"Among the nearly 800 pages of once-classified documents are papers proving that Edwin Wilson was asked to perform several dozen services for the CIA." Gov't To Probe Ex-CIA Officer Case By C. BRYSON HULL .c The Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) - A Justice Department investigation will be launched in the 1993 arms-dealing case involving former CIA officer Edwin P. Wilson, government attorneys say. The disclosure came Thursday in the department's response to a motion by Wilson to hold 17 current and former CIA and Justice officials in contempt of court for allegedly hiding evidence that would have helped his defense. ``The allegations of this case have been referred to (the Office of Professional Responsibility), which will conduct a thorough investigation,'' a footnote near the end of the government's eight-page motion said. Justice spokesman Myron Marlin said the department will not begin looking into the matter until a court appeal by Wilson, 71, is settled. Wilson, who was sentenced to 52 years in prison, is appealing his federal conviction for illegally shipping 20 tons of plastic explosives to Libya from Houston's Intercontinental Airport. Wilson alleges prosecutors introduced into evidence a crucial affidavit by then-CIA Executive Director Charles A. Briggs that they knew was false. Now in a federal prison in Pennsylvania, Wilson contends the affidavit swore he ``was neither asked or requested, directly or indirectly, to provide any services, directly or indirectly, to the CIA,'' after his 1971 retirement, except for one Libya-related assignment for which he was paid $1,000. Among the nearly 800 pages of once-classified documents are papers showing Wilson was asked to perform several dozen services for the CIA, including acquiring an anti-tank weapon for an agency operation and helping relocate a Laotian general who was a valuable CIA source. The Justice Department on Thursday argued that no one intentionally misled the judge and jury and that only someone who was in the courtroom could have committed contempt. Of the 17, lead prosecutor Theodore Greenberg was the only one in the courtroom during the trial, and nothing he did constituted contempt, Justice Department lawyers said. Wilson's attorney, David Adler, was skeptical that the OPR investigation will lead to sanctions. ``If there's anything that the government is incapable of doing, it's investigating itself. OPR's record of investigating abuses by the Justice Department is abysmal,'' he said.
