3 April 98
On behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, I would like to thank the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, and the FBI for their efforts leading to the arrest of former CIA employee Douglas F. Groat.
Mr. Groat was employed by the Agency from 1980 to 1996. He worked as a technical officer in our Directorate for Science and Technology. He last had access to classified information in 1993. Yesterday he was arrested on charges of espionage and attempted extortion based on information alleging that he disclosed information concerning the targeting and compromise of the cryptographic systems of two foreign governments to those governments and that he threatened to reveal intelligence activities and methods unless the CIA agreed to pay him more than half a million dollars for his silence.
The charges against Mr. Groat are extremely serious. The full extent of any damage to U.S. national security has yet to be determined.
His arrest demonstrates that the U.S. government will not rest in our efforts against those who would commit espionage against the United States nor will we be intimidated by threats of blackmail.