MillenniumPost
World

Former CIA agent found guilty in leak case

A US court has declared a former agent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) guilty of leaking information about a plot against Iran’s nuclear programme to a reporter of The New York Times.
Jeffrey Sterling, 47, was convicted on nine charges Monday for disclosing national defence information and other secrets.

The New York Times journalist, James Risen, who published the information, had steadfastly refused to reveal his source. Sterling, who could be imprisoned for several years, will be sentenced April 24. Sterling was accused in 2010 of leaking classified information to Risen for his book “State of War” which was published in 2006. Prosecutors argued that Sterling, who was expelled from the CIA a few years before the publication of the book, acted out of revenge and endangered the lives of CIA operatives, including a Russian scientist who supplied Iran with intentionally flawed nuke component schematics. Although the government did not present any direct proof of the connection between Sterling and Risen, it built a strong circumstantial case. 

Next Story
Share it