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Jeffrey Sterling was hired as a CIA case officer
Jeffrey Sterling was hired as a CIA case officer in 1993, and granted a top secretsecurity clearance. -
CIA assigned Sterling "Classified Program No. 1"
In November 1998, the CIA assigned Sterling to a highly classified program intended to impede Iran’s efforts to acquire or develop nuclear weapons (“Classified Program No. 1”). -
Sterling 's involvement with Classified Program No. 1 ended
In May 2000, Sterling was reassigned and his involvement with Classified Program No. 1 ended. -
Sterling filed an equal opportunity complaint
August 2000, shortly after Sterling’s reassignment and after being told that he had not met performance targets, Sterling filed an equal opportunity complaint alleging that the CIA had denied him certain assignments because he was African American.
The EEO office of the CIA investigated Sterling’s
complaint and determined that it was without merit. -
Sterling filed a federal lawsuit against the CIA
Sterling filed a federal lawsuit against the CIA alleging that he had been the victim of racial discrimination, and seeking monetary compensation. -
Sterling had been “outprocessed” and effectively removed from service
Sterling was officially terminated from the CIA on January 31, 2002, but he had been “outprocessed” and effectively removed from service in October 2001. -
James Risen published the critical article
Secret C.I.A. Site in New York Was Destroyed on Sept. 11James Risen published an article in The New York Times, under the headline “Secret C.I.A. Site in New York Was Destroyed on Sept. 11.” A “former agency official” was cited as a source. -
Sterling's book proposal regarding classified information
in accordance with his non-disclosure agreements with the CIA, Sterling submitted a book proposal and sample chapters of his memoirs to the CIA’s Publications Review Board. The Board expressed concerns about Sterling’s inclusion of classified information in the materials he submitted. -
Sterling was officially terminated from the CIA
Sterling was officially terminated from the CIA on January 31, 2002. As part of his termination, Sterling was asked to sign a final acknowledgment of his continuing legal obligation not to disclose classified information. Sterling refused. -
Risen's second article published
Fired by C.I.A., He Says Agency Practiced Bias
The article states that Sterling provided Risen with a copy of one of his CIA performance evaluations, which is identified as a classified document. The article also states that Sterling “relished his secret assignment to recruit Iranians as spies.” J.A. 156. -
Sterling is not happy about the edits
Sterling contacted the Board and expressed “extreme unhappiness” over the Board’s edits to his memoirs, and stated that “he would be coming at . . . the CIA with everything at his disposal.” -
Sterling contaced Risen duing this time period
Telephone records indicate that Sterling called Risen seven times between February 27 and March 29, 2003. Sterling also sent an e-mail to Risen on March 10, 2003 - five days after his meeting with the SSCI staff. -
Sterling filed a second civil lawsuit against the CIA
On March 4, 2003, Sterling filed a second civil lawsuit against the CIA, alleging that the agency had unlawfully infringed his right to publish his memoirs. The action was subsequently dismissed by stipulation of the parties. -
Sterling contaced Risen duing this time period
Telephone records indicate that Sterling called Risen seven times between February 27 and March 29, 2003. Sterling also sent an e-mail to Risen on March 10, 2003 - five days after his meeting with the SSCI staff. -
Contiuing contact between Sterling and Risen
219 phone calls and 27 e-mails between Sterling and Risen, several of which indicated that Sterling and Risen were meeting and exchanging information during this time period. -
Sterling's lawsuit was dismissed.
Several settlement demands were rejected, and the lawsuit was dismissed in March 2004, following the government’s invocation of the state secrets doctrine. The dismissal was affirmed. See Sterling v. Tenet, 416 F.3d 338, 41 (4th Cir. 2005). -
Risen informed CIA that he is going to write about the classified program
Risen informed the CIA and the National Security Council that he had classified information concerning Classified Program No. 1 and that he intended to publish a story about it in The New York Times.
In response, senior administration officials, including National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Director of the CIA George Tenet, met with Risen and Jill Abramson. Abramson advised the administration that the newspaper would not publish the story. -
Risen's book STATE OF WAR published
Risen published the book - State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration (“State of War”), in January 2006, which did disclose the classified information. -
Risen was subpoenad
Attorney General Eric Holder authorized the government to issue a trial subpoena seeking Risen’s testimony about the identity of his source for information about Classified Program No. 1 and asking Risen to confirm that statements attributed to sources were actually made by thosesources. -
Risen wil not be called to testify
The New York Times reported that Risen "will not be called to testify at a trial", which ended a seven-year legal fight over whether he could be forced to identify his confidential sources.