCommunity also will be addressing these
matters. Further, it is understood the question of separating the Director
and at least some of his Community-wide duties and responsibilities from
the Agency has been reserved by President Carter for decision at a later date.
It seems likely that legislation in any of these areas might also address the
matter of the legal status, authorities and administrative needs of the IC
Staff .
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SENDER WILL CHECK CLASS' `AT1ON TOP AND BOTTOM
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OFFICIAL ROUTING SLIP
TO
NAME AND ADDRESS
DATE.
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ACTION
DIRECT PLY
PREPARE REPLY
APPROVAL
DI TCN
RECOMMENDATION
COMMENT
1LE
RETURN
CONCURRENCE
INFORMATION
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Remarks:
Original and attachments sent to
for passage to Admiral
Turner.
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FROM: NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NO.
DATE
;.= AALapham OGG 7D01
Z/17/77
1 UNCLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL
SECRET
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FORM-e7N0. 237 Use previous editions
1
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 ^ UNCLASSIFIED ^ INTERNAL ^ CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For'IM V OMb: F f01 P&16PA00250011
Anthony A. Lapham
General Counsel
TO: (Officer designation, room number, and DATE
building)
17 F n F~177
^ SECRET
Attached. is. a paper on the
authority of the Agency to pr. o-
jvide support for the IC Staff
Twhich Admiral Turner has
requested
FORM 610 Ilse PtrWOU$ r 3-62 EDITIONS [_j SECRET' ^ CONFIDENTIAL
^ UNCLASSIFIED