Ex-NSA Employee Accused Of Taking Classified Materials

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GREENBELT, Md. -- A former National Security Agency employee admitted to backing his pickup truck up to an unguarded exit and hauling away boxes of classified material, an FBI agent testified Tuesday.

The former NSA employee, Kenneth Ford, made the admission during a raid on his Waldorf, Md. home, FBI agent Michael Thompson testified. Thompson, the first witness called in Ford's trial, said he was "surprised" to find the classified materials in Ford's home, but said, "But I don't recall Mr. Ford reacting."

Prosecutors said they raided the home after receiving a tip from Ford's girlfriend, Tanya Tucker.

Ford told the agents he was using the documents as reference material for a new job. The former NSA employee is charged with illegally possessing classified materials and making false statements while trying to obtain security clearance.
Defense attorney Spencer Hecht said in opening statements that the case was not as simple as the prosecutor said. Noting the strict security policies in place at the NSA, Hecht told jurors the case was about the "feasibility and possibility that Ford could have taken them."

The defense attorney also said he would show a link between the girlfriend and the NSA. By the end of the trial, jurors will come to the conclusion "that something here just isn't right, something here just doesn't make sense and there's a whole lot more to this story."

As the trial got underway in U.S. District Court Tuesday, the judge warned jurors the conduct of the case would be unusual because of the classified nature of much of the evidence.

For example, jurors would not be allowed to discuss much of what they would hear even after the trial is over, said Judge Peter Messitte. He said they also would "hear" testimony from so-called silent witnesses who would point to significant sections of classified documents the jury would be handed, but would not talk about those sections in open court.

Kenneth Ford, 34, is charged with possessing classified information and making a false statement. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison on the two charges, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors claim Ford failed to turn over certain classified documents to an appropriate government official after he left the NSA in 2003. The documents were recovered when the FBI searched his home in January 2004.

The false statement charge dates to Oct. 5 when Ford allegedly told Lockheed Martin Corp. on a government clearance form that he had been falsely arrested by the FBI and had no police record, when he had, in fact, been arrested.

Ford's mother, Gloria Ford, told The Associated Press her son is innocent.

"He is," insisted Gloria Ford, who among the spectators. "He's the most innocent person in here."

Kenneth Ford met Tucker through an online dating site only nine weeks before the raid, according to his mother. She said she suspects Tucker was involved in a plot to snare her son.

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