CONGRESS WAS WARNED OF NOTIFICATION LAW LEEWAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403620011-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 26, 2012
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: November 21, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/26: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403620011-8
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WASHINGTON POST
21 November 1986
Congress Was Warned of Notification Law Leeway
President Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to fell of Covert Action `in a Timely Achion'
By Howard Kurtz
WaJiwKtat Poat Staff Writer
Six years ago, leading lawmakers warned dur-
ing debate over the intelligence notification law,
which President Reagan has been accused of vi-
olating, that future presidents would have too
much leeway to avoid telling Congress about co-
vert operations.
The law says that, at a minimum, the presi-
dent must notify the House and Senate intelli-
gence committees of such operations "in a timely
fashion."
Several members of Congress said yesterday
that Reagan clearly broke the law by withholding
from Congress for 18 months the fact that he
had secretly authorized arms shipments to Iran
in connection with efforts to free American hos-
tages in the Mideast. There are no penalties for
violation of the law.
Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.), the lone dis-
senter when the Senate approved the measure,
89 to 1, said at the time that the notification re-
quirement was the "largest loophole" in the bill
and "really ends any kind of effective reporting
requirement."
Reagan said at his televised news conference
Wednesday night, "I have the right under the law
to defer reporting to Congress ... and defer it
until such time as I believe it can safely be done
with no risk to others."
But House Majority Leader James C. Wright
Jr. (D-Tex.) and Senate Democratic leader Rob-
ert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), among others, challenged
that assertion. Byrd said the law provides for a
"brief delay ... That might be 18 hours, but not
18 months. The president does not have the
right to delay indefinitely."
Attorney General Edwin Meese II[ assured
the White House orally that Reagan would not be
violating the law by failing to tell Congress of the
shipments to [ran, according to administration
officials. But these officials said there is no writ-
ten Justice Department opinion providing legal
justification for this decision. The officials were
unable to provide details of Meese's legal argu-
ment.
Lloyd Cutler, who helped negotiate the law as
President Jimmy Carter's White House counsel,
said the wording was designed to give a presi-
dent limited room about when to disclose sen-
sitive operations. "It gave the president a little
leeway, but certainly not 12 or 18 months," Cut-
ler said. "[ don't see how it can be construed the
way the president described it."
Cutler said the "timely fashion" language was
added as a backup in case a president did not
provide what Congress was really seeking in
1980-prior notice of covert operations.
Months before then, Cutler said, Carter did
not plan to brief key lawmakers about the
aborted 1980 attempt to rescue 52 American
hostages in Iran until the operation was under
way.
Coincidentally, the Central Intelligence Agen-
cy favored this and other changes to the 1947
National Security Act because it limited admin-
istration reports about covert activities to the
congressional intelligence oversight committees.
Under a 1974 amendment in force until six years
ago, presidents were required to notify as many
as eight committees.
The first part of the notification provision re-
quires intelligence officials to give prior notice of
intelligence activities to the House and Senate
panels. But it says this must be "consistent" with
the executive branch's constitutional responsi-
bilities and "with due regard for the protection
from unauthorized disclosure of classified infor-
mation and information relating to intelligence
sources and methods."
If the president determines that "it is essential
to limit prior notice to meet extraordinary cir-
cumstances affecting vital interests of the Unit-
ed States," he may limit advance notice to eight
congressional leaders. Reagan did not do so.
Key lawmakers expressed concern about the
compromise language. A second section was
then added, saying that, if the president does not
give prior notice of covert operations, he must
brief the intelligence panels "in a timely fashion."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/26: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403620011-8