Leandro Aragoncillo

Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, "a 21-year Marine veteran who became an FBI intelligence analyst last year, "most recently assigned to the staff of Vice President Dick Cheney," is the "alleged spy [who] worked undetected at the White House for almost three years." [1][2]

Aragoncillo "already has been charged in New Jersey with passing classified information about Filipino leaders to current and former officials of that nation." Now, the FBI is investigating whether Aragoncillo "took classified information from the White House ... and passed it to Filipino officials." [3]

"Federal investigators say Aragoncillo, a naturalized citizen from the Philippines, used his top secret clearance to steal" more than 100 classified from FBI computers in the White House. "'The information was transferred mostly by e-mails,' said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie at the time of Aragoncillo's arrest." [4]

"Aragoncillo was hired to work at the Army's Fort Monmouth, N.J., in July 2004 and began sending classified information and documents in January, according to an FBI complaint made public last month. The documents' contents have not been made public.

"From May to Aug. 15 of this year, he printed or downloaded 101 classified documents relating to the Philippines, of which 37 were classified 'secret,' according to the criminal complaint." [5]

"Since that arrest, officials say Aragoncillo has started to cooperate. He has admitted to spying while working on the staff of Vice President Cheney's office." [6]

"In 2000, Aragoncillo worked on the staff of then-Vice President Al Gore. When interviewed by Philippine television, he remarked how valued Philippine employees were at the White House." [7]

External links

• Brian Ross and Richard Esposito, "Espionage Case Breaches the White House. Accused Marine Worked in Vice President's Office," ABC News, October 5, 2005.
• Mark Sherman, "FBI Probes Ex-Marine, Classified Info," Associated Press (Yahoo! News), October 6, 2005.