AN 7-2-1 EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS WITH CONGRESS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06467588
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2019
• Case Number: F-2009-00490
• Publication Date: July 9, 1998

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IIII 111111N MI
UNGLASSIRED
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Date: 07/09/8 (Regulations may contain various dates)
Category: 7- Management OPR: OGC
Titk: AN 7-2- I EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS WITH CONGRESS
This Notice Expires 1 August 1999
MANAGEMENT AN 7-2-1
9 July 19911
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS WITH CONGRESS
I. This Agency has an obliption to aware that Sty possible violation of federal criminal
law by employees or violation of comb federal airtinal laws by anyone els is imported to the
Department of Justice (Doll. In addition. the Agency must report to the Concessions,
Intelligence Committees any illegal intelligence activity. as well a any corrective action taken or
planned. Them are formal processes for Warning Congress and Doi of illegal activhks.
2. Islotwittrandirtg the existence of thew formal processes. employees may sUmetimes
believe it appropriate or necessary to personally inform Congress of illegal or improper activities'.
The Agency stands ready to facilitate this direct commtmicatioa with Congress. ,However.
COOCCIM has been expressed that there re no procedures in place that employees-can follow 10;0;
bring their concerns dowdy to the aneatica of Congress.
To address dis problem. the DCI bas riproved the alto:bed poledwas to enure
arqiloyees have a mechanism to report to Cooper their comers *boat Illegal at improper ,
activities in a secure manner and that the disclosing ant consistent with or legal obligations to
protect vital national security. law enticement or foreign drain interests. These procedures will
AIM) ensure that allegations regarding illegal or implorer activities am brought to the attention of
the Inspector General for resiew and possible investiption. I want to arum you that you bave
my commitment. the commitment of the DCL and the commitment of senior Agency management
that stickily-a who follow theta procedures will be prated hum any adverse parantil action
as a smolt of making the dincloeute to Coleys.
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4. Employees who have questions regarding these procedures for re ding information to
Congress should contact the De ut Director of Congressional Affairs on the Principal
IrXpLy_Ht General Counsel on or the Deputy Inspector General for Investigations on
5. This information will be incorporated into AR 7-2.
Attachment
This notice was prepared by the Office of General Counsel,
/5/
David W. Carey
Executive Director
secure).
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Attachment to AN 7-2-
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS WITH CONGRESS
1. This notice sets forth procedures to be followed in the reporting of urgent concerns
Congress by employees of the CIA.
2. For purposes of this Agency Notice, the term "urgent concern" means (1) a serious or
flagrant problem, abuse, violation of law or Executive Order, or deficiency relating to the
administration or operations of an intelligence activity: (2) any false statements made to Congress
on an issue of material fact: or (3) an action constituting reprisal or threat of reprisal in response
to an employee reporting to Congress an urgent concern pursuant to this regulation.
3. Employees are reminded that procedures for reporting urgent concerns to Congress are
in addition to their obligations to report criminal activity or illegal intelligence activities. Those
procedures are set forth in The DCI also has a (b)(3)
responsibility to report illegal intelligence activities to the Intelligence Committees.
4. Employees who wish to report an urgent concern to Congress may do so by contacting
the Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs, the Principal Deputy General Counsel, or the
Deputy Inspector General for Investigations. (These officials are referred to as "designated
officials" in this Agency Notice.) Employees shall furnish one of these designated officials with a
statement describing the urgent concern they intend to communicate to Congress. These
designated officials shall provide the employee with instructions for reporting the matter to
Congress. These designated officials, in appropriate consultatica with other Agency officials,
shall also make the determination on whether the information the employee wants to report to
Congress is classified.
5. If the information related to the urgent concern is classified, or if the employee making ,
the report is under cover, the information may only be reported to the House Permanent Select -
Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) or the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSC!), and
the report shall be made in accordance with appropriate security practices. Employees may send ,
classified written communications through the designated officials to the Intelligence Committees,
or they may be authorized by the designated official to speak directly to Members or appropriately
cleared staff of the Intelligence Committees without a CIA representative present. In certain
instances, the designated official may advise that the communication must be limited to particitl
staffers cleared for the information or to the Chairman/Ranking Minority Member of the HPSCI
or the Chairman/Vice Chairman of the SSCI. Employees arc reminded that the reporting of
classified information under these rules and procedures does not constitute public disclosure or
declassification of that information.
6. If the information related to the urgent concern is not classified, and the employee
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overt, the information related to the urgent concern may be reported to the HPSCI or SSCI, to
the employee's congressional representatives, to any other Member or Committee of Congress, or
to all of the above. The reporting of unclassified information to Congress does not constitute
public disclosure of that information.
7. The Agency will not, except in rare circumstances, restrict the passage of information
related to an urgent concern. Only the Director of Central Intelligence may prevent an employee
from disclosing an urgent concern to Congress and only if such a disclosure would jeopardize
vital national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs interests, The designated officials shall
bring to the DCI's attention urgent concerns that may in their judgment implicate vital national
security, law enforcement or foreign affairs interests so that the DCI can make a determination on
whether the urgent concern can be reported to the Congress. If the DCI prevents the disclosure
of an urgent concern to Congress, he will promptly inform the Intelligence Committees of the
exercise of that authority. The DCI thereafter will conduct a periodic review of the determination
to prevent a disclosure of an urgent concern to confirm whether the factors justifying that
determination continue to pertain. The DCI will allow the employee to report the urgent concern
to Congress as soon as it is no longer necessary to prevent such disclosure to protect vital
national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs interests. The DCI may consult with
appropriate senior officials in the Executive Branch prior to making a determination to prevent the
disclosure of an urgent concern on grounds that it would jeopardize vital law enforcement,
national security or foreign affairs interests.
8. Employees who seek to report urgent concerns to Congress may request
confidentiality. If the report is made through the Inspector General, the Inspector General has a
duty under law not to disclose the identity of the employee who made the report without the
consent of the employee unless the Inspector General determines that such disclosure is
unavoidable during the course of an investigation of the urgent concern or the disclosure is made
to an official of the Department of Justice responsible for determining whether a prosecution
should be undertaken. If the report is made through the Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA) or
the Office of General Counsel (OGC), the identity of the employee who has requested
confidentiality will only be disclosed to those in OCA or OGC who have a need to know, to the
DCI or DDCI, to the Inspector General, or to senior officials at another government agency that
have a need to know the identity of the employee in the performance of an official function.
9. When a report of an urgent concern is made through the OCA or OGC, the report will
be referred to the Inspector General for review. A report of an urgent concern to Congress shall
not be delayed because the Inspector General has not completed that review.
10. The Inspector General has a legal obligation to report immediately to the DCI
whenever the Inspector General becomes aware of particularly serious or flagrant problems,
abuses or deficiencies related In the administration of programs and operations. The DCI has an
obligation to transmit the report to the HPSCI or SSCI within seven calendar days. The definition
of an urgent concern as set forth in this Agency Notice is broader than the reporting requirement
imposed by law upon the Inspector General and the DCI. As a matter of policy, the DCI has
decided to expand this reporting requirement to cover all matters defined as an urgent concern in
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this Agency Notice that an employee seeks to bring to the attention of Congress. This means that
the Inspector General shall evaluate those urgent concerns that an employee intends to report to
Congress and shall report immediately to the DCI on those urgent concerns that the Inspector
General has determined to be credible. This report will be transmitted by the DCI, with
appropriate comments, to the HPSCI and SSCI within seven calendar days.
11. Employees who follow these procedures for reporting urgent concerns to Congress
will not be punished for having made such disclosures. Management will not take or threaten to
take an adverse action, or withhold or threaten to withhold a favorable action, as a result of an
employee making or preparing to make a disclosure of an urgent concern to Congress In
compliance with these procedures. The only exception to this prohibition is if a determination is
made that the report of the urgent concern involved an intentional misstatement by the employee
concerned.
12. If the employee wishes to report information to Congress that does not qualify as an"
urgent concern," the employee may do so by contacting OCA. That Office will handle the request
to brief Congress in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Agency Notice,
13. Any questions regarding these procedures for reporting urgent concerns to Congress
should be directed to the De ut Director of Congressional Affairs at the Principal
Deputy General Counsel a or the Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at
(b)(31
Kb,),(3,)
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