FBI agent found work ‘morally acceptable’

FBI agent David Rupert agreed to provide information on the activities of Irish republicans because he believed it was a morally acceptable thing to do, and because the US agency promised to fund his frequent transatlantic trips.

On his first day of evidence as the main prosecution witness in the trial of Dundalk man Michael McKevitt, Mr Rupert told a packed Special Criminal Court that at first he had tried to brush off the advances of the FBI.

But after being contacted by an agent again in Chicago, he changed his mind.

“From my moral teachings, I found it a morally acceptable thing to do ... and they were offering to expense me for my trips, so I agreed to take him up on the issues,” he said.

Mr McKevitt, 53, of Blackrock, Dundalk, Co Louth, is accused of directing the activities of the Real IRA and being a member of an illegal organisation. He denies the charges.

The prosecution hinges substantially on the testimony of Mr Rupert, a 51-year-old American who was paid $1.25m by the FBI and the British secret service over a period of seven years from late 1994.

Mr Rupert told the three-judge, no-jury court that he was first introduced to people he believed to be Irish republicans in 1992, during a visit to Ireland with his then girlfriend, Linda Vaughan, a lobbyist at the Florida State Senate who also worked for the Irish republican support group Noraid.

During the visit, he was introduced to Vincent Murray of Sligo and Joe O’Neill of Bundoran, both pub owners. He said he became friendly with both men, and that Mr O’Neill coached him in “his version of Irish republicanism”.

“He had a willing listener because I was interested in politics ... or anything that was new. He became the teacher and I became the pupil,” Mr Rupert said.

Mr Rupert made frequent trips to Ireland, calling on Mr Murray and Mr O’Neill during each visit.

The court heard that Mr Rupert had built up two haulage businesses but lost them, the first through bad investments, and the second due to a 1992 crash involving one of his trucks, which killed three children.

With just $1,100, Mr Rupert moved to Chicago and worked in the haulage brokerage business. At this stage he was approached by FBI agent Patrick Edward (Ed) Buckley.

Before Mr Rupert took the stand, defence counsel Hugh Hartnett asked that certain witnesses should not be allowed in the court while Mr Rupert gives evidence.

Mr Justice Richard Johnson ruled that certain gardaí should be excluded.

Mr Hartnett, who has launched an application in Chicago for disclosure of statements allegedly made by Mr Rupert to journalists, asked that the court send a message that it would be desirable for disclosure to be made. Mr Justice Johnson said the court would not get involved.