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Executive Order 11985 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 11985—United States Foreign Intelligence Activities

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Friday, May 13, 1977
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3 min read (593 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (593 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Table of Contents of Executive Order No. 11905 of February 18, 1976, is amended by deleting "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and "Operations Advisory Group" and substituting therefor "NSC Policy Review Committee" and "NSC Special Coordination Committee" respectively.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Foreign Nations & International Entities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Jimmy Carter on May 13, 1977, this order concerns United States Foreign Intelligence Activities. The Table of Contents of Executive Order No. 11905 of February 18, 1976, is amended by deleting "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and "Operations Advisory Group" and substituting therefor "NSC Policy Review Committee" and "NSC Special Coordination Committee" respectively. SEC. 2.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The Table of Contents of Executive Order No. 11905 of February 18, 1976, is amended by deleting "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and "Operations Advisory Group" and substituting therefor "NSC Policy Review Committee" and "NSC Special Coordination Committee" respectively.

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Section 2(d) of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended by deleting "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and substituting therefor "NSC Policy Review Committee".

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Section 3(a) of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended by adding thereto the following new paragraph: "(4) The National Security Council Policy Review Committee and the National Security Council Special Coordination Committee assist the National Security Council in the performance of its functions.

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Membership on each committee includes, in addition to the National Security Council, such members as the President may direct.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
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"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
35 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
593
3,859 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.6
College Level
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, and as President of the United States of America, in order to reflect certain organizational changes for the control and direction of intelligence activities, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The Table of Contents of Executive Order No. 11905 of February 18, 1976, is amended by deleting "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and "Operations Advisory Group" and substituting therefor "NSC Policy Review Committee" and "NSC Special Coordination Committee" respectively. SEC. 2. Section 2(d) of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended by deleting "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and substituting therefor "NSC Policy Review Committee". SEC. 3. Section 3(a) of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended by adding thereto the following new paragraph: "(4) The National Security Council Policy Review Committee and the National Security Council Special Coordination Committee assist the National Security Council in the performance of its functions. Membership on each committee includes, in addition to the National Security Council, such members as the President may direct. In addition to the performance of policy development and coordination responsibilities which may be assigned by the President, these committees are responsible for those duties specified by this Order.". SEC. 4. Section 3(b) of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended as follows: (a) In the title, delete "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and substitute therefor "NSC Policy Review Committee". (b) Delete paragraph (1) and substitute the following new paragraph: "(1) Whenever the NSC Policy Review Committee, hereinafter referred to as the PRC, performs the functions assigned in this Order, the PRC shall be chaired by the Director of Central Intelligence, hereinafter referred to as the DCI, and include as members the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and a senior representative of the Secretary of State.". (c) In paragraphs (2) through (5), delete "CFI" wherever it occurs and substitute therefor "PRC". (d) Insert in paragraph (3) immediately after the word "supported" the words "in its functions under this Order". (e) Insert in paragraph (4) immediately after the last word the words "under this Order". (f) Insert in paragraph (5) immediately before the word "may" the words "under this Order". SEC. 5. Section 3(c) of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended as follows: (a) In the title, delete "The Operations Advisory Group" and substitute therefor "NSC Special Coordination Committee". (b) Delete paragraph (1) and substitute therefor the following new paragraph: "(1) Whenever the NSC Special Coordination Committee, hereinafter referred to as the SCC, meets to perform the functions assigned in this Order, the SCC shall be chaired by the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and include the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Director of Central Intelligence and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as members, and the Attorney General and Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as observers.". (c) In paragraphs (2) through (4), delete "Operations Group" wherever it occurs and substitute therefor "SCC". SEC. 6. Section 6 of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended as follows: (a) In paragraph (1) of subsection (a), delete "The members of the Oversight Board may also serve on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (Executive Order No. 11460 of March 20, 1969).". (b) Delete subsection (f). SEC. 7. Section 8(a) of Executive Order No. 11905 is amended by deleting the words "Committee on Foreign Intelligence" and substituting therefor "PRC". JIMMY CARTER The White House, May 13, 1977.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,985 (May 13, 1977), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11985-united-states-foreign-intelligence-activities.