Judge rules against CIA whistle-blower
Apr 20, 2012, 8:37 PM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge has ruled a CIA whistle-blower will have to forfeit any future money he earns from a scathing book he wrote about the spy agency after he failed to get approval from his former employer prior to publication.
The CIA accused the officer of breaking his secrecy agreement with the U.S. The former officer, who worked deep undercover, published the book in July 2008 using the pseudonym “Ishmael Jones.”
The CIA says his book, “The Human Factor: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture,” was submitted to the agency’s publications review board under a secrecy agreement that covers books written by former employees.
But Jones published the book before the process was completed. Jones has said the book contained no classified information.
In a written ruling entered Thursday, U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in Alexandria, Va., also barred Jones from publishing anything in the future without the CIA’s blessing.
Jones said he put the profits in brokerage accounts belonging to children of U.S. soldiers killed in action. After the judge’s ruling, Jones, who hasn’t revealed his identity, took aim at the government.
“I think it’s despicable that they’ve spent two years and a great deal of taxpayer money on an order to confiscate future money belonging to the children of American soldiers,” Jones said.
CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said: “The Jones case demonstrates that the CIA is committed to enforcing the secrecy agreements of its employees and contractors. The breach of such an agreement is a violation of a solemn public trust.”
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Online:
http://www.ishmaeljones.com/
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