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Executive Orders are issued by the president by authority of the executive powers granted
him by the Constitution. Executive orders become effective upon presidential signature and
subsequent publication in the Federal Register. They are regarded as a public act of which U.S.
courts must take notice and give effect.1 Executive orders have the force of public law.2 However, an
EO cannot contravene an act of Congress. The effect of an EO is generally confined to the activities
of executive agencies in managing their responsibilities. Failure to obey provisions of an order
results in administrative sanctions (e.g., reprimands and loss of job), not legal offenses.3
Although Congress has not explicitly authorized an EO dealing with classification of
information, it has given this classification system implicit approval via two statutes. Under Sect.
552(b)(1) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),* Congress has exempted from disclosure
documents that have been properly classified under an executive order. Under the Internal Security
Act of 1950,† Congress has prohibited government employees from giving information classified by
the president (or under his direction) to foreign agents. Note that Exemption (b)(1) of the FOIA uses
the terms “national defense or foreign policy,” whereas EO 12958 uses the terms “national defense
or foreign relations” [emphasis added]. Some members of Congress have objected to the use of the
term “relations” rather than “policy” in the EOs establishing our classification system because
“relations” is a much broader term than “policy.”4