The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security,military,and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House,it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States,and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.
The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior cabinet-level United States government official,required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and to direct and oversee the National Intelligence Program (NIP). All 18 IC agencies,including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA),report directly to the DNI.
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency,which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community.
The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that supports the attorney general in their role as legal adviser to the president and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the attorney general and provides its own written opinions and other advice in response to requests from the counsel to the president,the various agencies of the executive branch,and other components of the Department of Justice. The office reviews and comments on the constitutionality of pending legislation. The office reviews any executive orders and substantive proclamations for legality if the president proposes them. All proposed orders of the attorney general and regulations that require the attorney general's approval are reviewed. It also performs a variety of special assignments referred by the attorney general or the deputy attorney general.
On December 7,2006,the George W. Bush administration's Department of Justice ordered the midterm dismissal of seven United States attorneys. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White House were using the U.S. attorney positions for political advantage. The allegations were that some of the attorneys were targeted for dismissal to impede investigations of Republican politicians or that some were targeted for their failure to initiate investigations that would damage Democratic politicians or hamper Democratic-leaning voters. The U.S. attorneys were replaced with interim appointees under provisions in the 2005 USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization.
The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR),part of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and supervised by the FBI,is responsible for investigating lawyers employed by the Department of Justice who have been accused of misconduct or crime in the exercise of their professional functions.
Monica Marie Goodling is a former United States government lawyer and Republican political appointee in the George W. Bush administration who is best known for her role in the Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys Controversy in 2006. She was the principal deputy director of public affairs for the United States Department of Justice,serving under Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. A Department of Justice investigation concluded that she had violated the law,but she was not prosecuted because she had been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony. The Virginia State Bar publicly reprimanded Goodling in May 2011 for having "improperly utilized political affiliation and other political considerations when making hiring decisions for career positions."
A detailed chronology of events in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.
Steven Gill Bradbury is an American lawyer and government official who served as the General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation during the first Trump Administration. He previously served as Acting Assistant Attorney General from 2005 to 2007 and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 2004 to 2009,heading the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the U.S. Department of Justice during President George W. Bush's second term. He is the presumptive nominee for Deputy Secretary of Transportation in President-elect Trump's second term.
United States Intelligence Community Oversight duties are shared by both the executive and legislative branches of the government. Oversight,in this case,is the supervision of intelligence agencies,and making them accountable for their actions. Generally oversight bodies look at the following general issues:following policymaker needs,the quality of analysis,operations,and legality of actions.
Matthew Glen Olsen is an American attorney who has served as the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division since 2021. He is the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
The Office of Inspector General of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the independent overseer of the organisation. Since 2024,the office has been held by Robert Host. The first inspector general was appointed in 1952. The Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General has worked on cases in collaboration with the United States Department of Justice and the National Security Agency Office of Inspector General.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney who has served as the 39th United States deputy attorney general since April 21,2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Avril Danica Haines is an American lawyer currently serving as the director of national intelligence in the Biden administration. She is the first woman to serve in this role. Haines previously was Deputy National Security Advisor and deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Obama administration. Prior to her appointment to the CIA,she was Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs in the Office of White House Counsel.
Caroline Diane Krass is an American attorney and government official who currently serves as the General Counsel of the Department of Defense.
Dawn Eilenberger became the Deputy Director of National Intelligence in April 2017. Previously she was the Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Policy &Strategy,Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). In this role,she oversees the formulation and implementation of Intelligence community (IC)-wide policy and strategy on the full range of intelligence issues,including collection,analysis,requirements,management and information sharing,and provides leadership for ODNI and IC initiatives on information sharing and the closure and disposition of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Christopher Robert Sharpley was the Acting Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2015 to 2017. He was nominated by President Donald Trump in September 2017 to become Inspector General of the CIA but failed to receive confirmation in the United States Senate.
Michael Kevin Atkinson is an American attorney. He worked for the United States Department of Justice for approximately 15 years,before becoming the second Inspector General of the Intelligence Community. He assumed office on May 17,2018.
Thomas Andrew Monheim is an American intelligence officer and lawyer who served as the inspector general of the United States Intelligence Community. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 30,2021,to be the permanent inspector general. He previously served as general counsel of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Christopher Charles Fonzone is an American attorney serving as the United States assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. He previously served as the general counsel to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
