Thought Theater

Porter Goss Resigns genre: Polispeak

Porter Goss, the Director of the CIA has resigned. No replacement has yet been named although an announcement is expected shortly.

UPDATE:

President Bush has just announced the resignation of Porter Goss. Goss was only on the job since his appointment in September of 2004. No replacement was named by the President during his announcement.

UPDATE:

Goss was recently mentioned in the investigation of parties, that may have included hired prostitutes, at the Watergate and the Westin Grand Hotels that were sponsored by defense contractors Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade. Harpers Magazine reported on the story in late April. The following excerpts are from the article.

It turns out the FBI is currently investigating two defense contractors who allegedly provided Cunningham with free limousine service, free stays at hotel suites at the Watergate and the Westin Grand, and free prostitutes.

The two defense contractors who allegedly bribed Cunningham, said the Journal, were Brent Wilkes, the founder of ADCS Inc., and Mitchell Wade, the founder of MZM Inc.; both firms profited greatly from their connections with Cunningham. The Journal also suggested that other lawmakers might be implicated. I've learned from a well-connected source that those under intense scrutiny by the FBI are current and former lawmakers on Defense and Intelligence comittees—including one person who now holds a powerful intelligence post.

TPMmuckraker.com has been following the story here. The following is from the site.

According to Graham, the Watergate has received multiple subpoenas in connection with the Wilkes Hookergate scandal. He went on to say that the hotel is complying with those subpoenas but that he couldn't discuss the content of the orders, nor could he discuss details of the investigation, "out of respect for our guests' privacy."

MSNBC has just mentioned the Watergate and Westin investigation and hinted that there is speculation that the Director's sudden departure might be related. Supporting the speculation is the hasty resignation coupled with the fact that there was no announcement of a replacement. Additionally, no reasons were offered for the resignation.