Spy In The White House! Please.

Matt Drudge is blaring this ABC News story:

Both the FBI and CIA are calling it the first case of espionage in the White House in modern history. 

Officials tell ABC News the alleged spy worked undetected at the White House for almost three years. Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, was a U.S. Marine most recently assigned to the staff of Vice President Dick Cheney.

"I don't know of a case where the vetting broke down before and resulted in a spy being in the White House," said Richard Clarke, a former White House advisor who is now an ABC News consultant.

Federal investigators say Aragoncillo, a naturalized citizen from the Philippines, used his top secret clearance to steal classified intelligence documents from White House computers.

Good hype job!  And a nice job of hiding some key info: a bit of research reveals that Aragoncillo was arrested last September 10 (press release, background, more), that his Marine Corps assignment at the White House ended in 2002, and that he was originally arrested for espionage activities in which he engaged in 2005 while working for the FBI in Monmouth, NJ.  [The original complaint.]

ABC does break news with this:

Since that arrest, officials say Aragoncillo has started to cooperate. He has admitted to spying while working on the staff of Vice President Cheney's office.

So there does seem to be an emerging White House connection, which ended in 2002.  That timing does not exactly leap off the page.

One wonders whether the stolen intel might relate to US anti-terror activities in the Phillipines.  This is encouraging, but not definitive:

Officials were reluctant to describe the documents, but court filings said the records included intelligence on a defense treaty and the U.S. assessment of the political situation in the Pacific Rim country.

Comments

[Jeff]

Hmm, I wonder why the information was released now. What else was I just reading about that the White House might want to counteract? Oh yeah, that's right.

[BurbankErnie]

Big Left Wing rumor being spread like the Topanga Fire is that 22 Indictments will be handed down in MillerGate.

Wish I had started that one.

[Jeff]

Yeah, it's hard to imagine 22. Talk about playing the expectations game!

[Jim E.]

You think that's hype? A spy working in the White House? Well, I can only imagine the spin you'll offer if there are ever any Plame indictments.

In the words of Frank Drebin: "Nothing to see here. Nothing to see."

[topsecretk9]

the fact that the guy was hired in 1999 (pretty sure) and previously worked for Gore...well lets just say I am not entirely pinning this on Bush, other than thinking now that Bush should have fired a few more holdovers from the Clinton era

Go here to see the checky Gore/Aragoncillo photo (does Bush have one of those?)

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1187030&page=1

[topsecretk9]

oh and doesn't this slightly vindicate the kooky Gary Aldrich, who wrote the book "Unlimited Access" in charge of background checks for Clinton...and to think, Aldrich WAS NOT awarded a "correspondents post" on ABC

[Neo]

So, does this explain why Al "Mr. Internet" Gore managed to have his "crack" team of IT experts lose all records of his e-mails ?

Maybe the Philippinos have them.

[Tom Bowler]

Jeff, It will undoubtedly come to light that Aragoncillo was spying on behalf of Al Gore.

[kim]

It's pretty clear for those with eyes to see that the 'Aragon' part refers to Somerby's high school, hence the Gore connection. I wanna subpoena on Aragon High's principal. Who else was at that reunion? Any bulgy fat men visit their library?
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[topsecretk9]

"...Aragoncillo began working at the White House in 1999. Officials are now trying to learn how he landed the job, when he started spying, and how he escaped detection for so long..."

hmmm this is odd and well um, ironic no?

(Rep. W. Clinger (R-PA)

"...we still have no answers to the simple question of who brought Craig Livingstone into the Clinton inner circle as Security Chief. Does Craig Livingstone really not know who hired him or is he just not telling us?..."