Washington Memo

By Adam Zagorin

Spying has long been a risky business, but now America's spooks complain that they're facing double jeopardy: a potentially rising tide of lawsuits and criminal proceedings, plus investigations by Congress. To help secret agents who may need the advice of a lawyer, CIA director Michael Hayden this week generously offered CIA employees the ultimate perk: full reimbursement of legal-liability insurance. And it will cover all employees involved in covert activity, not just those working in counterterrorism and counterproliferation.

Jose A. Rodriguez, former director of the clandestine service, is one policyholder. He'll need the money to deal with the legal consequences of ordering the destruction of videos showing the CIA's interrogation and possible torture of a pair of al-Qaeda suspects. Scores of other spies with their own potential legal problems are also believed to have purchased coverage, but their identities are not public. Wright & Co. of Arlington, Va., the company that sells most of the insurance, says a basic plan costs about $300 annually. That pays for up to $1 million worth of court judgments or settlements, up to $100,000 for a criminal defense, and as much as $200,000 for a civil defense or penalties in an administrative proceeding.

Behind the CIA's insurance boom lurks a fear that the number of agency employees who become targets of legal action could multiply with a new President. Candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have unambiguously opposed torture, while John McCain, a prisoner in Hanoi during the Vietnam War, has sponsored legislation to ban interrogation methods like waterboarding. If Congress holds new hearings, anyone called to testify will need a lawyer. And with more detainees being released and claiming they were tortured, some CIA officers' need for legal counsel--and insurance to cover the cost--is sure to rise.