ABC News just did an
exclusive report
on a spy in the White House. It is the first known case of espionage to breech
the White House in history,

Espionage Case Breaches the White House

 Accused Marine Worked in Vice President’s Office

 By BRIAN ROSS and RICHARD ESPOSITO

Oct. 5, 2005 — – Both the FBI and CIA are calling it the first case of
espionage in the White House in modern history.

Officials tell ABC News the alleged spy worked undetected at the White
House for almost three years. Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, was a U.S. Marine
most recently assigned to the staff of Vice President Dick Cheney.

“I don’t know of a case where the vetting broke down before and resulted
in a spy being in the White House,” said Richard Clarke, a former White
House advisor who is now an ABC News consultant.

Federal investigators say Aragoncillo, a naturalized citizen from the
Philippines, used his top secret clearance to steal classified intelligence
documents from White House computers.

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.

“I think what they like most is our integrity and loyalty,” Aragoncillo
said.

Classified Material Transferred by E-Mail

Officials say the classified material, which Aragoncillo stole from the
vice president’s office, included damaging dossiers on the president of the
Philippines. He then passed those on to opposition politicians planning a
coup in the Pacific nation.

“Even though it’s not for the Russians or some other government, the fact
that it occurred at the White House is a matter of great concern,” said John
Martin, who was the government’s lead espionage prosecutor for 26 years.

Last year, after leaving the Marines, Aragoncillo was caught by the FBI
while he worked for the Bureau at an intelligence center at Fort Monmouth,
N.J.

According to a criminal complaint, Aragoncillo was arrested last month
and accused of downloading more than 100 classified documents from FBI
computers.

“The information was transferred mostly by e-mails,” said U.S. Attorney
Christopher J. Christie at the time of Aragoncillo’s arrest.

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.

Aragoncillo began working at the White House in 1999. Officials are now
trying to learn how he landed the job, when he started spying, and how he
escaped detection for so long.

“Of course, it is a source of embarrassment when you find out that this
kind of activity has been carried out literally right under your nose,” said
Martin, the former espionage prosecutor.

According to friends, in addition to his work for Cheney and Gore,
Aragoncillo claimed he also worked with President Clinton and Condoleezza
Rice when she was the national security advisor.

The bigger question now is – could this be a smoke screen for a bigger story
rumored to break this week.

Reuters has just reported that we could be only ‘days’ away from indictments
while 

Radar Magazine is reporting that 22 indictments could be handed down this
week in the Valerie Plame leak case.
Think Progress has a
list of 21 big names in Washington that are all involved in the scandal.

Raw Story is also reporting that Karl Rove has been missing from the
political arena lately, and is rumored to have received a target letter from the
prosecutor.

All this news is coming out on the same day that former Bush procurement
officer David Safavian was handed five indictments. All five indictments are
felony charges of obstruction per the

Washington Post.