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PrintApril 30, 2010
DOJ Subpoenas NYT's Risen re CIA Leaks
The NYT is reporting that one of its, reporters, James Risen has been subpoenaed by the Holder Justice Department for matters in a book he wrote, not for the intelligence leaks he published in that paper
The Obama administration is seeking to compel a writer to testify about his confidential sources for a 2006 book about the Central Intelligence Agency, a rare step that was authorized by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
The author, James Risen, who is a reporter for The New York Times, received a subpoena on Monday requiring him to provide documents and to testify May 4 before a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., about his sources for a chapter of his book, "State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration." The chapter largely focuses on problems with a covert C.I.A. effort to disrupt alleged Iranian nuclear weapons research.
Mr. Risen referred questions to his lawyer, Joel Kurtzberg, a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel L.L.P., who said that Mr. Risen would not comply with the demand and would ask a judge to quash the subpoena.
Risen was originally subpoenaed about this matter by the Bush administration, fought the subpoena and now it has expired. The Obama Administration has apparently revived it.
While Risen had revealed in the paper a NSA program respecting transmissions into and out of the U.S., this matter involved something different--- a very embarrassing incident for the CIA.
In 2000, under Clinton, the agency had given to the Iranians, through a Russian scientist working for it, plans for a nuclear bomb. The blueprint to be handed over had a deliberate error in it. The scientist, thinking the error was so obvious it would diminish his credibility, told the Iranians about it and, therefore, made the entire cockamamie plan falter in its purpose.
The government apparently is continuing its quest to find out wo told Risen something so embarrassing to the agency.
