Title 50 › CHAPTER 44 — NATIONAL SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER V — PROTECTION OF OPERATIONAL FILES › § 3141
The Director of the CIA, working with the Director of National Intelligence, may keep certain CIA "operational files" out of the rules that require agencies to publish or give out records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act. Operational files means three kinds of CIA records: ones from the National Clandestine Service about foreign intelligence or counterintelligence operations and contacts with foreign services; ones from the Directorate for Science and Technology about how intelligence is gathered with science and tech systems; and ones from the Office of Personnel Security about checks on possible foreign intelligence sources. Files that only store already-shared intelligence are not counted as operational files. Even when exempted, those files must still be searched if the records are about a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident who asked for their own records under FOIA or the Privacy Act, if they concern a "special activity" whose existence is not itself secret, or if they are needed for certain official investigations (by congressional intelligence committees, the Intelligence Oversight Board, the Department of Justice, CIA legal or inspector general offices, or the Director of National Intelligence) into possible wrongdoing. If someone says the CIA wrongly withheld records, they can ask a court to review the claim under FOIA rules, but with special procedures. Secret evidence can be shown to the judge privately. The court will rely on sworn written statements for facts. Complainants must use sworn statements to support claims about improper file placement. The CIA can defend itself with sworn submissions showing the exempted files fit the three types above, and the court usually cannot force the CIA to open those files unless the complainant rebuts the CIA’s showing with sworn evidence. Broad court discovery is limited. If the court finds a wrongful withholding, it will order the CIA to search the proper exempted files and release records as FOIA allows. The CIA and DNI must review these exemptions at least once every ten years, looking at public interest and declassification potential, and someone may sue only to check that these reviews were done on time and considered those factors. The exemptions can only be changed by a law passed after October 15, 1984, that specifically changes them; one review had to happen by October 15, 1994.
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War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
50 U.S.C. § 3141
Title 50, War and National Defense
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110