Secrecy News -- 01/25/13

Fri Jan 25 07:59:11 PST 2013

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SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2013, Issue No. 9
January 25, 2013

Secrecy News Blog:  http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

**     FORMER CIA OFFICER KIRIAKOU SENTENCED FOR LEAK
**     INTERNATIONAL TAX HAVENS, AND MORE FROM CRS

FORMER CIA OFFICER KIRIAKOU SENTENCED FOR LEAK

Former CIA officer John Kiriakou was sentenced today to 30 months in
prison for a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act after
he pleaded guilty to one count of identifying a covert agent.

Although the sentence is less than that prescribed by federal sentencing
guidelines, the government said that it considers the reduced penalty
"reasonable."

In a presentencing memorandum for the defense, Mr. Kiriakou's attorneys
said that his offense should be seen in the context of his lifelong
commitment "to public service and the defense of America's national
security."

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/kiriakou/012413-defmem.pdf

"In the course of his service to the United States and the Central
Intelligence Agency, Mr. Kiriakou placed himself in harm's way on countless
occasions, earning the CIA's Exceptional Service Award no fewer than ten
times," the defense memorandum said.

Although Mr. Kiriakou accepted full responsibility for his actions, the
defense said that he had been duped into making the unauthorized disclosure
that led to his prosecution.

"In 2006, Journalist A told Mr. Kiriakou that he was working on a book
about the Abu Omar rendition in Milan. That was false. Journalist A has
never published a book on that subject and the defense is aware of no
evidence that he was ever working on one."

"In reality, unknown to Mr. Kiriakou, Journalist A was acting as a private
investigator on behalf of lawyers representing terrorist detainees in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was forwarding the information he received from
Mr. Kiriakou, as well as information he received from many other
individuals, to another private investigator working with the detainees'
lawyers. Mr. Kiriakou now realizes that he made a very serious mistake in
passing any information to Journalist A, but he would not have done so had
he known how Journalist A would make use of that information," the defense
memorandum said.

The defense noted that "Mr. Kiriakou has fully and forthrightly accepted
responsibility for his actions and recognizes the seriousness of the crime
to which he has pled guilty.  Yet while many will never know Mr. Kiriakou
apart from this prosecution, the incident that led to this moment cannot
undo the reality of Mr. Kiriakou's life in full-- a life dedicated to the
values of freedom, decency, public service, and love of country.  As the
government concedes, although Mr. Kiriakou's crime was unquestionably
serious, he was never motivated by any desire to harm the United States,
national security, the CIA's critical mission abroad, or any individual
person."

A petition asking President Obama to pardon Mr. Kiriakou or commute his
sentence has already been signed by thousands of supporters.

After Vice Presidential aide Scooter Libby was convicted of perjury in
connection with the unauthorized disclosure of the identity of CIA officer
Valerie Plame in 2007 and sentenced to 30 months in jail, his sentence was
promptly commuted by President George W. Bush.

INTERNATIONAL TAX HAVENS, AND MORE FROM CRS

New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that
Congress has not made available to the public include the following.

Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion, January 23, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40623.pdf

An Overview of the Tax Provisions in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of
2012, January 20, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42894.pdf

Receipt of Unemployment Insurance by Higher-Income Unemployed Workers
("Millionaires"), January 23, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42643.pdf

Summary Report: Congressional Action on the FY2013 Disaster Supplemental,
January 22, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42892.pdf

FY2013 Supplemental Funding for Disaster Relief: Summary and
Considerations for Congress, January 23, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42869.pdf

Congressional Commissions: Overview, Structure, and Legislative
Considerations, January 22, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40076.pdf

Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service,
1789-2013, January 3, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41545.pdf

Global Security Contingency Fund (GSCF): Summary and Issue Overview,
January 22, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42641.pdf

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Current Issues and U.S. Policy, January 24, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40479.pdf

Mexico's New Administration: Priorities and Key Issues in U.S.-Mexican
Relations, January 16, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42917.pdf

Reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act, January 2, 2013:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/R42725.pdf

_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.

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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web:    www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email:  saftergood at fas.org
voice:  (202) 454-4691
twitter: @saftergood

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