2 Agencies to Review Classified Material on Personal Computer

The Pentagon said Thursday it was reviewing classified material that former CIA Director John M. Deutch had on a non-secure home computer and will seek to answer the question, “How did this happen?”

Neither the CIA nor the Pentagon have any evidence that any of the classified material was obtained by an outsider, but both agencies are conducting separate reviews of what might have been compromised if someone had obtained the secret information.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said the two agencies’ efforts were not duplicative.

“If there was classified [defense information], we’re in a better position than they to determine the severity of compromise that may have occurred,” Quigley said.

“And by the same token, they’re [CIA] in a better position than we to determine the severity of any classified information as it would pertain to CIA activities,” he said.

On Feb. 7, the Pentagon received from the CIA information from Deutch’s computer that was defense-related. That information included copies of journals of Deutch’s activities, an intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

Deutch was stripped of his CIA and high-level defense intelligence clearances last August for mishandling classified information.

After parts of a classified CIA inspector general’s report into the investigation of Deutch’s handling of secret material at home became public this month, Deutch voluntarily asked the Pentagon to remove remaining security clearances that allowed him to advise companies on classified defense projects.

Deutch’s home computer with the secret material was used to connect to the Internet by someone in his household, raising concerns that outside hackers could have accessed the computer files.

Deutch has agreed to appear Wednesday before a closed Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.