206. Letter From the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (Wright) to the President’s Administrative Assistant (Murphy)0
My Dear Mr. Murphy: In the absence of General Vandenberg, I wish to offer the following comments on the proposed draft of Section 302 of the National Defense Act of 1947, insofar as it affects the Central Intelligence Group.
- 1.
- Paragraph 302 (a) should provide for a Deputy Director of Central Intelligence to be appointed from civilian or military life by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Director should receive compensation at the rate of $14,000.00 per annum. It is felt desirable to include this in the legislation in order to provide continuity of action in the absence of the Director or should there be a vacancy in that office. The Deputy Director should be a man of such caliber and stature as adequately to serve as an operating deputy to the Director.
- 2.
- It is felt that the phrase “subject to existing law” should be
eliminated from paragraph 302 (b) of the proposed draft as it appears to
add nothing to the meaning of the Section. This is particularly true as
many of the functions and authorities of this Agency are excepted from
existing law. In this connection we have the concurrence of the Personal
Representative of the President on the National Intelligence Authority.
It is therefore felt preferable that section 302 (b) read as follows:
“Under the direction of the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency shall perform foreign intelligence functions “relating to the national security.”
- 3.
- It is urged that a paragraph substantially as follows should be
included in the proposed bill:
“The Director of Central Intelligence shall serve as the Advisor to the Council on all matters pertaining to national intelligence and in this capacity he may attend meetings of the Council at its discretion but shall take no part in the decisions thereof.”
In this connection attention is called to paragraph 2 of the Presidential letter of January 22, 1946 which states as follows:
“The Director of General Intelligence shall be designated by me, shall be responsible to the National Intelligence Authority, and shall sit as a non-voting member thereof.”
In line with paragraph 302 (e) (2) which specifically transfers the functions of the Director of Central Intelligence it would appear that his functions as a non-voting member of the National Intelligence Authority should be transferred to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in connection with his relationships to the National Security Council.