A covert CIA agent was accused of committing war crimes during a paramilitary operation overseas. Now as the probe proves to be inconclusive, the undercover officer is suing the Central Intelligence Agency.
The agent, whose name has not been released due to the sensitive
nature of the case, plans to formally sue the CIA on Friday.
Meanwhile details of the suit were published by Foreign Policy on
Thursday as the first details emerge about a secretive campaign
carried out by Uncle Sam that may have violated international
law.
Sometime in 2010 or 2011, the plaintiff – identified only as John
Doe in the legal filing – became entwined in a CIA inspector
general probe that put him and others at the center of suspected
war crimes.
“Following a specific overseas assignment/activity, John Doe
was wrongfully accused of participating in, committing and/or
possessing information about war crimes,” the lawsuit states.
“Other CIA employees were also accused.”
Doe was engaged in “offensive operations against individuals
designated or viewed as enemies of the United States,” the
complaint contests, and although he admits he had concerns about
that activity, he insists he did nothing wrong. Last year an
attorney for the inspector’s general office made the same
determination, but Doe is still under administrative suspension
and says his life has been destroyed by the scandal.
Mark Zaid, Doe’s attorney, doesn’t divulge what those operations
actually consisted of, but the CIA’s clandestine operations have
raised eyebrows internationally as of late, so much so that US
President Barack Obama recently said he wants to shift control of
the agency’s controversial targeting kill done program to the
Department of Defense. But with little oversight and leaked
accounts a rare occurrence, very few details exist about the
CIA’s operations overseas. Earlier this year, New York Times
journalist Mark Mazzetti authored an entire book focusing CIA
paramilitary operations around the world.
But while the activity Doe is alleged to have engaged in remains
unknown, Foreign Policy’s John Hudson has more on what has
happened since the IG investigation first got off the ground:
“For instance, following the operation, Zaid says his client’s
computer and cell phone were compromised by cyber hackers. At
first, the client believed a foreign power was responsible and
notified the FBI, which opened an investigation but could not
determine the origin of the attack. After working with the FBI in
its investigation, and finding it unusually cooperative, Zaid
suspects the CIA was spying on his client.”
“In connection with internal investigations of John Doe, CIA
employees, either with or without authority, initiated physical
and electronic surveillance of him, some of which were
unlawful,” the complaint reads.
“The surveillance included harassment tactics undertaken by
local law enforcement who were cooperating with the CIA. Other
tactics involved corruption of electronic devices such as
computers and cellphones. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
opened an investigation into CIA’s activities involving John
Doe.”
Zaid writes in the complaint that the Administrative Procedure
Act empowers courts to “compel agency action unlawfully withheld
or unreasonable delayed,” and that the length of delay in
formally closing the IG’s investigation into his client “fails
the rule of reason.”
The IG, the complaint continues, “is aware that there is no
evidentiary basis for the allegations against John Doe and is
purposely refusing to administratively close its investigation in
order to discredit or otherwise cause harm to his career.”
Zaid is asking the US District Court for the District of Columbia
to compel the CIA to close its investigation and expedite the
process “in every way possible.”
This article originally appeared on: RT