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Intelligence Community Whistleblower 

Protection

A. AUTHORITY: The National Security Act of 1947, as amended; the 

Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, as amended; 

Executive Order (EO) 12333, as amended; EO 12968; EO 13467, as 

amended; the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended; the Intelligence 

Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998, as amended; 

Presidential Policy Directive/PPD-19, Protecting Whistleblowers with 

Access to Classified Information; and other applicable provisions of law.

B. PURPOSE: As required by PPD-19, Section D, this Intelligence 

Community Directive (ICD) establishes policy to:

1. Ensure that all personnel serving in the Intelligence Community 

(IC) are aware of the protections and review processes available to 

individuals who make Protected Disclosures;

2. Provide guidance on what constitutes a Protected Disclosure and 

the appropriate handling of such disclosures; and

3. Provide information regarding the review processes required by

PPD-19.

C. APPLICABILITY

1. With respect to matters related to prohibited personnel actions, this 

ICD applies to Covered Agencies and IC elements as defined in PPD-19 

and restated in Sections E.1.c and E.1.d, below.

2. With respect to matters affecting an employee’s security clearance, 

including the denial, suspension, or revocation of a clearance, or eligibility 

for access to classified information, this ICD applies to IC elements as 

defined by the National Security Act of 1947, as amended; and such 

elements of any other department or agency as may be designated an 

element of the IC by the President, or jointly by the Director of National 

Intelligence (DNI) and the head of the department or agency concerned.

D. POLICY

1. The IC is committed to providing its personnel the means to report 

violations of law, rule, or regulation; or gross mismanagement, a gross 

waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger 

to public health or safety through Protected Disclosures.

a. IC elements have a responsibility to ensure, through workforce 

communications and training, that their personnel are aware of the process 

for making Protected Disclosures, and are aware of the protections and

 

 

 

 

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review processes available to individuals who make Protected Disclosures, as set forth in 

applicable laws and PPD-19. 

b. Personnel serving in the IC have a responsibility to report such violations through 

Protected Disclosures. The protections from reprisal under PPD-19 are not available absent a 

Protected Disclosure.

2. The term “Protected Disclosure” is defined as:

a. A disclosure of information by an employee to a supervisor in the employee’s direct 

chain of command up to and including the head of the employing agency, to the Inspector 

General (IG) of the employing agency or employing IC element, to the DNI, to the Inspector 

General of the IC (IC IG), or to a congressional intelligence committee or a member of a 

congressional intelligence committee consistent with the procedures prescribed by Congress in 

the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998, Section 8H of the Inspector 

General Act of 1978, and similar provisions in Section 103H of the National Security Act of 

1947 and Section 17 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949, or to an employee 

designated by any of the above officials for the purpose of receiving such disclosures, that the 

employee reasonably believes evidences a violation of any law, rule, or regulation; or gross 

mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific 

danger to public health or safety;

b. Any communication described by and that complies with Section 8H of the Inspector 

General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); Section 17 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 

(50 U.S.C. 3517); or Section 103H of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3033); or

c. The following actions, if they do not result in a disclosure of classified information or 

other information contrary to law:

(1) The exercise of any appeal, complaint, or grievance with regard to the violation 

of Section A or B of PPD-19;

(2) Lawfully participating in an investigation or proceeding regarding a violation of 

Section A or B of PPD-19; or 

(3) Cooperating with or disclosing information to an IG, in accordance with 

applicable provisions of law in connection with an audit, inspection, or investigation conducted 

by the IG.

E. PROTECTIONS UNDER PPD-19, SECTION A, PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION 

IN THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, AND PROTECTIONS UNDER 50 U.S.C. 

3234, PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES IN THE INTELLIGENCE 

COMMUNITY

1. Any officer or employee of a Covered Agency who has authority to take, direct others to 

take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such authority, take 

or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take, a Personnel Action with respect to any employee 

serving in an IC element as a reprisal for a Protected Disclosure.

a. Each IC element is required to have a process for employees to seek review of 

personnel actions alleged to be in violation of Section A of PPD-19. This review process applies 

to personnel actions that arise after the date on which the IC Element head certified its review 

process to the DNI. The IG of the Covered Agency will conduct a review of the alleged reprisal 
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actions as part of this process. Such review process is to be consistent, to the fullest extent 

possible, with the policies, procedures, and standards used to adjudicate alleged violations of 

5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8), and must provide for the protection of national security information and 

intelligence sources and methods. 

b. “Personnel Action” is defined as an appointment, promotion, disciplinary or 

corrective action, detail, transfer, reassignment, demotion, suspension, termination, 

reinstatement, restoration, reemployment, or performance evaluation; a decision concerning pay, 

benefits, or awards; a decision concerning education or training if the education or training may 

reasonably be expected to lead to an appointment, reassignment, promotion, or performance 

evaluation; a decision to order psychiatric testing or examination; and any other significant 

change in duties, responsibilities, or working conditions. “Personnel Action” does not include:

(1) the concurrent termination of an employee pursuant to Section 1609 of Title 10, 

United States Code;

(2) the concurrent termination of an employee pursuant to Sections 102A(m) and 

104A(e) of the National Security Act of 1947, or Section 7532 of Title 5, United States Code, so 

long as the official authorized by those provisions to terminate the employee (and not his or her 

delegee) (1) determines that the alternative legal procedures to terminate the employee cannot be 

invoked in a manner consistent with the national security and (2) promptly notifies the IG of the 

employing agency;

(3) actions taken with respect to a position that the agency head has designated, prior 

to the action, as being of a confidential, policy determining, policymaking, or policy advocating 

character;

(4) actions taken with respect to a member of the Armed Forces, as used in Section 

1034 of Title 10, United States Code.

c. “Covered Agency,” as defined in PPD-19, Section F.(1), is an executive department 

or independent establishment, as defined under Sections 101 and 104 of Title 5, United States 

Code, that contains or constitutes an IC element, as defined in Section E.1.d below.

d. “IC element,” as defined in PPD-19, Section F.(3) and for the purpose of compliance 

with Section A of PPD-19, is any executive agency or unit thereof determined by the President 

under Section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of Title 5, United States Code, to have as its principal function 

the conduct of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities, including but not limited to 

the Office of the DNI, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency, the 

Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the National 

Reconnaissance Office. For the purpose of compliance with Section A of PPD-19, the term “IC 

element” does not include the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

F. PROTECTIONS UNDER PPD-19, SECTION B, PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION 

BY AFFECTING ELIGIBILITY FOR ACCESS TO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, 

AND PROTECTIONS UNDER 50 U.S.C. 3341, REVIEW OF SECURITY CLEARANCES 

OR ACCESS DETERMINATIONS

1. Any officer or employee of an executive branch department or agency (hereafter, 

“agency”) who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any action 

affecting an employee’s security clearance, including the denial, suspension, or revocation of a 
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clearance, or eligibility for access to classified information, as defined in PPD-19 and 

50 U.S.C. 3341, shall not, with respect to such authority, take or fail to take, or threaten to take 

or fail to take, any action affecting an employee’s security clearance or eligibility for access to 

classified information as a reprisal for a Protected Disclosure.

a. Each IC element is required to have a review process that permits any employee to 

appeal actions affecting a security clearance, including the denial, suspension, or revocation of a 

clearance, or eligibility for access to classified information in accordance with 50 U.S.C. 3341 or 

alleged to be violations of Section B of PPD-19. This review process applies to actions that arise 

after the date on which the IC Element head certified its review process to the DNI. Such review 

process is to be, to the fullest extent possible, consistent with and integrated into the policies, 

procedures, and standards used to review security clearance determinations under Section 5.2 of 

EO 12968, and must provide for the protection of national security information and intelligence 

sources and methods. Further, consistent with 50 U.S.C. 3341, these policies and procedures, to 

the extent practicable, will permit individuals to retain their government employment status 

while the review is pending. The IC IG, or the IG of the Covered Agency, will conduct a review 

of the alleged reprisal actions as part of this process, which to the fullest extent possible, shall 

include an opportunity for the employee to present relevant evidence such as witness testimony. 

b. “Eligibility for Access to Classified Information” is defined in PPD-19, Section F(2) 

as the result of the determination whether an employee (a) is eligible for access to classified 

information in accordance with EO 12968, Access to Classified Information, or any successor 

thereto, and EO 10865, as amended, Safeguarding Classified Information Within Industry, or any 

successor thereto; and (b) possesses a need to know under such orders.

(1) For the purposes of Section F and implementation of Section F of this ICD, 

“employee” is defined according to EO 12968 as a person, other than the President and Vice 

President, employed by, detailed or assigned to: an agency, including members of the Armed 

Forces; an expert or consultant to an agency; an industrial or commercial contractor, licensee, 

certificate holder, or grantee of an agency, including all subcontractors; a personal services 

contractor; or any other category of person who acts for or on behalf of an agency as determined 

by the appropriate agency head.

G. IMPLEMENTATION

1. An employee alleging a reprisal who has exhausted the applicable review process 

required by Section A or B of PPD-19 may, in accordance with Section C of PPD-19, request an 

external review by a three-member panel chaired by the IC IG, on behalf of the DNI in his role 

as Security Executive Agent.

a. If such a request is made, the IC IG shall decide, in his or her discretion, whether to 

convene an External Review Panel (ERP) or to defer to the findings of the applicable agency 

review process.

b. If an ERP is convened, the IC IG will designate two other IG panel members from the 

IGs of the following agencies: Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Energy, and 

Homeland Security, and the CIA. The IG from the agency that completed the initial review shall 

not be a member of the ERP. If the complaint is from within the ODNI, the IC IG will designate 

another IG to lead the review.
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c. The ERP shall complete a review of the claim within 180 days. If appropriate, 

reviews of the claim may consist of a file review.

2. In accordance with PPD-19, Section C, the head of an IC element or executive branch

agency will carefully consider the recommendation for corrective action, if any, of an ERP. 

Within ninety (90) calendar days the head of the IC element or executive branch agency will 

inform the ERP and the DNI of what action was taken regarding the ERP’s recommendation. If 

the head of the IC element or executive branch agency fails to inform the DNI, then the DNI will 

notify the President.

3. If the Office of the DNI receives a Protected Disclosure that is not related to national 

intelligence, the DNI will refer the Protected Disclosure in writing to the appropriate agency 

officials outside the IC.

4. If the Office of the IC IG receives a Protected Disclosure that is not related to national 

intelligence, the IC IG will refer the Protected Disclosure to appropriate IG officials outside the 

IC in accordance with statutory referral mechanisms.

H. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The IC IG shall:

a. Establish procedures with timelines for external reviews that are consistent with 

Section C of PPD-19; and 

b. Ensure that IC elements and their employees are aware of these procedures.

2. The National Counterintelligence Executive shall ensure that Form 4414, the Sensitive 

Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement, and any successor document, reflects 

the protections under PPD-19.

3. The heads of IC elements shall:

a. Ensure, through workforce communications upon entry on duty and annually 

thereafter, that their employees are aware of all applicable protections and review processes 

available to individuals who make Protected Disclosures, and make this information easily and 

readily available to their employees.

b. Establish and maintain policies and procedures on whistleblower protection that 

conform to the requirements of law, presidential directive, and IC policy.

I. EFFECTIVE DATE: This Directive becomes effective on the date of signature.

Signed//James R. Clapper 20 March 2014

Director of National Intelligence Date