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Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Fri Apr 21, 2006 at 08:54:45 PM EST
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The New York Times reports the identity of the fired senior CIA employee who disclosed information on the CIA's secret prisons to WaPo reporter Dana Priest.

The C.I.A. would not identify the leaker, but several government officials said it was Mary O. McCarthy, a veteran intelligence analyst who until 2001 was senior director for intelligence programs at the National Security Council, where she served under Presidents Clinton and Bush. . At the time of her dismissal, Ms. McCarthy was working in the agency's inspector general's office, after a four-year stint at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based organization that examines global security issues.

Agent McCarthy apparently 'fessed up after failing a lie detector:

She was given a polygraph examination, confronted about answers given to the polygraph examiner and confessed, the government officials said. On Thursday she was stripped of her security clearance and escorted out of C.I.A. headquarters.

As to the subject matter:

Intelligence officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said the dismissal resulted from "a pattern of conduct" and not from a single leak, but that the case involved in part information about secret C.I.A. detention centers that was leaked to The Washington Post.

This is all part of Bush's latest plan to get heavy with leakers:

The dismissal of Ms. McCarthy provided fresh evidence of the Bush administration's determined efforts to stanch leaks of classified information. The Justice Department has separately opened preliminary investigations into the disclosure of information to The Post, for its articles about secret prisons, as well as to The New York Times, for articles last fall that disclosed the existence of a warrantless domestic eavesdropping program supervised by the National Security Agency. Those articles were also recognized this week with a Pulitzer Prize, awarded to two New York Times reporters.

Right-wing bloggers will no doubt make this a focal point of the story:

Public records show that Ms. McCarthy contributed $2,000 in 2004 to the presidential campaign of John Kerry, the Democratic candidate.

But, isn't the bigger issue why is it okay for Bush and Cheney to decide to instantaneously declassify portions of the NIE report so Libby could leak it to Miller, or Rice to leak classified information to AIPAC lobbyists (which she denies) but not okay for a whistleblower to leak to a reporter?

< Rice Subpoenaed in AIPAC Lobbyists' Case | Worst President Ever? >

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    • Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy | 29 comments (29 topical)
    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#1)
    by squeaky on Fri Apr 21, 2006 at 09:05:12 PM EST
    This is all part of Bush's latest plan to get heavy with leakers:
    I am falling over laughing.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 21, 2006 at 09:42:18 PM EST
    Betcha we'll soon see a fresh wave of resignations at the CIA, both in protest of this firing, and also to be freer to whistleblow.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#3)
    by demohypocrates on Fri Apr 21, 2006 at 10:02:04 PM EST
    In related news, EU uncovers no evidence of illegal CIA activity.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#4)
    by demohypocrates on Fri Apr 21, 2006 at 10:08:18 PM EST
    I would think it below the belt for TL to publish accusations as fact:
    President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney authorized Cheney's top aide to launch a counterattack of leaks against administration critics on Iraq by feeding intelligence information to reporters, according to court papers citing the aide's testimony in the CIA leak case.
    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#5)
    by pax on Fri Apr 21, 2006 at 10:34:03 PM EST
    Isn't it a violation of some sort of personnel laws/regs to leak a fired employees name?

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#7)
    by roger on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 03:13:14 AM EST
    Demo, Read your own link, ignored evidence is not "no" evidence. Conflicting evidence is not "no" evidence.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#8)
    by scribe on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 03:55:04 AM EST
    demohyp: Frankly, you're just making up your position as you go. If they are not finding anything, it's because they don't want to. The EU inquiry is being stalled by (a) the refusal of governments to cooperate and (b) the way one of the German delegates, a CDU/CSU member, is playing Senator Roberts/Graham/Cormyn/Coburn to the committee's other delegates. Indeed, that German delegate (who is relatively senior and kind of one of the members in charge) told Al-Masri (who was rendered by Ghost Air to Bagram, Afghanistan and held and tortured for several months, before being dumped on a Balkan hillside) that he was lying and making it all up and that there was no way the delegate would believe anything al-Masri had to say. Old news BTW - al-Masri testified two or three weeks ago. The point is twofold. First, the EU doesn't want to find anything because the respective governments' intelligence services and the governments themselves are deeply involved in this (beyond tolerating; they're participating). This is becoming particularly clear as to the German intelligence service - there is a strong push from the Left Party on a parliamentary inquiry there, and an equally strong push-back from the government and the BND. It looks like BND is hip-deep in this swamp. Second, there is a strong undercurrent of anti-Arab/Muslim racism still strongly present in Euro societies. The latter leads to such as the French riots of last summer and the Mohammed cartoon uproar. Moreover, the racism leads the Euros to approve (on some level) of W's ass-whooping, much as the more refined members of 40s-50s Mississippi society would give only mild tongue-clucking criticism (if any) of the Klan's latest lynching. However, the Euros know where this is going and they don't like it. Listening to their voices discussing, e.g., the anti-cartoon rioters (on their public affairs programs), and the fear (and associated racism) in their voices is palpable. demohyp, it's easy to be a troll. You might even be proving that. It is much harder to try to find a way out of the stupidity trolls (and those who feed them their memes) would lead society into.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#9)
    by john horse on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 05:11:53 AM EST
    You have to put this in context. The Bush administration has been conducting a purge of intelligence analysts. Now this would not necessarily be a bad thing if the analysts being forced out were the ones responsible for promoting some of the faulty intelligence that Bush used to justify the invasion of Iraq. However, they are not doing that. Instead they are trying to get rid of those analysts who do not show enough political loyalty, in other words, they want to reward the very syncophants who will give Bush what he wants to hear even if it is unreliable and leads to disastrous consequences like Iraq. For the Bush administration political loyalty trumps everything else, including loyalty to one's country. I can think of some people who have been punished for speaking truth to power during the Bush administration. Can anyone think of a single person who has been in any way punished for passing along the bad intelligence that helped get us into the Iraq mess?

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#10)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 06:31:50 AM EST
    Oh, for those innocent days when we only fired CIA agents for being gay.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 07:02:09 AM EST
    I would like to be a fly on the wall in a meeting between Mary, Karl, libby the VP and Bush. I guess we could call it the bad leakers calling the good leaker bad moment.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#12)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 07:44:00 AM EST
    Libby Sosume - I hope you are correct. I also hope that the investigations continue and they charge those still there, and those who have resigned, with any crimes they may have committed. John Horse writes:
    they are not doing that.
    How do you know? Someone leaking to you? scribe writes:
    However, the Euros know where this is going and they don't like it. Listening to their voices discussing, e.g., the anti-cartoon rioters (on their public affairs programs), and the fear (and associated racism) in their voices is palpable.
    Recognizing that you have a sizeable and growing minority in your country that has not assimilated and is demanding that their religious laws trump your secular laws is not racist. It is realistic and should be welcomed by reasonable people. Can this Moslem minority be assimilated? I don't know. Based on actions by some of the educated Moslems - London bombings, NC SUV attacks, etc. - I don't know. Certainly the failed economies of Europe as a whole appear incapable of providing any real future for the young Moslems who thus become cannon fodder for the radicals. As for the cartoons, that was abject surrender by the west, and was proof to the radicals that they can dominate the west merely by turning the west's failed politically correct actions against it. Palcewski - Like it or not, the President has the right to declassify anything he wants to declassify. BION, he doesn't have to ask a GS10 clerk what he can do. He does have to ask the American people. Bush has. Twice.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#13)
    by squeaky on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 09:37:21 AM EST
    PPJ-
    Recognizing that you have a sizable and growing minority in your country that has not assimilated and is demanding that their religious laws trump your secular laws is not racist. It is realistic and should be welcomed by reasonable people.
    Were you around in 1930's Germany? If not you would have fit in just fine. The 40' would have been tough for you know, with trials and all. BTW-This part you just made up for fun right?
    and is demanding that their religious laws trump your secular laws
    Helps fan the flames of hate, though. You and your syllogisms, correct structure, but still false.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#14)
    by squeaky on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 09:45:26 AM EST
    Larry Johnson speaks:
    The case against the CIA Intelligence Officer, Mary McCarthy, fired for her alleged role in leaking information about secret prisons to the Washington Post's Dana Priest smells a little fishy.
    Read the rest. He knew her and her position. She did not have access to that material.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#15)
    by squeaky on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 09:46:56 AM EST
    Here is the link. TPM Cafe

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 10:04:30 AM EST
    Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber thinks there's something funny about one of those New York Times sentences.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#17)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 07:07:30 PM EST
    Squeaky writes:
    Were you around in 1930's Germany? If not you would have fit in just fine. The 40' would have been tough for you know, with trials and all.
    On another thread you admitted that you were weak in history, so let me provide you with a few key points. The Jews were not demanding that Jewish students not follow secular German law regarding dress as the Moslems recently did in France. The Jews did not stab a German film maker to death on the street for his supposed insulting God's prophets. The Jews did not riot because a newspaper ran some cartoons their religious leaders found offensive. The Jews weren't blowing up commuter trains. The Jews weren't kidnapping and torturing people. The Jews did not riot and kill 13 people, including a priest by burning him to death and two children. The Jews did not riot night after night around Berlin burning cars and destroying property like the Moslems did in France. Are you starting to see the difference between the actions of the Jews and today's Moslems? The Jews were peaceful, productive members of society, following all secular laws without protest. The Moslems have not, are not and demand that they do not. Bit of a difference, eh? BTW - Fishy????? NBC says she confessed.
    WASHINGTON - In a rare occurrence, the CIA fired an officer who acknowledged giving classified information to a reporter, NBC News learned Friday. The officer flunked a polygraph exam before being fired on Thursday and is now under investigation by the Justice Department, NBC has learned
    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#18)
    by jimcee on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 07:25:10 PM EST
    Ppakajim, You have it about right and that is why none of the respondents to your last post can offer a counter view beyond the rote talking points that many on the Left can recite in thier sleep. What does a country do when there is an unassimilated population that refuses to abide by the secular laws of thier adopted residence? (Riots in France, the murder of Theo Van Gogh, ETA in Spain.) There have been demands for Sharia Law for Muslims by Muslim communities in Denmark and The Netherlands. Squeaky, You have invoked 'Godwin's Law' with your reference to the Nazis. Unlike many Muslims in Europe today the Jewish population in 1930's Germany did abide by the secular laws and didn't riot and burn cars because instead they went about thier business and kept to themselves. In other words your inapt analogy was not only historically inaccurate but insulting with its moral equivalence between the victims of the Nazis and the Muslim rioters who burn with violence.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#19)
    by squeaky on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 07:30:44 PM EST
    ppj-
    and is demanding that their religious laws trump your secular laws.
    So you did make it up. You sound just like those germans. Advocating a genocide for all moslems? Sure sounds like it. Your pathetic stereotyping is exactly what they said about the jews. And as you point out none of it was true. But somehow you are blind to the fact that the qualities you claim for over a billion people could be racist bigoted and just as flat out wrong.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#20)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 07:56:46 PM EST
    Squeaky - I didn't say that and you know that I didn't. I am glad to see that your old machine is still working.
    Posted by Squeaky at September 19, 2005 11:19 PM Rove never needed proof for his smear machine, why should I.
    Jimcee - Did uou see Squeaky's response?

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#21)
    by squeaky on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 08:10:52 PM EST
    PPJ- You sure did say that. hindsight is 20 20 as they say. Sadly you have no perspective and are frothing at the mouth about moslems. You have generalized acts of a few to a entire religion. That is a really bad idea. History should have taught you that. Do you know any molsems?

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#22)
    by demohypocrates on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 11:54:44 PM EST
    LOL, not one thing that Jim akaPPJ said was ever addressed. As a response, he was accused of advocating a genocide of all Moslems. It should be called McCarthyism, but it is so weak and so shallow it is better known as crap. Great work.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#23)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 08:12:07 AM EST
    Squeaky - You remain quite good at claiming someone said something they did not, and, as my quote showed, you are quite proud of these actions. And you are always handy with the race card. Can't debate? Then let's claim hate! Eh?? My first comments were to scribe, who claimed the Europeans were/are racists about the problems being presented to them by the Moslems. I expanded on them for your benefit after you tried to use historically incorrect comparisons to justify the actions of the Moslems and to attack me for pointing this out. That these problems are largely caused by their own long standing PC actions that encourage people to NOT assimilate has now become apparent to anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention. The riots were real. The mostly successful suppression of a free press and speech over the cartoons were real as were the 13 killed in Africa, the kidnapping/torture/murder in France, the stabbing in Amsterdam and the commuter train bombs in London. Whether you like it or not, these acts were not committed by Baptists but by Moslem mobs of individuals influenced and controlled by radical so-called religious leaders. We are, in fact, in war on terror. A war in which OBL has said that no matter what actions we take, we must not interfere with the actions of the Moslem "world." He said that over nine years ago. We can now see the results and his intent unfolding worldwide, and especially in Europe. If an individual CIA agent doesn't like the tactics then they should resign. And if they consider it a matter of conscience, then they should call a press conference and denounce the wrong they see. Otherwise it appears to be ego and politics. A combination that has caused huge problems for many. Agent McCarthy may be the first of many.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#24)
    by squeaky on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 09:46:22 AM EST
    ppj-When you refer to a group of people that number over 1 billion as 'they' or 'them', and use the pronoun in the same context as rioter, murderers, terrorists, uncivilized dogs, etc, you are showing your cards. When you cheer on the president for his Iraq war saying that it is a stepping stone to Iran and that hundred of thousand deaths of moslems are insignificant, mere sacrifices for the WOT (against muslims) you sound like Stalin. When you support state sponsored racial profiling you are showing your racism and bigotry. American as apple pie, well not in my book. Yes, just like other 'innocents' who stood by cheering while whole groups of have been annihilated, you can say 'but, I never said that'. Right ppj. All you have ever said on the subject of Muslims is meant to fan genocidal flames and hatred born from fear. The tried and true response of all racists/bigots when confronted with their support for wiping out an entire group of people is: "But, I never said that", while in the company of 'friends' snicker in delight. The Iranian president reveals the hypocrisy of Likudniks like you and their genocidal fantasies, unspoken but very real. Ahmadinejad actually responded to what most of you will not publicly utter, couched words spoken in code. Rhetoric?. For sure, meant to counter and bring into the light the dark words you consistently imply but never outright say: Kill all Moslems before they kill us. History seems to repeat. In fact you and your friends use history to justify the repeat. Obviously the lessons history offers are lost on you.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#25)
    by squeaky on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 04:15:29 PM EST
    Josh Marshall pulls this little tidbit out of the WaPo article on the 'leaker' purge:
    The White House also has recently barraged the agency with questions about the political affiliations of some of its senior intelligence officers, according to intelligence officials.
    These guys have no shame and it is going to blow up in their faces.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#26)
    by Sailor on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 04:52:59 PM EST
    bushco does selective leaks to attack people who disagree with them. Patriots do leaks to expose the illeagal actions of bushco. Gee, I guess they're are 'good leaks' and 'bad leaks.' Squeaky, ppj has gone on record here supporting torture. 'nuff said.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#27)
    by Edger on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 05:10:51 PM EST
    The only reason anyone tortures is because they like to do it. It's about vengeance, it's about revenge, or it's about cover-up. You don't gain intelligence that way. Everyone in the world knows that. It's worse than small-minded, and look what it does. --Eric Haney, a founding member of Delta Force


    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#28)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 06:36:48 PM EST
    Squeaky writes:
    ppj-When you refer to a group of people that number over 1 billion as 'they' or 'them', and use the pronoun in the same context as rioter, murderers, terrorists, uncivilized dogs, etc, you are showing your cards.
    I clearly defined the groups in question, so your billions comment is just another weak attempt to defend the terrorist actions. But, if you want to bring other countries, have at it. And I never said anything about wiping anyone "out." Your smear is just that, a damnable smear by one who is expert in smearing, and who brags about it.
    Posted by Squeaky at September 19, 2005 11:19 PM Rove never needed proof for his smear machine, why should I.
    The discussion in question was Europe's problems with an unassimilated Moslem minority population. All of your claims are manufactured by you, and are in fact, lies. The truth is that if Europe doesn't address the problem now, violence will follow and people will die.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#29)
    by Sailor on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 07:26:13 PM EST
    actually, the duscussion in question was "Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy." ppj just hijacked the thread and made it about him once again. Oh, poor, poooor, ppj.

    Re: Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy (none / 0) (#30)
    by squeaky on Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 08:14:34 PM EST
    ppj-right. Your bigotry is legendry here. Sorry that I suggested that you were for wiping out all moslems. Clearly I was wrong. At least half of them need to be rendered and tortured so that they can tell Saddam's secrets. You know the ones about him and his pal Osama that you seem to know about. You are a fan of torturing moslems, as your comments show. BTW- it is clearer than day, as General Odum pointed out, that you and those like you are helping al Quaida like no other could. All your cheers for each muslim death bring on twenty of his family seeking vengence on America. Thanks for making us less safe. Know any muslims?

    Fired CIA Agent is Mary McCarthy | 29 comments (29 topical)