Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Justice Department Asking CIA to Preserve All Relevant Records
Aired October 01, 2003 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The Justice Department asking the CIA to preserve all relevant records on the matter of whether or not national security may or may not have been harmed or whether or not a CIA agent was put in danger, an operative, we should say.
Robert Baer, a CIA case officer, joins us now from Irvine, California with his take on this whole matter.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for coming back here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA CASE OFFICER: Thanks.
HEMMER: A senior intelligence official told CNN -- we'll put it on the screen for our viewers to see -- saying, "If she were only an analyst and not an operative, we would not have filed a crimes report."
We talked about this question yesterday, Robert.
What is the definition right now about what is legal and not legal and how these agents versus operatives and analysts are defined within the CIA?
BAER: Actually, it's pretty easy. It's, the point is she was undercover and it's not for someone on the outside to determine whether that cover is sensitive or not. And that's why the CIA filed the crimes report.
Whether she was an analyst or an operative, she still had the capability of going overseas and operating undercover, which is absolutely essential for the CIA. And now she can't. I mean her career has been destroyed.
HEMMER: You have said some very interesting things about Robert Novak. You think he was set up, used. Why is that? Explain it.
BAER: Well, I mean, you know, whoever called him and told him to use this name may not have fully explained. And I think that Novak was used as sort of a hatchet man in this case to go after Joe Wilson. And it's a warning to the rest of the CIA -- stay out of politics. If you do, we're going to come down on you.
HEMMER: But you also said that Wilson should have known that the article that he wrote was going to create a firestorm.
BAER: I've been through that.
HEMMER: Is this a back door shot at telling Joe Wilson you should have known better?
BAER: Oh, I think it is.
HEMMER: And after all, do you out your wife given that?
BAER: Listen, in politics in Washington, you know, anybody is fair game, even though his wife had nothing to do with this. The moment he wrote an editorial for the "New York Times" he was fair game for the White House. He should have known that and I mean but maybe he's doing this on principles. You'd have to ask him.
HEMMER: Listen, Robert Novak is speaking again. He's writing again today. He wrote a piece earlier today for the "Sun-Times." I just want to quote -- oh, we're breaking up on our satellite. Hang with us, if you could, Robert.
He says, "To protect my own integrity and credibility, I would like to stress three points. First, I did not receive a planned leak. Second, the CIA never warned me that the disclosure of Wilson's wife working at the agency would endanger her or anybody else. And third, it was not much of a secret."
What did he mean it wasn't a secret that this woman was working for the CIA?
BAER: You know, it doesn't matter. It's, you know, journalists can get into the CIA, they can identify people. But it's known among Washington journalists they don't. There's a law against it and there's a reason not to. It affects national security.
I think he decided just to go ahead with it because it was such a politically hot issue. But you don't have to tell Washington journalists you don't leak protected identities.
HEMMER: Where do you think this is going, Robert?
BAER: I think it's a vehicle to go after the politicization of intelligence in Washington. In itself, it's not that important a case. But I think it's going to be an opening maybe for an independent counsel that will look in overall the Iraq -- intelligence on Iraq.
HEMMER: We'll all see eventually, won't we?
Robert Baer, thanks for hanging in there given the technical issues in Irvine.
Thanks.
BAER: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Records>
Aired October 1, 2003 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The Justice Department asking the CIA to preserve all relevant records on the matter of whether or not national security may or may not have been harmed or whether or not a CIA agent was put in danger, an operative, we should say.
Robert Baer, a CIA case officer, joins us now from Irvine, California with his take on this whole matter.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for coming back here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA CASE OFFICER: Thanks.
HEMMER: A senior intelligence official told CNN -- we'll put it on the screen for our viewers to see -- saying, "If she were only an analyst and not an operative, we would not have filed a crimes report."
We talked about this question yesterday, Robert.
What is the definition right now about what is legal and not legal and how these agents versus operatives and analysts are defined within the CIA?
BAER: Actually, it's pretty easy. It's, the point is she was undercover and it's not for someone on the outside to determine whether that cover is sensitive or not. And that's why the CIA filed the crimes report.
Whether she was an analyst or an operative, she still had the capability of going overseas and operating undercover, which is absolutely essential for the CIA. And now she can't. I mean her career has been destroyed.
HEMMER: You have said some very interesting things about Robert Novak. You think he was set up, used. Why is that? Explain it.
BAER: Well, I mean, you know, whoever called him and told him to use this name may not have fully explained. And I think that Novak was used as sort of a hatchet man in this case to go after Joe Wilson. And it's a warning to the rest of the CIA -- stay out of politics. If you do, we're going to come down on you.
HEMMER: But you also said that Wilson should have known that the article that he wrote was going to create a firestorm.
BAER: I've been through that.
HEMMER: Is this a back door shot at telling Joe Wilson you should have known better?
BAER: Oh, I think it is.
HEMMER: And after all, do you out your wife given that?
BAER: Listen, in politics in Washington, you know, anybody is fair game, even though his wife had nothing to do with this. The moment he wrote an editorial for the "New York Times" he was fair game for the White House. He should have known that and I mean but maybe he's doing this on principles. You'd have to ask him.
HEMMER: Listen, Robert Novak is speaking again. He's writing again today. He wrote a piece earlier today for the "Sun-Times." I just want to quote -- oh, we're breaking up on our satellite. Hang with us, if you could, Robert.
He says, "To protect my own integrity and credibility, I would like to stress three points. First, I did not receive a planned leak. Second, the CIA never warned me that the disclosure of Wilson's wife working at the agency would endanger her or anybody else. And third, it was not much of a secret."
What did he mean it wasn't a secret that this woman was working for the CIA?
BAER: You know, it doesn't matter. It's, you know, journalists can get into the CIA, they can identify people. But it's known among Washington journalists they don't. There's a law against it and there's a reason not to. It affects national security.
I think he decided just to go ahead with it because it was such a politically hot issue. But you don't have to tell Washington journalists you don't leak protected identities.
HEMMER: Where do you think this is going, Robert?
BAER: I think it's a vehicle to go after the politicization of intelligence in Washington. In itself, it's not that important a case. But I think it's going to be an opening maybe for an independent counsel that will look in overall the Iraq -- intelligence on Iraq.
HEMMER: We'll all see eventually, won't we?
Robert Baer, thanks for hanging in there given the technical issues in Irvine.
Thanks.
BAER: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Records>
