John Kiriakou

John Kiriakou is a former CIA analyst and whistleblower and now an associate fellow for the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. He worked for the CIA from 1990 to 2004, including as chief of counter-terrorist operations in Pakistan. In an interview in 2009, he became the first former government official to confirm the use of waterboarding against al-Qaida suspects. From 2009 to 2011, John was a senior investigator for the US Senate foreign relations committee. In 2012, he was charged with leaking classified information to journalists and served two years in prison.

I Was the Only US Official Imprisoned Over the Torture Program — Because I Opposed It

The only person associated with the CIA’s global torture program who was prosecuted and imprisoned was the man who blew the whistle on it — John Kiriakou.

John Kiriakou
By John Kiriakou
CIA torture Feature photo

Washington DC — (Scheerpost) — When I joined the CIA in January 1990, I did it to serve my country and to see the world.  I believed at the time that we were the “good guys.”  I believed that the United States was a force for good around the world.  I wanted to put my degrees—in Middle Eastern Studies/Islamic Theology and Legislative Affairs/Policy

Read Full Article

The Military Industrial Complex Loves Left Wing Hawk Adam Schiff

If there was any doubt at all that Adam Schiff is in the grip of the military-industrial complex, one doesn’t have to rely just on his stated positions on Iran, Venezuela, and China to make the situation any clearer. Just take a look at his donors.

John Kiriakou
By John Kiriakou
Adam Schiff, The Left Wing Hawk Feature photo

Neoliberal, fake progressive Rep. Adam Schiff (D-C) showed his true colors yet again last week. He said in response to President Donald Trump’s saber-rattling and threats to attack Iran that, Iran is a thoroughly malign actor, a cause of deep instability in the region, a profound contributor to the violence and misery in Yemen, and one of the most

Read Full Article

Marty Gottesfeld: Another Whistleblower in Solitary Confinement

CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou on the story of Marty Gottesfeld, another truthteller who, like Kiriakou, paid a heavy price for speaking truth to power.

John Kiriakou
By John Kiriakou
Martin Gottesfeld

Last year I wrote about a whistleblower from New England who took direct action to save a child’s life and who paid for it with his freedom.  Marty Gottesfeld is now serving 10 years in prison for trying to save Justina Pelletier from abuse at the hands of her doctors at Children’s Hospital in Boston. At the age of 14, Justine developed searing

Read Full Article

Former CIA Whistleblower: Yes, Even the US Post Office Is Spying on You

The Mail Cover Program allows your mailman to photograph and send to federal law enforcement organizations the front and back of every piece of mail the Post Office processes. It also retains the information digitally and provides it to any government agency that wants it—without a warrant.

John Kiriakou
By John Kiriakou
USPS | Spying

You may remember that last year some nut was arrested for mailing bombs to prominent Democrats, media outlets, and opponents of Donald Trump. Less than a week after the bombs went out, a suspect was arrested. Almost immediately, video turned up of him at a Trump rally, wearing a “Make America Great Again” hate and chanting for the camera. He was

Read Full Article

Greg Craig: A Washington Insider May Be Headed to Jail for His Work in Ukraine

A quintessential DC insider is likely going to jail on a minor charge and it’s good he’s not getting away with it, says John Kiriakou.

John Kiriakou
By John Kiriakou
Greg Craig

Federal prosecutors reached last month stepped up their investigation of Washington super-lawyer Greg Craig in what they called an “off-shoot” of the Paul Manafort investigation. The accusation against Craig was that he failed to register as a lobbyist for work he did on behalf of the Ukrainian government in 2012. His former firm, the

Read Full Article

Alexis Tsipras’ Failed Attempt at Democratic Socialism in Greece

sipras has turned his back on democratic socialism.  He’s turned his back on the poor, the elderly, the environment, and even the victims of terrorism for no good reason.  Tsipras has set back his professed democratic socialism by a generation.

John Kiriakou
By John Kiriakou
Alexis Tsipras | Greece

The Greek word “syriza” means radical or from the grassroots.  That, however, does not describe the man who leads Syriza, Greece’s ruling party of the same name. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras mishandled the dramatic standoff with the EU and international creditors three years ago. He is now meddling with the country’s anti-terrorism laws

Read Full Article

CIA Whistleblower: Brennan and Clapper Should Not Escape Prosecution

Recently declassified documents show that the former CIA director and former director of national intelligence approved illegal spying on Congress and then classified their crime. They need to face punishment, writes John Kiriakou.

John Kiriakou
By John Kiriakou
James Clapper, John Brennan, James Comey, Michael Flynn,

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the longtime chairman of the Judiciary Committee, made a dramatic announcement Nov. 1 that should lead to jail time for both former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. As reported, but widely overlooked amid the media focus on the midterm elections, Brennan ordered

Read Full Article