Ames May Aid Probe if Wife Is Given Leniency

With the CIA and FBI determined to learn whether Aldrich H. Ames had confederates inside the intelligence agency, the accused spy is showing his first willingness to cooperate with investigators--but only if they recommend leniency for his wife, The Times learned Wednesday.

Ames has virtually no chance of negotiating leniency for himself, however, considering the damage investigators believe the 31-year CIA veteran caused to American intelligence interests and his possible complicity in the deaths of U.S. intelligence operatives in Russia.

Ames, 52, and his Colombian-born wife, Rosario, 41, were arrested on espionage conspiracy charges on Feb. 21. The deadline for a grand jury indictment, typically 30 days after an arrest, was extended an additional 30 days to give defense attorneys time to examine the voluminous documents recovered by the FBI in searches of Ames’ home and CIA office.

Ames allegedly was paid at least $2.5 million by the Soviets and later the Russians to spy for them since 1985--an amount that the FBI has characterized as extraordinary in intelligence circles.

Prosecutors are intent on putting Ames in prison for life, according to sources close to the case. But the prospect of a possible deal for Mrs. Ames is more complicated.

She has been suffering emotional distress since her incarceration, a factor said to be adding to Ames’ desire to strike a deal for her. Sources said that she is being seen by a Washington psychologist, whose employment was approved Monday by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Hilton sealed the motion seeking appointment of the psychologist, A. John Kalil.

In a brief interview, Kalil acknowledged that he has been assigned to assess Mrs. Ames’ condition. Asked whether her distress was related to her 5-year-old son, Paul, who was sent to Colombia to stay with his maternal grandmother, Kalil said: “In a sense, it is.”

But he declined to elaborate, saying that he was “not at liberty to discuss” his assignment and was “reticent to even converse” about the subject.

Government officials must weigh whether they can justify allowing Mrs. Ames to go free after some period of imprisonment if, in return, they obtain Ames’ firsthand insight into who else in the CIA--if anyone--may have helped him carry out the alleged espionage and the degree to which it may have compromised some still-existing intelligence operations overseas.

Ames’ cooperation would help intelligence officials conduct a detailed damage assessment, which they regard as critical. A plea agreement with Ames also would avoid a public trial that could expose U.S. intelligence sources and methods.

Plato Cacheris, Ames’ attorney, declined comment on any discussions with U.S. officials. He said that he is “tooling up” to try the case in court because “there are a lot of challenging legal issues here.”

Some of these issues could complicate the government’s effort to bring Ames to trial, legal sources said. Among them, Cacheris said, was the use of a search warrant against Ames before his arrest. It was authorized by Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, who bypassed normal federal court approval for such a warrant and depended instead on the authority of an executive order on national security that dates from the Ronald Reagan Administration. This authority has not been tested in court.

Other legal questions have arisen, he said, over the FBI’s seizure of documents in Ames’ personal computer. The seizure was carried out under the authorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits surveillance of electronic communications. But Ames is likely to contend that he was only storing the material in his home computer and did not electronically send it anywhere, thus not actually communicating with anyone.

Government officials revealed in court last month that they had found more than 100 classified CIA cables on computer diskettes in the Ameses’ house, a violation of agency regulations against keeping such material at home.

Because much of the material was outside Ames’ jurisdiction at the CIA, officials want his cooperation in determining how he obtained it and who, if anyone, among his colleagues helped him.

The agency prides itself on “compartmentation,” or granting access to information to employees on a need-to-know basis. The apparent breakdown in security procedures--and the effort to determine who was responsible--is the subject of an independent inquiry by the CIA’s inspector general, Frederick Hitz.

The question of whether to recommend leniency for Mrs. Ames could be influenced by evidence indicating that she was a driving force in persuading her husband to participate in espionage.

According to court records, telephone conversations overheard by the FBI include one in which she cautioned him against carelessness in carrying sensitive documents or cash, apparently from his Russian handlers, in suitcases that he was checking as airline baggage.

In another, she berated him, allegedly for failing to leave a timely signal for the Russians, saying: “Well, honey, I hope you didn’t screw up.”

FBI officials have said in court that after her arrest, Mrs. Ames volunteered a series of damaging statements about her husband’s receipt of millions of dollars from Russia. But they said she stopped cooperating after she was given a court-appointed lawyer.

Her attorney, William E. Cummings, did not return telephone calls Wednesday. But previously he attacked the accuracy of FBI wiretap excerpts depicting her as an active participant in a conspiracy.

Justice Department officials declined comment on the case.

Both defendants could benefit by agreeing to guilty pleas before the grand jury returns an indictment. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, judges can take into consideration all counts with which a defendant is charged.

A plea bargain before indictment could permit the defendants to plead guilty to less-sweeping charges.