Unsolved Attack Still Fuels Speculation

Victim Still Hasn't 'Ruled Out' Retaliation for Criticism of Putin's Government

In his first public interview since being shot, the Russia expert who was attacked in front of his Prince George's County home in March said yesterday that he is not convinced the incident was an ordinary street crime.

Paul Joyal of Adelphi said he has "not ruled out" the possibility he was shot in retaliation for his criticism of the Russian government. "Because of the behavior of the Kremlin today, one can't rule anything out," Joyal said.

Joyal, a frequent commentator on Russian affairs and a vice president of National Strategies, a government consulting firm, said he believes the shooting could be connected to his Feb. 25 appearance on "Dateline NBC." In his television interview, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the poisoning in London last year of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko with a lethal dose of polonium-210, a rare radioactive isotope. The Russian government has denied any involvement.

Law enforcement sources close to the investigation, however, said yesterday that they are skeptical of the suggestion that Joyal's background played any role in the shooting.

The sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said investigators believe the incident was likely a random carjacking in a county that has consistently ranked among the top in the United States for auto thefts.

Joyal, 53, was shot by two men in front of his Adelphi home March 1, four days after his "Dateline" interview. Followed four days later by the mysterious death in Moscow of a well-known Russian journalist, Joyal's shooting briefly fueled international speculation that the incidents were part of a wide-ranging plot to silence Kremlin critics.

Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a Prince George's police spokesman, said the shooting remains unsolved. Police believe the motive was robbery and are offering a $25,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of Joyal's attackers, Copeland said.

A source with knowledge of the investigation who requested anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing said the FBI is assisting Prince George's police with the case because of concerns about Joyal's background, but federal and local investigators have all but ruled out Russian government involvement in Joyal's shooting.

But Joyal, who was director of security for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 1980 to 1989, said that investigators have not fully explored all the possible motives for the shooting. Yesterday, Joyal confirmed that he had talked about approaching his contacts in Congress about holding a hearing on Litvinenko's death shortly before he was shot. He then declined to give further details.

Trim and tall in a cream-colored summer suit and blue shirt, Joyal -- still hobbled by his injuries -- leaned on a cane as he described the night he was shot. He said he had drinks with his friend and former business associate Oleg Kalugin, a former KGB general, at a bar near the International Spy Museum in Washington about an hour before the shooting.

He said he did not notice anyone following him as he left the bar and did not see any vehicles nearby as he approached his home in the 2300 block of Lackawanna Road about 7:35 p.m. Joyal said he was approached from behind by a man he described as of "mixed race" moments after parking his Chrysler 300 in his driveway.

"No one asked me for anything. No one attempted to take my wallet or the computer that was sitting in the front seat of the car," Joyal said.

Joyal said he fell to the ground after one of his attackers fired a bullet into his lower abdomen. He did not get a look at the second man and does not recall hearing the sound of a car driving away after the shooting, Joyal said. The next thing he remembers is looking up at his wife, then seemingly endless days of surgery as he recovered from his injuries in a hospital, he said.

Joyal said he told detectives in his initial police interview at the hospital that he believed it was probably "a random crime." But he said he began to rethink that assessment.

"The speed by which I was jumped makes me believe they were hiding in wait. And if they were waiting for me, I cannot rule out that the possible motive may have been my association with Litvinenko and others," Joyal said.