As a principal member of the United States Intelligence Community IC , the CIA reports to the director of national intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the president and Cabinet. Truman , who created the Central Intelligence Group under the direction of a director of central intelligence by presidential directive on January 22, Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI , which is a domestic security service, the CIA has no law enforcement function and is mainly focused on intelligence gathering overseas, with only limited domestic intelligence collection.
It also carries out covert action at the behest of the president. The CIA exerts foreign political influence through its paramilitary operations units, including its Special Activities Center. It has also provided support to several foreign political groups and governments, including planning, coordinating, training in torture , and technical support.
It was involved in many regime changes and carrying out terrorist attacks and planned assassinations of foreign leaders. In , The Washington Post reported that in the fiscal year , the CIA had the largest budget of all intelligence community agencies, exceeding prior estimates.
The CIA's role has expanded since its creation, now including covert paramilitary operations. The agency has been the subject of several controversies , including its use of torture , domestic wiretapping , propaganda , and alleged human rights violations and drug trafficking.
In , a CIA domestic surveillance program was uncovered that had not been subject to congressional oversight. When the CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis, collecting, analyzing, evaluating, and disseminating foreign intelligence, and carrying out covert operations.
