Begin forwarded message:
From: dasg...@aol.com
Date: February 24, 2009 10:48:58 PM PST
To: ramille...@aol.com
Cc: ema...@aol.com, j...@aol.com, jim6...@cwnet.com,
l...@legitgov.org, timshorr...@gmail.com
Subject: Lying, Defrauding Taxpayers, and F#cking-Your-Way-up-the-
Ladder in Bush's CIA
Corruption Touched CIA’s Covert Operations
by Marcus Stern
ProPublica, February 25, 2009 12:00 am EST
http://www.propublica.org/article/corruption-touched-cias-covert-operations
Paramilitary agents for the CIA's super-secret Special Activities
Division, or SAD, perform raids, ambushes, abductions and other
difficult chores overseas, including infiltrating countries to "light
up" targets from the ground for air-to-ground missile strikes. This
week the government acknowledged for the first time that some of SAD's
sensitive air operations were swept up in a fraud conspiracy that
reached the highest levels of the CIA and cost the government $40
million.
That information was contained in a series [1] of court [2] filings
[3] released in advance of the long-awaited sentencing of Kyle Dustin
"Dusty" Foggo, the disgraced former No. 3 official at the CIA.
One remarkable affidavit came from a leader of SAD, a branch of the
CIA's National Clandestine Service, which handles covert actions. It
indicates that Foggo forced SAD to use a shell company set up by
defense contractor Brent R. Wilkes to handle its sensitive air
operations, even though Wilkes and his company had no experience in
clandestine aviation operations.
Wilkes was Foggo's boyhood friend and a co-conspirator in the bribery
scandal that erupted around former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who
is serving more than eight years in federal prison.
Since the 9/11 terror strikes, SAD's role in the war on terror has
become more prominent. Its paramilitary operatives have been used to
snatch high-value suspects from the streets of foreign countries for
rendition to black sites for interrogation. When carrying out their
operations in other countries, the agents typically do not wear
uniforms or carry items that connect them to the U.S. government. If
they are caught, the government may disavow any connection to them.
Foggo's sentencing, scheduled Thursday before Judge James C. Cacheris
in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., will be the final
sentencing of the ring of co-defendants in the bribery scandal that
erupted around Cunningham.
Foggo, 53, was running the CIA on a day-to-day basis until he resigned
in 2006 after his name surfaced in the scandal. At first, Foggo sought
to have the charges against him dismissed. When that failed, he argued
that he would need to disclose classified information to defend
himself. This practice, sometimes referred to as graymail, was
rejected by the court, but led prosecutors to drop 27 of the 28
charges against him.
In September, Foggo pleaded guilty to a single count of defrauding the
government of his "honest services" by steering contracts to Wilkes.
While Cacheris could sentence Foggo to up to 20 years in prison, the
plea agreement calls for 37 months behind bars. Foggo is seeking an
even more lenient sentence from the judge.
In the days leading up to the sentencing, prosecutors have sought the
release of transcripts from grand jury proceedings that they believe
will be helpful in opposing a reduced sentence. The flurry of motions
and counter-motions resulted in the release of a trove of documents
Monday, including the affidavit from one of SAD's leaders.
In the affidavit [3], in which he is identified as "John Doe # 1," the
official says Foggo introduced Wilkes to him and other SAD officials
as "someone who had an extensive corporate portfolio that included
experience in aviation, and for that reason could assist SAD. Mr.
Foggo then left Wilkes with us to discuss our need for cover for our
air operations."
Within days, Wilkes provided the group with a $132 million proposal
that John Doe # 1 described as "unwieldy, cumbersome, and lacking a
real understanding of what the Agency needed ... If implemented as
presented, I believed the proposals would be wasteful, misguided, and
contrived."
Nonetheless, Foggo ordered them to proceed quickly. "The rapid
decision by Mr. Foggo and the urgent deadlines he imposed on the
program mean that we necessarily had to use Mr. Wilkes for the
Enhanced Capability, because he was the only option available to us at
the time," the official testified. Despite misgivings about the
directive coming from Foggo, "we saluted and carried out his orders."
The plan was derailed in August 2005 after Wilkes' and Foggo's roles
in the Cunningham scandal surfaced, but not before it had cost the
government $40 million in planning expenses, according to the documents.
"Upon being apprised of this, I was greatly relieved that we would not
have to proceed with the cover solution with Wilkes, and would have
more time to explore the best possible solution," John Doe #1 wrote.
The documents also argue that Wilkes and Foggo tried to incorporate
the military's need for armored vehicles into an array of contracts
that involved not only the CIA's sensitive air operations but also
water for troops in Iraq. Wilkes' and Foggo's deals -- during which
they hid their long, personal friendship from other government
officials -- included markups of up to 60 percent on the goods and
services they sold the CIA.
The documents released Monday provide extensive details about Foggo's
efforts to move his mistress from Europe to Langley when he was
promoted in November 2004 from chief of support at an undisclosed
European location to the agency's No. 3 post, executive director.
According to prosecutors and testimony included in the filing, Foggo
arranged for his family to remain in Europe at taxpayer expense while
he moved to Langley. He then arranged a CIA job for his mistress,
identified only by the initials ER. At first the CIA ruled that ER
was ineligible for employment because a background check found that
she had an improper relationship with a superior in her previous
government position and had destroyed evidence sought by the inspector
general of that agency.
Foggo summoned the agency's managing associate general counsel to his
office and insisted that the woman's service was vital and she must be
hired, without disclosing his romantic relationship with ER, according
to the documents. ER was hired, but her supervisor soon found her
work unsatisfactory.
"Instead of being receptive to her supervisor's critiques and
suggestions, ER made it clear that she had influence with Foggo.
Indeed, she did," the prosecutors' sentencing memo [2] states. "Her
supervisor had been an attorney with the (CIA's Office of General
Counsel) for 20 years, during which time she received numerous
performance awards and even the Career Intelligence Medal, which
rewards 'exceptional achievements that substantially contributed to
the mission of the Agency' over the course of her career. Within
months of crossing Foggo's mistress, however, she suffered a
humiliating firing by Foggo."
The government's 24-page reply [1] to Foggo's sentencing memorandum,
31-page sentencing memo [2] and 82-page appendix [3] are full of such
previously undisclosed material.
Calls to the offices of the prosecutors and Foggo's defense attorneys
weren't returned on Tuesday.
ProPublica Director of Research Lisa Schwartz contributed to this
report.
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