At the close of the Jeffrey Sterling trial, the government presented a story of patriots, heroes, and betrayal. The question is whether they pointed out enough evidence to convince the jury Sterling did betray their heroes.
Leak Trial Shows CIA Zeal to Hide Incompetence
January 22, 2015
Six days of testimony at the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling have proven the agency’s obsession with proclaiming its competence. Many of the two-dozen witnesses from the Central Intelligence Agency conveyed smoldering resentment that a whistleblower or journalist might depict the institution as a bungling outfit unworthy of its middle name. Some […]
Government Tries to Implicate Sterling with Calls to CIA’s House Reporter
January 22, 2015
The government apparently thinks it is incriminating that Jeffrey Sterling might have had brief contacts with one of the CIA’s favored outlets for CIA views.
Government Pioneers Hairdresser Venue-Shopping in Jeffrey Sterling Case
January 21, 2015
“There is no such thing as a hairdresser privilege,” Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in the Jeffrey Sterling trial today.
Why the CIA Is So Eager to Demolish Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling
January 20, 2015
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 […]
Race, Leaks and Prosecution at the CIA
January 16, 2015
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
January 15, 2015
“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,” […]
The Revenge of the CIA: Scapegoating Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling
January 15, 2015
This week, in a federal courtroom, I’ve heard a series of government witnesses testify behind a screen while expounding on a central precept of the national security state: The CIA can do no wrong. Those CIA employees and consultants are more than mere loyalists for an agency that soaks up $15 billion a year and […]
Operation Merlin: The Russian’s Case Officers
January 14, 2015
On the first day of the Jeffrey Sterling trial, the government called the Russian scientist’s first 3 CIA case officers. By the third, Zach, their case already began to show holes.
Sterling Trial Opens in Security-State Matrix
January 14, 2015
When the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling got underway Tuesday in Northern Virginia, prospective jurors made routine references to “three-letter agencies” and alphabet-soup categories of security clearances. In an area where vast partnerships between intelligence agencies and private contractors saturate everyday life, the jury pool was bound to please the prosecution. In a […]
