President of the United States (Executive Command and Control of Intelligence Agencies)

views updated May 21 2018

President of the United States (Executive Command and Control of Intelligence Agencies)

JUDSON KNIGHT

As commander in chief, the President of the United States oversees not only all U.S. military forces, but U.S. national security as a whole. In this capacity, the President exercises executive command and control of intelligence agencies, and issues executive orders and presidential directives that shape national security policy. The nation's 14 largest intelligence agencies belong to the Intelligence Community, whose leader, the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), reports directly to the President. Executive oversight of intelligence also emanates through the National Security Council (NSC) and the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB). The President in turn presents intelligence budgets to the U.S. Congress, which exercises checks and balances on executive power.

Architect of National Security

The modern age of national security began in 1947, with the passage of the National Security Act, which reorganized the Department of Defense (DOD) and established the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and NSC. Prior to that time, the President had always exercised control over the armed forces as commander in chief, but now he also supervised a nascent security and intelligence apparatus destined to grow considerably over the years.

The modern President articulates much of his role as director of national security policy through executive orders and, more recently, presidential directives. Executive orders, which originated under the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt and grew considerably in number after World War II, are theoretically subject to congressional override, but in practice amount to executive edicts. Important executive orders from the 1970s and onward have addressed issues such as the organization of the Intelligence Community and the handling of classified documents.

Whereas executive orders are open to the public, presidential directives are classified, and knowledge of their content only emerges, if at all, after the fact. These directives have guided security and intelligence policy since the administration of President John F. Kennedy, and each administration has sought to place its own stamp on them by giving them specific titles as a class. For example, they were known as national security directives under George H. W. Bush, presidential decision directives under William J. Clinton, and national security presidential directives under George W. Bush.

In 1986, Congress called on presidents to issue an annual National Security Strategy (NSS), a document outlining the blueprint for national security. Prior to the 2002 NSS of George W. Bush, these usually did little more than simply restate policies then in effect. The Bush NSS, on the other hand, outlined an explicit framework for U.S. actions to be taken in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Advisors

In directing intelligence policy, the President relies on Cabinet-level advisors whose departments have a role in national security. Most notable among these are the secretaries of State, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, and the Treasury, as well as the Attorney General. Other Cabinet officials, including the secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Transportation, also support some national-security functions, and may be called upon for advice relating to their specific areas.

The role of the Vice-President as advisor varies as a function of his relationship with the President. Kennedy, for instance, worked little with Lyndon B. Johnson, whose inclusion on the winning 1960 ticket had resulted from a marriage of convenience designed to attract conservative Southern Democrats. On the other hand, George W. Bush has relied heavily on Vice-President Dick Cheney, who served in the administration of his father.

The NSC. The Vice President is, along with the secretaries of State and Defense, a statutory member of the NSC, as is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the DCI. The chairman of the NSC is the President himself. Intended to serve as the principal advisory board on matters of national security and foreign policy, the NSC has in practice functioned to a level of importance determined by the chief executive.

In general, Democratic presidents have tended to take an ad hoc approach to the NSC, while Republicans, starting with Dwight D. Eisenhower, have relied more heavily on the NSC, or at least on the National Security Advisor, who played an important role in the administrations of Richard M. Nixon, George W. Bush, and others. The role of the National Security Advisor, officially titled the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, is not mentioned in the National Security Act, and emerged only during the Kennedy administration.

In addition to the four statutory members, the two statutory advisors on military and intelligence affairs, and the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of the Treasury is a regular attendee at NSC meetings. The Chief of Staff to the President, Counsel to the President, and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy are invited to attend any NSC meeting, while the Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are invited to attend those meetings that pertain to their responsibilities. The directors of other executive departments and agencies, as well as other senior officials, are called to attend when appropriate. Under the George W. Bush administration, the Director (later Secretary) of Homeland Security has been a regular participant in NSC meetings.

PFIAB. Established by President Eisenhower in 1956, PFIAB is an independent advisory board within the Executive Office of the President. It consists of 16 uncompensated members, selected by the President from outside the ranks of government. PFIAB reviews the activities and performance of all agencies involved in intelligence activities, and advises the President on its assessments of their performance. It also provides the President with input on the objectives, conduct, and coordination of activities by members of the Intelligence Community.

Under the aegis of the PFIAB is the three-member Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB), established by President Gerald Ford in 1976. The IOB is responsible for oversight regarding the legality and propriety of intelligence activities, particularlyaccording to its charterthose "intelligence activities that the IOB believes may be unlawful or contrary to executive order or presidential directive." Originally an independent body, the IOB became a standing committee of the PFIAB in 1997.

The Intelligence Community, Budgeting, and Congress

In addition to leading the CIA, DCI serves as the President's principal advisor on intelligence matters. He also leads the Intelligence Community, which, along with CIA, includes 13 other agencies within the departments of Defense, State, Energy, Justice, the Treasury, and Homeland Security. Among the members of the Intelligence Community are the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Agency, and Defense Intelligence Agency.

DCI reports to the President both directly and (depending on the operational structure of the administration in question) through the National Security Advisor. As head of the Intelligence Community, DCI presents the President with the annual Intelligence Community budget, known as the National Foreign Intelligence Program (NFIP).

In preparing the budget for intelligence and national security activities in the coming fiscal year, the President also relies on the Secretary of Defense. The latter presents the President with two budgets: the Joint Military Intelligence Program (JMIP) for military intelligence, and Tactical Intelligence and Related Areas (TIARA) for specific tactical intelligence requirements of the military services.

Using the NFIP, JMIP, and TIARA budgets, the President proceeds to establish an overall DOD intelligence budget with the help of the National Security Advisor and the OMB. He then presents these requests to Congress, which, once it approves the request, passes the annual intelligence authorization act. The latter originated in the late 1970s, as a result of congressional distrust toward the executive branch in the fallout from the Watergate scandal.

Intelligence authorization acts, in addition to numerous mechanisms for direct congressional oversight of intelligence, gives Congress influence over intelligence activities. In the case of the intelligence authorization process, Congress may refuse budgeting for certain requested activities, with the result being a tug-of-war between the White House and Capitol Hill. On the other hand, the President himself may veto intelligence authorization acts, which also include other, non-budgetary, provisions.

FURTHER READING:

BOOKS:

Andrew, Christopher M. For the President's Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bush. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

Gore, Albert. The Intelligence Community: Accompanying Report of the National Performance Review, Office of the Vice President. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993.

Helgerson, John L. Getting to Know the President: CIA Briefings of Presidential Candidates, 19521992. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1996.

Mann, Thomas E. A Question of Balance: The President, Congress. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1990.

Thompson, Kenneth W. The President, the Bureaucracy, and World Regions in Arms Control. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1998.

SEE ALSO

Executive Orders and Presidential Directives
Intelligence Authorization Acts, United States Congress
Intelligence Community
Intelligence, United States Congressional Oversight
National Security Strategy, United States
NIC (National Intelligence Council)
NSC (National Security Council)
PFIAB (President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board)
Politics: The Briefings of United States Presidential Candidates
United States, Intelligence and Security

President of the United States

views updated May 11 2018

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The head of theexecutive branch, one of the three branches of the federal government.

The U.S. Constitution sets relatively strict requirements about who may serve as president and for how long. Under Article II, only a natural-born citizen of the United States is eligible to serve as president; a person born outside the United States, even if he later becomes a citizen, may not serve. In addition, a person must be at least 35 years old to become president and must have resided in the United States for at least 14 years. Under the twenty-second amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1951, no person may serve as president for more than two four-year terms. The amendment further provides that a person who succeeds to the office for more than two years of an unexpired term (for example, because a sitting president dies or resigns) may serve for only one additional four-year term.

Article II also sets limits on the president's authority. The article provides that the president is the commander in chief of the armed services. As commander in chief, the president has the power to preserve the peace by governing a captured territory until Congress establishes civil authority over it; the president also may declare martial law, which provides for the imposition of military authority over civilians in the event of an invasion, insurrection, disaster, or similar occurrence. In addition, the president

can end a war through a treaty or a presidential proclamation. The power to declare war, however, is vested exclusively in Congress and not the president. In a situation of an undeclared war, under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C.A. §§ 1541 et seq.) the president must consult with Congress before introducing armed forces into hostilities. Nevertheless, the practical effect of the statute is somewhat limited because it recognizes the power of the president to unilaterally deploy military forces when necessary.

As the head of the executive branch, the president executes the law but does not legislate, although he submits budgets and may propose bills to Congress. The president's legislative power is limited to approving or disapproving bills passed by Congress. If the president approves a measure, it becomes law. If he vetoes the bill, or refuses to approve it, it goes back to either the House of Representatives or to the Senate (wherever the bill first originated). If both bodies then pass the bill again by a two-thirds margin, the president's veto has been overridden and he must sign it into law.

In 1996 Congress sought to give the president more control over the budget by passing a line-item veto law (2 U.S.C.A. § 691 [1996]). Under the law the president could veto portions of an appropriation bill while leaving the remainder of the legislation intact. Members of Congress challenged the law as an unconstitutional surrender of Article I congressional power that jeopardized the separation of powers, but the Supreme Court refused to hear the case until the veto was actually used. After President Clinton used the line-time veto several entities that lost federal funds because of the veto filed a federal lawsuit. The Supreme Court, in Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S.417, 118 S.Ct. 2091, 141 L.Ed.2d 393 (1998), struck down the law. The law allowed the president to effectively amend or repeal acts of Congress, but this action was not authorized by the Constitution. The only way for the president to obtain this power would be through the passage of a constitutional amendment.

The president's executive powers also include the authority to issue proclamations and executive orders. A proclamation is a general announcement of policy, whereas an executive order has the force and effect of law by carrying out a provision of the Constitution, a federal statute, or a treaty. For example, during world war ii President franklin d. roosevelt issued an executive order confining Japanese American citizens to camps following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The president has the exclusive authority to represent the United States in its relationships with governments of other countries. Through the secretary of state and other officials, the president communicates with other nations, recognizes foreign governments, and makes agreements, including the negotiation of treaties. Treaties, however, must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate before taking effect. Executive agreements with other nations do not require Senate approval but still carry the force of law. For instance, the United States, through the president, has frequently entered into executive agreements to supply economic aid to other nations.

In domestic matters the president is advised by the cabinet, which consists of more than a dozen executive departments covering a wide range of areas, including commerce, housing, labor, and the treasury. Each department is headed by a secretary, who is responsible for its overall administration and for reporting to the president.

Should the president be unable to serve a full term, Article II and the twenty-fifth amendment to the Constitution provide for a line of succession. If the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office through the impeachment process, the vice president becomes the acting president. This transfer of power also occurs if the president informs both houses of Congress that he is temporarily unable to discharge the duties of president. The House of Representatives can impeach a president or indict him for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. If the House votes to impeach, the president is not automatically removed from office; impeachment is instead a formal charge accusing the president of a crime. The articles, or charges, of impeachment are submitted to the Senate, where the president is tried, with the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presiding over the proceeding. A two-thirds vote in the Senate is needed for a conviction and the removal of the president from office. andrew johnson was impeached in 1868 and then was acquitted by only one vote. In 1974 the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach richard m. nixon, but he resigned from office before the entire House could vote on the matter. The House of Representatives passed a bill of impeachment against President bill clinton, but the Senate acquitted him of the charges in 1999.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the president has absolute immunity from civil lawsuits seeking damages for presidential actions. However, the Court ruled in Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 117 S.Ct. 1636, 137 L.Ed.2d 945 (1997), that a sitting president does not have presidential immunity from suit over conduct unrelated to his official duties. The holding came in a civil suit brought by Paula Corbin Jones against President Clinton. Jones's suit was based on conduct alleged to have occurred while Clinton was governor of Arkansas. Clinton had sought to postpone the lawsuit until after he left office.

The Court stated that it had never suggested that the president or any other public official has an immunity that "extends beyond the scope of any action taken in an official capacity." The Court has based its immunity doctrine on a functional approach, extending immunity only to "acts in performance of particular functions of his office." It also rejected Clinton's claim that the courts would violate the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches if a court heard the suit. Finally, the Court rejected the president's contention that defending the lawsuit would impose unacceptable burdens on the president's time and energy. It seemed unlikely to the Court that President Clinton would have to be occupied with the Jones lawsuit for any substantial amount of time. The Court also expressed skepticism that denying immunity to the president would generate a "deluge of such litigation." In the history of the presidency, only three other presidents had been subject to civil damage suits for actions taken prior to holding office.

further readings

Brinkley, Alan, and Davis Dyer, eds. 2004. The American Presidency. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Milkis, Sidney M. 2003. The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776–2002. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Nelson, Michael, ed. 2003. The Presidency A to Z. 3d ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Will, George F., and George R. Stephanopoulos. 2001. "The Power of the Presidency." Northern Kentucky Law Review 28 (summer).

cross-references

Constitution of the United States; Electoral College; Executive Privilege; Impeachment; Presidential Powers; Separation of Powers; Watergate. See also "Presidential Speeches" section of Appendix.

US Presidents

views updated May 21 2018

US Presidents

No.

President

Years

Party

Age1

1 At inauguration; Kennedy was the youngest, Reagan the oldest

2 Died in office and succeeded by the vice president

3 Assassinated in office and succeeded by the vice president

4 A Democrat, Johnson was nominated vice president by Republicans and elected with Lincoln on a National Union ticket

5 Born Hiram Grant

6 Resigned in face of impeachment proceedings following the Watergate scandal

7 Born Leslie Lynch King

1.

George Washington

1789–97

Federalist

2.

John Adams

1797–1801

Federalist

57

3.

Thomas Jefferson

1801–09

Dem-Rep

61

4.

James Madison

1809–17

Dem-Rep

57

5.

James Monroe

1817–25

Dem-Rep

57

6.

John Quincy Adams

1825–29

Dem-Rep

58

7.

Andrew Jackson

1829–37

Democrat

57

8.

Martin Van Buren

1837–41

Democrat

61

9.

William H. Harrison2

1841

Whig

54

10.

John Tyler

1841–45

Whig

68

11.

James K. Polk

1845–49

Democrat

51

12.

Zachary Taylor2

1849–50

Whig

49

13.

Millard Fillmore

1850–53

Whig

50

14.

Franklin Pierce

1853–57

Democrat

48

15.

James Buchanan

1857–61

Democrat

65

16.

Abraham Lincoln3

1861–65

Republican

52

17.

Andrew Johnson4

1865–69

Nat. Union

56

18.

Ulysses S. Grant5

1869–77

Republican

46

19.

Rutherford B. Hayes

1877–81

Republican

54

20.

James A. Garfield3

1881

Republican

49

21.

Chester A. Arthur

1881–85

Republican

51

22.

Grover Cleveland

1885–89

Democrat

47

23.

Benjamin Harrison

1889–93

Republican

55

24.

Grover Cleveland

1893–97

Democrat

55

25.

William McKinley3

1897–1901

Republican

54

26.

Theodore Roosevelt

1901–09

Republican

43

27.

William H. Taft

1909–13

Republican

51

28.

Woodrow Wilson

1913–21

Democrat

56

29.

Warren Harding2

1921–23

Republican

55

30.

Calvin Coolidge

1923–29

Republican

51

31.

Herbert Hoover

1929–33

Republican

54

32.

Franklin D. Roosevelt2

1933–45

Democrat

51

33.

Harry S. Truman

1945–53

Democrat

60

34.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

1953–61

Republican

62

35.

John Kennedy3

1961–63

Democrat

43

36.

Lyndon Johnson

1963–69

Democrat

55

37.

Richard Nixon6

1969–74

Republican

56

38.

Gerald Ford7

1974–77

Republican

61

39.

Jimmy Carter

1977–81

Democrat

52

40.

Ronald Reagan

1981–89

Republican

69

41.

George Bush

1989–93

Republican

64

42.

Bill Clinton

1993–2001

Democrat

46

43.

George W. Bush

2001– 

Republican

54


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