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Federal Court Rules CIA Committed Fraud in Federal Case

180px-Lamberth200px-George_Tenet_portrait_headshotThe CIA has been accused of yet another fraud. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had referred a CIA attorney for disciplinary action and is considering further sanctions against five current and former CIA employees, including former CIA Director George Tenet, for misleading the court in a federal case.

The case involved a lawsuit by former agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency, Richard Horn, who claims that the CIA illegally wiretapped his home in Burma in 1993. Tenet told the court in a 2000 affidavit that the former station chief in Burma, Arthur Brown, was still a covert agent and thus the case against him should be dismissed. However, in 2002, the agent’s cover had been lifted but the CIA never informed the Court.

In a measure of the lack of trust and credibility given CIA representations in court, Judge Lamberth stated “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.”

The case continues Tenet’s checkered career. History will long note George W. Bush’s infamous awarding of Tenet with the Presidential Medal after he gave false information to Congress and the United Nations to justify the Iraq War and carried out a variety of unlawful programs after 9-11.

Lamberth’s action remains a rarity among federal court which often tolerate such false or misleading affidavits — refusing to allow opposing counsel to question the representations of the government.

For the full story, click here and here.

21 thoughts on “Federal Court Rules CIA Committed Fraud in Federal Case”

  2. Here’s some very helpful information:

    “A Practical Guide to Internet Technology for Political Activists in Repressive Regimes
    EFF Releases ‘Surveillance Self-Defense International’ for Iranian Dissidents and Other Protestors

    SAN FRANCISCO – July 21 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released “Surveillance Self-Defense International” (SSDI) today, a practical guide to help activists from around the world use the Internet safely under repressive regimes. It is available at: http://www.eff.org/wp/surveillance-self-defense-international.”

    http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/07/21-16

  3. However,
    I prefer Tenet bad as he is to the days of Alan Dulles and James Jesus Angleton. Those were crazy badasses. also Dulles created the Warren Commission Report, which was interesting since he hated JFK for firing him.

  4. Yes Buddha, but does he have a Presidential Medal of Freedom? Freedom from reality, freedom from truth, freedom from justice, freedom from intelligence, freedom from kindness–that’s what you need for a medal these days!

  5. Buddha:

    “I have yet to see any evidence Tenet has a spine much less the ability to walk upright.”

    *************

    Tenet, the great boneless wonder:

    “I remember when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum’s Circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibit on the program which I most desired to see was the one described as “The Boneless Wonder”. My parents judged that the spectacle would be too demoralizing and revolting for my youthful eye and I have waited fifty years, to see The Boneless Wonder sitting on the [Directorate of the CIA.]”

    — Winston Churchill (with some liberties taken).

  6. Well that’s just a flat out wrong identification. I’ve seen the Prof. walk upright AND without his knuckles dragging. I have yet to see any evidence Tenet has a spine much less the ability to walk upright. I’m not even sure ol’ George belongs in the phylum chordata.

  7. Damn you Mikeyes, you’ve blown his cover. Even his neighbor didn’t know.

  9. Has no one noticed that George Tenet and Jonathan Turley are the same person?

  10. There is another case where the CIA and the WH is playing fast and loose with an operative’s status–Valerie Plame. I am glad to see the judiciary “calling shenanigans”. The assassination plan is only one small piece of so many things we need to know. I notice that the leaks originally concerned the surveillance of US citizens. This morphed into a emphasis on the assassination plans which may or may not have been operative. Interestingly, the surveillance of US citizens has disappered from the news. We have a right to know about all of it. It was all illegal and it is not protected information. Here is some info on the Valerie Plame case, but I am very curious to know why the illegal surveillance, the original story, has “disappeared”.

    “21 Jul 2009 // Washington, D.C. – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) argued today in U.S. District Courthouse Courtroom 24A in CREW v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, for which CREW is seeking, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a copy of the interview former Vice President Dick Cheney gave to the FBI as part of the criminal investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert CIA identity.”

  11. There are covert operations taking place on U.S. soil — operations that have not yet been exposed. They may be government-sanctioned, but they are most certainly unlawful. Is this really America?

  12. If you think about it the whole problem is underpinned by the concept of classification of secrets. It gives the bureaucrats the perfect out. While of course there is some need for secrecy the whole thing went out of control long ago and most things classified as “top secret” are merely exercises in CYA. The only way to stop this is too make the secrecy classification harder by requiring some oversight of what is and what isn’t made secret. As I pose this though I know that it’s probably futile because of the wide range of justifications available to those who would hide the truth of their own crime and bumbling.

  13. _________________________________

    “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.”
    _________________________________

    As I have stated many times within this blawg, judicial deference given to the government is out of control. I am pleased to see a Federal judge confront governmental lies and arbitrary and capricious decision-making based on ‘We are the government and we can do what we want because we are granted deference’.

    For over 3-years since my retirement, I have fought deference given to government employees and so far, I have lost. Even with irrefutable evidence that agency employees lied, manipulated data, falsified documents, used outright sophistry to make a decision “fit” NEPA, it is almost impossible to confront lies by the government in Federal court. Kudos to U.S. District Court Judge Lamberth.

  14. I highly recommend the book “Legacy of Ashes”. It’s a wonder the country hasn’t been over thrown by Lapland.

  17. Royce C. Lamberth was appointed United States District Judge for the District of Columbia on November 16, 1987.

    Looks like a Reagan Appointee is getting fed up with the Federal Lies. Also in the article it states that someone got upset with him for Burma’s policy on Drugs and that is why they bugged his home etc.

    How does the US have Jurisdiction in this matter? All actions complained of occurred outside of the US, so we really don’t have a 4th amendment issue after Noriega?

  18. OMG, the Government might lie to us, I am totally aghast. No one should believe the lies of the counter-counter-intelligence agent. They are from the government and are here to help you. I don’t care even if it is Burma. I bet he got a close shave, what ya bet?

  20. Why cant they just do a favor to the CIA like they do so many other great programs and just shut the damn thing down. Come on already, if they haven’t figured out how to fix the damn thing after all these years then we have some not so smart people ruinning this country.

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