CIA warns ex-agents over talking to media

The Central Intelligence Agency has warned former employees not to have unapproved contacts with reporters, as part of a mounting campaign by the administration to crack down on officials who leak information on national security issues. A former official said the CIA recently warned several retired employees who have consulting contracts with the agency that they could lose their pensions by talking to reporters without permission. He added that while the threats might be legally "hollow," they were having a chilling effect on former employees. The CIA called the allegations "rubbish." Jennifer Millerwise Dyke, spokeswoman for CIA director Porter Goss, said former employees with consulting deals could lose their contracts for violating the CIA secrecy agreement by having unauthorized conversations with reporters. But she stressed that under current law, "termination of a contract does not affect pensions." The clampdown represents the latest move in what observers describe as the most aggressive government campaign against leaks in years. The Justice Department is investigating the disclosure to the media of secret overseas CIA prisons and a highly classified National Security Agency domestic spying program authorized by President George W. Bush. Last week, the CIA fired Mary McCarthy, an intelligence officer, for allegedly leaking classified information and having undisclosed contacts with reporters. Goss has increased the number of "single issue" polygraphs–lie detector tests aimed at ferreting out leaking employees. A second former official said Goss was trying to "scare everybody" by using polygraphs aggressively. Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, former CIA general counsel, said Goss was "obviously taking a much more forward-leaning stance than any of us have seen for years." But another former intelligence official said the agency was simply returning to a "more conservative regimen" to remind employees that they work for a secret organization. The House intelligence committee has asked John Negroponte, the director for national intelligence who oversees the 16 intelligence agencies, to study whether retirees could lose their pensions for disclosing classified information even when not prosecuted. The attempt to silence former employees extends beyond those who still have consulting contracts. Larry Johnson, a former CIA official who blogs at www.TPMCafe.com, said he recently received a "threatening" letter reminding him about his confidentiality agreements. Johnson–who has criticized the White House for not aggressively investigating the outing of Valerie Plame, a former covert operative–said it was the first such letter he had received despite regularly commenting in the media on intelligence matters since his retirement in 1989. He said other former employees also received letters. He said the CIA was also "very forceful" in intimidating a retired official who maintains ties to the agency after he signed a letter criticizing the administration over the Plame leak. CIA spokesperson Paul Gimigliano said CIA staff officers and contractors must sign a secrecy agreement which compelled them to seek prepublication permission for anything they wrote involving the CIA, intelligence matters, and classified material. He added: "When a former officer or contractor fails to honor the legally binding agreement... our Publications Review Board may send the individual a written reminder. That reminder includes the statement that 'permission to publish will not be denied solely because information may be embarrassing to or critical of the agency.'... Obviously, such letters contain no threats." But Johnson and other critics say the campaign is also intended to crack down on politically embarrassing comments from former officials. "They are trying to intimidate the press and trying to intimidate employees," said Johnson. "Anybody who has been critical of the Bush administration is getting letters." Another former CIA employee who maintains links to the agency said it did not need to be blatant about threats because contractors and retirees who had relationships with agency officials understood that talking to reporters could have repercussions for future work. "People at the agency are bright enough to see that is going on, they don't need to be reminded," the former official said. Stanley Sporkin, former CIA general counsel during the Reagan administration and a retired judge, said it was "ridiculous" that the agency was trying to limit contacts with the media. He said the only restriction should be that they do not reveal classified information. "Something has got to be done to address this. These days it is almost like a witch hunt," said Sporkin.