-Caveat Lector-
Ex-CIA Officer Appeals Conviction
By C. BRYSON HULL
.c The Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) - Former CIA officer Edwin P. Wilson, jailed since 1983 for
illegal arms smuggling to Libya, has filed an appeal accusing federal
prosecutors of knowingly using a false affidavit to convict him.
Wilson's claims are accompanied by hundreds of secret government memos that
his lawyers obtained.
Wilson's main job for the CIA before he retired in 1971 was setting up front
companies abroad while posing as a rich American businessman. He lived his
cover to the hilt and made himself a multimillionaire in the process. He was
arrested in 1982 after being lured out of Libya by a government informant and
was sentenced to 52 years in prison.
The appeal is of a 1983 conviction for shipping 20 tons of C-4 plastic
explosives from Houston's Intercontinental Airport to Libya. Even if his
appeal were successful, Wilson would still face prison time on two other
convictions. But his defense attorney, David Adler, believes similar evidence
exists that could throw out a Virginia conviction of Wilson for illegally
exporting guns to Egypt.
Adler said the secret government memos detail lengthy efforts to hide the use
of the false affidavit and prosecutors' failure to release information that
would have aided Wilson's defense during his 1983 Houston trial on charges of
selling tons of explosives to Libya.
Wilson claims that his dealings with Libya, for which he was convicted, were
the result of a CIA request that he ingratiate himself with the Libyans after
he officially retired from the agency.
The affidavit by then-CIA Executive Director Charles Briggs, the agency's No.
3 official, said the agency had not asked Wilson either directly or
indirectly to provide any service to the agency after he retired.
A four-volume appeal filed Sept. 8 includes more than 800 pages of exhibits
that allegedly show government lawyers knew the crucial affidavit was false
the night before it was presented in court.
The documents show that Wilson in fact had some 80 contacts with the CIA from
his retirement through 1978 and provided a variety of services, including
arranging gun sales to a Saudi Arabian security agency and the shipment of
two desalinization units to Egypt.
Documents also show prosecutors then spent nearly eight months discussing
whether to disclose that fact to the court and Wilson's lawyers.
The evidence was enough to prompt an unusual courtroom admission earlier in
March from Justice Department attorney Arlene Reidy.
``We have a lot of documents already that I think show that there was a clear
problem with the affidavit's accuracy and that the individuals involved were
well aware of that problem,'' Ms. Reidy told U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes,
according to a transcript.
The former CIA general counsel, Stanley Sporkin, now a federal judge in
Washington, D.C., said Tuesday there was no intention to cover up. Rather, he
said, officials had a difference in philosophies about how to handle the
information about Wilson's activities.
``It would be wrong to think this was in bad faith,'' Sporkin said.
The Justice Department has until mid-January to respond to the appeal. If
Wilson's conviction was overturned, he could be retried.
The secret documents were obtained by Wilson's defense under the Freedom of
Information Act and through court discovery. They were resealed by Hughes on
Sept. 23, but The Associated Press had obtained copies before the order was
signed.
Speaking from federal prison in Allenwood, Pa., Wilson said the alleged
conspiracy against him was motivated by ambition.
``A few greedy people in the government saw an opportunity to make a name for
themselves,'' Wilson said. ``The longer I was in prison, the more they had to
cover it up and it keeps going higher.''
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
