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White House to investigate leak of CIA chief name

Officer's name was accidentally put on list of dignitaries given to press for Obama's surprise visit to Afghanistan
White House blows cover of CIA chief in Afghanistan 00:37

President Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, has asked the White House's lawyer to look into how the name of the CIA's top officer in Afghanistan was accidentally released over the weekend and what can be done to prevent future mistakes.

White House Counsel Neil Eggleston, who was named to the position late last month, will conduct the review, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. Eggleston will "look into what happened and report back to [McDonough] with recommendations on how the administration can improve processes and make sure something like this does not happen again," Hayden said.

The CIA official's name was included in a list given to reporters of U.S. officials taking part in President Obama's meeting during a trip to Afghanistan Sunday. The administration later realized the mistake after a Washington Post reporter asked about it, and issued a revised list.

CBS News is withholding the name of the individual. CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett reported at the time that the CIA official will have to leave Afghanistan to avoid retribution from the Taliban, and it's possible he's fled the country already, according to intelligence sources.

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