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 (2010) and (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
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