Larry C. Johnson

Last updated
Larry C. Johnson
Occupation Business consultant
Known for commentator on national security topics; former intelligence officer of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
TitleCEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC

Larry C. Johnson is an American blogger, political commentator, and former analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. He is the co-owner and CEO of BERG Associates, LLC (Business Exposure Reduction Group).

Contents

Background

Johnson worked at the CIA for four years as an analyst, then moved to the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism. In 1993, Johnson left government work to join the private sector, "going on to build a dual career as a business consultant and a pundit on intelligence issues." [1] He appeared on television programs such as The News Hour and Larry King Live , giving his commentary. [1]

Views

Early 1990s to 2008

In numerous writings and interviews in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Johnson deemphasized the threat stemming from terrorism. [2] [3] [4] In 1998, he commented on Osama bin Laden, saying that he was possessed by "hatred and craziness." If left unanswered, "he would continue to terrorize Americans around the world. He has no compunction about killing women and children. He's a complete egalitarian in his murderous attitude." [5] In later interviews (1999, 2000), Johnson said Americans exaggerated the threats stemming from bin Laden. [6] [7] In July 2001, two months before the September 11 attacks, [1] Johnson wrote a New York Times op-ed entitled, "The Declining Terrorist Threat," arguing that "terrorism is not the biggest security challenge confronting the United States, and it should not be portrayed that way." [4]

In 2003, Johnson said that while he did not condone torture, he suggested that a "sleep deprivation and reward system" might be useful for getting information from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. [8]

In May 2003, Johnson joined members of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) in condemning the manipulation of intelligence for political purposes. [9]

Johnson became a strong critic of the Bush administration in May 2003 for its conduct of the war in Iraq and, a few months later, for its role in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. [10] In a July 2006 post at Daily Kos , Johnson harshly criticized ex-CIA analyst Michael Scheuer (calling him, among other things, "a vicious little prick") and called Israel's invasion of Lebanon "stupid." [1]

After Robert Novak wrote a column identifying Valerie Plame Wilson (the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson) as a CIA operative, the media invited Johnson to comment on the ensuing scandal because he had been a member of the same Career Trainee class as Valerie Plame Wilson.[ citation needed ] For example, in October 2003, he appeared on Democracy Now! to discuss the Plame affair. He told interviewer Amy Goodman that Valerie Wilson's cover should have been respected whether she was an "analyst" or a "cleaning lady": "if she's undercover she's undercover, period. If the media allows themselves to get distracted with those kinds of curve balls, they ignore the issue." [11]

2008 to present

Michelle Obama hoax

Beginning in 2007, Johnson emerged as a critic of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. [1] As a result he was attacked by his former allies on the political left. [1] According to The New York Times , Johnson is "best known for spreading a hoax... in 2008 that Michelle Obama had been videotaped using a slur against Caucasians". [12] On May 16, 2008, Johnson posted an item entitled, "Will Barack Throw Mama From the Train?" which alleged that a tape existed of Michelle Obama "railing against 'whitey' at Jeremiah Wright's church." [13] [ non-primary source needed ] Johnson claimed that Republicans were in possession of the tape and it "is being held for the fall to drop at the appropriate time." In a subsequent post, Johnson claimed that Obama's appearance had occurred when she was on a panel with Louis Farrakhan. He also explained that he himself had not seen the tape, but had spoken with "five separate sources who have spoken directly with people who have seen the tape." [14] [ non-primary source needed ] The Obama campaign's "Fight the Smears" website denied the rumor, saying, "No such tape exists. Michelle Obama has not spoken from the pulpit at Trinity and has not used that word." [15] On October 21, 2008, Johnson said that, according to one of his sources, the McCain campaign "intervened and requested the tape not be used." [16] [ non-primary source needed ]

Allegations that British intelligence wiretapped Donald Trump

In March 2017, Andrew Napolitano said on Fox & Friends that GCHQ, Britain's signals intelligence service, had wiretapped Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign on orders from President Obama. [12] [17] Johnson was the source for Napolitano's claim. [12] [18] Sean Spicer, President Trump's press secretary, repeated the claim. [12] Fox News later disavowed the statement by Napolitano. [12]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 David Weigel, Larry Johnson's Strange Trip, The American Prospect (June 23, 2008).
  2. ↑ Gail Russell Chaddock, "Why Terrorists Pick On the French," Christian Science Monitor (5 December 1996) p. 1.
  3. ↑ Larry Johnson, "Terrorists Among Us," New York Times (20 August 1996) p. A19.
  4. 1 2 Larry C. Johnson, "The Declining Terrorist Threat" The New York Times 10 July 2001: A19.
  5. ↑ Lee Michael Katz, "The Hunt for Bin Laden," USA Today (21 August 1998) p. 1A.
  6. ↑ "Interviews - Larry C. Johnson - Hunting for bin Laden". PBS .
  7. ↑ "NO QUARTER: GETTING IT RIGHT ON THE TERRORIST THREAT". 30 January 2008. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008.
  8. ↑ Qtd. in Toby Harnden, "CIA 'pressure' on al-Qa'eda chief," The Daily Telegraph 5 March 2003: 16.
  9. ↑ Qtd. in Nicolas D. Kristof, "Save Our Spooks", The New York Times 30 May 2003:A6.
  10. ↑ Ex-CIA official Blasts Bush on Leak of Operative's Name: Democrats' Radio Address Focuses on White House Aides' Role CNN July 23, 2005, accessed November 21, 2006.
  11. ↑ Democracy Now! (3 October 2003) Archived 10 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Grynbaum, Michael M. (2017-03-17). "Fox's Andrew Napolitano Stirred the Pot for Trump's British Tempest". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Larry (16 May 2008). "Will Barack Throw Mama From the Train? [Update Two] - NO QUARTER USA NET". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Larry (2 June 2008). "Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan Take On Whitey - NO QUARTER USA NET". Archived from the original on 3 October 2011.
  15. ↑ "Organizing for Action".
  16. ↑ Johnson, Larry (21 October 2008). "Whitey Tape, API, Phil Berg, and Andy Martin - NO QUARTER USA NET". Archived from the original on 22 October 2008.
  17. ↑ Napolitano, Andrew (2017-03-16). "Did Obama spy on Trump?". Fox News. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  18. ↑ "Man behind Michelle Obama and John Kerry hoaxes at centre of GCHQ row". The Independent. 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2017-03-18.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valerie Plame</span> American writer, spy novelist and former CIA officer (born 1963)

Valerie Elise Plame is an American writer, spy novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA officer was leaked to and subsequently published by Robert Novak of The Washington Post. She described this period and the media firestorm that ensued as "mortifying, and I think I was in shock for a couple years".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Miller</span> American journalist and commentator

Judith Miller is an American journalist and commentator who covered Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program both before and after the 2003 invasion, which was later discovered to have been based on inaccurate information from the intelligence community. She worked in The New York Times' Washington bureau before joining Fox News in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph C. Wilson</span> American diplomat (1949–2019)

Joseph Charles Wilson IV was an American diplomat who was best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and the subsequent leaking by the Bush/Cheney administration of information pertaining to the identity of his wife Valerie Plame as a CIA officer. He also served as the CEO of a consulting firm he founded, JC Wilson International Ventures, and as the vice chairman of Jarch Capital, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Fitzgerald</span> American lawyer

Patrick J. Fitzgerald is an American lawyer and partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom since October 2012.

Michael F. Scheuer, is an American former intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, blogger, author, commentator and former adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies. One assignment during his 22-year career was serving as Chief of the Bin Laden Issue Station from 1996 to 1999. He also served as Special Advisor to the Chief of Alec Station from September 2001 to November 2004.

Larisa Alexandrovna is an American journalist, essayist, and poet. She has served as the managing editor of investigative news of The Raw Story and contributes opinion and columns to online publications such as Alternet. She is also an American blogger for the Huffington Post and for her own journalism blog, at-Largely. Alexandrovna has had her work referenced in publications like Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Newsweek. She is married to Scott Horton.

The Plame affair erupted in July 2003, when journalist Robert Novak revealed that Valerie Plame worked as covert employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, although the seeds of the scandal had been laid during 2001 and 2002 as the Bush administration investigated allegations that Iraq had purchased Nigerien uranium.

The Plame affair was a political scandal that revolved around journalist Robert Novak's public identification of Valerie Plame as a covert Central Intelligence Agency officer in 2003.

The CIA leak grand jury investigation was a federal inquiry "into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee's identity", a possible violation of criminal statutes, including the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 793.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie Sloan</span> American lawyer

Melanie Sloan is an American attorney, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, and the former Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit government ethics and accountability watchdog group. In March 2017, Sloan joined a new government ethics watchdog group, American Oversight, as senior adviser.

<i>United States v. Libby</i> Trial for interference with Plame affair

United States v. Libby was the federal trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former high-ranking official in the George W. Bush administration, for interfering with special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's criminal investigation of the Plame affair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Grenier (CIA officer)</span>

Robert L. Grenier is an American former Central Intelligence Agency officer, who served as the agency’s top counter-terrorism official from 2004 to 2006. After retiring, he became the chairman of a financial and strategic advisory firm

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jose Rodriguez (intelligence officer)</span> American spy

Jose A. Rodriguez Jr. is an American former intelligence officer who served as Director of the National Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He was the final CIA deputy director for operations (DDO) before that position was expanded to D/NCS in December 2004. Rodriguez was a central figure in the 2005 CIA interrogation videotapes destruction, leading to The New York Times Editorial Board and Human Rights Watch to call for his prosecution.

<i>Wilson v. Libby</i>

Wilson v. Libby, 498 F. Supp. 2d 74, affirmed, 535 F.3d 697, was a civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on 13 July, 2006, by Valerie Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, IV, against Richard Armitage (individually) for allegedly revealing her identity and thus irresponsibly infringing upon her Constitutional rights and against Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney, Lewis Libby, Karl Rove, and the unnamed others (together) because the latter, in addition, allegedly "illegally conspired to reveal her identity." The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Brennan (CIA officer)</span> Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2013 to 2017

John Owen Brennan is a former American intelligence officer who served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from March 2013 to January 2017. He served as chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama, with the title Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Assistant to the President. Previously, he advised Obama on foreign policy and intelligence issues during the 2008 election campaign and presidential transition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International counter-terrorism activities of the CIA</span>

After the Central Intelligence Agency lost its role as the coordinator of the entire United States Intelligence Community (IC), special coordinating structures were created by each president to fit his administrative style and the perceived level of threat from terrorists during his term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Riedel</span> American academic

Bruce O. Riedel is an American expert on U.S. security, South Asia, and counter-terrorism. He is currently a senior fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He also serves as a senior adviser at Albright Stonebridge Group.

Pakistan's role in the War on Terror is a widely discussed topic among policy-makers of various countries, political analysts and international delegates around the world. Pakistan has simultaneously received allegations of harbouring and aiding terrorists and commendation for its anti-terror efforts. Since 2001, the country has also hosted millions of Afghan refugees who fled the war in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osama bin Laden death conspiracy theories</span> Conspiracy theories about when and how Osama bin Laden died

The death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, gave rise to various conspiracy theories, hoaxes and rumors. These include the ideas that he had died earlier, or that he lived beyond the reported date. Doubts about Bin Laden's death were fueled by the U.S. military's supposed disposal of his body at sea, the decision to not release any photographic or DNA evidence of Bin Laden's death to the public, the contradicting accounts of the incident, and the 25-minute blackout during the raid on Bin Laden's compound during which a live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the U.S. special forces was cut off.

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., by the al-Qaeda terrorist group, a number of investigations were conducted to determine what intelligence may have existed before the attacks and whether this information was ignored by authorities.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.