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Ex-CIA agent from O'Fallon pleads not guilty to leaking info

The seal of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency inlaid in the floor of the main lobby of the original headquarters building. (via Wikimedia Commons/Duffman)
The seal of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency inlaid in the floor of the main lobby of the original headquarters building. (via Wikimedia Commons/Duffman)

Jeffery Sterling, the former CIA agent from O'Fallon accused of illegally leaking classified information to a New York Times reporter about Iran, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Sterling waived extradition Monday during a brief federal court appearance in St. Louis and pleaded guilty in an arraignment Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va.

In addition to this latest leak situation, Sterling has been at odds with the CIA for the better part of a decade after accusing the agency of racial discrimination, according to the Associated Press.

Sterling's court-appointed attorney, Edward MacMahon, said he cannot discuss the case in detail with his client because he has not yet received the necessary clearances.

MacMahon also faulted the government for prosecuting Sterling while failing to go after the reporter and publisher who produced the book that purportedly published the classified information.