Former CIA Jerry Chun Shing Lee — The Plot Thickens

“Some former officials who reviewed the evidence described the case against Mr. Lee as strong but circumstantial, not bulletproof. Some at the C.I.A. argued that officials were too quick to suspect a mole — especially a Chinese-American — when there were other explanations.”

New York Times

“Mr. Lee is not a Chinese spy, he’s a loyal American who served his country in the military and in the CIA.”

Edward MacMahon — Jerry Lee’s attorney

On January 15 2018, Jerry Lee — a former Central Intelligence Agency officer — was arrested at JFK airport. According to the charges, Mr. Jerry Lee illegally retained highly classified information. But the FBI suspects a bigger crime. The Bureau believes that Lee betrayed the identities of several CIA assets in China. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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International Women’s Day 2019 — Chelsea Manning Goes to Jail (March 8 2019) [UPDATE]

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Documentary — Cold Case Hammarskjöld

“As Brügger uncovers a critical secret that could send shockwaves around the world, we realize that sometimes absurdity and irony are the emboldening ingredients needed to confront what’s truly sinister.”

Sundance Festival 2019

“People that I would say are trolls sort of took over Wikipedia. The inmates started running the asylum.”

Larry Sanger — Wikipedia co-founder

Cold Case Hammarskjöld is a documentary film by Danish film maker Mads Brügger about the death of UN General Secretary Dag Hammarskjöld, whose airplane crashed in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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One Year Ago — BELGIUM : €10bn Missing From Gaddafi Frozen Accounts

“There remains a little less than 5 billion euros on the four accounts opened at Euroclear Bank SA.”

Denis Goeman — Spokesman from Brussels’ prosecutor’s office

“Making the interest and other earnings freely available to the Libyan Investment Authority is in non-compliance with the sanctions regime. Furthermore, considering the instability in the country, the disputes over the authority of the Libyan Investment Authority and the lack of an oversight mechanism, doing so could lead to the misuse and misappropriation of funds.”

UN Report

“Nobody is preoccupied with the question of where the funds have gone and who benefitted from them. What is surprising is that nobody wanted to see what was going on and everyone is shutting their eyes at a political level … This is an extremely serious problem as it could uncover a real state scandal.”

Robert Wtterwulghe — Law professor at UC Louvain University

Brussels, Belgium ( March 9 2018) — After Gaddafi’s death in 2011, the U.N. passed a resolution to freeze his wealth, with the idea that it would be held in trust for the Libyan people until the war-shattered country stabilizes. Four separate accounts opened for the Libyan Investment Authority and Libyan Foreign Investment Company in the Euroclear bank held about 16 billion euros when they became ‘frozen’ under UN sanctions in September 2011. Today, there remains about 5 billion euros on these accounts. So the question is rather simple: Where did the €11 billion vanish to? Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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Two Years Ago — Belgium : State Security Service officers not allowed to carry weapons…because of a legal glitch

“One of the oldest domestic intelligence agencies in continuous existence is Belgium’s civil security service, the Veiligheid van de Staat or Surêté de l’Etat (VSSE).”

Kenneth L. Lasoen

Jaak Raes — Current Administrator-General of Belgian State Security Service VSSE

March 9 2017 — Because of a legal mistake, the officers of the Belgian State Security Service were not allowed to legally carry weapons for almost one year. The mistake was detected last month and several dangerous missions are said to have been cancelled. A new law — which corrects this mistake — is entering into force today. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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Robert A. Levinson — FBI Statement on Anniversary of His Disappearance [2019]

“We share our deepest sympathy with his family which has suffered from his absence for over a decade. We will not rest until the Levinson family is whole again. Iran committed to cooperating with the United States to assist us in bringing Robert Levinson home and we call on Iran to fulfill this commitment.”

Heather Nauert  — State Department Press Secretary (March 9 2018)

“The Iranians responded with a startling offer. In return for Tehran’s assistance in recovering Levinson, they wanted Washington to reveal the location of Ali Reza Asgari, an Iranian general who vanished in Turkey in 2007, just one month before Levinson’s disappearance.”

YEGANEH TORBATI and JOEL SCHECTMAN — America’s unending hostage crisis with Iran — Reuters (August 1 2018)

“My husband served this country tirelessly for decades. He deserves better from all of us and from our government. He deserves our endless pursuit to bring him home, to fight day and night and leave no stone unturned.”

Christine Levinson

Robert Levinson is pictured with his daughters in 2006, about seven months before his kidnapping

March 9 2019 marks the twelve-year anniversary of Robert Levinson’s disappearance from Kish Island, Iran. The FBI has offered a $5 million reward for any information that could lead to his safe return. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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International Women’s Day 2019 — Chelsea Manning Goes to Jail (March 8 2019)

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Two Years Ago — CIA Statement on Vault 7 Claims by WikiLeaks (March 8 2017)

“I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the wind.”

President John F. Kennedy

“A people always ends by resembling its shadow. ” Rudyard Kipling

On Tuesday March 7, 2017, WikiLeaks began its new series of leaks on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Code-named “Vault 7” by WikiLeaks, it is the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency. Here is the official CIA statement regarding the claims made by WikiLeaks. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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On This Day — Remembering CIA Jacqueline K. Van Landingham (1962 – March 8 1995)

“African Americans have long made critical contributions to our Agency’s mission, taking the risks and bearing the sacrifices that intelligence work often demands. We at CIA join our fellow citizens in remembering the immeasurable sacrifice, strength, and courage of African Americans in building a more free and just society. It is a cause they nobly advanced, and one that we all must carry forward to this day.”

CIA Director John Brennan  — February 26 2014 CIA’s Black History Month Celebration

The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. Today, there are 129 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. At least ten represent women.

March 8 2019 — Jacqueline K. Van Landingham joined the CIA in July 1985 as a clerk-typist, working in the Directorate of Operations (now the National Clandestine Service), Near East (NE) Division, Logistics Branch. She was gunned down on March 8, 1995 in Karachi, Pakistan. On May 22, 2012, her name was added to the Book of Honour. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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One Year Ago — The Bizarre Story of ex-CIA Jerry Chun Shing Lee

“Misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent.”

Goethe — The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774)

“Some former officials who reviewed the evidence described the case against Mr. Lee as strong but circumstantial, not bulletproof. Some at the C.I.A. argued that officials were too quick to suspect a mole — especially a Chinese-American — when there were other explanations.”

New York Times

“Mr. Lee is not a Chinese spy, he’s a loyal American who served his country in the military and in the CIA.”

Edward MacMahon — Jerry Lee’s attorney

March 7 2018 — A former Central Intelligence Agency officer was arrested at JFK airport on — Monday night — January 15 2018. According to the charges, Mr. Jerry Lee illegally retained highly classified information. But the FBI suspects a bigger crime. The Bureau believes that Lee betrayed the identities of several CIA assets in China.

Although US media have already widely accepted that explanation and most predict that Lee will eventually be charged with treason, I am very skeptical at this point. Firstly, the theory is not satisfactory as it does not, and cannot, explain all the facts. Secondly, alternative explanations — Do you remember the blunders of CIA Operation MERLIN? –appear far more convincing. Thus, I predict that Lee will NOT be charged with treason/espionage.

At an initial appearance in the US district courthouse in Alexandria, Magistrate Judge Ian Davis ordered Lee detained before his preliminary hearing, which was set for March 19 at 2 p.m.

UPDATE May 10 2018 — According to a DOJ Press Release (dated Tuesday, May 8, 2018), Lee has admitted preparing a document containing secret information in response to taskings from Chinese Intelligence officers. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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