John Kiriakou

Trump Nominates Gina Haspel as CIA Director Despite Role in Torture Program and Evidence Destruction

| Importance: 9/10

President Donald Trump announces his nomination of Gina Haspel to serve as CIA Director, making her the first woman nominated for the position despite her direct involvement in the CIA’s torture program and destruction of interrogation videotapes. Haspel ran the CIA’s “Cat’s …

Gina Haspel Donald Trump Mike Pompeo CIA John Kiriakou torture cia trump black-sites impunity +2 more
Read more →

Obama Prosecutes 8 Whistleblowers Under Espionage Act, More Than All Presidents

| Importance: 8/10

The Obama administration prosecuted eight individuals under the Espionage Act for leaking to media, more than all previous administrations combined which had only three cases total since 1917. Those prosecuted included Thomas Drake (NSA) whose 10 felony charges were reduced to a misdemeanor after …

Barack Obama Eric Holder Edward Snowden Chelsea Manning Thomas Drake +2 more whistleblowers espionage-act press-freedom surveillance journalism
Read more →

John Kiriakou Pleads Guilty - Only Person Jailed Over CIA Torture Program

| Importance: 9/10

Former CIA officer John Kiriakou pleaded guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act after being indicted under the Espionage Act for publicly confirming that waterboarding was official U.S. government policy. In a profound miscarriage of justice, Kiriakou became the only person …

John Kiriakou CIA Obama Administration Department of Justice whistleblower-prosecution torture espionage-act accountability war-crimes
Read more →