CIA Fires Employee for Alleged Press Leak

[warpedskydiver 0]

CIA Fires Employee for Alleged Press Leak
By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
3 hours ago


President Bush arrives with CIA Director Porter Goss, left, ...
WASHINGTON - The CIA fired a top intelligence analyst who admitted leaking classified information that led to a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a network of secret CIA prisons, government officials say.

The officer was a senior analyst nearing retirement, Mary McCarthy, The Associated Press learned. Reached Friday evening at home, her husband would not confirm her firing.

Almost immediately, the firing turned political. Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., praised the agency for identifying a source of the leaks and encouraged vigorous investigation of other open cases. "Those guilty of improperly disclosing classified information should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Roberts said.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called on President Bush to hold accountable those in his administration who leaked information about the Iraq intelligence in the run-up to the war and outed undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. "Apparently, President Bush doesn't believe what's good for the CIA is good for the White House," Menendez said.

In McCarthy's final position at the CIA, she was assigned to its Office of Inspector General, looking into allegations the CIA was involved in torture at Iraqi prisons, according to a former colleague who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is under investigation.

Without identifying McCarthy by name, CIA Director Porter Goss announced the firing in a brief message to agency employees circulated Thursday. Such dismissals are highly unusual.

Agency spokesman Paul Gimigliano confirmed an officer had been fired for having unauthorized contacts with the media and disclosing classified information to reporters, including details about intelligence operations.

"The officer has acknowledged unauthorized discussions with the media and the unauthorized sharing of classified information," Gimigliano said. "That is a violation of the secrecy agreement that everyone signs as a condition of employment with the CIA."

Citing the Privacy Act, the CIA would not disclose any details about the officer's identity, assignments or what she might have told the news media. A law enforcement official confirmed there was a criminal leaks investigation under way, but it did not involve the fired CIA officer.

The official said the CIA officer had provided information that contributed to a Washington Post story last year disclosing secret U.S. prisons in Eastern Europe. The law enforcement official spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

The Post's Dana Priest won a Pulitzer Prize this week for her reporting on a covert prison system set up by the CIA after Sept. 11, 2001, that at various times included sites in eight countries. The story caused an international uproar, and government officials have said it did significant damage to relationships between the U.S. and allied intelligence agencies.

Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. said on the newspaper's Web site: "We don't know the details of why (the CIA employee) was fired, so I can't comment on that. But as a general principle, obviously I am opposed to criminalizing the dissemination of government information to the press."

It was unclear if Priest or any other reporters who spoke to McCarthy would be brought into an investigation. Post spokesman Eric Grant said no reporter at the paper had been subpoenaed or had spoken to investigators about the matter.

Goss has pressed for aggressive probes about leaked information.

"The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission," Goss told Congress in February, adding that a federal grand jury should be impaneled to determine "who is leaking this information."

On Friday, another government official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said the fired officer had failed a lie-detector test.

It was not clear if the person was taking a routine polygraph examination, as is required periodically of employees with access to classified information, or if the test was among those ordered by Goss to find leakers inside the agency.

Justice Department officials declined to comment publicly on the firing and whether the matter had been referred to federal prosecutors for possible criminal charges.

One law enforcement official said there were dozens of leak investigations under way. Another said there had been no referral from the CIA involving the fired employee, normally a precursor to a criminal investigation.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation.

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I am in favor of seeing charges of treason being brought.

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[ScottishJohn 25]

So is this the CIA admitting that they run secret prisons in eastern Europe for the purpose of torturing prisoners ?

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If you think my attitude stinks you should smell my fingers

[Channman 2]

A little time in prison should give her time to reflect on the oath to keep clasified, clasified. And we are at war, so 10-15 years should be a fair sentence, it beats the firing squad.

I have no talerance for those who put our men and women at risk for leaking intellegents to media hacks.

[GunsRus 0]

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I have no talerance for those who put our men and women at risk for leaking intellegents to media hacks

Ahh, but you have tolerance for a certain President who has put the whole country at risk?
How many years should that prick Bush go to prison for? I hope he goes on holiday somewhere and ends up getting tortured by little arab dwarfs.

[warpedskydiver 0]

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I have no talerance for those who put our men and women at risk for leaking intellegents to media hacks

Ahh, but you have tolerance for a certain President who has put the whole country at risk?
How many years should that prick Bush go to prison for? I hope he goes on holiday somewhere and ends up getting tortured by little arab dwarfs.

Hijacker Alert WOOT WOOT!

[Mike111 0]

Exactly.

[JohnRich 4]

What idiot hired this treasonous bitch?

[shropshire 0]

So, are you people that say 'Burn the Witch' suggesting that you would never under any circumstances take a counter position to your government, if you strongly believe that a wrong (any wrong) has been purpertrated?

(possibly not a particularly good parallel) But did the people who reported Watergate to the world commit treason?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Zipp0 1]

Here's a serious question:

It is illegal to classify something in an attempt to conceal a crime. That is a FACT and a LAW. You just can't do it.

Now, if the prisons are considered illegal by international law, shouldn't classifying their existance be against the law in the first place?

Z

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Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[justinb138 0]

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Here's a serious question:

It is illegal to classify something in an attempt to conceal a crime. That is a FACT and a LAW. You just can't do it.

You mean like the whole wiretap without a warrant thing?

[jdhill 0]

There are ways to blow the whistle in classified cases, taking it to the press is not the way...

[Andy9o8 0]

OK, here I go again pondering historical comparisons between the present day and the Vietnam era. Do the larger examples of history repeat themselves?
Today’s lesson, Class, is to do a little Google research on the “Pentagon Papers” . That’s where Defense Department employee Daniel Ellsberg leaked classified information about US involvement in Vietnam to the New York Times. (The US Supreme Court ultimately allowed the Times to publish the report.)
The government attempted to prosecute Ellsberg for the release of the report. The charges were ultimately dismissed, although not on their merits; it was because it came to light that White House officials had burglarized the offices of Ellsberg's psychiatrist in an effort to discredit him.
Not that the White House today would attempt to discredit someone opposed to its military agenda (**koff koff Wilson! koff koff Plame! koff koff**)

The Pentagon papers was a classic study in the conflict of values and interests at work in any democratic society, where a government is OF the people - the need of the people to be informed of their government’s questionable conduct, which cannot happen in an environment of complete secrecy, with the need of the government to protect secrets in the name of national security. 35 years later, the debate is still unresolved as to whether Ellsberg was a hero or a villain. I imagine that, 35 years from now, the Mary McCarthy case may be viewed similarly.

[Andy9o8 0]

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There are ways to blow the whistle in classified cases, taking it to the press is not the way...

Actually, if the blowee is the full weight of the entire United States government, taking it to the press is often the only way that will make any difference

[Channman 2]

> What idiot hired this treasonous bitch?

John, we must remember she has confessed to committing a crime which can land her Kerry supporting ass in prison.

But to the Left she is no more than a whistle blower who is invested in American Defeat at any cost, as long as it puts the Dem's back in power. Does'nt really matter how many American lives they put at risk, thats not their concern, absolute power is.

Thats why the American people should never trust the liberal left or the Dem's when it comes to national defence or expecting that they would in fact protect our own country from a foreign threat. History has proven they have no stomack for protecting freedom.

Sandy Burger was a good example of how someone can commit a crime by stealing clasified documents and recieving no prison time, after all he was only trying to hide the truth.

[jdhill 0]

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There are ways to blow the whistle in classified cases, taking it to the press is not the way...

Actually, if the blowee is the full weight of the entire United States government, taking it to the press is often the only way that will make any difference

Try the ranking minority member of the House / Senate Intel Com... its called oversight... its not her decision to decide what should or shouldn't be classified, and to say it is destroys the foundation of the entire classification system, which, as ugly as it is, is a necessary thing.

[shropshire 0]

You eye sight appears to be both short and with a narrow field of view Your current government has placed far more peoples lives in danger (and not just from your country.. but across the world!) than this one whistle blower... But you continue to believe what you will.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[wmw999 2,121]

Mighty strong words for someone who knew she was taking her job in her hands, and felt the issue was important enough anyway. Maybe she was wrong, maybe she was right. The parallel to Ellsberg isn't a bad one. Another parallel would be to Martha Mitchell during the Watergate times. Now she knew how to blow whistles .

What should a soldier do if he's issued an order that he thinks is unlawful? Obviously if he can prove it, then he's OK with an incredible amount of hassle (because chains of command will naturally support the person who issues orders more than the person who refuses to follow them). If he can't prove it to the satisfaction of the chain of command, then he's fucked. And if it turns out later that he was right, he'll be raked over the coals, because, after all, he "should have known." Note that the term "he" is only used because it's more often taken to be generic.

I take it that you take "my country right or wrong" very seriously. Let's hope that the leaders of the country never, ever, fuck up. Of course, if they disagree with you -- is it OK to blow the whistle then?

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Channman 2]

The truth is sometime difficult to look at, I just thought it was important enough to point it out to ya.

[Zipp0 1]

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Thats why the American people should never trust the liberal left or the Dem's when it comes to national defence or expecting that they would in fact protect our own country from a foreign threat. History has proven they have no stomack for protecting freedom.
.

Oh really? I guess you don't know too much about history then. Ever heard of Harry Truman, John Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt?

Nice try though.

Zipp0

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Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[shropshire 0]

Touche

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[wmw999 2,121]

No, that's not "the truth". Sorry. Your point of view does not define reality.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Channman 2]

> is it OK to blow the whistle then?

When it comes with a Book Deal, and endless speaking engagements throughout friendly media circles. I'll have to wait and see, but I since alot of money coming her way.

[SkyDekker 1,122]

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John, we must remember she has confessed to committing a crime which can land her Kerry supporting ass in prison.

How do you know she supported Kerry in the last elections?

[shropshire 0]

I see even more money going the way of the defence and private army companies... A whole lot more.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[jdhill 0]

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Mighty strong words for someone who knew she was taking her job in her hands, and felt the issue was important enough anyway

If she felt that strongly about it, why was she not on the evening news and a sit down with Kattie & Matt spilling her guts about it instead of leaking it so that it might not come back to her?