Prosecutor says witness issue may prevent leak case against ex-CIA officer from going to tri

[kpete]

Source: Washington Post

Prosecutor says witness issue may prevent leak case against ex-CIA officer from going to trial

By Associated Press, Friday, April 8, 4:42 PM

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The government’s case against an ex-CIA officer charged with leaking classified documents to a reporter may not make it to trial because of potential issues with a witness, a federal prosecutor said Friday.

Jeffrey Sterling of O’Fallon, Mo., who worked for the CIA from 1993 to 2002, is accused of leaking secrets about Iran to New York Times reporter James Risen. A 2006 book by Risen, “State of War,” revealed details about the CIA’s covert spy war with Iran.

But many details of the government’s case remain secret and classified. While it is clear from details in the indictment, for instance, that Risen is the alleged recipient of Sterling’s disclosures, the indictment refers to Risen only as “Author A.” Iran is referred to only as “Country A.”

At a pretrial hearing Friday in U.S. District Court, prosecutor William Welch told the judge that “potential witness issues” will determine “whether the case goes to trial or not.” He did not elaborate.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/prosecutor-leak-case-against-ex-cia-man-may-not-go-to-trial-because-of-witness-problem/2011/04/08/AFn2jf2C_story.html

[xchrom]

1. huh. well that's interesting. nt

[EFerrari]

2. Risen is one of the best reporters at the Times. n/t