Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXXVIII, Part 2, Organization and Management of Foreign Policy; Public Diplomacy, 1973–1976

60. Memorandum From the President’s Counselor (Marsh) to President Ford ¹

Washington, undated.

SUBJECT

• Proposed Executive Order Restructuring and Revising the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

Attached for your approval is a proposed Executive Order² restructuring and revising the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

The Board is proposed to have responsibilities significantly broader than those of its predecessor. These include:

• Advising the President concerning its review of the foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities of the United States government, including the quality of foreign intelligence collection and estimates; organization and management of the foreign intelligence community; and, in consultation with the Attorney General, the community’s compliance with law.

• Make recommendations to you with respect to matters identified to the Board by the Director of Central Intelligence, the Director of the FBI, the Secretary of Defense and other components of the foreign intelligence community.

In addition, PFIAB would be authorized to receive, investigate, consider and make appropriate recommendations with respect to allegations of improprieties by intelligence community agencies made by employees of those agencies. The heads of foreign intelligence agencies would be authorized to seek the advice of PFIAB with respect to activities which are or may be improper, or give the appearance of impropriety; and the agencies would be required to make available to the Board all information it required. The Inspector General of each foreign intelligence agency would be authorized to report directly to the Board, after notifying his agency head.

The proposed Executive Order states that you will designate from among the Board members a chairman “who shall devote substantial time to his duties with the Board.” The Order also indicates that PFIAB shall employ a staff headed by an Executive Secretary who shall be appointed by the President. If you approve the proposed Executive Order, a public announcement will be timed to coincide with your reappointment of the Chairman and new members (tentatively set for the week after your return from China).

There is one substantive area of disagreement between your advisers concerning this proposed Order. This issue, which requires your decision, is whether or not current employees of foreign intelligence community agencies may be detailed to the staff of PFIAB. (The entire staff of the current Board are detailees. The current Executive Secretary is from the CIA, and the other professional staff member is a military officer. The clerical employees are reimbursable detailees from the CIA, NSA and the State Department.)

As written, the proposed Executive Order would permit detailing of intelligence community employees, but provides a safeguard as follows:

“If the Executive Secretary or any member of the staff of the Board is appointed from an agency or department within the foreign intelligence community, then during his tenure with the Board, he shall be subject to no supervision, control, restriction or prohibition from such agency or department, and shall neither possess nor exercise any supervision, control, powers or functions (other than as a member of the staff of the Board) with respect to such agency or department.”

There are three alternatives:

1. Permit detailing because:

• Because all of the PFIAB members are part-time advisers, they will require a staff with in-depth knowledge of, and access to, all aspects of the community.

• The safeguards in the current draft are the same as those provided under the National Security Act, and is designed to prevent detailed employees from being influenced by their parent agencies.

• Detailing would permit staff continuity at a time when there are substantial changes in the Board.

• Because of its concern over the size of the White House staff, Congress may refuse to authorize new positions for PFIAB staff.

2. Prohibit detailing because:

• The Board has been given new responsibilities which make it inappropriate for the “watch dogs” to be employees of an agency being overseen.

• The safeguards in the proposed Order are insufficient because any employee who continues to maintain a connection with an intelligence agency may be influenced in his work with the Board.

• To keep PFIAB “pure”, Congress will likely authorize whatever ceiling spaces are necessary.

3. Permit only temporary detailees. This is a middle course option under which temporary details of intelligence community employees might be authorized on a case-by-case basis by the Chairman of the Board. However, the permanent staff would not be detailed from the intelligence agencies.

Decision

I. Concerning Detailees:

Prohibit detailing of intelligence community employees to the staff of PFIAB.³

Favor: Lynn

Permit detailing under the safeguards set forth in the proposed Order.⁴

Favor: Colby, Scowcroft, Buchen, Kissinger

Permit detailing for temporary service only.⁵

Favor: Marsh, Levi, Rumsfeld

II. Concerning Issuing the Order:

Kissinger, Colby and Buchen (would defer issuance of Order until Administration study on organization of intelligence community is completed); Scowcroft (would defer issuance until Executive Order imposing restrictions on intelligence activities is finalized); all other advisers favor issuance when new Board members are announced.

Timing of Issuance:

As soon as new Board members are announced (shortly after your return from the PRC).⁶

As soon as Executive Order imposing restrictions on intelligence activities is finalized.

Defer until completion of Administration study on organization of intelligence community.

1. Source: Ford Library, President’s Handwriting File, Box 15, Federal Government Organizations Subseries, President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. No classification marking. A stamped notation indicates that the President saw the memorandum. Attached to a covering memorandum from Connor to Marsh, December 10, which summarizes Ford’s decisions.
2. Attached but not printed.
3. Ford initialed his disapproval.
4. Ford initialed his approval.
5. Ford initialed his disapproval.
6. The President initialed his approval of this option. Ford paid an official visit to the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, and the Philippines December 1–7. No Executive order broadening the role of PFIAB was issued. Executive Order 11905 (Document 70), signed February 18, 1976, affirmed without modification the responsibilities of PFIAB established by Executive Order 11460 (March 20, 1969), and created the Intelligence Oversight Board, comprised of distinguished private citizens, to consider legal questions surrounding intelligence operations. The new PFIAB members were announced during March 1976.