[tree_enjoyer]

>6/7 people colluding in this way is highly abnormal-- even in the CIA, most people have some amount of integrity.

Yes, they probbably thought they were acting with integrity. It wasn't labeled as a bribe, it was a bonus for helping squash "a dangerous conspiracy theory with geopolitical implications", that the recipients happened to at least be open to.

In many of these situations, the people involved think that they are doing the right thing, even CIA officers staging coups or planning asssasintations. Convince someone they're doing the right thing and you can get them to participate in a lot of shady things.

The CIA have been masters of shaping their perception as "well any evil they do is necessary evil", particularly with members of congress

[shubb]

Given that the cia has a lot of control over what it's analysts say, why wouldn't it just order them to say what it wants?