LETTER TO HONORABLE JOHN C. STENNIS FROM DIRECTOR W.E. COLBY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00957A000100070002-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2006
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: September 25, 1974
• Content Type: LETTER

.Approved For Release 2007/02/24: CIA-RDP79-00957AO00100070002-1
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
25 September 1974,
Honorable John C. Stennis, Chairman
Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate
Washington, D. C. 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
I have your letter of 25 September ].974, requesting my assurance
that the Central Intelligence Agency will not exceed the limits of authority
proposed in legislation currently before the Congress, specifically your
bill, S. 2597. Without reservation, I can assure you that this Agency will
abide by the letter and the spirit of S. 2597, in the conduct of our activities.
Three bills currently before Congress would insert the word "foreign"
before the word "intelligence, " whenever it: refers to the activities authorized
to be undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency. I fully support this
change in the National Security Act. This_ Age_n. y_is,...not authorized to
conduct acuities outside the foreign intelligence field; I have attempted
to insure that all Agency employees respect: this fact.
In order to conduct our foreign intelligence mission, however, this
Agency must undertake certain actions in the United States. S. 2597 provides
for this, by expressly permitting the Agency to protect its installations,
conduct personnel investigations, ? provide information to other agencies,
and conduct activities in the United States which are necessary to support
its foreign intelligence mission. Of course, these domestic activities could
not contravene the proscription against police, law enforcement, or internal
security functiox,b. Such authorized domestic activities include; (a) inter-
viewing American citizens who are willing, voluntarily and without pay, to
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share foreign intelligence information in their possession with their
Government; (b) collecting foreign intelligence from foreigners in the
United States; (c) establishing support structures necessary to foreign
intelligence operations abroad; and (d) providing technical assistance to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its counterintelligence operations
against. foreigners.
S. 2597 would specifically require the Agency to report.to the
Congress on all activities undertaken pursuant to section 102(d)(5) of the
National Security Act in the manner established by the Congress. I
fully subscribe to this requirement. The longstanding precedent is that
we report CIA -operational and budget matters only to the named Subcom-
mittees of the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriations
Committees. 'I will continue to abide by this precedent unless and until
it is modified by the Congress.
Mr. Chairman, I wish to assure you that this Agency will
scrupulously confine itsactiy ~s_ to the foreign intelligence field, and
will report these activities to Congress, under procedures established
by the Congress. This is required under your proposed legislation,
and it conforms to my view of the proper pole of an intelligence agency
in a democratic society.
Sincerely,
/s/
W. E. Colby
Director
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