About John Kiriakou

 

John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer, author, and journalist best known as the first U.S. government official to publicly confirm the CIA’s use of waterboarding. 

Key Background & CIA Career

• Role: He served as an intelligence analyst and operations officer (1990–2004), notably as Chief of Counterterrorist Operations in Pakistan after 9/11.
• Major Achievement: He led the 2002 raid that captured Abu Zubaydah, then believed to be a top al-Qaeda leader.
• Whistleblowing: In a 2007 ABC News interview, he confirmed that waterboarding was official U.S. policy approved by the White House, though he later admitted he had been misled about how many times it was used on Zubaydah. 

Prosecution and Imprisonment 

• Charges: In 2012, he was charged under the Espionage Act—the sixth such whistleblower under the Obama administration.
• Conviction: He pleaded guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for disclosing a covert officer's name to a reporter.
• Sentence: He served 23 months in federal prison (2013–2015). He remains the only individual to serve prison time related to the CIA’s torture program, despite being the one who exposed it rather than performing it. 

Life After Prison & Controversies

• Advocacy: Since his release, he has been a vocal advocate for prison reform and an critic of the "National Security State."
• Media Work: He has hosted programs on Sputnik News (a Russian state-funded outlet), which he stated was the only place willing to hire him as a felon.
• Pardon Quest: He reportedly discussed a $2 million pardon deal with associates of Rudy Giuliani in 2020, which he declined.
• Authorship: He has written several books, including 
  The Reluctant Spy
   (2010) and 
  Doing Time Like a Spy
   (2017). 

Awards and Recognition

He has received numerous honors for his actions, including the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage, the PEN Center USA First Amendment Award, and the Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence

https://youtu.be/2z4i2yynAs4?si=lCfqCSuB8N3a_Goc

The Super Bowl Halftime Included a Wedding Ceremony

Yes, a real couple got legally married during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show on February 8, 2026. 

About five minutes into the 13-minute performance at Levi's Stadium, a wedding ceremony was shown on stage. The unnamed couple, dressed in all white, exchanged vows and shared a kiss as a licensed officiant declared them married in front of the live audience and millions of viewers. 

Key Details of the Wedding

• Origin: The couple had originally sent a wedding invitation to Bad Bunny. Instead of attending their planned ceremony, the artist invited them to get married during his halftime performance.
• Legal Status: A representative for Bad Bunny and reports from the Associated Press confirmed the marriage was 100% real and legally binding.
• Witness: Bad Bunny served as an official witness and signed the couple’s marriage certificate.
• Performance Integration: As the couple finished their ceremony, they parted to reveal a surprise appearance by Lady Gaga, who performed a salsa-inspired version of "Die With a Smile" while the newlyweds celebrated nearby with a real wedding cake. 

While this was the first time a wedding occurred during the halftime show itself, it follows a similar headline from Super Bowl LVIII (2024), when headliner Usher and his longtime partner Jennifer Goicoechea obtained a marriage license in Las Vegas just days before the game and wed in an intimate ceremony immediately following his performance. 

The couple originally had no intention of getting married on a global stage; they simply sent a wedding invitation to Bad Bunny as fans. Because the artist was busy preparing for his Super Bowl LX performance, he couldn't attend their ceremony and instead offered them the "ultimate wedding gift": the chance to tie the knot live during his show. 

The couple's motivation for accepting this once-in-a-lifetime offer included:

• A "Time of Joy": According to their wedding dress designer, the bride saw it as a moment to celebrate love and joy amidst a tense political climate.
• The Ultimate Guest List: By moving their wedding to the halftime show, they exchanged vows in front of 80,000 live spectators and millions of TV viewers.
• Star-Studded Witnesses: Beyond having Bad Bunny sign their official marriage certificate as a witness, the couple was serenaded by a surprise appearance from Lady Gaga.
• A Historic "Glow-up": Fans on social media noted the couple essentially upgraded their original plan to the "ultimate proposal glow-up," featuring a reception on the field with a real tiered cake and a global audience. 

The ceremony was a central part of Bad Bunny's theme that "the only thing more powerful than hate is love," which was displayed on stadium screens as the couple celebrated. 

About the Epstein/Pizza connection

AI returned this when I said "Tell about the Epstein/pizza orders connection."

Recent document releases from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in early 2026 have reignited online speculation regarding "pizza" as a coded term in Jeffrey Epstein’s communications. 

The connection revolves around the following key points:

• Frequency of Mention: The word "pizza" reportedly appeared 911 times in the newly released documents as of February 2, 2026. While many of these references occur in seemingly mundane contexts—such as social plans and meals—the sheer volume has led some to link it to the debunked "Pizzagate" theory.
• Specific Exchanges:
  • Erin Ko: iMessage exchanges from 2016 between Epstein and an individual named Erin Ko mention pizza and other food items. Online theories falsely claimed this referred to a 13-year-old girl who died in a 2025 accident, but records show the Erin Ko in the messages would have been only four or five years old at the time of the 2016 exchange.
  • Roy and Stephanie Hodges: A 2013 email mentions "pizza" being provided to a crew during an outing.
• Alleged Code Words: Viral social media posts have revived claims that terms like "pizza" (girl), "cheese" (little girl), or "hotdog" (boy) were used by elites as code for human trafficking. These claims originated from a 2016 interpretation of hacked John Podesta emails but were never substantiated by law enforcement or credible investigations.
• Official Stance: Investigators and officials caution that "pizza" appears in everyday contexts, and there is no evidence linking these mentions to criminal activity or the 2016 conspiracy theory. The original Pizzagate theory was thoroughly debunked by the D.C. Police Department and other authorities. 

The resurgence is largely driven by social media platforms like TikTok and X, where users have shared screenshots of the files to suggest the theory was "right all along" despite the lack of new evidence. 

While there is no verified connection between Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network and the figures central to the original Pizzagate conspiracy theory, a recent massive document dump in early 2026 has reignited online speculation. 

Recent findings and developments include:

• Shared Figures: John Podesta, the former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman at the center of the 2016 Pizzagate narrative, appears in the newly released Epstein files. However, experts and investigators state his presence in the documents reflects his broad political network and does not implicate him in criminal activity.
• "Pizza" as Coded Language: The word "pizza" appears over 900 times in the recent Department of Justice (DOJ) document release. While conspiracy theorists claim this confirms the 2016 "code word" theory, investigators maintain most references occur in mundane social contexts, such as organizing meals for staff or guests.
• Associates of Interest:
  • Christopher Poole: Documents mention a potential meeting in 2012 between Epstein and the founder of 4chan (where Pizzagate originated), though no ongoing relationship was confirmed.
  • Ghislaine Maxwell: The files include tips to the FBI speculating that Maxwell was a high-level moderator on Reddit, another platform where the theory gained early traction.
• New "Pizza" Exchanges: Specific messages from the files have gone viral, such as a 2015 email with the subject "Pizza Amore" and a 2018 message asking for "pizza and grape soda". Users on platforms like TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) have used these to claim the theory was "right all along," despite a lack of evidentiary proof linking these specific orders to trafficking.
• Official Debunking: Law enforcement, including the D.C. Police, and major investigative outlets maintain that the original Pizzagate claims regarding Comet Ping Pong were entirely false. They caution that conflating Epstein’s proven crimes with debunked conspiracy narratives can hinder actual anti-trafficking efforts.