Details of CIA Fraud to Stay Secret, Judge Rules
Public Won't See Secret Grand Jury Transcripts from Kyle "Dusty" Foggo Case
By JUSTIN ROOD
January 29, 2009—
The American public may never learn the full extent of fraud and abuse committed by a former top CIA official, and uncovered through a years-long federal investigation.
In a ruling filed Wednesday, a federal judge denied a request by federal prosecutors to release portions of secret grand jury transcripts which, the lawyers alleged, would allow the public to see a fuller measure of the crimes of Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who resigned from the CIA in 2006.
"It is the public that is the victim of this fraud, and the public should have an opportunity to consider all of Foggo's conduct," the prosecutors argued. Foggo's lawyer said prosecutors were just "looking to make a big public splash" by releasing the material, which could include gossip and speculation.
Foggo pled guilty last September to a single count of wire fraud. In exchange, prosecutors dropped over two dozen other charges against him, including money laundering and conspiracy.
Federal prosecutors and agents from the FBI, IRS, and Department of Defense spent over two years building their case against Foggo, who rose to the third most powerful post in the Central Intelligence Agency under former director Porter Goss. Foggo resigned in 2006 after investigators raided his home and office.
Foggo Faces Sentencing
Foggo is slated to be sentenced February 19. According to the terms of his plea agreement, prosecutors have promised not to seek a prison term longer than 37 months.
Prosecutors said they sought to use the grand jury material to argue for a stiff sentence. Judge James C. Cacheris of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that prosecutors could use the transcripts, but they could not be released to the public.
In their 2007 indictment of Foggo, prosecutors said he steered several business deals, including one worth $132 million, to companies run by a childhood friend, who had promised Foggo a job after he retired from the agency and lavished him with gifts, expensive meals, visits with prostitutes and vacations.
In one email from Foggo quoted in the indictment, the former top official promised his friend, Brent Wilkes, he would apply "grease" to move a contract deal along.
Wilkes was convicted in November 2007 on 13 felony counts of bribery, conspiracy, fraud and money laundering relating to his bribery of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Wilkes was released earlier this year, after posting a $2 million bond, while he appeals his 12-year sentence. Cunningham is serving an eight-year, four-month sentence after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes in exchange for fraudulent earmarks.
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