Agency Cooperation With Attorney General's Review of Intelligence Activities Relating to the 2016 Presidential Campaigns

This memorandum directs intelligence community heads and relevant cabinet secretaries to fully cooperate with Attorney General William Barr's review of intelligence activities related to the 2016 presidential campaigns. It grants the Attorney General personal, non-delegable authority to declassify or downgrade classified information related to that review, notwithstanding normal classification procedures under Executive Order 13526.

Federal Register Open PDF 84 FR 24971

Impact dates

Date TBD
Authority terminates upon vacancy in office of Attorney General unless extended by President
May 23, 2019
Agency heads to promptly provide assistance and information as Attorney General requests

Key directives

Agency heads shall promptly provide assistance and information as Attorney General requests
Attorney General may declassify/downgrade information related to 2016 campaign review using EO 13526 section 3.1(a) or 3.1(d) standards
Attorney General should consult with originating agency head to extent practicable before declassifying
Authority is non-delegable and applies notwithstanding other EO 13526 limitations
Attorney General authorized and directed to publish memorandum in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Agency heads must promptly provide assistance and information to Attorney General upon request
Attorney General authorized to declassify/downgrade information related to 2016 campaign intelligence activities

Near term (90d)

Attorney General's review proceeds with full agency cooperation
Potential declassification of materials related to Crossfire Hurricane/FBI investigation

Long term

Precedent for presidentially-directed declassification bypassing normal interagency processes
Potential impact on future classification and declassification norms
Historical record of 2016 election intelligence activities

Risks & tensions

Non-delegable declassification authority concentrated in single political appointee bypasses normal interagency equity review
'Promptly' and 'to the extent he deems it practicable' create vague standards open to broad interpretation
Termination upon AG vacancy creates unusual temporal limitation tied to personnel rather than fixed date or event
Potential tension with intelligence community's statutory obligations to protect sources and methods
Precedent for using declassification authority for political purposes related to review of predecessor administration's actions