- James Marcinkowski
James Marcinkowski (born 1955) is a former
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer and former administrative staff attorney in the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office (Michigan ), and was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2006 election for theUnited States House of Representatives in Michigan's 8th Congressional District. He is one of the former CIA agents who has spoken about the consequences of thePlame affair .Early life
Marcinkowski was born in
Hamtramck, Michigan , ofPolish-American descent. After finishing high school in 1974, Marcinkowski, then 18, clerked in the Computer Systems Division of theFederal Bureau of Investigation . In 1974, he enlisted in theUnited States Navy , where, as an [http://www.npc.navy.mil/Enlisted/CommunityManagers/SurfaceCSOPS/OperationsSpecialistOS.htm Operations Specialist] he became an expert in anti-submarine warfare, was an [http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjob1/a/ac.htm Air Controller] , and collected shipboard intelligence on the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. He served aboard the [http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021057.htm USS Rathburne FF-1057] and was a member of the commissioning crew of the [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/983.htm USS John Rodgers DD-983] .Following assignments to the 3rd and 7th (Pacific) and the 2nd (Atlantic) Fleets, Marcinkowski returned to Michigan where he earned his
B.A. degree in Political Science fromMichigan State University in 1982. At Michigan State, Marcinkowski ranRonald Reagan 's campus campaign in 1980 and served as the Michigan College Republican chairman in 1980-1982. [http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/2/12/20058/1260#103] In 1985 he earned a law degree from the University of Detroit School of Law.Career
After graduating from law school, Marcinkowski joined the CIA. He completed the Career Trainee Program and the Operations Course to become a case officer in the Agency's [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/983.htm Directorate of Operations] . He served as an Operations Officer in
Washington, D.C. andCentral America . It was in the CIA that he first metValerie Plame .After leaving the CIA in 1989, Marcinkowski joined the [http://www.co.oakland.mi.us/prosatty Prosecutor's Office] in
Oakland County, Michigan where, as an executive staff attorney, he established the first special prosecution unit fordomestic violence . In 1993, Marcinkowski abrubtly left the office, refusing to cooperate with the criminal probe of another assistant prosecutor who was arrested in agambling raid. He then publicly accused his former boss, Prosecutor Richard Thompson, of corruption and demanded an investigation by Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelly. After a review of the allegations, Kelly, a Democrat, declined the request citing a lack of "specific information" that Thompson, a Republican, broke any laws. That same year, Marcinkowski filed a lawsuit against Thompson claimingdefamation and violation of hisFirst Amendment rights. The case was settled for $48,500. [http://www.freep.com]Later, as a Deputy City Attorney for the [http://www.ci.royal-oak.mi.us/attorney City of Royal Oak] , Marcinkowski obtained the first criminal conviction of
Jack Kevorkian . He is a member of [http://www.michiganteamster.com Teamsters Local 214] .A former resident of
Oxford, Michigan , he unsuccessfully ran as a Republican candidate for state representative in 1992 and township trustee inAugust 2000 . [http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:RGEFasmJ0SYJ:www.oaklandmi.com/clerkrod/division_committee/elections/results/primary_election_080800/oxfrdtwp.txt+trustee+Marcinkowski+Oxford+Michigan+-inn&hl=en] A former member of theYoung Republicans , he made a $250 campaign contribution toGeorge W. Bush in 1999. Marcinkowski also made a total of $350 in contributions to RepublicanMichael Cox 's successful 2002 run for Michigan Attorney General.Marcinkowski, a resident of
Lake Orion, Michigan , is the Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan's 8th Congressional District (see [http://www.michigan.gov/documents/CGI_2001_Congress_8_map_144650_7.pdf map] ). The district is currently represented byMike J. Rogers , a Republican from Brighton.Plame affair
thumb|left|150px|Marcinkowski on the far right Marcinkowski trained withValerie Plame when he started at the CIA in September 1985. OnJuly 22 ,2005 , Marcinkowski joined two other former CIA agents,Vincent Cannistraro and Larry Johnson, in discussing the consequences of the Plame affair.Congressional Campaign
On
June 28 ,2006 , an article in "Congressional Quarterly "'s CQPolitics.com announced that Marcinkowski's early campaign efforts had spurred it to change its rating of the race to "Republican Favored" from "Safe Republican". The article noted that Marcinkowski presents two logistical challenges that Republican Mike Rogers has not faced in either of his previous re-election bids: location and resources. Marcinkowski hails from the portion of Oakland County outside ofDetroit at the eastern end of the 8th District. According to "Congressional Quarterly", that gives Rogers, who is from Livingston County in the middle of the 8th, his first direct competition for votes in the portion annexed to the district in the most recent remap. [http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/06/mi_8_marcinkowski_aims_to_take.html]Campaign resources are also giving Marcinkowski an advantage over past candidates; he had enough money to launch a radio ad campaign in early June, putting him ahead of Rogers' past two underfinanced opponents. A
May 4 ,2006 article in "Roll Call " noted that Marcinkowski raised more than $138,000 fromJanuary 1 toMarch 31 ,2006 — about $11,000 more than Mike Rogers took in during that same period. 79 percent of Marcinkowski's money came from individual contributions, which, according to his comments in the article, translates into support on the ground in the district. According to "Roll Call", Rogers received 63 percent of his first-quarter money frompolitical action committee s, while only 37 percent came from individual contributions. Marcinkowski told "Roll Call", "It is way harder to raise money from working people than from theK Street Project . I think it shows that we're connecting to people in the district." [http://www.rollcall.com]Quotations
*Before you shine up your
American flag lapel pin and affix yourpatriotism to your sleeve, think about what the impact your actions will have on the security of the American people....Those who take pride in their political ability to divert the issue from the fundamental truth ought to be prepared to take their share of the responsibility for the continuing damage done to ournational security . -testimony from his appearance before the Senate Democratic Policy Council*Each time the leader of a political party opens his mouth in public to deflect responsibility, the word "overseas" is loud and clear--politics in this country does in fact trump national security.
*A blown cover probably happens more than anyone would like. But the deliberate exposure and identification of [Joseph Wilson|Ambassador [Joseph] Wilson] 's wife, by our own government, was unprecedented, unnecessary, harmful and dangerous.
ee also
Fighting Dems Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.marcinkowskiforcongress.com Campaign website]
* [http://www.michigandems.com Michigan Democratic Party]
* [http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/06/mi_8_marcinkowski_aims_to_take.html "MI 8: Marcinkowski Aims to Take Down Rogers' Rising Star." Congressional Quarterly, June 28, 2006]
* [http://www.rollcall.com "It's FBI vs. CIA in Michigan House Race." Roll Call Magazine. 5/4/2006]
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