LETTER TO CHRISTOPHER SHAYS <SANITIZED>

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06467589
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2019
• Case Number: F-2009-00490
• Publication Date: January 23, 2006

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Central Intelligence Agency
Washington D.C. 20505
23 January 2006
The Honorable Christopher Shays
Chairman
Subcommittee on National Security,
Emerging Threats, and International Relations
Committee on Government Reform
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
(U) Thank you for your letter of 18 January 2006 requesting
information regarding the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA)
policy or regulation for facilitating and protecting the rights
of CIA employees requesting direct access to Congress to report
illegal or improper activities. We have enclosed a copy of CIA
management regulation AN 7-2-1 Employee Communications With
Congress, which outlines the Agency's processes and procedures
for handling whistleblower type actives.
(U) We are available at your convenience to respond to any
additional questions. Please give me a call or have a member of
your staff call of my staff on
Sincerely,
Acting Director of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure
cc: The Honorable Peter Hoekstra
CONFIDENTIAL when Separated
from Enclosure
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UNCLASSIFIED
Date: 07/09/1998
Category: 7- Management OPR: OGC
Title: AN 7-2-1 EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS 'WITH CONGRESS
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This Notice Expires-1-Amtist4999 -1-Febeitliy-2009-1-Atigtist-20004-Februapt-2041-4-Autitst-
2004-4-Febsiaty-2002-1-Atigust-200-2 1 February 2003 (oer AN 5-1-62)
MANAGEMENT
AN 7-2-1
9 July 1998
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS WITH CONGRESS
1. This Agency has an obligation to ensure that any possible violation of federal
criminal law by employees or violation of certain federal criminal laws by anyone else is
reported to the Department of Justice (Do.1). In addition, the Agency must report to the
Congressional Intelligence Committees any illegal intelligence activity, as well as any
corrective action taken or planned. There are formal processes for informing Congress
and Do.I of illegal activities.
2. Notwithstanding the existence of these formal processes, employees may
sometimes believe it appropriate or necessary to personally inform Congress of illegal or
improper activities. The Agency stands ready to facilitate this direct communication with
Congress. However, a concern has been expressed that there are no procedures in place
that employees can follow to bring their concerns directly to the attention of Congress.
3. To address this problem, the DCI has approved the attached procedures to
ensure that employees have a mechanism to report to Congress their concerns about illegal
or improper activities in a secure manner and that the disclosures are consistent with our
legal obligations to protect vital national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs
interests. These procedures will also ensure that allegations regarding illegal or improper
activities are brought to the attention of the Inspector General for review and possible
investigation. I want to assure you that you have my commitment, the commitment of the
DC, and the commitment of senior Agency management that employees who follow these
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UNCLASSIFIED
procedures will be protected from any adverse personnel action as a result of making the
disclosure to Congress.
4. Employees who have questions regarding these procedures for reporting
information to Congress should contact the Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs on
the Principal Deputy General Counsel on or the Deputy Inspector General
for Investigations on
5. This information will be incorporated into AR 7-2.
Attachment
/s/
David W. Carey
Executive Director
This notice was prepared by the Office of General Counsel,
UNCLASSIFIED
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Attachment to AN 7-2-1
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS WITH CONGRESS
1. This notice sets forth procedures to be followed in the reporting of urgent
concerns to 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 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 consultation 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 (SSCI), 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 t Intelligence
Committees without a CIA representative present. In certain instances, the designated
official may advise that the communication must be limited to particular staffers cleared
for the information or to the Chairman/Ranking Minority Member of the HPSCI or the
Chairman/Vice Chairman of the SSCI. Employees are reminded that the reporting of
classified information under these rules and procedures does not constitute public
UNCLASSIFIED
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disclosure or declassification of that information.
6. If the information related to the urgent concern is not classified, and the
employee is 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 throug_h tbe 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
UNCLASSIFIED
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\
TO \C-k\
I CONTROLS
DATE OF REQUEST
01/20/06
FROM : DCl/OCA
SUSPENSE DATE
SUBJECT: (
Representative Shay Requesting Info re the CIA's Policy or Regulation for Facilitating and Protecting
the Rights of CIA Employees Requesting Direct Access to Congress to Report Illegal or Improper Activities.
NOTES
COORDINATED WITH (list names as well as offices/
NAME
OFFICE
DATE
NAME
OFFICE
DATE
NAME
OFFICE
DATE
NAME
OFFICE
DATE
ACTION REQUIRED BY D/OCA
1
FORM
W0.1l11.4 It rnevivua
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The Honorable Christopher Shays
DCl/OCA
(20 January 2006)
Distribution:
Orig -
1 -
Addressee (w/encl)
The Honorable Peter Hoekstra, Chairman, HPSCI
(w/encl)
1 - AD/OCA (w/encl)
1 - ODNI/OLA (w/encl)
1 - OCA/IMO (OCA Official Record) (w/encl)
1 - D/OCA Chrono (w/encl)
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