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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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February 9th,
2007 - Ex-Agent Ties Firing to CIA Pressure on WMD |
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Ex-Agent Ties Firing to CIA
Pressure on WMD By Chitra Ragavan U.S. News & World Report February 9, 2007 A federal judge has ruled that
a CIA agent identified only as "Doe," allegedly fired after he
gathered prewar intelligence showing that Iraq was not developing weapons of
mass destruction, can proceed with his lawsuit against the CIA. The judge has
ordered both parties to submit discovery requests–evidence they want for
their case–to be completed by March 15, according to the CIA agent's lawyer
and a spokesman for the Justice Department, which is defending the CIA in
court. U.S. District Judge Gladys
Kessler issued her ruling after what Doe's attorney, Roy Krieger, described
as an extraordinary, secret status conference by telephone this afternoon
that lasted nearly a half an hour. So concerned was the CIA about the agent's
identity becoming public that the Justice Department prevailed upon the judge
to issue a highly restrictive order regarding press contacts by the agent and
Krieger. The order barred them from "requesting, allowing, encouraging,
or directing" any members of the media from appearing at Krieger's
office or even within a two-block vicinity of the building where he works or
of any other location of the status conference, until two hours after the
conference was completed. Krieger and his client were
also barred from notifying the media ahead of time about the status
conference or its location. The judge sealed her order until 2 p.m. today. "They are worried about
his photograph being taken or his likeness being sketched," Krieger told
U.S. News, "because if his appearance became public, we are told we will
lose one of our most valued assets because [the asset has] been publicly
associated with him." At the hearing, Krieger
said, Justice Department attorney Marcia Tiersky told Kessler the department
wanted to file a motion for summary judgment, leading to dismissal of the
case, before discovery commenced. In response to Kessler's request for a
basis for summary judgment, according to Krieger and the Justice Department,
Tiersky said that the department would produce affidavits in support of the
move. But the judge, indicating that she viewed this as a delaying tactic,
said she would allow the discovery process to begin. This is the second setback
for the government in this case. In January, Kessler decided on technical
grounds that the CIA employee's lawsuit could not be dismissed. However, the
judge did not rule on the agent's central claim that he was fired because he
refused to alter intelligence that contradicted the Bush administration's
central rationale for the war in Iraq. In that earlier ruling, Kessler said
that the covert agent could plausibly argue that his firing was based on
allegedly false information placed in his personnel file. Krieger said that
his client had gathered intelligence from several countries in the Middle
East, including Iraq. The intelligence was picked
up as the United States began its push for invading Iraq in 2003. As has been
widely reported, the Bush administration has since failed to find any weapons
of mass destruction. The CIA agent has alleged in his suit that supervisors
told him they would notify President Bush that he had found contradictory
information but that they failed to follow through on their promise. External link: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070209/9cia.htm |