## Facts

- Victor L. Marchetti worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1955 until his resignation in 1969.
- When he joined the CIA, Marchetti signed a written secrecy agreement; upon resignation, he also signed a secrecy oath.
- Marchetti intended to write and publish material about the CIA and its operations, asserting that the First Amendment barred any prior restraint on his publications.
- The United States sought injunctive relief to enforce Marchetti’s secrecy obligations.
- The district court ordered Marchetti to submit to the CIA, 30 days before release, any writing “relating to the Agency or to intelligence,” and prohibited release without prior authorization.
- The district court also ordered Marchetti to return any writings or other government property acquired during his CIA employment.
- After an ex parte temporary restraining order and consolidated proceedings, the district court entered an injunction on the merits; Marchetti appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether a secrecy agreement required as a condition of CIA employment is enforceable, or whether enforcement constitutes an unconstitutional prior restraint under the First Amendment.
2. If enforceable, what limits constrain prepublication review and any resulting restraint on a former CIA employee’s writings.

## Decision

- The Fourth Circuit affirmed the substance of the injunction enforcing the secrecy agreement but narrowed its scope.
- The court held the secrecy agreement constitutional, reasonable, and otherwise lawful as a condition of employment in a sensitive national security position.
- The injunction was limited to the language and scope of the secrecy agreement Marchetti signed when he joined the CIA, rather than broader prohibitions based on the district court’s formulation or the resignation oath.
- Prepublication review and restraint were permitted only to prevent disclosure of properly classified information that was not already public.
- The CIA was required to conduct review promptly, and Marchetti retained access to judicial review to contest classification-based decisions.

## Legal Principles

- The government may enforce a voluntary secrecy agreement imposed as a condition of employment in intelligence work to protect national defense and foreign relations information.
- The First Amendment’s strong rule against prior restraints does not bar narrowly confined prepublication review aimed at preventing disclosure of properly classified, nonpublic information learned through a position of trust.
- Injunctive relief enforcing a secrecy agreement must be narrowly tailored to the agreement’s terms and limited to classified material, not broad subject-matter restrictions on criticism or commentary.
- Classification determinations used to justify restraint must be subject to judicial review; agency review cannot operate as unreviewable censorship.
- Administrative prepublication review must be conducted with reasonable promptness to reduce unnecessary suppression of protected speech.

## Conclusion

The court upheld enforcement of a CIA employee secrecy agreement through prepublication review and limited prior restraint, but required tailoring to the agreement’s terms and confined restraint to properly classified, nonpublic information with prompt agency review and judicial oversight.


United States v. Marchetti, 466 F.2d 1309 (4th Cir. 1972)