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• Approved For Release 2008/11/06: CIA-RDP04M01816R000502010009-4 - 50 - With respect to the present situation, Executive Order 11905 withdrew any prior authorization for CIA mail opening programs. That orde1:, issued February 18, 1976, prohibits the national security agencies covered by the order from "[o]pening of mail or examination of envelopes of mail in the United States postal channels except in accord- ance with applicable statutes and regulations." No statute or regulation authorizes the CIA to open or read mail. More important, however, the Department of Justice believes that the President lacks the authority to authorize a program comparable to the East Coast Project whether or not Executive Order 11905 continues in effect. This is so for a number of reasons. As this report has discussed above, the Executive Branch may exercise its constitutional authority to engage in c~rtain forms of surveillance without the prior approval of the Judicial Branch only if it determines whether 'the facts justify the surveillance, renders a formal, written authorization, and places a time limitation upon the sur- veillance. The authorizing officer must act pursuant to an express, written delegation of presidential authority. The East Coast Project, and anything similar to it, would not satisfy these standards: much of the program was unreasonably broad in scope, it was not explicitly authorized in writing, and it was not subjected to frequent reexamination to determine whe~her continuation was appropriate. The requirement of a formal, written authorization means that . . . A roved For Release 2008/11/06 : CIA-RDP04M01816R000502010009-4