  The theory of resonant Auger decay of atoms in a high intensity coherent
X-ray pulse is presented. The theory includes the coupling between the ground
state and the resonance due to an intense X-ray pulse, taking into account the
decay of the resonance and the direct photoionization of the ground state, both
populating the final ionic states coherently. The theory also considers the
impact of the direct photoionization of the resonance state itself which
typically populates highly-excited ionic states. The combined action of the
resonant decay and of the direct ionization of the ground state in the field
induces a non-hermitian time-dependent coupling between the ground and the
'dressed' resonance stats. The impact of these competing processes on the total
electron yield and on the 2s$^2$2p$^{4}(^1\mathrm{D})$3p $^2$P spectator and
2s$^1$2p$^{6}$ $^2$S participator Auger decay spectra of the Ne 1s$\to$3p
resonance is investigated. The role of the direct photoionization of the ground
state and of the resonance increases dramatically with the field intensity.
This results in strong interference effects with distinct patterns in the
electron spectra, different for the participator and spectator final states.
