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Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions

Description: This report discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) various counter-terrorist intelligence activities, whether or not they constitute classification as "covert action," and the challenge of clarifying the roles and responsibilities of various intelligence activities with regard to clandestine activities. It also examines the statutory procedures governing covert action and associated questions to consider.
Date: April 6, 2011
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress

Description: Legislation enacted in 1980 gave the executive branch authority to limit advance notification of especially-sensitive covert actions to eight Members of Congress (called the "Gang of Eight") when the President determines that it is essential to limit prior notice in order to meet extraordinary circumstances affecting U.S. vital interests. This report describes the statutory provision authorizing Gang of Eight notifications, reviews the legislative history of the provision, and examines the impa… more
Date: April 6, 2011
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Issues for Congress

Description: This report gives an overview of current intelligence issues of interest to the 112th Congress. It includes background and analysis including most recent development, ongoing Congressional concerns, specific issues for the 112th Congress, and a summary of related legislation from the 109th through the 112th Congresses.
Date: March 3, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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“Gang of Four” Congressional Intelligence Notifications

Description: "Gang of Four" intelligence notifications are oral briefings on sensitive non-covert action intelligence activities (including intelligence collection programs) that the Intelligence Community typically limits to the chairmen and ranking members of the two congressional intelligence committees, and at times to their respective staff directors. This report reviews the history of Gang of Four notification process and compares this procedure with that of the "Gang of Eight" notification procedure.
Date: March 18, 2011
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Intelligence Issues for Congress

Description: This report gives an overview of current intelligence issues of interest to the 112th Congress. It includes background and analysis including most recent development, ongoing Congressional concerns, specific issues for the 112th Congress, and a summary of related legislation from the 109th through the 112th Congresses.
Date: February 11, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Acquisition: Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses Congressional issues regarding Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, which are integral components of both national policymaking and military operations, including counterterrorism operations. ISR systems are costly and complicated, and the relationships among organizations responsible for designing and operating these systems are equally complicated.
Date: September 10, 2012
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F. & Lange, Rebecca S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Intelligence Issues for Congress

Description: Report that gives an overview of current intelligence issues of interest to the 112th Congress. It includes background and analysis including most recent development, ongoing Congressional concerns, specific issues for the 112th Congress, and a summary of related legislation from the 109th through the 112th Congresses.
Date: January 20, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Satellite Surveillance: Domestic Issues

Description: Report that provides background on the development of intelligence satellites and identifies the roles various agencies play in their management and use. Issues surrounding the current policy and proposed changes are discussed, followed by a discussion of legal considerations.
Date: January 13, 2011
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr. & Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information

Description: This report discusses the statutory prohibitions that may be implicated, including the Espionage Act; the extraterritorial application of such statutes; and the First Amendment implications related to such prosecutions against domestic or foreign media organizations and associated individuals. The report provides a summary of previous legislative efforts to criminalize the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
Date: June 24, 2013
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse at the Legal Background

Description: This report reprints the text of the five National Security Letter (NSL) statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act (to which form they would be returned under S.1125 and H.R. 1805).
Date: January 3, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities and Recent Developments

Description: This report focuses on two main National Security Agency (NSA) collection activities approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. The first is the bulk collection of telephony metadata for domestic and international telephone calls. The second involves the interception of Internet-based communications and is targeted at foreigners who are not within the United States, but may also inadvertently acquire… more
Date: April 1, 2014
Creator: Liu, Edward C.; Nolan, Andrew & Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions

Description: This report discusses potential policy questions concerning the U.S. Secret Service through an examination of the Service's history and its statutory authorities, mission, and present activities within Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Date: March 25, 2014
Creator: Reese, Shawn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions

Description: This report discusses potential policy questions concerning the U.S. Secret Service through an examination of the Service's history and its statutory authorities, mission, and present activities within Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Date: June 18, 2014
Creator: Reese, Shawn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: A Sketch of Selected Issues

Description: This report briefly outlines three issues relating to electronic surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and touches upon some of the perspectives reflected in the ongoing debate. These issues include the inherent and often dynamic tension between national security and civil liberties, particularly rights of privacy and free speech; the need for the intelligence community to be able to efficiently and effectively collect foreign intelligence information from the comm… more
Date: July 7, 2008
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Set to Expire February 28, 2010

Description: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides a statutory framework by which government agencies may, when gathering foreign intelligence investigation, obtain authorization to conduct electronic surveillance or physical searches, utilize pen registers and trap and trace devices, or access specified business records and other tangible things. This report discusses three sunsetting amendments of FISA which include the "Lone Wolf" provision, "roving" wiretaps, and access to business r… more
Date: March 2, 2010
Creator: Henning, Anna C. & Liu, Edward C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Set to Expire February 28, 2010

Description: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides a statutory framework by which government agencies may, when gathering foreign intelligence investigation, obtain authorization to conduct electronic surveillance or physical searches, utilize pen registers and trap and trace devices, or access specified business records and other tangible things. This report discusses three sunsetting amendments of FISA which include the "Lone Wolf" provision, "roving" wiretaps, and access to business r… more
Date: October 29, 2009
Creator: Henning, Anna C. & Liu, Edward C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions

Description: Published reports have suggested that in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Pentagon has expanded its counterterrorism intelligence activities as part of what the Bush Administration termed the global war on terror. Some observers have asserted that the Department of Defense (DOD) may have been conducting certain kinds of counterterrorism intelligence activities that would statutorily qualify as "covert actions," and thus require a presidential finding and the notification of the congr… more
Date: April 10, 2013
Creator: Erwin, Marshall C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Set to Expire February 28, 2010

Description: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides a statutory framework by which government agencies may, when gathering foreign intelligence investigation, obtain authorization to conduct electronic surveillance or physical searches, utilize pen registers and trap and trace devices, or access specified business records and other tangible things. This report discusses three sunsetting amendments of FISA which include the "Lone Wolf" provision, "roving" wiretaps, and access to business r… more
Date: December 23, 2009
Creator: Henning, Anna C. & Liu, Edward C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Intelligence Issues for Congress

Description: This report explores the various issues currently facing Congress in regards to intelligence and counterterrorism activities, including the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458), signed in December 2004; the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which that act created; the importance of collaborative efforts between various intelligence agencies to successfully carry out counterterrorism measures; and other pieces of legislation relevant to such matters.
Date: July 11, 2008
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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