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The Spy Who Shagged Me

From Ken Silverstein over at Harper's:

I recently received an advance copy of Seth Hettena's Feasting on the Spoils: The Life and Times of Randy “Duke” Cunningham, History's Most Corrupt Congressman, which will be published this July and which I highly recommend. In addition to being a terrific piece of political reporting, the book is filled with juicy details concerning the seamier side of the Cunningham affair, otherwise known as “Hookergate.”

I was particularly interested in stories Hettena unearthed about Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, whom former CIA director Porter Goss had named as executive director, the agency's number-three official. Foggo resigned last year not long after FBI agents raided his home and office. The Feds suspected that Foggo, who was later indicted, had funneled CIA contracts to his long-time friend Brent Wilkes, the defense contractor who is accused of bribing Cunningham with money and prostitutes.

Some of the more sensational stories in Hettena's book—and he has on-the-record sources—got me thinking. First, didn't Foggo's frequent indiscretions (for example, flashing his agency ID to jump the line at a strip club) raise red flags about his character? Second, wasn't Foggo's outlandish sexual behavior—like, say, publicly performing oral sex on a hooker (hired by Wilkes) at his own bachelor party—just the sort of thing that makes intelligence officials potentially vulnerable to blackmail by a hostile spy service? Third, might it be possible to cynically point to such revelations and use them as a hook for a blog item that combines sex and espionage?

The answers, you won't be surprised to find out, are yes, yes, and yes.


59 Comments

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To those who know- Foggo sounds like he was a living example of the NICE acronym; just waiting to be flipped.

Code word: 'Female'; as in, KGB Honey Trap.

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Typo-

MICE

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First, didn't Foggo's frequent indiscretions (for example, flashing his agency ID to jump the line at a strip club) raise red flags about his character?

Nah, they all do it.

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Separate topic, but shouldn't we add to the list of 8 (or some have indicated 9 if you include Taylor appointment) another one: Thomas M. DiBiagio USA Maryland.

He was let go in 2005. (refer to USA scandal timline) but he seems to have fallen through the cracks recently. The Times story of his dismissal reveals a pattern with regards to the other corruption investigating fired USA's.


So by my count, these USA's have been allegedly removed to head off corruption investigations:
Lam
(Abramoff investigation)

Cummins
(MA Gov. investigation??)

Black
(Abramoff investigation)

DiBiagio
(investigating Republican governor associates)

Debra Wong Yang
(USA LA) (Abramoff investigation) (Hired away by Law firm that was representing Rep. J. Lewis)


Chiara (corruption investigation)


Did I miss anyone else that has left/fired?

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i'm glad you included mr. black on that list. his firing was pretty much of a big deal, but hasn't gotten much attention. the whole tomdelay/mariannas thing is a large pot of corruption.

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Seems like there is nothing new under the sun especially in this story. I've forgotten the name of the particular book on the subject, but this is basically the same modis that groups like Skull and Bones foray into. Tell us every last detail of your personal life, then we'll help you climb the ladder of success with other slime balls. But double cross us, don't tow the party line or worse, get caught and you and your career will be hung out to dry.
Couldn't happen to a nicer group of people. As this is what our once great country has running it, we're all in some really deep crap. I vote for purging them all and starting over from scratch. We are afterall a country of laws. Aren't we?

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Well, at least with a little sex thrown in the MSM might cover the story.

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"Second, wasn't Foggo's outlandish sexual behavior—like just the sort of thing that makes intelligence officials potentially vulnerable to blackmail by a hostile spy service?"

Actually, its not. That is, as long as its a) something he is trying to keep secret, b) he is ashamed of it.

Given that this was at his bachelor's party with plenty of witnesses, and that his behavior seemed well known in certain circles, he can fairly assume that he was not trying very hard to keep it secret or particularly ashamed of it. So it is not material suitable for blackmail.

Now if we where to find out he sneaked out at night in disguise to the local gay bar, that could be something that could have served for blackmail.

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In the article he mentions that Foggo developed quite a reputation as an agent in Honduras in the early '80's. Wasn't John Negroponte ambassador to Honduras at that time, and might that have had something to do with Foggo landing the job he recently left?

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I found Porter Gos' resignation to be odd--too abrubt to be really legit. Did anything ever come out about him? Why did he really get the boot?

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Ian:
Goss resigned because nobody told him they were firing Lam, and he assumed any competent prosecutor would soon find out he signed off on the rigged contracts Foggo was handing out.

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If even a fraction of the following information is accurate, we are really in deep trouble as a society.
http://www.tomflocco.com/fs/BushObstructedJustice.htm

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photos of beautiful trannies with tiny penis

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Back in the day, people tried to embarass singer Madonna with various and sundry sexual secrets of her past. Instead of showing fear and making the questioners all happy with a vehement denial, she basically said a flat, "Yeah, so?" ... and that was that. She understood that no conflict equals no story. She killed the conflict; and the story.

But "Yeah, so?" ain't gonna cut it, with any of these people's so-called "Base" ... the religeous whack jobs (no pun intended) who abhor the idea that anything like consensual, adult sex could be happening, somewhere. Any "yes" or "no" or "I don't recall" answer is likely to make them all equally unemployable, in the eyes of The Base.

I guess the message here is: if you betray the Constitution, that's fine. God will forgive you.

If you betray the American People in some (to The Base) abstract way: well, let the first one of us without any sin, cast the first stone.

But if you should happen to say "I did not have sex with that woman ... what's her name; you know, the one from the call girl agency?" ... it's off with their heads. (And their privates?)

What'll crack me up - and I'm already seeing it happen - is that all of those who wanted to hear every lurid detail of the consensual blow job that Bill Clinton got from Monica L., and who were so angry for Bill having said, "I did not have sex with that woman" ... will conveniently forget having ever said or done any of that, and will ask why consensual adult sex is newsworthy.

You go, Palfrey and ABC. The hell it's not news!

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