Ex-Cheney aide gets 10 years in prison in spy case

[kpete]

Ex-Cheney aide gets 10 years in prison in spy case
Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:36PM EDT

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A former White House official who took top secret documents from U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's office and gave them to opposition figures in the Philippines was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

Philippine-born Leandro Aragoncillo, a U.S. citizen and former Marine, pleaded guilty last year to taking the documents that included details on threats against U.S. government interests and military personnel in the Philippines.

Aragoncillo worked on the security detail assigned to the vice president from 1999 to 2002, where he held a top security clearance. He later took a job as an intelligence analyst with the FBI in New Jersey.

"There's no doubt that you did betray a position of trust that very few people are able to occupy," Judge William Walls told Aragoncillo.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1835053120070718

[Cooley Hurd]

1. And the Cheney Branch STILL refuses oversight on classified matters...

:eyes:

[KansDem]

2. Isn't this what transpired with the Plame outing?

"There's no doubt that you did betray a position of trust that very few people are able to occupy"--Yet, no arrests... Only one person who lied about what he knew about the other liars.

10 years seems "excessive," maybe Bush will commute his sentence, too...

edited to fix comma...

[tularetom]

3. Little brown guy steals docs and gets 10 years

Asshole with preppie sounding name lies about outing a secret agent and puts the nation at risk and gets community service.

Wonder if they knew each other? They both worked in Cheney's office.

[IChing]

4. I like the headline and hope that the rest of media keep it.

But I'm sure it will be changed to lessen the connection.

[Richard Steele]

5. Yet another traitor from the office of the secret VP. nm

[MagickMuffin]

6. Sheesh, this is the first I've heard ANYTHING about this betrayal to OUR National Security

Wonder why. Oh yeah, it involves Slick Dick. I wouldn't be surprised if Slick Dick authorized this leaking of Classified docs., that were faxed directly from his office....

And just exactly WHY did Slick Dick need a security detail in 1999?!?

He wasn't even considered a VP choice until 2000...

Wouldn't it be wonderful if our News media would report the abuse and harm caused by this MisAdministration?!?!?!?

Instead we get nothing. Zero, Zip, Nada, Nothing worth reporting.

[Cyrano]

7. My crystal ball sees a presidential pardon in Mr Aragoncillo's future.

I'd say sometime after the 2008 election.

[mod mom]

8. Was it just coincidental that both he and Susan Ralston were of Philipine descent?

[myrna minx]

9. I didn't even know about this trial. Where have I been?

:shrug:

[Canuckistanian]

10. A prime example of why the VP's office should be investigated

Their security breaches have become a danger to national security.

This is a much worse crime than that of Sandy Berger.

[Disturbed]

11. The info went to "Opposition Candidates"?

The article doesn't explain why this info was considered helpful to "Opposition Candidates" or what political party these "Opposition Candidates" were in. I am guessing that they were RWing candidates. His excuse that he was trying to help "poor people" is pathetic. Did he mean that the "Opposition Candidates" were low income?

It is strange that this story seems to have been low profile until now. Sending faxes right out of the VP's office of classified material would seem to be important news. I guess the US Corp Media had more important matters to present.

[Up2Late]

12. I'm not that up on Philippine Politics, what's opposite of President Gloria Macapagal Arroy?

<http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-07-18T180721Z_01_N18350531_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-PHILIPPINES-ESPIONAGE.xml>

...The case caused a political scandal in the Philippines because the documents were used by opponents of
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to try to oust her.

Prosecutors have named former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, Sen. Panfilo Lacson and former House of Representatives Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella as unindicted co-conspirators in the plot. The investigation is ongoing....

BTW, he didn't even take them, he just use Cheney's FAX Machine, which is probably what Darth Cheney is really angry about:

...Prosecutors told the court Aragoncillo used a fax machine in Cheney's office to send documents to the Philippines. They said up to 800 classified documents had been compromised by Aragoncillo, as well as the name of a U.S. government source.... <http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-07-18T180721Z_01_N18350531_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-PHILIPPINES-ESPIONAGE.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1>