Accused CIA Spy Pleads Innocent

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuter) - Harold Nicholson, the highest-ranking CIA officer ever indicted for espionage, pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges of conspiracy to spy for Russia and a judge set March 10 as the trial date.

Chief Judge James Cacheris of federal district court also approved a defense request for a gag order to stop public comments about the case. Defense lawyers had argued that media coverage was jeopardizing a fair trial for Nicholson, a 16-year Central Intelligence Agency veteran accused of selling national security secrets to Moscow for 29 months until his Nov. 16 arrest.

Asked by the judge how Nicholson, 46, would plead, Jonathan Shapiro, one of his two court-appointed lawyers, told the court: "Not guilty."

The gag order applies to lawyers on both sides as well as CIA and Justice Department officials. The government did not opppose the gag order.

Nicholson, uttering his first public comments since the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested him at Washington's Dulles airport, waived his federal right to a jury trial within 70 days of entering his plea.

The March 10 trial date gives his lawyers more time to prepare, partly because they need to obtain security clearances to review much of the government's highly classified evidence in the case.

Standing erect in a tan-and-blue prison jumpsuit stenciled "Alexandria Jail," Nicholson was asked by the judge whether he understood that he was giving up speedy trial rights. "Yes, I do, your honor," he replied in a steady voice betraying no emotion.

As part of the gag order, the judge said he would consider any request from Nicholson himself for permission to grant jailhouse interviews to reporters about his life and background but not about details of the case. The defense motion for a gag order followed an unusual series of joint interviews on the case by CIA Director John Deutch and FBI Director Louis Freeh.

"I thinks it's well-justified because officials of both agencies were making comments far beyond the four corners of the indictment," said attorney Ralph Drury Martin, who prosecuted many U.S. officials while serving in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.

Nicholson, known to his family as Jim, faces possible life imprisonment without parole if convicted. The government alleges he received payments totalling more than $180,000 for giving up some of its most sensitive secrets, including the identities of undercover CIA operatives and details of how the CIA does business around the world.

At a pre-trial hearing Monday, another judge denied Nicholson bail on the ground that he was a serious flight risk and, if the government was right, might still have secrets to pass to Moscow.

During his career as a CIA operations officer, Nicholson served as the espionage agency's station chief in Romania and deputy chief of station in Malaysia. He also served in the Philippines, Thailand and Japan. Most recently, he taught spy craft at a training camp for recruits in Virginia and served as a Middle East branch chief in the counterterrorism center.