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U.S. Official Says American Held In Pakistan Was Not Involved In Spying

Raymond Davis, pictured here on Jan. 28 being escorted to a local court in Lahore, Pakistan, was a contractor working for the CIA, according to  a U.S. official  familiar with the investigation.
Hamza Ahmed
/
AP
Raymond Davis, pictured here on Jan. 28 being escorted to a local court in Lahore, Pakistan, was a contractor working for the CIA, according to a U.S. official familiar with the investigation.

The story of American Raymond Davis, who's being held in a Pakistani jail as he awaits word on whether he'll be tried for killing two men, has gotten more complicated with the news that he was working for the CIA.

American officials insist that doesn't change his status as someone who has diplomatic immunity. From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that "according to a U.S. official," Davis was working as a "protective officer, providing security to U.S. personnel."

He was not involved in covert operations or spying, that official says.

Still, as Julie says, the disclosure of Davis' connection to the CIA has further frayed U.S. relations with Pakistan's intelligence agency. Here is Julie's report:

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.