The CIA Convinces Another Outlet to Sit on a Big Scoop

The CIA has, once again, convinced an outlet to sit on a story for an extended period of time: Newsweek with its scoop that the US was involved in the car bomb killing of Imad Mugniyeh.

The Invisible Man: Jeffrey Sterling, CIA Whistleblower

  The mass media have suddenly discovered Jeffrey Sterling — after his conviction Monday afternoon as a CIA whistleblower. Sterling’s indictment four years ago received fleeting news coverage that recited the government’s charges. From the outset, the Justice Department portrayed him as bitter and vengeful — with the classic trash-the-whistleblower word “disgruntled” thrown in — […]

CIA Leak Trial: “This Case Is Not About Politics” [sic]

  Continuing to deliberate as this week gets underway, the jurors in the CIA leak trial might ponder a notable claim from the government: “This case is not about politics.” The prosecution made that claim a few days ago in closing arguments — begun with a somber quotation from Condoleezza Rice about the crucial need […]

Sterling Prosecution Long on Rhetoric, Short on Evidence

To hear the prosecution side tell it in the ongoing trial of Jeffrey Sterling, the former CIA officer who is accused of a national security leak involving Iran, Sterling has potentially (emphasis on potentially): * placed a CIA “asset” at risk; * hurt recruitment of other defectors, informants and turncoats; * scared other current “assets” […]

Why the CIA Is So Eager to Demolish Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling

Midway through the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, one comment stands out. “A criminal case,” defense attorney Edward MacMahon told the jury at the outset, “is not a place where the CIA goes to get its reputation back.” But that’s where the CIA went with this trial in its first week — sending […]

CIA’s Small World at the Jeffrey Sterling Trial: Racial Profiling and Leaked Identities

The Jeffrey Sterling trial intersected with two other notable CIA cases last week, but the jury is unlikely to learn about them.

Race, Leaks and Prosecution at the CIA

Condoleezza Rice made headlines when she testified Thursday at the leak trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling — underscoring that powerful people in the Bush administration went to great lengths a dozen years ago to prevent disclosure of a classified operation. But as The Associated Press noted, “While Rice’s testimony helped establish the importance […]

The Sterling Trial: Merlin Meets Curveball

“Very often you get a curveball thrown at you.” When Bob S, a longtime CIA operations manager working on Weapons of Mass Destruction described the ambiguity common on CIA operations as getting a “curveball” thrown at you in Wednesday’s testimony at the Jeffrey Sterling trial, he surely didn’t mean to reference the Iraqi fabricator who, under the pseudonym “Curveball,” […]

Government Wants to Know Potential Sterling Jurors’ Opinions about Whistleblowers

While the government objects to the judge asking questions about potential jurors’ in the Jeffrey Sterling trial opinions about Condoleezza Rice, it does want to know how they feel about whistleblowers.

The Jeffrey Sterling Trial: A Preview

An overview of what to expect from the Jeffrey Sterling trial.