Washington: The former CIA officer accused of disclosing the details of a covert operation to a New York Times reporter was convicted Monday in federal court, according to reports.
Jeffrey Sterling was convicted on nine felony counts of unauthorised disclosure of national defense information, after allegedly leaking classified information about a top secret CIA operation to undermine Iran’s nuclear program to New York Times reporter James Risen, CNN reported.
“This is a just and appropriate outcome,” said US Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “The defendant’s unauthorised disclosures of classified information compromised operations undertaken in defense of America’s national security.”
FBI Director James Comey said Sterling, “violated his sworn duty to protect our nation’s secrets and he betrayed our country.”
“The FBI will continue to pursue these cases vigorously,” he said in a statement.
Sterling will be sentenced on April 24.