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Former CIA station chief to fight charges
November 20, 1996Web posted at: 7:15 p.m. EST
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- Harold Nicholson, accused of spying for Russia, will plead not guilty Monday when he is formally indicted and arraigned in federal court, his court-appointed attorney said.
Nicholson, a former CIA station chief, was arrested Saturday and is charged with conspiracy to commit espionage by passing classified CIA documents to Russian agents.
"We're going to fight the charges strenuously," lawyer Jonathan Shapiro said after Wednesday's hearing. Nicholson will seek pre-trial release.
Nicholson, 46 and divorced father of three, is "quite distressed about it all," particularly about being separated from his children, Shapiro said.
The government has accused Nicholson, a 16-year CIA veteran, of revealing identities of undercover CIA officers and informants, as well as an unknown quantity of other secrets, for at least the past two years, for at least $120,000 in cash payments.
An FBI affidavit says Nicholson may have given Moscow information about the Central Intelligence Agency's "access agents," private citizens such as businessmen who voluntarily share information with the government.
"The identity of these agents is classified, as they could be the target of reprisals if foreign countries were aware of their intelligence gathering activities," the affidavit said.
CIA Director John Deutch said Wednesday he saw no "great jeopardy" to U.S. and international business people whose identities may have been compromised.
At the hearing, Shapiro said he is concerned about publicity being generated about the case by government officials, and is considering seeking a gag order. Shapiro argued it is against federal rules for such officials to make public comments about a pending case.
Shapiro noted that Deutch and FBI Director Louis Freeh appeared Wednesday on CNN, indicating they have "solid evidence" and a "strong case" against Nicholson. Freeh and Deutch have made similar appearances on other networks.
Correspondent Carl Rochelle andReuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
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- CIA still probing damage done by alleged spy - November 18, 1996
- Veteran CIA official charged with spying - November 18, 1996
- Ex-KGB spy goes home after U.S. detention - November 16, 1996
- CIA needs big overhaul - March 1, 1996
- Spy Ames did serious damage, CIA says - October 31, 1995
- Ames' damage to U.S. called 'mind-boggling' - October 31, 1995
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