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BREAKING: Conned big time "CIA Witness" to White House Lying about Intel story found to be FRAUD
Capitol Hill Blue ^ | July 9, 2003 | Doug Thompson

Posted on 07/09/2003 4:04:00 PM PDT by Doug Thompson

Damn, I hate it when I've been had and I've been had big time.

In 1982, while I was working for Congressman Manuel Lujan of New Mexico, a man came up to a me during a gathering in Albuquerque and introduced himself as Terrance J. Wilkinson. He said he was a security consultant and gave me a business card with his name and just a Los Angeles phone number.

A few weeks later, he called my Washington office and asked to meet for lunch. He seemed to know a lot about the nuclear labs in New Mexico and said he had conducted "security profiles" for both Los Alamos and Sandia National Labs. Lujan served on the committee with oversight on both labs and he offered his services if we ever needed briefings.

We already had nuclear experts on the committee, on loan from the Department of Energy, and we never used Wilkinson for briefings but we kept in touch over the years. He said he had served in Vietnam with Army Special Force, worked for Air America, later for the FBI and as a consultant for the CIA. He said he had helped other Republican members of Congress I called some friends in other GOP offices and they said yes, they knew Terry Wilkinson.

"You can trust him, he's one of the good guys," one chief of staff told me. When I left politics and returned to journalism, Wilkinson became a willing, but always unnamed, source.

Over the last couple of years, Wilkinson served as either a primary or secondary source on a number of stories that have appeared in Capitol Hill Blue regarding intelligence activities. In early stories, I collaborated his information with at least one more source. His information usually proved accurate and, over time, I came to depend on him as a source without additional backup.

On Tuesday, we ran a story headlined "White House admits Bush wrong about Iraqi nukes." For the first time, Wilkinsson said he was willing to go on the record and told a story about being present, as a CIA contract consultant, at two briefings with Bush. He said he was retired now and was fed up and wanted to go public.

"He (Bush) said that if the current operatives working for the CIA couldn't prove the story was true, then the agency had better find some who could," Wilkinson said in our story. "He said he knew the story was true and so would the world after American troops secured the country."

After the story ran, we received a number of emails or phone calls that (1) either claimed Wilkinson was lying or (2) doubted his existence. I quickly dismissed the claims. After all, I had known this guy for 20+ years and had no doubt about his credibility. Some people wanted to talk to him, so I forwarded those requests on to him via email. He didn't answer my emails, which I found odd. I should have listened to a bell that should have been going off in my ear.

Today, a White House source I know and trust said visitor logs don't have any record of anyone named Terrance J. Wilkinson ever being present at a meeting with the President. Then a CIA source I trust said the agency had no record of a contract consultant with that name. "Nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever heard of this guy," my source said.

I tried calling Terry's phone number. I got a recorded message from a wireless phone provider saying the number was no longer in service. I tried a second phone number I had for him. Same result.

Then a friend from the Hill called.

"You've been had," she said. "I know about this guy. He's been around for years, claiming to have been in Special Forces, with the CIA, with NSA. He hasn't worked for any of them and his name is not Terrance Wilkinson."

Both of his phone numbers have Los Angeles area codes but an identity check through Know-X today revealed no record of anyone named Terrance J. Wilkinson ever having lived in LA or surrounding communities.

His email address turns out to be a blind forward to a free email service where anyone can sign up and get an email account. Because it was not one of the usual "free" services like Hotmail, Yahoo or such, I did not recognize it as one (although you'd think that someone like me would have known better).

The bottom line is that someone has been running a con on me for 20 some years and I fell for it like a little old lady in a pigeon drop scheme. I've spent the last two hours going through the database of Capitol Hill Blue stories and removing any that were based on information from Wilkinson (or whoever he is). I've also removed his name, quotes and claims from Tuesday's story about the White House and the uranium claims.

Erasing the stories doesn't erase the fact that we ran articles containing informattion that, given the source, were most likely inaccurate. And it doesn't erase the sad fact that my own arrogance allowed me to be conned.

It will be a long time (and perhaps never) before I trust someone else who comes forward and offers inside information. The next one who does had better be prepared to produce a birth certificate, a driver's license and his grandmother's maiden name.

Any news publication exists on the trust of its readers. Because I depended on a source that was not credible, I violated the trust that the readers of Capitol Hill Blue placed in me.

I was wrong. I am sorry.

© Copyright 2003 by Capitol Hill Blue


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: 200307; 20030709; 20yearsofsuckerhood; admiralboorda; afoolandhissources; andstillnonames; apology; batboy; beatitdoug; bush; capitalhillblue; capitolhillbs; ccrm; chb; chrissteele; chump; cia; corn; correction; corrrection; coupplots; davidcorn; debkaneedsdoug; dougthompson; fraud; gocheckcaponesvault; hoax; inaccuracies; iraq; itsalongroadbackdoug; keywordsgohere; laughingstock; leavefrdoug; lies; longwalkshortpier; losalamos; loseyourdayjob; lostcredibility; makesthenytlookgood; marcash; markash; meaculpa; media; mediabias; nosoupforyou; notreadyforprimetime; rankamateurmistake; retraction; ruinedpermanently; salonishiring; sandia; sandianationallab; scoop; steeledossier; suuuuuucker; terrancejwilkinson; terrancewilkinson; thescoopthatwasnt; tookthedougforawalk; truthout; uranium; whosthefraud; wilkerson; wilkinson; wilkinsonsbitch; wmd; yourestilllyingdoug; youvebeenowneddoug
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To: PhiKapMom
With all the RATs coming out calling Bush a Liar -- I would say the story was a plant. And now knowing Wilson worked for Gore in the 80's makes me even more suspicious this is orchestrated.

Cap Weinberger did not think highly of Wilson and now that I think about it he stressed Wilson tea-drinking all through Niger and we all remember Gore's tea-drinking escapades.

I still think Wilkinson is Doug Thompson's creation.

1,081 posted on 07/10/2003 7:56:41 PM PDT by Lauratealeaf
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To: Lauratealeaf
Find it hard to believe that Thompson would make up the quotes from the WH knowing he would be caught. That said, I don't think the name was Wilkinson and would bet that the quotes were planted with Thompson knowing he would run with it and the other press would pick up on it.
1,082 posted on 07/10/2003 8:04:57 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (Bush Cheney '04 - VICTORY IN '04 -- $4 for '04 - www.GeorgeWBush.com/donate/)
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To: hoosiermama
When you have a chance, hoosiermama, would you go back and checks posts 957 and 959 ... perhaps this Wilkerson fellow is actually someone else ... Thielmann, perhaps?

I particularly note Thielmann's intelligence connection, and it is only those 6 unnamed sourced intelligence stories, plus the Wilkerson named source ... Bush Lied ... that have been deleted by Doug from the CHB database. And yet, I took from Doug's letter of apology, that he had used Wilkerson as his source over the 20-year period, but deleted only those stories which referenced intelligence.

Finer minds than mine will have to sort this out ...

Another avenue ... any suspects on the Intelligence Committees?

1,083 posted on 07/10/2003 8:07:14 PM PDT by Pegita
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To: All
Change references to Wilkerson to "Wilkinson" ...
1,084 posted on 07/10/2003 8:09:27 PM PDT by Pegita
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To: PhiKapMom
"In 1985-1986, he served in the offices of Senator Albert Gore and the House Majority Whip, Representative Thomas Foley, as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow."

Yep .. and while he spent a week in Niger he was drinking sweet mint tea and talking with Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick

What is is with these Dems and drinking tea?

1,085 posted on 07/10/2003 8:09:30 PM PDT by Mo1
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To: Mo1
I would like to know about the tea too and the RATs!

How about a Gore/Hillary ticket? Then in a little over two years Gore resigns for health reasons! Just kidding (I think)

1,086 posted on 07/10/2003 8:12:44 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (Bush Cheney '04 - VICTORY IN '04 -- $4 for '04 - www.GeorgeWBush.com/donate/)
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To: PhiKapMom
Find it hard to believe that Thompson would make up the quotes from the WH knowing he would be caught. That said, I don't think the name was Wilkinson and would bet that the quotes were planted with Thompson knowing he would run with it and the other press would pick up on it.

That is a possibility. In that case whoever dropped the comments on Thompson knew he was a patsy and would run with it. Either way, Doug Thompson is not believable or trustworthy.

1,087 posted on 07/10/2003 8:14:16 PM PDT by Lauratealeaf
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To: Pegita
RATs on Intelligence:


John D. Rockefeller IV
West Virginia, Vice Chairman

Carl Levin, Michigan
Dianne Feinstein, California
Ron Wyden, Oregon
Richard J. Durbin, Illinois
Evan Bayh, Indiana
John Edwards, North Carolina
Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland
1,088 posted on 07/10/2003 8:18:48 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (Bush Cheney '04 - VICTORY IN '04 -- $4 for '04 - www.GeorgeWBush.com/donate/)
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To: PhiKapMom
I think Dean/Hellary or Dean/Clark is what they are hoping for

And it would have to be less then 2 years for Hellary to still be able to run for 2 terms

Oh Good Lord .. just the thought of that makes me wan a drink
1,089 posted on 07/10/2003 8:19:00 PM PDT by Mo1
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To: Mo1
From Wilson's article..."I spent the next eight days drinking sweet mint tea and meeting with dozens of people: current government officials, former government officials, people associated with the country's uranium business. It did not take long to conclude that it was highly doubtful that any such transaction had ever taken place."

Wilson also made sure to mention that he walked over John F. Kennedy Bridge. (dropping names, don't you know.)

1,090 posted on 07/10/2003 8:19:41 PM PDT by Lauratealeaf
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To: Lauratealeaf
Either way, Doug Thompson is not believable or trustworthy.

That's the bottom line to me as well!

1,091 posted on 07/10/2003 8:19:50 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (Bush Cheney '04 - VICTORY IN '04 -- $4 for '04 - www.GeorgeWBush.com/donate/)
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To: PhiKapMom
Well, well, well.

So Wilson worked in the offices of Albert Gore, Jr. and Tom Foley, did he? Why, I suppose the venerable (ahem) New York Times felt this was not relevant? Oh, I suppose they could claim they didn't know, but who would believe that?

I pulled up FR and have the new "Bush Knew..." thread open but haven't read it yet. Wanted to catch up here first. Off I go to see what kind of sources CBS felt warranted the use of that phrase.

1,092 posted on 07/10/2003 8:20:47 PM PDT by cyncooper
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To: Mo1
I know the feeling! Sickening!

I have wondered about Dean/Clinton!
1,093 posted on 07/10/2003 8:21:00 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (Bush Cheney '04 - VICTORY IN '04 -- $4 for '04 - www.GeorgeWBush.com/donate/)
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To: cyncooper
I was shocked too when I realized that little tidbit was in his biography! First I had heard of it and he has been referenced everywhere on the news!
1,094 posted on 07/10/2003 8:25:02 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (Bush Cheney '04 - VICTORY IN '04 -- $4 for '04 - www.GeorgeWBush.com/donate/)
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To: Lauratealeaf
Wilson also made sure to mention that he walked over John F. Kennedy Bridge. (dropping names, don't you know.)

I guess he was to busy dropping names to actually type up a report about what he found out huh?

1,095 posted on 07/10/2003 8:26:25 PM PDT by Mo1
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To: Pegita
SO what else do we know about Greg Thielmann?
1,096 posted on 07/10/2003 8:27:06 PM PDT by hoosiermama (Prayers for all)
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To: Mo1
So this Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick, ambassador to Niger was appointed by Clinton in 1999. She needs to go big time.
1,097 posted on 07/10/2003 8:27:26 PM PDT by Lauratealeaf
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To: Mo1
I guess he was to busy dropping names to actually type up a report about what he found out huh?

True. I read the article and there isn't much there. He didn't even write a report, just filed a few memos. He says that the CIA paid him for his services. Don't think we got our money's worth. But, according to the article, the ambassador, Barbro (what kind of name is that?) Owens Kirpatrick was against him doing much of a search. We know why.

1,098 posted on 07/10/2003 8:30:19 PM PDT by Lauratealeaf
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To: Lauratealeaf; All
Just a note before my blood pressure sky-rockets at reading the CBS thread:

Larry King had Bob Woodward on tonight and he obviously respects President Bush very much. He said the president is an honest man and would not lie or deceive.

He also said about finding the WMDs that everybody knew Saddam had them before we went in. He said it is a problem that we can't find them in as much as we don't know where they are and the mystery is what happened to them. He emphasized the word "mystery" because they must be somewhere.

Back to the intelligence and the SOTU speech, he said he is familiar with how intelligence is gathered and how the reports are written up and such. He said no way did President Bush knowingly set out to deceive anybody and even Woodward said it was only one sentence in a whole web of information against Saddam.

One last note, Woodward said the speech President Bush gave at Goree Island was one of his best speeches and that President Bush meant every word.
1,099 posted on 07/10/2003 8:35:46 PM PDT by cyncooper
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To: Lauratealeaf
YEP!
1,100 posted on 07/10/2003 8:40:43 PM PDT by Mo1
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