Abraham Sofaer Quotes
When I blew the whistle on the whole thing, it was [William J.] Casey who, I felt, regarded what I had done as treason.
If Casey had listened to Sofaer as the State Department did, President Reagan would have been spared the worst Scandal of his Presidency—Iran Contra. Casey had a great antipathy to lawyers. See {637470}.
Abraham Sofaer, Federal Judge, State Department Legal Advisor, Describing the CIA Director’s reaction when Sofaer advised the State Department that Casey’s plan for Iran-Contra were illegal, Oral Histories: Reagan: The Man and His Presidency
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Webster had been a lawyer his entire professional life and served as a distinguished Federal Judge and later as Director of the CIA and FBI. He was a stickler for adhering to the law. Casey, in contrast, was very frequently trying to get around any legal or Constitutional restrictions that might prevent him from doing what he liked. Since most of the CIA activity is secret and not amenable to oversight, his violations were not known to Congress and the public until years after his service.
Casey continuously violated the law and lied to the President and Congress.
Commenting on a former CIA agent's defection to Russia:
Bundy had been a member of the same law firm as Hiss's brother. He, like other members of the firm, had made financial contributions to Hiss's legal defense. Bundy was completely cleared of any wrongdoing or disloyalty later.
Bush had served earlier as the head of the CIA and understood the costs of such better than most. He was put in a difficult position when his son was President and one of the senior White House operatives, for small partisan advantage, leaked the name and identity of Valerie Plame, a covert CIA operative. Bush the father, remained silent even after the leaker was identified.
Edward Snowden, a defense contractor and government employee, publicly revealed that the U. S. intelligence agencies were intercepting and keeping a data base of ALL telephone calls and all Internet e-mails. The government had denied that this was so, and had classified the domestic spying program as Top Secret. Snowden had signed an agreement not to reveal any classified information, and he violated the agreement. Therefore the government was trying to extradite Snowden from Russia at the time so that they could criminally prosecute him. However, there was great debate as to whether the spying on all Americans was legal and Constitutional. Many saw Snowden as a “whistleblower” and pointed out that the government which had lied wanted to prosecute Snowden for telling the truth. Fein, an attorney, was representing Snowden and his family.
Casey frequently withheld information from Congress that he was legally required to report, did things without Congressional authorization and often lied in his testimony and reports to Congress.
Harmon was one of the nation’s experts on Intelligence. She pointed out that the CIA spent a relatively small portion of its budget on spies, intelligence and analysis relative to the larger proportion that went to their paramilitary covert operations. Since its inception, the CIA professionals have always preferred the glamour, adventure, and machismo of covert operations as opposed to the relative drudgery of intelligence gathering and analysis. This many believe explains the many major intelligence blunders the CIA has made such as missing the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the development of nuclear bombs in several countries and the totally mistaken analysis in the Bay of Pigs and The trigger for the Iraq War.
- Born: October 1, 1896
- Died: January 21, 1988
- Nationality:
- Profession: Actor
Abraham Isaac Sofaer was a Burmese-born British actor who began his career on stage and became a familiar supporting player in film and on television in his later years.
