LAT: White House accused of censorship

A former CIA analyst says the agency was told to cut parts of his op-ed column.
By Paul Richter, Times Staff Writer
December 19, 2006

WASHINGTON — A former National Security Council official said Monday that the White House tried to silence his criticism of its Middle East policies by ordering the CIA to censor an op-ed column he wrote.

~snip~

He said the agency's action "was fabricated to silence an established critic of the administration's foreign policy incompetence at a moment when the White House is working hard to fend off political pressure to take a different approach."

Leverett said that in discussing the case with a CIA official, he was told that "the White House has equities" in the issue, meaning it was concerned about potentially classified material.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Leverett speculated that senior NSC officials, such as deputy national security advisors Elliott Abrams or Meghan L. O'Sullivan, had authorized their subordinates to intervene.

more:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-censor19dec19,1,5544390.story?track=rss