50 USC 3381 - Coordination of counterintelligence activities

View all text of Subchapter V [§ 3381 - § 3385]

§ 3381. Coordination of counterintelligence activities

(a) Establishment of Counterintelligence Policy Board

(b) Chairperson

(1) The Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

(2) Senior personnel of departments and elements of the United States Government, appointed by the head of the department or element concerned, as follows:

(A) The Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(B) The Department of Defense, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(D) The Department of Energy.

(E) The Central Intelligence Agency.

(F) Any other department, agency, or element of the United States Government specified by the President.

(d) Functions and discharge of functions

(1) The Board shall—

(A) serve as the principal mechanism for—

(i) developing policies and procedures for the approval of the President to govern the conduct of counterintelligence activities; and

(ii) upon the direction of the President, resolving conflicts that arise between elements of the Government conducting such activities; and

(B) act as an interagency working group to—

(i) ensure the discussion and review of matters relating to the implementation of the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act of 2002; and

(ii) provide advice to the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center on priorities in the implementation of the National Counterintelligence Strategy produced pursuant to section 904(e)(2) of that Act (50 U.S.C. 3383(e)(2)).

(2) The Board may, for purposes of carrying out its functions under this section, establish such interagency boards and working groups as the Board considers appropriate.

(e) Coordination of counterintelligence matters with Federal Bureau of Investigation

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (5), the head of each department or agency within the executive branch shall ensure that—

(A) the Federal Bureau of Investigation is advised immediately of any information, regardless of its origin, which indicates that classified information is being, or may have been, disclosed in an unauthorized manner to a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power;

(B) following a report made pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Federal Bureau of Investigation is consulted with respect to all subsequent actions which may be undertaken by the department or agency concerned to determine the source of such loss or compromise; and

(C) where, after appropriate consultation with the department or agency concerned, the Federal Bureau of Investigation undertakes investigative activities to determine the source of the loss or compromise, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is given complete and timely access to the employees and records of the department or agency concerned for purposes of such investigative activities.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (5), the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall ensure that espionage information obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation pertaining to the personnel, operations, or information of departments or agencies of the executive branch, is provided through appropriate channels in a timely manner to the department or agency concerned, and that such departments or agencies are consulted in a timely manner with respect to espionage investigations undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation which involve the personnel, operations, or information of such department or agency.

(3)

(A) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall submit to the head of the department or agency concerned a written assessment of the potential impact of the actions of the department or agency on a counterintelligence investigation.

(B) The head of the department or agency concerned shall—

(i) use an assessment under subparagraph (A) as an aid in determining whether, and under what circumstances, the subject of an investigation under paragraph (1) should be left in place for investigative purposes; and

(ii) notify in writing the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of such determination.

(C) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the head of the department or agency concerned shall continue to consult, as appropriate, to review the status of an investigation covered by this paragraph, and to reassess, as appropriate, a determination of the head of the department or agency concerned to leave a subject in place for investigative purposes.

(4)

(A) The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall notify appropriate officials within the executive branch, including the head of the department or agency concerned, of the commencement of a full field espionage investigation with respect to an employee within the executive branch.

(B) A department or agency may not conduct a polygraph examination, interrogate, or otherwise take any action that is likely to alert an employee covered by a notice under subparagraph (A) of an investigation described in that subparagraph without prior coordination and consultation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(5) Where essential to meet extraordinary circumstances affecting vital national security interests of the United States, the President may on a case-by-case basis waive the requirements of paragraph (1), (2), or (3), as they apply to the head of a particular department or agency, or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Such waiver shall be in writing and shall fully state the justification for such waiver. Within thirty days, the President shall notify the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives that such waiver has been issued, and at that time or as soon as national security considerations permit, provide these committees with a complete explanation of the circumstances which necessitated such waiver.

(6) Nothing in this section may be construed to alter the existing jurisdictional arrangements between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Defense with respect to investigations of persons subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, nor to impose additional reporting requirements upon the Department of Defense with respect to such investigations beyond those required by existing law and executive branch policy.

(7) As used in this section, the terms “foreign power” and “agent of a foreign power” have the same meanings as set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of section 1801, respectively, of this title.

(Pub. L. 103–359, title VIII, § 811, Oct. 14, 1994, 108 Stat. 3455; Pub. L. 106–120, title VI, § 602, Dec. 3, 1999, 113 Stat. 1620; Pub. L. 106–567, title VI, § 605, Dec. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 2853; Pub. L. 107–306, title VIII, § 811(b)(5)(B), title IX, § 903, Nov. 27, 2002, 116 Stat. 2424, 2433; Pub. L. 108–177, title III, § 361(g), Dec. 13, 2003, 117 Stat. 2625; Pub. L. 108–458, title I, § 1071(g)(1), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3691; Pub. L. 115–31, div. N, title IV, § 401(f), May 5, 2017, 131 Stat. 819; Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title III, § 7305(b)(2), title IX, § 7901(j), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1026, 1107.)