bobdina
11-09-2010, 12:38 PM
Former CIA Officer Betrayed US Twice
November 09, 2010
Knight Ridder
For the second time in his life, former CIA officer Jim Nicholson has pleaded guilty to illicit dealings with Russian intelligence officers -- this time from behind bars.
The 59-year-old former spy stood before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown on Monday in Portland and acknowledged that he conspired with his son to act as an agent of the Russian Federation and conceal the foreign government's payments to them while serving a prison term in Oregon for espionage.
"I plead guilty, your honor," said Nicholson, clad in light-brown prison garb and ankle chains.
The plea made Nicholson -- a native Oregonian, former Army captain and 16-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency -- the first CIA officer convicted twice of betraying his country.
For many months, government prosecutors and Nicholson's defense team had prepared for a trial that was set to begin Monday. But last week, the ex-spy's lawyers notified the court he would plead guilty.
"Although we were prepared to mount a vigorous defense to the charges in this case, Mr. Nicholson has decided to abandon that challenge to spare his family, and especially his son Nathan, from the ordeal of a lengthy trial," said defense lawyer Samuel C. Kauffman in a prepared statement.
"Mr. Nicholson," he wrote, "hopes that his resolution of these charges will allow his children to move on with their lives, and he appreciates their ongoing love and support."
The former spy, whose formal name is Harold James Nicholson, had traveled the globe as a CIA officer in the 1990s, winning the agency's praises at a time when its spies were laboring to turn Russian intelligence officers into moles for the U.S.
But facing divorce and the possibility he might lose custody of his three children, Nicholson covertly switched teams. He sold U.S. secrets to the Russians and collected cash that would mount to $300,000 before his capture. He was undone by one of the CIA's routine lie-detector tests.
On March 3, 1997, Nicholson stood before U.S. District Judge James Cacheris in Virginia and admitted he had passed Russian officials documents and photo negatives relating to the defense of the U.S. Cacheris found Nicholson guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage and sentenced him to 23 years in prison.
Nicholson had served nearly half that time by 2006, when he began passing messages on wadded pieces of paper to his son Nathan, now 26, during visiting hours at the prison at Sheridan.
The government accused Nathan of taking those notes to Russian officials on three continents and collecting what prosecutors called his father's "pension." Court papers indicate Nathan took $47,000 from the Russians and that his father had contemplated moving to Russia after he got out of prison.
Nathan pleaded guilty, cooperated with the prosecution of his father and will be sentenced on Dec. 7.
After Monday's plea, Oregon's top FBI official, Arthur Balizan, scolded Jim Nicholson for his betrayals.
"During his career with the CIA, this country entrusted Harold 'Jim' Nicholson with some of its most sensitive secrets," Balizan said in a news release. "Not once -- but twice -- he betrayed his oath, our nation and his family. Unfortunately, this is a legacy he and his children will live with from now on."
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons listed Nicholson's release date as June 4, 2017. But as the former agent stood before Judge Brown on Monday, he faced additional time.
Nicholson's lawyers and government prosecutors negotiated a plea agreement that calls for Nicholson to serve 8 extra years after he finishes his current sentence for espionage. That means he would get out of prison, with time off for good behavior, in roughly mid-2024.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Pam Holsinger pointed out Monday that Nicholson faces even more time on his present term because of "two disciplinary issues.' Nicholson has been locked in a segregated housing unit at Sheridan since his arrest in December 2008.
Brown found Nicholson guilty of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and money laundering at the end of Monday's 43-minute plea hearing and set his sentencing for Jan. 18.
http://www.military.com/news/article/former-cia-officer-betrayed-us-twice.html?wh=news
November 09, 2010
Knight Ridder
For the second time in his life, former CIA officer Jim Nicholson has pleaded guilty to illicit dealings with Russian intelligence officers -- this time from behind bars.
The 59-year-old former spy stood before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown on Monday in Portland and acknowledged that he conspired with his son to act as an agent of the Russian Federation and conceal the foreign government's payments to them while serving a prison term in Oregon for espionage.
"I plead guilty, your honor," said Nicholson, clad in light-brown prison garb and ankle chains.
The plea made Nicholson -- a native Oregonian, former Army captain and 16-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency -- the first CIA officer convicted twice of betraying his country.
For many months, government prosecutors and Nicholson's defense team had prepared for a trial that was set to begin Monday. But last week, the ex-spy's lawyers notified the court he would plead guilty.
"Although we were prepared to mount a vigorous defense to the charges in this case, Mr. Nicholson has decided to abandon that challenge to spare his family, and especially his son Nathan, from the ordeal of a lengthy trial," said defense lawyer Samuel C. Kauffman in a prepared statement.
"Mr. Nicholson," he wrote, "hopes that his resolution of these charges will allow his children to move on with their lives, and he appreciates their ongoing love and support."
The former spy, whose formal name is Harold James Nicholson, had traveled the globe as a CIA officer in the 1990s, winning the agency's praises at a time when its spies were laboring to turn Russian intelligence officers into moles for the U.S.
But facing divorce and the possibility he might lose custody of his three children, Nicholson covertly switched teams. He sold U.S. secrets to the Russians and collected cash that would mount to $300,000 before his capture. He was undone by one of the CIA's routine lie-detector tests.
On March 3, 1997, Nicholson stood before U.S. District Judge James Cacheris in Virginia and admitted he had passed Russian officials documents and photo negatives relating to the defense of the U.S. Cacheris found Nicholson guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage and sentenced him to 23 years in prison.
Nicholson had served nearly half that time by 2006, when he began passing messages on wadded pieces of paper to his son Nathan, now 26, during visiting hours at the prison at Sheridan.
The government accused Nathan of taking those notes to Russian officials on three continents and collecting what prosecutors called his father's "pension." Court papers indicate Nathan took $47,000 from the Russians and that his father had contemplated moving to Russia after he got out of prison.
Nathan pleaded guilty, cooperated with the prosecution of his father and will be sentenced on Dec. 7.
After Monday's plea, Oregon's top FBI official, Arthur Balizan, scolded Jim Nicholson for his betrayals.
"During his career with the CIA, this country entrusted Harold 'Jim' Nicholson with some of its most sensitive secrets," Balizan said in a news release. "Not once -- but twice -- he betrayed his oath, our nation and his family. Unfortunately, this is a legacy he and his children will live with from now on."
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons listed Nicholson's release date as June 4, 2017. But as the former agent stood before Judge Brown on Monday, he faced additional time.
Nicholson's lawyers and government prosecutors negotiated a plea agreement that calls for Nicholson to serve 8 extra years after he finishes his current sentence for espionage. That means he would get out of prison, with time off for good behavior, in roughly mid-2024.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Pam Holsinger pointed out Monday that Nicholson faces even more time on his present term because of "two disciplinary issues.' Nicholson has been locked in a segregated housing unit at Sheridan since his arrest in December 2008.
Brown found Nicholson guilty of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and money laundering at the end of Monday's 43-minute plea hearing and set his sentencing for Jan. 18.
http://www.military.com/news/article/former-cia-officer-betrayed-us-twice.html?wh=news