6/14/96
                    
          The Director


          H. M. Shapiro            L. J. McCormick
          General Counsel          Inspector 


          THE DISSEMINATION OF FBI FILE
          INFORMATION TO THE WHITE HOUSE




          As a result of the week we spent examining the process
of responding to requests for background information and name
checks from the White House and other executive agencies, we
recommend that you approve, and forward for the Attorney
General's approval, the following changes in procedure:


1.  That the form and manner in which White House requests for
information from FBI files are made be changed as set forth
below.  Had these changes been in place, the approximately 400
files improperly obtained would never have been requested or
provided.


          1a.  That any request seeking copies of or information
          distilled from FBI files must be accompanied by either
          the consent of the person whose files are being
          reviewed, or by a letter from the Counsel to the
          President through the Deputy Attorney General to the
          FBI General Counsel, setting forth a written
          explanation why such consent cannot be obtained or
          should not be sought in the circumstances.


          1b.  That all requests by the White House for
          information from FBI files, which had previously been
          submitted anonymously under the typed name of the
          Counsel to the President (in recent administrations) or
          some other White House official, now require the actual
          signatures of both the requesting official and of an
          attorney in the Counsel's Office who will have reviewed
          and approved all requests prior to their transmittal to
          the FBI.  The requesting official should certify,
          subject to the criminal penalties for making a false
          statement, that the information is sought only for
          official purposes and should be on express notice that
          unauthorized disclosure of any information obtained may
          violate the Privacy Act.


          1c.  That greater specificity be provided regarding the
          reason for the request (see attached form).


          1d.  That a copy of each White House request for
          information from FBI files be provided to the FBI
          Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for review.


          Regardless of the procedures, the FBI record check
process remains a necessity for any effective system that
accommodates the security and employment functions of the White
House.  To be effective, the procedures at both ends must
complement each other.  For these reasons, these recommendations
have been coordinated with the White House Counsel's Office,
which oversees the White House Office of Personnel Security. 
That office must implement procedures at the White House that
will allow the system to operate given these changes.  The
Counsel to the President advised that he will be implementing
complementary procedural changes.  He raised no procedural
objection to these changes, and indeed had independently arrived
at many of them.


          A revised Form incorporating these recommended changes
is attached.


2.  That a complete indices check be conducted for all White
House requests for information from FBI files, including when the
request seeks only copies of previous reports.  Whenever a record
check reveals a pending criminal investigation concerning the
subject, dissemination of any information will be halted and
notification be made to the Headquarters Supervisor and to FBI
OGC.  The Headquarters Supervisor and FBI OGC will consult to
determine what information could be disseminated without harm to
the investigation.  The FBI General Counsel will then refer the
matter to the Deputy Attorney General in order to determine what
if any information should be communicated to the White House
Counsel.


3.  That written protocols be developed regarding what
information from FBI files may be properly disseminated.


4.  That the FBI's Privacy Act routine use notice be amended, as
set forth in the accompanying report, to constrain and better
define the boundaries of appropriate routine use disseminations.


5.  That appropriate personnel meet with representatives of the
White House and the United States Secret Service to better
coordinate requests for FBI file information and to reduce the
incidence of duplicative requests.


6.  That appropriate personnel from the FBI and the White House
meet to discuss the retention and archiving of FBI background
investigation or name check information by the White House to
ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.


7.  That FBI executive management provide greater oversight to
the process of responding to White House requests for information
from FBI files.


8.  That any request to the FBI which results in the provision of
copies of or information from FBI files be indexed and maintained
for subsequent review and retrieval.


9.  That the data presently purged periodically from the FBI
database regarding White House requests be maintained instead in
a magnetic medium which will permit more effective review,
analysis and audit.


10. That the FBI establish a periodic audit procedure, to be
conducted by the FBI's Inspection Division, to ensure compliance
with these recommendations.




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