Government Agrees to Delay Indictments in CIA Spy Case
The government agreed Friday to postpone any espionage indictment of Aldrich H. and Rosario Ames so that defense lawyers will have time to examine classified documents the couple is accused of compromising.
The indictment of the 31-year CIA veteran and his wife by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., had been expected by Wednesday, 30 days after their arrest by the FBI.
But the Ameses and their attorneys filed a motion for a 30-day delay in U.S. District Court. Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark J. Hulkower noted on the motion that the government did not object.
William Cummings, attorney for Rosario Ames, said he and Plato Cacheris, the lawyer for Aldrich Ames, “haven’t even gotten our security clearances yet, and we need those to look at some of the materials they allege were compromised.”
The clearances are expected shortly.
The government has charged that Ames, a former chief of counterintelligence in the CIA’s Soviet section, spied for the Soviets and then the Russians since 1985. His wife is charged with helping him in the conspiracy.
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