finding (presidential authorisation of covert action)

Under US law, a written determination by the President that covert action is necessary to support identifiable foreign policy objectives and is important to national security. Covert action may not be conducted without one.

When immediate action is required, the decision is recorded at the time and turned into a written finding within 48 hours. A finding may not retroactively authorise actions already carried out, nor authorise any action that would violate the Constitution or US statutes; it must name the agencies involved, and the congressional intelligence committees must be informed – in extraordinary circumstances only a limited group of their members (50 U.S.C. § 3093(a) and (c); a provision dating from 1991).¹