Office of the Historian

68. Memorandum From the President’s Counselor (Marsh) to President Ford1

Washington, January 30, 1976.

MEETING ON INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

Friday, January 30, 1976

3:30 p.m. (1 hour)

Cabinet Room

I. Purpose

To discuss your tentative Intelligence Community decisions with key Administration officials.2

II. Background, Participants and Press Plan

A. Background

On January 10, you met with your advisors (including those present today) to discuss the alternatives available to strengthen the Intelligence Community and avoid abuses.3

You have reached tentative decisions after reviewing all the papers and comments submitted by the agencies and departments affected.

You have stated publicly that you will announce your comprehensive decisions shortly.

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B. Participants

  • Secretary Kissinger
  • Secretary Rumsfeld
  • Attorney General Levi
  • CIA Director Bush4
  • Jack Marsh
  • Phil Buchen
  • Brent Scowcroft
  • Mike Duval
  • Peter Wallison (for the Vice President who is out of town)

C. Press Plan

No press coverage.

III. Agenda

Tab A contains a summary of your tentative decisions and Fact Sheets.

Tab A

Briefing Paper Prepared by the White House Staff5

Washington, undated.

INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

1) Intelligence Community Leadership (see attached Fact Sheets)6

A) Establish a new Foreign Intelligence Committee made up of:

  • DCI, Chairman
  • Deputy Secretary of Defense
  • Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

The following will be designated as observers from time to time, depending on the work of the Committee:

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  • Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
  • Under Secretary of State
  • Deputy Secretary of Treasury
  • OMB Representative
  • Director of FBI (as appropriate)
  • Others as designated by the President

This new Committee would replace the existing Executive Committee for the National Reconnaissance Program, the U.S. Intelligence Board and the Intelligence Resource Advisory Council.

It would have resource and policy control over the national foreign intelligence program, and it would establish sub-groups as necessary. It would be established by Executive Order.

B) The existing NSC Intelligence Committee would be replaced by a new Foreign Intelligence Advisory Group of the NSC, which would review intelligence policy, particularly from the consumer viewpoint. The members of the advisory group are:

  • Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
  • Secretary of State
  • Secretary of Defense
  • Secretary of Treasury
  • Attorney General
  • Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Director of the Office of Management and Budget
  • Director of Central Intelligence
  • Observers as designated by the President

C) Intelligence product (reports, briefings, etc.) will be submitted to the NSC by the DCI directly—not through the Foreign Intelligence Committee or the Policy Advisory Group.

2) Covert Action

The 40 Committee would be made up of:

  • Members:
  • Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Chairman
  • Secretary of Defense
  • Secretary of State
  • Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Director of Central Intelligence
  • Observers:
  • Attorney General
  • OMB representative

3) Oversight

Establish an Oversight Board with the Deputy Attorney General as Chairman, and as possible members: Counsel to the President, Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and a member [Page 218] of PFIAB designated by the President. Agency Inspectors General and General Counsels would report periodically to this Board, which would transmit reports to PFIAB and the Attorney General. The Attorney General would report (including PFIAB comments) to the NSC.

4) Agency Charters and Restrictions

An omnibus Executive Order will be issued (publicly) containing the following:

  • • Responsibility of the Community leadership (Foreign Intelligence Committee, etc.).
  • • Charters for each agency (generally taken from existing National Security Council Intelligence Directives).
  • • Restrictions on intelligence activities.
  • • Oversight of intelligence agencies.
  • • Secrecy Agreements provision.

5) Secrecy

A) Submit legislation to protect “Sources and Methods”.

B) Require all Executive Branch officials to sign a Secrecy Agreement as a condition for receiving certain classified foreign intelligence information.

C) NSC will conduct a review of the classification system.

6) Relations with Congress

Support efforts to establish a Joint Intelligence Oversight Committee.

  1. Source: Ford Library, President’s Handwriting File, Box 31, National Security—Intelligence (9). No classification marking. A stamped notation indicates that the President saw the memorandum.↩
  2. According to the President’s Daily Diary, the meeting was held in the Cabinet Room beginning at 4:05 p.m. Ford participated in the meeting between 4:05 and 4:15 p.m. and then again between 4:30 and 5:14 p.m. (Ibid., Staff Secretary’s Office, President’s Daily Diary) No other record of the meeting has been found.↩
  3. See Document 64.↩
  4. Bush was sworn in as DCI at 11:14 a.m. on January 30 in a ceremony at the CIA. (Ford Library, Staff Secretary’s Office, President’s Daily Diary) Prior to Bush’s swearing-in, Ford addressed a gathering of 525 guests, including Members of Congress, Cabinet members, and senior White House staff. During his remarks, he stated that he would announce “in the next few weeks” his decisions “on the steps I believe necessary to strengthen our foreign intelligence operations.” (Public Papers: Ford, 1976–77, Book I, p. 113)↩
  5. No classification marking.↩
  6. Attached but not printed. Also attached but not printed is an organizational table illustrating the newly-created intelligence committees.↩