You are correct. The CIA is under the Executive Branch of government.
CIA was organized out of the OSS. Office of Strategic Services
Its charter mandates that it is an intelligence gathering and analyzing agency, which can only operate OUTSIDE the continental United States. The OSS reported directly to the Executive Branch.
It's an independent agency of the excutive branch of government. There are very very few agencies of either the judical or legislative branch. Those that do exist will usually be easy to identify by their name ex: Congressional Budget Office.
Executive Branch information is plentiful on the 'net -- start with www.whitehouse.gov
Welcome to FR.
A pointer: Posting questions that you could easily research yourself is generally frowned upon.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=CIA+executive+branch+agency&btnG=Search
Though, as a bureaucracy, it has the appearance of being controlled by mountains of government regulations, the President may at his pleasure, hire and fire anybody under the "war department" power authorized to him by our Constitution.
No "civil service" law can protect anybody; no general may object; no "suit" may object.
In fact, the President's authority to hire and fire anybody in the administration of the U.S. Government, excepting individuals who are directly hired by the Congress and work within the Capitol, and excepting individuals who are hired by the U. S. Supreme Court and work within the Court. Despite the appearances of bureaucratic "civil service" - side trappings made up to stage the look and feel of private sector work.
The Congress does not have Executive power of the administration of the U.S. Government. The U.S. Supreme Court does not have Executive power over the administration of the U.S. Government.
Though both the Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have delusions of such grandeur, and especially the socialists would have judges rule over us all in every way that Barbara Streisand et al dream up.
My understanding is that the CIA reports to the president directly and the head of the agency doesn't (at least so far - there are proposals to change this) have a position in the cabinet. As such, the CIA can be seen as part of the presidential executive staff, and you can't get any more "executive" than that.
It's an Executive Branch agency, but the employees are civil servants and do not serve solely at the pleasure of the President.
Bill, a direct "lift" from the CIA's website:
The CIA is an independent agency, responsible to the President through the DCI, and accountable to the American people through the intelligence oversight committees of the U.S. Congress.
CIA’s mission is to support the President, the National Security Council, and all officials who make and execute the U.S. national security policy by:
Providing accurate, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence on national security topics.
Conducting counterintelligence activities, special activities, and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security, as directed by the President.
The mission of the CIA is NOT to support the policies of the president. The mission of the CIA is to provide the president with accurate intelligence, which may or may not support the policies of the president.
There are only three brances of government- judicial, legislative and executive.
The CIA and the other agencies would naturally belong to the executive.
Congress makes the laws. Judges interpret the laws and the President carries out the laws.
The CIA is not an "independent regulatory agency", that is, it isn't an agency whose authorize statute specifically places lengths on terms of service for its head and/or makes them terminable only for cause. Basically, that's the only difference between "independent" agencies, and regular old "executive" agencies, whether the President can fire at will.