NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER 12036, WHICH SUPERSEDES EXECUTIVE ORDER 11905

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81M00980R000100090044-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Sequence Number: 44
• Content Type: REGULATIONS/INSTRUCTIONS/NOTICES/FIELD NOTICES

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This Notice Expires 1 February 1979
STATI NTL
REFERENCE:
30 January
NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER 12036, WHICH
SUPERSEDES EXECUTIVE ORDER 11905
1. Executive Order 11905, issued on February 18, 1976 by President
Ford, delineated the authorities, responsibilities, duties, and limitations
of the various officials and agencies responsible for the performance of
national foreign intelligence and counterintelligence functions. That order
has served as the primary source of guidance co{icerning the proper scope
of intelligence activities ever since. On January 24, 1978, President Carter
signed and issued Executive Order 12036, which supersedes Executive Order
11905. The purpose of this notice is to familiarize employees generally with
the provisions in Executive Order 12036, particularly insofar as they affect
CIA and differ from the provisions of Executive Order 11905.
2. The new order is intended principally to implement Presidential
Directive NSC-17 of August 4, 1977, which established the full and exclusive
authority of the Director of Central Intelligence for approval of the National
Foreign Intelligence Program budget. Thus the statement of the Director's
authorities in the new order has been expanded to include the various
functions necessary to carry out this responsibility. In addition, the Presi-
dential Directive mandated a stronger role for the Director in the establish-
ment of intelligence requirements as well as the direction and coordination of
the collection systems available to fulfill those requirements. The new order
accomplishes this by designating the Director as Chairman of the National
Security Council's cabinet-level Policy Review Committee for the purpose of
establishing requirements, and by creating the National Intelligence Tasking
Center, under the control of the Director, which is responsible for developing
specific collection objectives to meet those requirements. The Director also
has been specifically recognized as the focal point for intelligence arrangements
with foreign governments and. as the principal spokesman to the Congress, the
news media, and the public on intelligence matters. The Director is authorized
to draw the support necessary to discharge the national foreign intelligence
functions assigned to the Director from staff elements within the Office of the
Director as well as CIA. Further, the National Foreign Intelligence Board is
recognized and "established" under the order to advise the Director in the
performance of these responsibilities.,
MORUCIDIF
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STATI NTL
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30 January 1978
3. The CIA authorities have been expanded in the new order to
recognize not only those functions explicitly authorized in Executive Order
11905, but also the Agency's responsibilities for the conduct and support
of technical collection programs, for the clandestine collection of foreign
intelligence within the U.S. in coordination with the FBI, for the coordina-
tion of all foreign counterintelligence and clandestine foreign intelligence
collection activities conducted abroad, and for the provision of legal, legisla-
tive, and other administrative support to the Director. Except for wartime,
or where the President determines another intelligence entity may be better
suited to achieve the objective, only CIA may perform special activities in
support of U.S. foreign policy objectives.
4. The National Security Council's Special Coordination Committee,
which includes the Director, will continue in its role as the advisory body
to the President concerning special activities in support of U.S. foreign
policy objectives. In addition, sensitive foreign intelligence collection opera-
tions will be reported by the Director to the chairman of this committee for
app:ropriaie review and approval under standards established by the President.
A new responsibility of this committee is the development of policy regarding
the conduct and objectives of national foreign counterintelligence activities and
the approval of such counterintelligence activities or proposals as the President
determines require such approval.
5. No existing restriction on CIA activities has been removed. Absolute.
prohibitions continue to be in effect concerning CIA-conducted electronic surveil-
lance within the U.S. and unconsented physical searches within the U.S. As to
other types of activity which CIA is authorized to perform in the course of its
foreign intelligence functions, the supervisory role of the Attorney General has
been enlarged in terms of both tone and substance. Existing requirements for
Attorney General approval or compliance with Attorney General-approved
procedures governing CIA conduct of counterintelligence activities with the
FBI in the U.S., FBI intelligence and counterintelligence activities including
electronic surveillance within the U.S. in support of CIA and other intelligence
agencies, electronic surveillance directed against U.S. persons abroad, CIA
testing of electronic equipment in the U.S. , and unconsented physical searches
directed against U.S. persons abroad have been continued. The new order
specifically requires, in addition, that the Attorney General approve procedures
governing CIA conduct of foreign intelligence collection activities in the U.S. ,
activities which also must be coordinated with the FBI; physical surveillance
directed against limited categories of U.S. persons in the U.S. and abroad;
surreptitious movie and television surveillance within the U.S. or directed
against a U.S. person abroad; audio countermeasures activities; training on
electronic communications equipment; examination of mail of a'U. S. person;
undisclosed participation in organizations within the U.S.; all types of collection,
as well as dissemination and storage, of the limited categories of nonpublic
information concerning the domestic and foreign activities of U.S. persons
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MANAGEMENT
30 January
which the order allows to be acquired; the provision of expert personnel
(as opposed to specialized equipment or technical knowledge) to assist
federal agencies, or where lives are endangered, local law enforcement
agencies; and concealment of CIA-sponsorship in contracting with private
companies. Further, in circumstances where a warrant would be required
if the activity were undertaken for law enforcement purposes, electronic
surveillance, TV and movie surveillance, physical searches, and mail sur-
veillance may not be directed against a U.S. person without a warrant
unless the President has authorized the activity and the Attorney General has
approved and found probable cause to believe the U.S. person is an agent
of a foreign power. In addition, a new section has been added which charges
the Attorney General with approving the procedures for these various activities
with the objective of ensuring compliance with law, protecting constitutional
rights and privacy, and ensuring that intelligence activities authorized to be
directed against U.S. persons employ the least instrusive means necessary to
achieve their purposes. Until the Attorney General has approved the new pro-
cedures required by the order, the activities to be affected are to continue to
be conducted in accordance with Executive Order 11905. In all other respects
Executive Order 12036 takes effect immediately.
6. The section formerly restricting "infiltration or undisclosed participa-
tion" in U.S. organizations now provides that employees may not "join, or other-
wise participate in" such organizations on behalf of the Agency without disclosure
of their CIA affiliation, except for certain types of participation which are to be
approved by the Attorney General and described generally in a public document.
Further, this participation must be of limited scope and duration, and nondis-
closure must be determined to be essential to achieving lawful purposes under
approved procedures. The prohibitions on collection of information concerning
U.S. persons have been extended to include information concerning their
activities abroad as well as in the U.S. , and the existing exceptions to this bar
have been modified to include such information acquired through overhead
reconnaissance or for the purpose of assisting the State Department in locating
U.S. persons abroad. The requirement that academic institutions be made
aware of Agency sponsorship of contracts and agreements for goods and services
has been retained. This requirement has been extended to agreements with
private companies except where it is determined under approved procedures
that concealment from the company of CIA sponsorship is necessary for essential
cover or proprietary reasons. Assistance to law enforcement agencies may
now include providing expert personnel under approved procedures, dis-
semination of lawfully collected information to Federal or local authorities
when it indicates criminal activities, and participation in the prevention or
detection of clandestine intelligence activities or international terrorist or
narcotics activities. The order also contains a new section barring an intel-
ligence agency from using third parties to indirectly accomplish purposes
otherwise forbidden by the order or by law.
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7. Other significant revisions include the explicit recognition of the
oversight functions of the Senate and House Select Committee on Intelligence
and a description of the responsibilities of the Director and heads of other
agencies to report various matters to those committees. The intelligence
activities of the FBI, formerly excepted from the restrictions provisions of
Executive Order 11905, have now been brought specifically within the limita-
tions of the new order. In addition, the Drug Enforcement Administration has
been added to the agencies constituting the Intelligence Community and its
intelligence functions have been made subject to Attorney General procedures
and DCI coordination. Section 7 of Executive Order 11905, which required a
Community-wide mandatory secrecy agreement for the protection of intelligence
sources and methods, has been omitted in its entirety from the new order. All
relevant terms have been incorporated into a single definitions section rather
than appearing in duplicative definitions sections as was the case in Executive
Order 11905. Definitions have been added for "Communications Security,"
"Intelligence Product," and "International Terrorist Activities" and informa-
tion concerning terrorism has been included in the definition of "foreign
intelligence" as well as "foreign counterintelligence." The composition
of the National Foreign Intelligence Program has become more fluid because of
the provision for three categories of programs: (1) those that are included
without question (such as CIA and the staff elements of the Office of the Director);
(2) those that are included unless the Director and the. Secretary of Defense
agree to their exclusion (such as the Consolidated Cryptologic Program, the
General Defense Intelligence Program, and the special reconnaissance pro-
grams); and (3) those that are excluded unless the Director and the appro-
priate agency head agree to their inclusion (such as the intelligence elements
of the FBI). Tactical military intelligence activities are specifically excluded
from the N: IP .
8. This notice is not intended to represent a definitive interpretation
of the new order and constitutes a mere summary of its more prominent features.
Employees are encouraged to review the new order in its entirety in order to
gain a more complete understanding of its contents and determine the manner
in which it affects the performance of their duties. Any ambiguity or question
which arises concerning the interpretation of the new order and its applica-
tion to the Agency's functions should be referred to the Office of General
Counsel. Likewise there should be referred to that office any question regard-
ing the need to modify Agency regulations, directives, instructions, or policies
so as to conform them to the provisions and requirements of the new order.
STANSFIELD TURNER
Director
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