Dead Drop: December 15

ROAD SHOW:  We told readers back in October about what we heard was a highly-successful fundraising dinner held by the CIA Officer’s Memorial Foundation (CIAOMF) somewhere near Washington, D.C.  Now, our spies tell us that the organization, which raises funds to support the families of fallen CIA officers, has taken the show on the road with a gala outside Washington – in Beverly Hills, CA. Reports back indicate it was quite the show.  The master of ceremonies, keeping the crowd in stitches, was Jay Leno who has a long association with the CIAOMF. Foundation Chair (and former CIA Director) Gina Haspel was among the speakers who talked about the Agency’s enduring commitment to families.  Current Deputy CIA Director David Cohen (a former Cipher Brief Expert) was on hand and spoke about how the Agency does “hard things in hard places.” He too, mentioned the burden on the families of officers who go in harm’s way. Perhaps the most moving speech of the night was delivered by Jake Spann who was just six months old when his father, CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann, became the first American to die in Afghanistan after 9/11. The Memorial Foundation was established to help people like Jake, his sisters, and the families of other Agency officers who die in the line of duty.  Jake spoke about the need for patriots like his father to confront evil wherever it is, but also for all of us to look for good in the world. Among those honored at the event was comedian Tim Allen, who is known for being an engaged advocate for patriotic organizations and causes. Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who has been heavily involved with the CIA since the 1970s, received the Foundation’s “Patriot Award.”  Little known fact: the first customer for the database that eventual became the company ‘Oracle’, was the CIA. CIAOMF President (and Cipher Brief expert) John Edwards introduced Ellison and said that because of him, we have a “safer, stronger and more prosperous country.”   Edwards also noted that one of the heroes of Flight 93 on 9/11 – Todd Beamer whose “Let’s Roll” words became an inspirational motto for CIA counterterrorism officers – was an Oracle employee. One of the final events of the evening was especially significant given Leno’s affinity to automobiles. This was the auctioning of a specially modified 1950 Mercury sedan (with interior panels autographed by current and former CIA leaders.) The car, which had been donated to the Foundation, was purchased by a generous person in the audience with a bid of $100,000. Not a bad ride.  Since it was established, the CIAOMF has awarded over $11.5 million in educational scholarships to over 200 dependents of deceased CIA officers and it is supporting 64 students this year alone.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHOTS: In a very pointed dispute, the British tabloid The Daily Mail says at the start of the pandemic, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered British security services to plan a possible raid on a Dutch COVID vaccine factory to steal back millions of doses of vaccine that he and other officials believe had been “stolen” from them. Johnson is said to have asked for “military options” to grab the jabs, which the Brits say they had paid for but had not been delivered. The U.K. reportedly had negotiated a better deal with the manufacturer, AstraZeneca, than the EU – but the European Union impounded the shots. Somehow cooler heads prevailed, and no shots were fired.