LETTER TO HONORABLE WILLIAM FRENCH SMITH FROM WILLIAM J. CASEY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83M00914R001900170028-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 21, 2007
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: December 22, 1981
• Content Type: LETTER

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The Director of Central Intelligence
Washington. D. C 2O5o5
The Honorable William French Smith
Attorney General of the United States
Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Bill:
Thank you for your letter advising me that your staff
stands ready to work with mine to assure that legislation
to revise the Criminal Code properly takes into account
the nation's need for an effective Intelligence Community.
We have an excellent opportunity with this legislation to
strengthen the Criminal Code to protect our national
security interests.
None of the pending legislation to revise the Criminal
Code contains a definitive statement on the relationship
between the Code and the conduct of intelligence activities.
The absence of such a statement, combined with the expanded
extraterritorial federal criminal jurisdiction the legis-
lation provides, creates uncertainties which could seriously
impair our intelligence efforts. In addition, the legislation
leaves an intelligence officer engaged in legitimate intel-
ligence activities with only prosecutorial discretion and the
common law defense of exercise of public authority to shield
him from criminal liability.
To clear up uncertainty in the relationship between
legitimate intelligence activities and federal criminal
statutes, and to provide our intelligence officers with
proper protection from criminal liability, I suggest that
we, seek to incorporate in Criminal Code reform legislation
a provision along the lines of the following:
"Nothing in title 18, United States Code,
or any other federal criminal statute shall be
construed to' create criminal liability for the
conduct of intelligence activities by a federal
public servant that are authorized and conducted
in accordance with the Constitution and applicable
federal statutes, Executive Orders, presidential
directives, and departmental or agency regulations,
which regulate the conduct of intelligence activities."
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This provision would protect intelligence officers whose
activities are both authorized and conducted in accordance
with the Constitution and the detailed body of federal
statutes, Executive Orders, and implementing procedures
regulating the conduct of intelligence activities. The
provision would not itself authorize any intelligence
activity, nor would it shield an intelligence officer
engaged in an improper intelligence activity.
'In addition to clarifying the relationship between
federal criminal law and the conduct- of intelligence
activities, the Criminal Code legislation presents an
opportunity to deter dangerous activities which impair our
nation's ability to protect itself from external threats.
.We should work to modify the legislation to include stronger
provisions to protect the United States from espionage and
unauthorized disclosures of intelligence information. My
staff is now studying this issue and I will be forwarding
my suggestions in this area to you separately. Stronger
provisions are also needed to protect against unauthorized
disclosure of diplomatic codes and communications, and new
provisions are needed to protect intelligence personnel
from violent attacks. Also, the Criminal Code legislation
will require modification to include the provisions of
the Intelligence Identities Protection Act when that.Act
achieves final passage.
Please have the appropriate people on your staff contact
Stanley Sporkin, my General Counsel, who will handle this
matter for me. I will soon be forwarding-for Office of
Management and Budget clearance letters to Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence Chairman Goldwater and Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Thurmond expressing my concerns
with the Senate version of Criminal Code reform legislation.
I appreciate very much the cooperation of your Department in
assuring that the Criminal Code legislation meets our needs.