Washington, D.C.: CIA disputes claims of attempted censorship

CIA officials, in an unusual public statement Friday, disputed an author’s accusation that they attempted to censor elements of a recent book on spy Robert Hanssen.

At issue is author David Wise’s publication of the name of an undercover CIA counterintelligence officer, which the CIA says it asked Wise not to reveal. The FBI had incorrectly identified the man as a Russian spy until one of their own, Hanssen, was uncovered as a mole spying for Russia.

The officer’s name was published last month in Wise’s book, “Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI’s Robert Hanssen Betrayed America.”

Wise, in an opinion piece in Thursday’s New York Times, said the CIA “attempted to censor the book to avoid embarrassing publicity.”

On Friday, CIA spokesman Bill Harlow, in a statement, called Wise’s accusation “complete and utter nonsense.”

Florida: Teen gets three years for drowning 5-year-old

A mildly retarded teenager was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for the drowning of an autistic 5-year-old prosecutors say was shoved into a canal and left to die.

Gorman Roberts, 18, was convicted of manslaughter for the incident Feb. 10. Prosecutors said he laughed as the boy, Jordan Payne, died in the weed-filled waterway not far from his father’s home in Pompano Beach.

The defense said Jordan, who was unable to talk or swim, slipped during a tussle. They also said Roberts was mentally incapable of recklessly or flagrantly disregarding the younger boy’s safety, a component required for a manslaughter conviction.

Roberts was 17 when the drowning occurred, but he was charged as an adult and faced up to 15 years in prison. The jury wasn’t told the special education student had an IQ in the mid-60s, though his attorney hinted the teen was retarded.