Condoleezza Rice stunned over CIA mission leak

Condoleezza Rice told jurors Thursday she was dumbfounded to learn that a classified mission to thwart Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions had been divulged to a reporter. Rice testified at the trial of ex-CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who was charged with illegally disclosing top-secret details of the program to New York Times reporter James Risen. Sterling insisted that he never leaked any information to Risen. While Rice’s testimony helped establish the importance of the program, her testimony did not directly implicate Sterling as the leaker. Prosecutors stated that Sterling leaked the information in retaliation for mistreatment within the CIA. Defense lawyers fired back saying that the leak could have come from anywhere and that Sterling has faced unfair suspicion because he sued the CIA for racial discrimination. Earlier on Thursday, an unidentified CIA manager acknowledged under cross-examination that more than 90 people already knew about the covert mission.