CIA Fires Analyst for Alleged Press Leak

President Bush arrives with CIA Director Porter Goss, left, to talk to reporters after he received an intelligence briefing at Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Va., near Washington, in this Thursday, March 3, 2005, file photo. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite - AP)

It was unclear if Priest or any other reporters who spoke to McCarthy would be brought into an investigation. Post spokesman Eric Grant said no reporter at the paper had been subpoenaed or had spoken to investigators about the matter.

Goss has pressed for aggressive probes about leaked information.

"The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission," Goss told Congress in February, adding that a federal grand jury should be impaneled to determine "who is leaking this information."

On Friday, another government official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said the fired officer had failed a lie-detector test.

It was not clear if the person was taking a routine polygraph examination, as is required periodically of employees with access to classified information, or if the test was among those ordered by Goss to find leakers inside the agency.

Justice Department officials declined to comment publicly on the firing and whether the matter had been referred to federal prosecutors for possible criminal charges.

One law enforcement official said there were dozens of leak investigations under way. Another said there had been no referral from the CIA involving the fired employee, normally a precursor to a criminal investigation.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation.

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Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Ted Bridis contributed to this report.