As soon as I read about him sending anonymous letters to foreign governments, divulging details of confidential operations, I thought "what is he thinking, indictment for treason in 3, 2, 1". He really should have known better, especially given his experience serving in the Army, law enforcement, and then the CIA.
In the end, it was not surprising at all that the feds came down on him like a ton of bricks. It was surprising that he got a plea deal for a lesser sentence.
The consultant card was a nice one to play. He should have stuck with that. Divulging information of an operation to a target... that shows real bitterness and someone that is not thinking big picture. I was waiting for him to just disappear at that point and the article would ends with 'no-one knows where he is'.
I'm guessing we can read it all about it in a book in a year or 2.
I was amazed he was able to push as hard as he was before the hammer came down.
Seriously. Being a whistle-blower is one thing. Being a rogue canon playing fast and loose with national security so you can negotiate a better pension settlement is something else entirely.
I think what he did could have passed had he not made it official by writing letters and sending them. I think he could have conveyed all this orally in an ambiguous enough way.
The reason is that once this becomes official enough and "on the books" this kind of stuff would happen again. The real nightmare is not him doing it and getting way is every disgruntled agency employee doing it and then pointing fingers at this case saying "but you negotiated with him!".
So I think he wasn't smart enough, he could have had a chance at this had he not stirred the waters that much.
Another, general way of putting it, is that in large bureaucratic institutions (officially!) you never put your superiors in a position to make a new rule or break an existing rule.
His problems started earlier, I think. A red flag came up when I saw that he ticketed the fire chief (and got fired for his trouble). Then later he kept escalating some issue above his superiors, despite being warned that his career was on the line. The guy just doesn't know his place.
I would say he doesn't know how to play the game. How you play the game is you never break the rules while you make sure people know you're not the bitch. As the person above you said, he should have made vague threats. This is negotiation 101. Government wants leverage, former employee wants leverage. They have what he wants ($), he has what they want (information).
Last time I checked this was Hacker News. One of the commonly accepted meanings of 'hacker' is someone who challenges the existing order and power structures. You won't find many friends here with this attitude.
Last time I checked this article was about the CIA. One of the commonly accepted jobs of 'CIA' is someone who maintains the existing order and power structures. You won't make many friends in he CIA if you go against it.
At this level, governments are not much better than organized crime. As a low-level guy, you don't have leverage. Push too hard, and you'll force them to deal with you unpleasantly.
Salary and severance negotiations are easier when you have the threat of prison or death on your side.
I was amazed they offered him the consulting role and full retirement, although I suspect that the 'polygraph' clause might have been the real offer, lure him into that to get evidence then charge him and cancel the deal.
You can see the military mindset though. Once he identified the CIA as the enemy his mission was to use his abilities to crush them, to the point where he rejected a good deal in favour of fighting 'to the end'. Their only choice is to end it roughly, which is why it's almost always the default option.
I don't understand the fixation with the polygraph. Scientifically it's a discredited device, and in court it doesn't yield admissible evidence. I see that it intimidates people, but they should know better I think.
In the end, it was not surprising at all that the feds came down on him like a ton of bricks. It was surprising that he got a plea deal for a lesser sentence.