NATIONAL BRIEFING / WASHINGTON, D.C.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has ruled that CIA officials committed fraud to protect a former covert agent against an eavesdropping lawsuit and may sanction as many as six who have worked at the agency, including former CIA Director George J. Tenet.
According to unsealed court documents, Lamberth referred a CIA attorney, Jeffrey Yeates, for disciplinary action. Lamberth also denied the CIA’s efforts under the Obama administration to keep the case secret because of what he called the agency’s “diminished credibility” and the “twisted history” in the case.
The judge also criticized CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, saying he has given conflicting accounts about what should be revealed in the case.
“The court does not give the government a high degree of deference because of its prior misrepresentations regarding the state secrets privilege in this case,” Lamberth ruled.
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