Former CIA Officer & Torture Program Whistleblower | John Kiriakou

John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer who worked as both an analyst and operations officer, serving on the Iraq portfolio, in Greece, and in Pakistan, where he helped lead the capture of Abu Zubaydah. He later became a prominent whistleblower on the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program, was prosecuted under the Espionage Act, served time in federal prison, and has since worked as an author, commentator, and lecturer.

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00:00 – Start
01:01 – John Kiriakou’s Upbringing & Greek-American Family
06:29 – Studying Middle Eastern Affairs & an Early Interest in Espionage
09:15 – The CIA Officer Posing as His College Professor
12:29 – Joining the CIA as an Analyst
14:53 – Briefing President George H.W. Bush During the Gulf War
16:58 – Working the Gulf War From CIA Headquarters
20:06 – Life After the Gulf War & Getting Burned Out on Iraq
22:30 – Writing a National Intelligence Estimate on Saddam Hussein
22:53 – Deciding to Leave Analysis for Operations
25:06 – Going Through CIA Operational Training
28:37 – Weapons, Explosives & Recruiting Spies
29:45 – Arriving in Athens as a CIA Case Officer
33:46 – Walk-Ins, Probes & Embassy Security
37:52 – CIA Disguises & Fooling the U.S. Ambassador
42:40 – The Terrorist Group 17 November
45:12 – The Assassination of British Defense Attaché Stephen Saunders
48:38 – 17 November Names Kiriakou in Its Manifesto
51:26 – Who Was Really Behind 17 November?
55:09 – How the Group Was Finally Unmasked
1:01:24 – Interrogating Carlos the Jackal
1:03:32 – 9/11 Changes Everything
1:04:44 – Watching the Second Plane Hit From CIA Headquarters
1:07:41 – Volunteering for the War on Terror
1:08:34 – Pakistan After 9/11: “The Wild West”
1:11:38 – Pakistan, the Taliban & the War Next Door
1:14:02 – The Two Faces of Pakistani Intelligence
1:15:51 – Capturing Abu Zubaydah
1:16:42 – Inside the CIA’s Torture Program
1:18:09 – Why Kiriakou Refused Torture Training
1:18:43 – Going Public About CIA Torture
1:21:17 – John Brennan Reopens the Case Against Him
1:21:40 – Charged Under the Espionage Act
1:22:34 – Facing 45 Years & Taking the Plea Deal
1:23:08 – Why John Brennan Wanted Him Prosecuted
1:23:32 – Obama’s Crackdown on National Security Leaks
1:25:57 – Heading to Federal Prison
1:26:24 – The Prison Assignment That Wasn’t What the Judge Ordered
1:29:21 – Learning How to Survive Federal Prison
1:31:30 – Becoming the Prisonhouse Appeal Writer
1:32:36 – Race, Gangs & the Social Structure of Prison
1:36:47 – How the Mafia Ran Prison Rackets
1:43:10 – Using CIA Tradecraft Behind Bars
1:46:18 – A Prisoner Puts a Contract on Kiriakou
1:48:19 – Getting Out of Prison & Starting Over
1:50:05 – Anger at the System & the People Who Were Never Prosecuted
1:53:13 – Where Is the Line Between Interrogation & Torture?
1:57:26 – Waterboarding, War Crimes & the Torture Debate
1:59:11 – Why Did the U.S. Invade Iraq?
2:02:03 – The WMD Intelligence Fight Inside Washington
2:04:00 – Did Overthrowing Saddam Hand Iraq to Iran?
2:05:45 – Why Kiriakou Went to Work for Sputnik
2:06:48 – Criticizing Russia While Working for Russian Media
2:12:50 – Life After Sputnik & What He’s Doing Now
2:15:43 – CIA Declassified & Digging Through Old Intelligence Files
2:18:16 – MKUltra & CIA History
2:18:25 – Audience Questions
2:29:47 – Would He Blow the Whistle Again?
2:42:48 – Public Trust, the CIA & Government Accountability
2:51:38 – Why John Brennan Avoided More Scrutiny
3:01:22 – Would a Presidential Pardon Restore His Pension?
3:02:18 – How Close Trump Came to Pardoning Him
3:04:52 – Thoughts on Trump Returning to Office
3:06:23 – How American Politics Has Flipped
3:07:36 – Final Thoughts

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