Former CIA Official Nears Indictment

Things are looking bad for a former top CIA administrative official, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo.

Federal prosecutors are preparing to seek indictments against a former top CIA official and a San Diego defense contractor linked to the bribery scandal that sent former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to prison, two government officials familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.

The officials, who spoke to The Associated Press only on condition of anonymity because grand jury proceedings are secret and the charges have not been finalized, said prosecutors plan to ask a San Diego grand jury to return charges of honest services fraud and conspiracy against Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and Brent Wilkes.

Wilkes' lawyers have said he is one of four unidentified co-conspirators described in the 2005 plea agreement for Cunningham, a San Diego Republican.

Honest services fraud is a combination of mail and wire fraud often used in public corruption cases involving officials who have engaged in a pattern of improper activities, such as accepting gifts, trips or promises of future employment from private individuals. ...

Foggo was the No. 3 official at the CIA, responsible for the agency's day-to-day operations, until resigning in May after his home and office were raided by FBI agents in connection with the Cunningham probe headed by the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego.

Federal law enforcement agencies and intelligence officials have been investigating whether Foggo improperly awarded contracts to Wilkes' companies, including a multimillion-dollar contract to supply bottled water for CIA operations in Iraq.

A House Intelligence Committee report on Cunningham's activities released last November said Foggo steered $70 million in contracts to Wade and Wilkes.

The House Intelligence, Appropriations and Armed Services committees were subpoenaed in December by prosecutors for documents relating to the Cunningham investigation. A House aide said Wednesday that House lawyers have asked for more time and are working to negotiate a response that satisfies prosecutors so they can withdraw the subpoenas.