James Clapper warns intelligence staff after string of leaks to media

Intelligence chief tells his spies to zip it

WASHINGTON — The director of national intelligence is telling his people to zip it, after a string of recent leaks to the media.

In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, newly appointed director James R. Clapper says he is concerned about leaks of confidential information in the press.

Recent disclosures have revealed the potential for using CIA drones in the counterterrorist fight against al-Qaida in Yemen, the close relationship of the CIA station chief in Kabul with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the CIA’s practice of paying some members of the Afghan government for information.

Clapper told the members of the 16 intelligence agencies that they should be like his grandchildren - “seen but not heard.”