"Absolutely nothing, zero." That's how CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise Dyck describes the connection between the investigation into former CIA executive director Dusty Foggo and the resignation of CIA chief Porter Goss. As Josh Marshall notes today, Newsweek is describing things a little differently.
"Foggo's troubles may help to explain Porter Goss's sudden departure from the agency earlier this month," Newsweek says. Citing sources close to Goss and the White House, the magazine says that the Bush administration pressured Goss to dump Foggo amid questions about his dealings with Brent Wilkes. Goss refused. "It was a risky stand to take," Newsweek says. "For months, former and current intel officials had privately complained to the White House that the CIA was suffering under Goss's poor management. Goss's resistance to firing Foggo, despite the investigation closing in on him, made top administration officials, including National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, lose faith in Goss's judgment."
So was it just a coincidence that Goss resigned only one business day before Foggo did -- or that FBI raids of Foggo's home and office came shortly thereafter? Maybe, but it didn't look like it at the time, and it looks a lot less like it now.
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