For all the recent talk about Dick Cheney refusing to abide by a White House executive order on handling classified materials, let's not forget the ca
July 18, 2007

For all the recent talk about Dick Cheney refusing to abide by a White House executive order on handling classified materials, let's not forget the case of Leandro Aragoncillo.

The former Marine at the center of the first case of espionage at the White House in modern history was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for stealing and passing on top secret documents.

"There's no doubt you did betray a position of trust that very few people are privileged to occupy," U.S. District Judge William H. Walls said to the spy, Leandro Aragoncillo, at the hearing.

As Josh Marshall recently noted, "To the best of my knowledge this is the only known case of espionage taking place within the White House. And it happened in Cheney's operation.... The Cheney OVP seems to have a serious issue safeguarding classified material -- one so serious it has led to two felony convictions."

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon