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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Counterintelligence Agents Search State Department Pakistan Expert’s Home and Office | Counterintelligence Agents Search State Department Pakistan Expert’s Home and Office |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — Federal agents searched the home and office of a veteran State Department diplomat last month as part of a counterintelligence investigation, government officials said Friday. | WASHINGTON — Federal agents searched the home and office of a veteran State Department diplomat last month as part of a counterintelligence investigation, government officials said Friday. |
| The diplomat, Robin L. Raphel, is a retired ambassador and an expert on Pakistan who was working under contract as an adviser to the State Department’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the F.B.I. searches, Ms. Raphel was put on leave and her contract was allowed to expire. | The diplomat, Robin L. Raphel, is a retired ambassador and an expert on Pakistan who was working under contract as an adviser to the State Department’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the F.B.I. searches, Ms. Raphel was put on leave and her contract was allowed to expire. |
| Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement that the department “is cooperating with our law enforcement colleagues on this matter.” | Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement that the department “is cooperating with our law enforcement colleagues on this matter.” |
| “Ms. Raphel’s appointment expired,'’ the statement said. “She is no longer a Department employee.” | “Ms. Raphel’s appointment expired,'’ the statement said. “She is no longer a Department employee.” |
| The nature of the investigation is unclear. F.B.I. counterintelligence agents track spies and look for signs of economic espionage or mishandling of classified documents. The American officials who confirmed the counterintelligence investigation did not say whether Ms. Raphel is the target. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. | The nature of the investigation is unclear. F.B.I. counterintelligence agents track spies and look for signs of economic espionage or mishandling of classified documents. The American officials who confirmed the counterintelligence investigation did not say whether Ms. Raphel is the target. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. |
| “She has not been told that she is the target,” said Andrew Rice, Ms. Raphel’s spokesman. “Her nearly 40 years of public service at the highest levels of U.S. diplomacy speak for themselves. I’m confident this will be resolved.” | “She has not been told that she is the target,” said Andrew Rice, Ms. Raphel’s spokesman. “Her nearly 40 years of public service at the highest levels of U.S. diplomacy speak for themselves. I’m confident this will be resolved.” |
| The Washington Post first reported the investigation on its website Thursday night. | The Washington Post first reported the investigation on its website Thursday night. |
| Ms. Raphel, 67, is well known in Washington foreign policy circles and among the State Department’s highest-ranking female diplomats. She served as ambassador to Tunisia and as assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs in the Clinton administration. | Ms. Raphel, 67, is well known in Washington foreign policy circles and among the State Department’s highest-ranking female diplomats. She served as ambassador to Tunisia and as assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs in the Clinton administration. |
| Ms. Raphel retired from the Foreign Service in 2005 and in 2009 was hired by the American Embassy in Pakistan to help administer billions of dollars of development aid to the country. She returned to Washington in 2011 to work as a senior adviser on Pakistan issues. | Ms. Raphel retired from the Foreign Service in 2005 and in 2009 was hired by the American Embassy in Pakistan to help administer billions of dollars of development aid to the country. She returned to Washington in 2011 to work as a senior adviser on Pakistan issues. |
| Ms. Raphel is the former wife of Arnold Raphel, who was serving as the American ambassador to Pakistan in 1988 when he was killed in a mysterious plane crash with Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan at the time. There are numerous theories about the cause of the crash, including one that it was an assassination and that nerve gas in a canister hidden in a crate of mangoes was dispersed in the plane’s air-conditioning system. | |
| After her retirement and before her work at the embassy, Ms. Raphel worked for Cassidy & Associates, a firm that did lobbying work for the government of Pakistan. | After her retirement and before her work at the embassy, Ms. Raphel worked for Cassidy & Associates, a firm that did lobbying work for the government of Pakistan. |