NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL 8554 W ASHINGTO N D C 20506 October 25 1989 INFORMATION MEMORANDUM FOR BRENT SCOWCROFT FROM NICHOLAS ROSTOW SUBJECT Draft Letters on Covert Action Notification l Attached at Tab I for your review and comment are draft letters from the President to the Attorney General regarding covert action notification and from you to Senators Boren and Cohen transmitting copies of the President's letter I have not yet coordinated these drafts with Boyden Gray although he and other senior government counsel can live with the language in the second paragraph of the letter to the Attorney General I recommend that I do so before you discuss them with Senators Boren and Cohen Concurrence by Lampley Attachment Tab I Letters to the Attorney General and to Senators Boren and Cohen d r a f t Dear Dick The purpose of this letter is to state how I intend to provide notice to Congress of covert action under section 501 of the National Security Act of 1947 as amended On December 17 1986 the Assistant Attorney General Office of Legal Counsel provided the then Attorney General with an opinion as to the meaning as a matter of law of section 501 b of the National Security Act That provision requires the President to fully inform the intelligence committees in a timely fashion of intelligence operations in foreign countries other than activities intended solely for obtaining necessary intelligence for which prior notice was not given The opinion at page 24 stated that a number of factors combine to support the conclusion that the 'timely fashion' language should be read to leave the President with a virtually unfettered discretion to choose the right moment for making the required notification I intend to provide notice in a fashion sensitive to congressional concerns The statute requires prior notice or when no prior notice is given timely notice I anticipate that in almost all instances prior notice will be possible In those rare instances where prior notice is not provided I anticipate that notice will be provided within a few days Any withholding beyond this period would be based upon my assertion of the authorities granted this office by the Constitution You are directed to share this letter with appropriate members of the Executive branch and to proceed accordingly in advising me and other Executive branch officials in connection with the provision of notice of covert actions Sincerely George Bush The Honorable Dick Thornburgh The Attorney General Department of Justice Washington D C 20530 DRAFT Dear Senator Boren Cohen Enclosed is a copy of a letter from the President to the Attorney General setting forth the President's instructions concerning how he intends to provide notice of covert actions to Congress under the National Security Act We appreciate your efforts at reaching a mutually acceptable compromise on this issue Sincerely Brent Scowcroft The Honorable David L Boren United States Senate Washington D C 20510-3601 The Honorable William S Cohen United States Senate Washington D C 20510-1901 This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu