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

[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

[section9]

Okay, Doug. I understand you were gamed.

My question is, how much of this guy's information went into the making of "Madman of 1600 Avenue"?

Do you also realize that truthout.org picked up your story whole and put it on their boards. Do you also understand that the Japan Today Website took your story (with the original "Bush Lied" headline) and ran with that, verbatim, citing truthout.org as its source?

Doug, my entire criticism of you centered around two things:

1. Your bias against George W. Bush, which was apparent in the "Madman" column. Of course, I'm a partisan, so my antennae are going to look for that kind of thing.

2. Your failure to use more than one source on a story of this magnitude. This story implied a reckless, almost criminal attitude on the part of the President of the United States towards this war. This fact alone demanded a much higher standard of proof.

However, I do understand that you were taken in. He must have been good at what he did.

But consider, this "Terrence Wilkenson" was a source of yours for some time. Why did he choose you? What was his motivation for passing stories to you? Did he have an agenda, or was he just some ass-clown in a walk up apartment somewhere with nothing better to do than peddle bullsh*t to Doug Thompson?

There is much more here than meets the eye, perhaps?

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Chad Fairbanks]

"unnamed sources" have just disclosed to me the presence of former-KGB sleepers who, after the fall of the Soviet Union, continued their activities - now funded by extremists within the DNC, though whether the DNC is officially involved is unknown.

These Sleepers have been building lives and cover stories for decades, gaining positions of trust, and the respect and trust of their "peers".

These 'sleepers' are beginning to awaken, with the sole purpose of undermining the national security of the United States - the stated goal is to make it easier for terrorists to strike within the U.S. on a massive scale, to further the totalitarian designs of their handlers...

[judicial meanz]

Quote from the article:


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"

End Quote


My response:

My stink detector is going off here. I can see some obvious mistakes.

Wilky claims to have worked in the Special Forces in Vietnam, Air America, the FBI, and as a contract advisor for the CIA. He also claims to be a security consultant who did security profiles at Sandia, etc. If I get the chronology correctly, something is in error.

The Special Forces who actually served in Vietnam are a tight knit group. They can tell you in a minute if they know of him. If he is lying, they can tell you that too. They probably have heard of him over the years.

Air America was a propriety airline operated by the CIA. It was basically a corporation, which flew overt as well as covert missions in Vietnam and the surrounding areas. They have records and even a membership association.

FBI agents are not a dime a dozen. If he served as one, they will have a record of him.

Contract advisors to the CIA are highly uncommon. This implies Wilkerson( or whoever he was) knew more than they did about something important to them. I would highly doubt that, right from the start.

I really doubt a private security consultant, no matter how distinguished his background, would be invited to a Presidential policy meeting in which intelligence and policy combinations were discussed and future strategy planning was in progress. Thats incredibly impossible.

I highly suspect mr Wilkerson is either fictional or a fraud. This story just doesnt check out very well.

[MJY1288]

Read the thread before you make such ignorant remarks,

[William McKinley]

It does not sound to me like he got set up 20 years ago in anticipation of this. It sounds to me like he has been manipulated to some degree for 20 years.

Perhaps I should believe that Mr. Thompson would admit to something like this if it is untrue, trying to cover for an anonymous source he could have just keep quiet over. Sure, he may have caught some heat from people saying "show us the money", but he decided to tell this story that calls into question his work for an extended period.

I don't think Mr. Thompson just didn't think about that while making up a story to lie his way out. I think he told the truth.

But, I would love to get more information to verify one way or another. If he is telling the truth, as I suspect, there is a bigger story yet to come out. And from the looks of things, it might be very big, given that we are already seeing tentacles heading towards Scott Ritter.

[PhiKapMom]

I am absolutely convinced the more I think about it that this guy and probably others are giving out bad information to make President Bush/VP Cheney look really bad.

I have thought for sometime these anonymous sources were bogus because the info they gave and what I knew to be true were two different things. Now we know this one was bogus for sure!

[arasina]

HUH? Tommy, is that you?

[Scenic Sounds]

When I have something to report, I will be back. Until then, thanks for listening.

Well, thanks for stopping by. ;-)

[hellinahandcart]

Recently, while reading news articles here on FR, I began to play a little game of replacing the words "unnamed officials" and "anonymous sources" with "Imaginary Friend" instead.

It was amusing, and the articles made just as much sense that way, if not more.

Now I'm amazed. And not laughing.

[PhiKapMom]

I turned off CHB sometime ago as some of their articles about the Bush Administration including his Father's did not pass my smell test!

[lepton]

In November of 2002, [...] I proudly told millions of people that I voted for Bill Clinton,

Did you do a write-in, or did you just have no idea what you were doing in the booth?

[PhiKapMom]

Better head those tentacles towards the Clintons as well! I have had a really bad feeling about anonymous sources ever since President Bush became President!

[Ben Bolt]

Mr. Thompson ,

I've just read your bio and frankly I doubt that you have been had . You have been in this business far to long to get into this kind of situation .

Now you choose to compound this situation with a simple apology . You are not sorry . You are merely sorry that this situation has become public .

I doubt this person exist and the irony of you searching your own database is laughable in the extreme . I hear Mr. Condit has some new clues also .

Better put the coffee on . You and counsel have a full day today .

[an amused spectator]

Put these guys on the case, Doug. I'm sure you can get this guy up on the Wall of Shame, at the very least.

http://www.phonyveterans.com/index.html

http://www.marinescoutsniper.com/wannabes.html

http://home.att.net/~Lzzzbolt/BEWARE.htm

[Registered]

"Those who do not like it will go somewhere else. It's a big Internet out there and there's plenty for everyone."

Doesn't JimRob hold the copyright on this one!? lol.

[habs4ever]

Thanks for confirming what I suspected.You are a troll.

[Thane_Banquo]

Don't feel bad. At least you talked to a real person. Liberal reporters like those at the NYT regularly cite sources who they invented themselves.

And then of course there is the old convention from liberal reporters of calling someone a "senior intelligence official" when they know they person is a fry cook at the Langley cafeteria.

I exaggerate, but only to illustrate.

[Carolinamom]

Really great detective work. Why hasn't Doug at least posted a scan of the guy's card w/phone numbers.....you know, some physical evidence since we only have Doug's word that the card even exists?

[habs4ever]

You still wish to think that Doug's source isn't Doug himself? His lame rebuttal, on "advice of lawyers", nailed it.He ought to be banned from FR for trolling.

[MJY1288]

You don't see a connection between Pitt & Thompson?

Why was truthout.org allowed to use Thompson's original "Bush Lied" article without sourcing CHB, From what I read in the Japan story, they credited the article to the editor of Truthout.org and that is Pitt