By Greg Miller in Washington
January 11, 2005
It was enough to make the CIA salivate. At the height of the Cold War, a senior diplomat from a Soviet bloc country approached a US embassy official and said he and his wife wanted to defect.
Instead, the agency swooped in and offered a deal: stay in place, spy for us, and when the time comes we will set you up for life in the US.
The couple kept their end of the bargain but say the CIA did not. And nearly two decades after the agency helped them resettle in Seattle - providing financial support for several years, but refusing to resume payments when the husband lost his bank job - the former spies want to pursue a very American remedy. They want to take the CIA to court.
In most lines of work, that would not be a problem. But legal doctrine dating to the Civil War has barred lawsuits over disputes between the Government and its spies. The reasoning has been simple: clandestine contracts are supposed to remain clandestine.
But to the dismay of the CIA, the couple have won important rounds in their legal fight. And seven years after the suit was filed, the final round is set to open today, when the US Supreme Court hears oral arguments.
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Spy-left-out-in-the-cold-sues-the-CIA/2005/01/10/1105206052067.html?oneclick=true
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