Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 27, 2009 / Presidential Documents 4901 

Executive Order 13493 of January 22, 2009 

Review of Detention Policy Options 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, in order to develop policies for 

the detention, trial, transfer, release, or other disposition of individuals 

captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations that are consistent with the national security and foreign 

policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice, I hereby 

order as follows: 

Section 1. Special Interagency Task Force on Detainee Disposition. 

(a) Establishment of Special Interagency Task Force. There shall be established a Special Task Force on Detainee Disposition (Special Task Force) 

to identify lawful options for the disposition of individuals captured or 

apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations. 

(b) Membership. The Special Task Force shall consist of the following 

members, or their designees: 

(i) the Attorney General, who shall serve as Co-Chair; 

(ii) the Secretary of Defense, who shall serve as Co-Chair; 

(iii) the Secretary of State; 

(iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

(v) the Director of National Intelligence; 

(vi) the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; 

(vii) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and 

(viii) other officers or full-time or permanent part-time employees of 

the United States, as determined by either of the Co-Chairs, with the 

concurrence of the head of the department or agency concerned. 

(c) Staff. Either Co-Chair may designate officers and employees within 

their respective departments to serve as staff to support the Special Task 

Force. At the request of the Co-Chairs, officers and employees from other 

departments or agencies may serve on the Special Task Force with the 

concurrence of the heads of the departments or agencies that employ such 

individuals. Such staff must be officers or full-time or permanent parttime employees of the United States. The Co-Chairs shall jointly select 

an officer or employee of the Department of Justice or Department of Defense 

to serve as the Executive Secretary of the Special Task Force. 

(d) Operation. The Co-Chairs shall convene meetings of the Special Task 

Force, determine its agenda, and direct its work. The Co-Chairs may establish 

and direct subgroups of the Special Task Force, consisting exclusively of 

members of the Special Task Force, to deal with particular subjects. 

(e) Mission. The mission of the Special Task Force shall be to conduct 

a comprehensive review of the lawful options available to the Federal Government with respect to the apprehension, detention, trial, transfer, release, 

or other disposition of individuals captured or apprehended in connection 

with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations, and to identify such 

options as are consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice. 

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4902 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 27, 2009 / Presidential Documents 

(f) Administration. The Special Task Force shall be established for administrative purposes within the Department of Justice, and the Department of 

Justice shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability 

of appropriations, provide administrative support and funding for the Special 

Task Force. 

(g) Report. The Special Task Force shall provide a report to the President, 

through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and 

the Counsel to the President, on the matters set forth in subsection (d) 

within 180 days of the date of this order unless the Co-Chairs determine 

that an extension is necessary, and shall provide periodic preliminary reports 

during those 180 days. 

(h) Termination. The Co-Chairs shall terminate the Special Task Force 

upon the completion of its duties. 

Sec. 2. General Provisions. 

(a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and 

subject to the availability of appropriations. 

(b) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party 

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, 

employees, or agents, or any other person. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

January 22, 2009. 

[FR Doc. E9–1895 

Filed 1–26–09; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3195–W9–P 


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