Ex-CIA officer convicted of leaking secrets to reporter

Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

A former CIA officer was convicted Monday of leaking details of a covert mission to derail Iran’s nuclear program in a case that, until the eve of the trial, was as much about the journalist who published the leaks as it was the accused leaker.

The government gave up on its effort to force New York Times reporter James Risen to reveal his sources — and ultimately didn’t need him to win a conviction.

Jurors convicted Jeffrey Sterling, 47, of O’Fallon, Mo., of all nine counts he faced in federal court.

At issue in the two-week trial: Who told Risen about the mission, one that former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice testified was among the government’s most closely held secrets during her tenure as well as one of its best chances to derail Iran’s nuclear-weapons ambitions?

The case was delayed for years as prosecutors fought to force Risen to divulge his sources. Risen eventually lost his legal battle to quash a government subpoena, though prosecutors ultimately decided not to call him to testify once it became clear he would not reveal those sources even if jailed for contempt of court and free-press advocates lobbied on Risen’s behalf.

Prosecutors had acknowledged a lack of direct evidence against Sterling but said the circumstantial evidence against him was overwhelming.