Here’s the thing about President Obama’s war on whistleblowers: In bringing espionage charges in nine cases involving disclosures or alleged misuse of classified information, the current administration has set a floor, rather than a ceiling, on the number and types of whistleblower espionage cases a future President can bring. And here’s another thing: With leaders […]
Assessing the Candidates: Obama’s Whistleblower War Leaves Dangerous Legacy for Future Presidents
June 24, 2015
Jeffrey Sterling vs. the CIA: An Untold Story of Race and Retribution
May 27, 2015
A dozen years before his recent sentencing to a 42-month prison term based on a jury’s conclusion that he gave classified information to a New York Times journalist, former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was in the midst of a protracted and fruitless effort to find someone in Congress willing to look into his accusations about […]
Government’s Own Witness Debunks Government’s “Overwrought Hyperbole” in Sterling Case
April 24, 2015
A former CIA witness the government originally intended to call as its own witness debunked their claims of harm in the Jeffrey Sterling case.
Jeffrey Sterling Moves for Acquittal Based on Government’s Expansive Interpretation of Spying
February 18, 2015
Jeffrey Sterling just moved for acquittal on all charges against him, largely because the government never proved that any actions he took took place in Virginia.
CIA Mission: Destroy the Whistleblower and Perfume the Stench of ‘Operation Merlin’
February 4, 2015
The leak trial of CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling never got near a smoking gun, but the entire circumstantial case was a smokescreen. Prosecutors were hell-bent on torching the defendant to vindicate Operation Merlin, nine years after a book by James Risen reported that it “may have been one of the most reckless operations in the […]
The Invisible Man: Jeffrey Sterling, CIA Whistleblower
January 27, 2015
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]
January 26, 2015
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 […]
Introducing Mrs. Merlin: To Prosecute Jeffrey Sterling, CIA Exposed an Asset
January 25, 2015
The government made a big show of protecting CIA’s secrets during the Jeffrey Sterling trial. But behind the show, they were exposing another asset, Merlin’s wife.
Jury Questions: Alleged Espionage Is Confusing
January 23, 2015
The jury in the Jeffrey Sterling trial has already had 3 substantive questions — two of them on venue.
Sterling Prosecution Long on Rhetoric, Short on Evidence
January 23, 2015
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” […]
