Giaka’s claims quickly unraveled under defense questioning. Prodded by three Scottish law lords hearing the case, the CIA was forced to declassify dozens of reports portraying Giaka as a money-grubbing hustler and a liar. The files showed he had claimed to work in the secret- files section of Libyan intelligence when, in fact, he worked in the motor pool. The CIA compounded the prosecution’s problems by initially trying to edit out some of the embarrassing details, only to have the judges insist on seeing them.
Inside the U.S. government, people close to the CIA say most of the blame for the Giaka fiasco lies with the FBI. Intelligence sources argue the CIA was on the verge of dropping Giaka as an informant when he was handed over to the FBI for questioning. Faced with a very thin case against Fhimah (there was additional witness testimony implicating the second defendant, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi), prosecutors felt they had to go with Giaka. An FBI spokesman declined to comment beyond conceding that the judges did not seem to believe the witness.
