DIRECTIVE GOVERNING THE CLASSIFICATION, DOWNGRADING, DECLASSIFICATION AND SAFEGUARDING OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION IN THE INTERESTS OF NATIONAL SECURITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01495R000200090011-2
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• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 16, 2005
• Sequence Number: 11
• Content Type: REGULATION

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THE WHiTE HOUSE
WA S HI HG TON
April 18, 1972
Larry Houston
Attached please find working
draft copy of the NSC Directive
implementing Executive Order
11652.
Could I have your comments
by close of business Monday,
April 24.
David Young
Copy 9 pf 13
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MEMORANDUM FOR:. Mr. David Young
The White House
Dave:
I attach two papers with comments
concerning the draft copy of the NSC Directive
implementing Executive Order 11652. These
are preliminary comments only in an effort to
meet the tight deadline. We will expect to get
some additional comments to you in the next
few days.
R. HOUSTON
General C unseL, CIA
? (DATE)
24 April 1972
FORM NO. n REPLACES FORM 10- 101
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COMMENTS CONCEEkTINQ NSc DIRECTWE
1.11/4_42LaUBITZINCLIZZEZ ORDER 11652
1. The implementing directive contains some duplication
of wording already in the Executive Order. The length of the
directive could be reduced somewhat by elimination of such
duplication and by incorporating portions of the directive into
appendixes or by requiring Departments and Agencies to submit
their implementing directives to the Interagency Classification
Review Committee for approval. Two of our comments identify
such portions.
2. The need for a section on "EXPLANATION OF TERMS"
is questionable. If it is retained, the definition of Material should
be changed to read: "Any document, product, substance, equipment,
supplies or apparatus."
3. If Section II is retained, the following definition of
Sensitive Intelligence Information should be added: "Such intelligence
information, the unauthorized disclosure of which could lead to
counteraction (a) jeopardizing the continued productivity of intelligence
sources or methods which provide intelligence vital to the national
security or (b) offsetting the value of intelligence vital to the national
security."
4. The last sentence of Section III A., Page 4, "This
authority extends only to the official designated, and may not be
delegated," should be eliminated. The Executive Order is already
opecifio on this point.
5. The phrase "title and name" on lines 2 and 6 of Section
III B,, Page 5, should be changed to "title or name. " This Agency
proposes to designate positions rather than names of people having
original classification authority. The provision in the Executive
Order permitting a system to identify the classifier, if not specifically
named, will furnish adequate information for this purpose. This
approach will yield substantial economy in manpower demands.
6. The last sentence of Section III B., Page 5, "The fore-
going listings and records shall be updated on a monthly basis
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beginning July 1, 1972" should be amended to "The foregoing
listings and records shall be maintained on a current basis
beginning July 1, 1972." We recommend this change for ease
and practicality of administration.
7. Section IV A., Page 5, should be so worded as not to
specifically require identification of the original classifier on the
face of the document if the system devised by an individual Depart-
ment adequately identifies the classifier by some other means. It
is felt that this implementing determination should be left to the
individual Departments, particularly since the Executive Order is
not as restrictive on this point.
8. It is recommended that the phrase "and shall maintain
adequate records to support his action" set forth in Section IV A.,
Page., be eliminated. This requirement is exceptionally demand-
ing on the time of professional employees and would adversely
affect the timely production of intelligence. It would create a
considerable number of additional documents which would complicate
already overburdened record maintenance systems.
9. The last sentence of Section IV A., Page 5, should
read as follows: "Any inquiry originating outside a Department as
to the propriety of a classification assigned should be directed to
the Head of the Department concerned." We do not feel that it is
necessary for the directive to indicate how intra-departmental
inquiries should be handled. Inquiries originating outside the
Department concerned should be addressed to the Head of the Depart-
ment for action prior to submitting them to the Interagency Classifi-
cation Review Committee. This apparently is the intent of Section
XIII D., Page 31.
10. The words "at least annually" should be deleted from the
first sentence of Section VI A., Page 8A. The volume of classified
information produced by this Agency precludes an annual review of
all classified information and material for the purpose of accom-
plishing downgrading, declassification, transfer, retirement and
destruction. Compliance with the requirements set forth in the
directive would require an inordinate and impractical expenditure
of manpower.
2
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11. The last sentence of Section VII B., Page 12, should
be amended to read: "Each interior page of a document which is not
permanently bound will be conspicuously marked or stamped at the
top and bottom, and when practicable according to its own content,
including the designation 'Unclassified' when appropriate. "
12. The first sentence of paragraph VII C., Page 13,
should read as follows: "Whenever a classified document contains
either more than one security classification category or unclassified
information, each section, part or paragraph should be marked,
whenever practicable, to show its classification category or that it
is unclassified." The last sentence of this paragraph should be
deleted. This provision is beyond the requirement of the Executive
Order and would prevent the timely production of intelligence.
13. Section VII H. (3), Page 16, should be amended as
follows: The phrase "furnished to persons outside the Executive
Branch of the Government" should be added to the phrase, "For
classified information or material other than described in 1. and
Z. above," This amendment would necessitate changing the last
two sentences of the warning notice to read as follows: "Failure
to comply with the foregoing could result in the imposition of a fine
and/or imprisonment." Persons inside the Executive Branch are
required by Executive Order 11652 to be aware of penalties for
violation thereof.
14. Paragraph I of Section VII, Page 17, should be deleted.
Executive Order 11652 covers this matter in sufficient detail.
15. To improve the format of the directive, consideration
should be given to placing paragraph A., Section VIII (1) through
(5), Pages 18 through 20, as an appendix to the directive. Para-
graph (6) would then become paragraph (1) under Section VIII, the
title of which should be changed from "gustody and Safekeeping"
to Protection of Classified Information.
16. The words "the safeguarding of" should be deleted
from the second sentence of paragraph A. (2) of Section IX, Page
21. Personnel charged with only safeguarding of classified informai.
tion are normally not those who determine need-to-know.
3
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17. Paragraph A. (3) of Section IX, Page 21, should be
amended to read as follows: "Whenever a person no longer has a
need-to-know, his access to classified information shall cease.
Security clearances shall be maintained at a level commensurate
with need-to-know requirements." This revision eliminates the
reference to "withdrawal of security clearances "--a term which
has a sensitive connotation in many instances. It also effectively
ties security clearance with the determination of need-to-know
handled in the preceding paragraph.
18. In paragraph E., Section IX, Page 24, the term
"intelligence office" should be amended to "Intelligence Chief."
This would place the directive in line with instructions already in
effect within the intelligence community.
19. It is pointed out that strict compliance with the require-
ment set forth in the second sentence of paragraph H., Section IX,
Page 24, would negate some intelligence operations. An exception
for such operations must be recognized. To accomplish this require-
ment, it is recommended that the sentence be eliminated, particularly
since the first sentence of the paragraph is sufficiently encompassing.
20. Because of the vast amount of classified information
produced by this Agency, an annual physical inventory would require
an unacceptable expenditure of manpower. It is recommended,
therefore, that paragraph I. (2) of Section IX, Page 25, be amended
to require an annual physical inventory of Top Secret material and
that this inventory be limited to recording the document and copy
numbers of each Top Secret document. Recording the information
set forth in (a) through (g) of this paragraph would be unnecessarily
time-consuming and have little or no affect on the control of the Top
Secret documents.
21. Paragraphs A. through F. of Section X, Pages 26
through 29, could well be removed from the body of the directive
and made an appendix thereto. This would improve the format of
the directive. Alternately, each Agency or Department could sub-
mit its own regulations covering TRANSMISSION to the Interagency
Classification Review Committee for approval.
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22. It should be noted that paragraph C. of Section X,
Page 27, does not show any approved method of transmitting
Secret material to or from the State of Hawaii, the State of Alaska
or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. We suggest that material
classified Secret could be transmitted within and between the fifty
states or between the fifty states and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico by methods set forth in paragraphs C. (1) and (2).
5
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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS CONCERNING NSC
DIRECTIVE IMPLEMENTING EXECUTIVE ORDER 11652
1. Portions of Section IV B. on page 5a., "Administrative
Enforcement", are contrary to law and the section is troublesome
on other counts. The annuity of a retiree cannot be "suspended".
The administrative sanctions proposed for the interdepartmental
committee properly are the responsibilities of agency heads and
command channels and are not appropriate for committee action.
Similarly, the Interagency Committee could not be empowered to
discipline individual employees.
2. Section VII E. , "Burden of Proof", on page 10 likewise
appears illegal and inappropriate. The provision which would place
on the originating department "the burden of proof" is contrary to
the Freedom of Information Act. Further, the courts have declined
to question the classification which departments have given to vari-
ous documents. The concept is inappropriate in any event. To whom
would the department sustain "the burden of proof"? The first sen-
tence should be deleted. The last two sentences of the section are
unnecessary.
3. Section VI F. on page 11 also is legally objectionable. It
would not be in order to require departments to explain to requesters
the reason why classified information cannot be declassified. This is
not required under the Freedom of Information Act, nor by court deci-
sions. The appeal provisions of the section are inappropriate in view
of the regulations issued under the Freedom of Information Act. Under
the CIA regulation (copy attached), a refusal to furnish information to
a requester may be appealed to the Executive Director of the Agency.
To the extent that refusal is for reasons of classification of informa-
tion, an appeal of the refusal would amount to an appeal to the Execu-
tive Director to declassify. Section F. also should be deleted.
4. We believe Section XIII D. (other than the first sentence)
on page 31, "Classification Complaints", is inappropriate under the
Freedom of Information Act and the National Security Act of 1947.
Under the former, appeals from a departmental decision denying
information to a requester are to be directed to the authority speci-
fied in the regulations of the department concerned. In the case of
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CIA, the appeal is to the Executive Director of the Agency. The
National Security Act imposes on the Director of Central Intelligence
the responsibility of protecting intelligence sources and methods. A
procedure whereby an Interdepartmental Committee could declassify
CIA information would effectively bar the Director from discharging
that responsibility.
5. The last sentence of Section XIV B. on page 32 is con-
trary to the CIA regulation under the Freedom of Information Act.
As indicated above, under that regulation appeals are to the Execu-
tive Director of the Agency. In any event, action on suggestions and
complaints should be for the department head and appropriate com-
mand channels, not the Interdepartmental Committee.
6. We believe no useful purpose would be served by the sub-
mission of the reports specified in Section XIV C.
Attachment
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS
Procedures
i. Purpose. Pursuant to the require-
ments of the Public Information Section
of the Administrative Procedure Act (5'
U.S.C. 552), the following are established
]. as the rules of procedure with resOcct to
pliblie access Co the records of the Cen-
tral Intelligence AgeneY.
? 2. Organiuttion and requests for in-. ?
formation. The headquarters of the Con-
tral Intelligence Agency is located in
:01airfax County, Va. Itequests for inform
illation and decisions and other sub-
raittals rafw be addreastd to the Assistant
to the Director, Central Intelligence
' Agency, Washington, D.C. 20505.
3. Procedures /or request o/ records..
' (n) Requests for access to records of the
Central Intelligence Agency may be filed
?by mall addressed to the Assistant to
the Director, Central Intelligence Agency,
Washington, D.C. 20505.
(b) Requests need not be made on any
special form but may be by letter or other
written statement setting forth the per-
tinent facts with enough specificity that
the requested record can be identified.
(c) If the request does not sufficiently
, Identify the record, the Assistant to the
Director shall so inform the requestor
who mn.y then resubmit his request to-
gether with any additional information
which will help to identify it.
(d) When the requested record has
been identified the Agency will determine
whether it is exempt from public inspee-
tion under the provisions of 5 U.S.C.
552(b). If it is exempt, the Assistant to
the Director shall deny the request.
(e) If the Agency determines that the
..-reques Led record is not subject to exemp-
tion. the Assistant to the Director will
.Inform the requester as to the appropri-
ate reproduction fee and upon receipt of
this fee, will have the record reproduced
and sent to the requester. Fees paid in
accordance with this paragraph will he
paid by check or postal money order for-
warded to the Assistant to the Director
and made payable to the Treasurer of
the United States.
4. Appeals. Any person aggrieved by
any determination made or action taken
pursuant to the foregoing provisions of
this notice may request the Executive
Director of the Agency to review that
determination or action, No specific form.
Is prescribed for this purpose and a letter
or other written statement setting forth
pertinent facts shall be sufficient, The
Fxecutive Director reserves the right to
require the person involved to present
additional information in support of his -
request for review. The Executive Dime-
?tor will promptly consider each such re-
quest and notify the person involved a
?
his decision.
5. Effective d^ ate. This notice shall be-
come effective upon its publication in the
PEDERAL SEGISTER.
L. K. WHITE; '
^ EikatUti i tor ?
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ADMINISTRATIVE-INTERNAL USE ONLY
8 May 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Support
SUBJECT : Implementation of Executive Order 11652
1. With regard to your memorandum of 5 May on imple-
mentation of Executive Order 11652, I am inclined to agree
with your thought that this is more a records management
problem than a security problem. I have no specific com-
ments on the other portions of your memorandum.
2. As for participation, by copy of this memorandum
I am designating Mr. Harry C. Eisenbeiss as my represent-
ative to the intra-Agency committee dealing with Executive
Order 11652 and I strongly urge that Mr. Larry Houston
would be an excellent candidate both to chair the Agency
committee and to represent the Agency on the inter-Agency
committee. As you know, Larry has been deeply involved with
this new Executive Order and I think could contribute a
great deal to these committees.
EDWARD W. PROCTOR
Deputy Director for Intelligence
STAT ODDI: swr (8 May 1972)
Distribution.
Original - Addressee
1 - Mr. Houston
1 - Mr. Eisenbeiss
1 - ODDI Chrono
1 - DDI File
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DD/S 72-1773
EMY 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Director-Comptroller
General Counsel
Deputy Director for Intelligence
Deputy Director for Plans
Deputy Director for Science and Technology
Deputy to the Director, Intelligence Community
SUBJECT : Implementation of Executive Order 11652
REFERENCE : Memo dtd 1 May 1972 to Above Adses fr DD/S;
Subject: Delegations of Authority to Classify
and Declassify Under the Provisions of Executive
Order 11652 (DD/S 72-1746)
1. Section 7 of Executive Order 11652 requires that the Director designate
a representative of the Agency as a member of an Interagency Classification Review
Committee to assist the National Security Council in monitoring the implementation
of the Order. The Director is also required to designate a senior member of his
staff "who shall ensure effective coznalk_nce with and implementation of this order
and shall also chair a Departmental committee which shall have authority to act
on all suggestions and complaints with respect to the Department's administration
of this Order. "
2. The draft headquarters regulation distributed at the Deputies meeting
two weeks ago assumed, in deference to tight deadlines, that it would be necessary
to adapt our present classification control system to accommodate the new require-
ments of E. O. 11652. I believe this is a valid assumption if we are to submit our
regulation to the White House for review and still have it printed and distributed
in time for it to be effective on 1 June 1972. At the same time, I think we should
consider this as an interim measure and proceed at once to overhaul our system
to eliminate overlapping and duplicative functions and responsibilities now existing
and provide a cohesive unified system to satisfy the new requirements.
3. With this in mind, I offer for your consideration the suggestion that we
approach this as a records management problem rather than a security problem
and that we select representatives for the inter- and intra-Agency committe
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accordingly. Security classification and declassification is a command
responsibility, but so is records management. We already have working
systems requiring that we schedule the retention periods of records and
establish disposal dates. E. O. 11652 allows officials authorized to classify
information Top Secret to exempt it from the General Declassification schedule
if it falls within one of four exemption categories. In so doing, he is required
to specify a date for automatic declassification. The decision to retain for a
specified period and the decision to declassify after a specified period are
both decisions taken in consideration of the content, sensitivity, long-term
value and historical significance of the information. If these decisions are
taken together rather than separately, we can simplify both the records
management and classification systems immeasurably. The provisions of
Section 5C, D and E of the Order prescribing mandatory review of exempted
material after ten and thirty years under terms prescribed in the Order may
be subject to more effective administration if they are given full consideration
when the records retention schedules are established. It may be more reason-
able, for example, to schedule a document for destruction after nine years
than classification review after ten. By the same token, review of documents
for declassification after the specified periods may result in a decision to
destroy them rather than extend their retention and continue their classifi-
cation or declassify them.
4. Paragraphs F and G of Section 6 of the Executive Order have the
effect of tying the classification system directly to records management.
"(F) Classified information and material no longer
needed in current working files or for reference or record
purposes shall be destroyed or disposed of in accordance with
the records disposal provisions contained in Chapter 33 of
Title 44 of the United States Code and other applicable statutes. "
[underscoring added]
"(G) Classified information or material shall be
reviewed on a systematic basis for the purpose of accom-
plishing downgrading, declassification, transfer, retirement
and destruction at the earliest practicable date. " [under-
scoring added]
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While the provision of Section 3, paragraph E, of the Order, having to do
with the declassification of information or material transferred to the General
Services Administration for accession into the Archives of the United States,
does not have direct application to us, we will almost certainly be expected
to observe the principles in transferring materials into our own archives.
The same will apply to Section 11 in relation to papers held in our Records
Center but identified as appropriate for inclusion in Presidential libraries.
5. Requirements of Section 4 of the Order, having to do with marking
documents and showing the identification of the classifying authority, can be
regarded as problems of correspondence management rather than security
problems and perhaps can be dealt with more appropriately as a part of our
records Management programs. We don't yet know all of the implications
of the Executive Order for administering a classification control system as
it applies to computer files and output forms, microform systems and other
media of modern information processing activities; but, again, they seem to
be the kinds of problems that professional records managers should be solving.
6. There may be some feeling that we don't have the professionalism
or seniority in some of our records management programs to permit the new
requirements imposed by E.O. 11652 to be dealt with adequately in that context.
Should this be so, it would seem to suggest that we seriously consider using
the requirements of the Executive Order as the impetus to provide some needed
and desirable strengthening of our records management systems rather than
create a whole new classification control system to run in parallel.
7. I hope you agree that there is sufficient logic supporting these ideas
to warrant serious consideration before candidates are selected for the Inter-
agency Committee and for Chairman and members of the intra-Agency Committee?
In any case, the first chore of the internal Agency group probably should be to
devise an effective system for administering the Executive Order and its imple-
menting instructions, and it would be useful to thet-n to have some guidance
relevant to the points raised in this memorandum.
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While the provision of Section 3, paragraph E, of the Order, having to do
with the declassification of information or material transferred to the General
Services Administration for accession into the Archives of the United States,
does not have direct application to us, we will almost certainly be expected
to observe the principles in transferring materials into our own archives.
The same will apply to Section 11 in relation to papers held in our Records
Center but identified as appropriate for inclusion in Presidential libraries.
5. Requirements of Section 4 of the Order, having to do with marking
documents and showing the identification of the classifying authority, can be
regarded as problems of correspondence management rather than security
problems and perhaps can be dealt with more appropriately as a part of our
records Management programs. We don't yet know all of the implications
of the Executive Order for administering a classification control system as
it applies to computer files and output forms, microform systems and other
media of modern information processing activities; but, again, they seem to
be the kinds of problems that professional records managers should be solving.
6. There may be some feeling that we don't have the professionalism
or seniority in some of our records management programs to permit the new
requirements imposed by E.O. 11652 to be dealt with adequately in that context.
Should this be so, it would seem to suggest that we seriously consider using
the requirements of the Executive Order as the impetus to provide some needed
and desirable strengthening of our records management systems rather than
create a whole new classification control system to run in parallel.
7. I hope you agree that there is sufficient logic supporting these ideas
to warrant serious consideration before candidates are selected for the Inter-
agency Committee and for Chairman and members of the intra-Agency Committee?
In any case, the first chore of the internal Agency group probably should be to
devise an effective system for administering the Executive Order and its imple-
menting instructions, and it would be useful to thet-n to have some guidance
relevant to the points raised in this memorandum.
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TRANSMITTAL SLIP
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ROOM NO.
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REMARKS:
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FROM:
ROOM NO.
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IBUILDING
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