On April 23, the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced a guilty plea had been entered by Dale Britt Bendler, a retired senior official of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to charges that he both mishandled classified information and failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as he engaged in activity in support of a foreign power while employed by the CIA. A review of the statement of facts and the plea agreement demonstrates a flagrant disregard to rules and regulations regarding the handling of classified information and engagement in outside activities while associated with the CIA by Bendler,
Bendler dissembles to CIA and FBI
The fact that Bendler ascended to the ranks of the Agency’s senior intelligence service is a testament to his having made a meaningful contribution to the mission of the CIA where he was assigned in various locales as Chief of Station. Following his retirement in 2014, he transitioned immediately to a full-time contractor in a role requiring TS/SCI clearances (which continued through 2020). According to the accepted plea he also engaged in sub-rosa lobbying and public relations activities via a lobbying firm without FARA registration on behalf of unidentified foreign entities. His undisclosed lobbying included attempts to influence a foreign government’s embezzlement investigation and the U.S. government’s decision on a visa for clients, one of whom was alleged to be associated with terrorism financing. Bendler was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for these unauthorized activities
In addition, he utilized his privileged access to the CIA’s classified systems to search for and acquire information related to his clients, which resulted in his improper storage and disclosure of non-public, sensitive, and classified U.S. information to individuals without authorization to receive the information.
In total, he received $360,000 for his work for numerous foreign clients.
The CIA terminated Bendler’s contract and access in September 2020 after he had lied to both the CIA and FBI about his actions.
Consequences
The irony is that more than one CIA officer has, following their Agency career, gone on to work on behalf of foreign entities which required their registering as an agent of a foreign power. They did not have to access classified records to bring value to their engagement, nor did they have to keep it a secret by properly registering as a foreign agent in accordance with FARA.
The actual consequences for Bendler will be determined at his sentencing hearing on July 16. The plea agreement has him forfeiting $85,000 and facing a maximum penalty of seven years in prison (two for his actions as a foreign agent while a U.S. government official and five for mishandling classified information) and two fines of up to $250,000. That said, the plea agreement contains the stipulation from the DoJ that no more than 24-month custodial sentence will be recommended. Furthermore, Bendler will assign to the U.S. government all profits and proceeds from publicity.
Interestingly, according to his publicly available LinkedIn profile, in 2020 he stood up his personal consultancy, ONE.61. The name reflects the firm’s mission to empower individuals with tools to navigate risks in both cyber and physical environments.
It would appear that he intends to move on and through this guilty plea, given his active social posting, to include on the day of his guilty plea, when he posted how his firm was hosting a conference on May 1 focused on “China Economic Warfare in Latin America.”
FSO’s Get a teachable moment
FSOs may wish to highlight Bendler’s plea agreement during their counterintelligence briefings. He failed to report his outside activity. He attempted to harvest classified information for provision to those without authorization. Both actions which occurred while he held a TS/SCI clearance as a trusted and valued insider with privileged access to sensitive classified information, he violated the trust of the Agency, and the U.S. government he enjoyed.
