Covert Action and Clandestine Activities of the Intelligence Community: Selected Definitions in Brief

This report provides background and definitions for covert action and clandestine activities carried out by the Intelligence Community (IC) and military. Congress has defined several of these terms in statute; others appear only in committee reports. Still others are military terms. These definitions describe activities that support U.S. national security policy, and are, therefore, important to Congresss intelligence and defense oversight responsibilities. Confusion over the proper jurisdiction for congressional oversight can occur when covert action or clandestine intelligence activities appear similar to certain military operations that may employ clandestine methodology or have objectives similar to those for covert action. Intelligence and military matters fall under different authorities of the U.S. Code, and have, as a result, different statutory requirements for providing notification to Congress. Applicable statutes that govern intelligence activities under Title 50 of the U.S. Code emphasize prior notification to the congressional intelligence committees for each separate activity. Under its Title 10 U.S. Code authorities, however, the Department of Defense generally provides notification of certain types of secret or clandestine military operations to the Armed Services committees after their commencement, often by briefing Congress as part of a larger, supported military operation or campaign. The IC, for example, in conducting a covert action, must generally provide prior notification to the congressional intelligence committees by means of a presidential finding describing plans to have an intelligence operation influence political, military, or economic conditions abroad while concealing U.S. sponsorship.