Public Comment

Jeffrey Sterling is the first African-American case officer to file a suit against the CIA for racial discrimination. The CIA countered with its own suit charging Sterling with nine felony counts including espionage. They accused Sterling of passing on details of a botched up CIA effort to derail the Iran nuclear program to James Risen of the New York Times. Risen reported that the CIA details may have actually aided the Iranian government nuclear program and stubbornly refused to reveal his source. The CIA counter-suit appears to have little to do with protecting national security but more to do with punishing Sterling for filing his discrimination suit. Sterling’s case is the subject of the documentary short, ‘The Invisible Man’. 

hThe case is extremely important for preserving civil liberties and freedom of the press and the public’s right to know, with informed consent, in what’s supposed to be a democracy.