BUSH REJECTS INTELLIGENCE REPORTING REQUIREMENT
In the latest assertion of executive branch predominance, President Bush dismissed a provision in the FY 2002 intelligence authorization bill that would require written reports to Congress of "significant anticipated intelligence activities" and "significant intelligence failures."
In a December 28 signing statement, the President said that the new requirement "falls short of the standards of comity and flexibility that should govern the relationship between the executive and legislative branches on sensitive intelligence matters...."
He said he would interpret the law "in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to withhold information the disclosure of which could impair foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative processes of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive's constitutional duties."
See the President's statement here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2001/12/wh122801.html
Intelligence community procedures for granting legislative branch access to intelligence information are set forth in Section 8.0 of Director of Central Intelligence Directive 1/19, "Security Policy for Sensitive Compartmented Information and Security Policy Manual":
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/dcid1-19.html#leg