Seymour Hersh’s 7 July New Yorker article is unclear on whether the activities in the president’s intelligence finding on Iran were authorized and appropriated by the H.R. 3222 (specifically sec. 8084), or whether the Congress was simply briefed on the intelligence finding.
If only the latter, he is wrong to write that: “Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources.”
Here’s what the law (50 USC 414) says:
Sec. 414. Funding of intelligence activities
(a) Obligations and expenditures for intelligence or intelligence-
related activity; prerequisites
Appropriated funds available to an intelligence agency may be
obligated or expended for an intelligence or intelligence-related
activity only if--
(1) those funds were specifically authorized by the Congress for
use for such activities; or
(2) in the case of funds from the Reserve for Contingencies of
the Central Intelligence Agency and consistent with the provisions
of section 413b of this title concerning any significant anticipated
intelligence activity, the Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency has notified the appropriate congressional committees of the
intent to make such funds available for such activity; or
(3) in the case of funds specifically authorized by the Congress
for a different activity--
(A) the activity to be funded is a higher priority
intelligence or intelligence-related activity;
(B) the need for funds for such activity is based on
unforseen \1\ requirements; and
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``unforeseen''.
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(C) the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of
Defense, or the Attorney General, as appropriate, has notified
the appropriate congressional committees of the intent to make
such funds available for such activity;
In short, the law gives the president broad authority to re-allocate funds for intelligence activities, without Congressional consent. The president needs to tell certain members of Congress, but does not need their assent to proceed. Congress would need to take new legislation to deny funds for certain activities.
