Jump to content

John Kiriakou

From Prisonpedia
John Kiriakou
Born: August 9, 1964 (secondary sources; not primary-verified)
Sharon, Pennsylvania; raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania (secondary sources)



Charges: One count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (disclosing the identity of a covert CIA officer). Original April 2012 indictment also included three counts under the Espionage Act and one count of making false statements to the CIA's Publications Review Board; those were dropped under the plea agreement.
Sentence: 30 months in federal prison (plus a term of supervised release)
Released: February 3, 2015 (released to home confinement; full sentence completed circa May 2015)
Facility: FCI Loretto (low-security)
Status: Released; sentence completed in 2015


John Kiriakou is a former U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officer who served the CIA from 1990 to 2004. He had earlier drawn national attention through a 2007 ABC News interview in which he publicly confirmed and described the agency's use of waterboarding. In 2012, Kiriakou pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for disclosing the name of a covert CIA officer to a reporter. On January 25, 2013, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced him to 30 months in prison. Kiriakou served his term at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto, in Pennsylvania. He began his sentence on February 28, 2013, and was released to home confinement on February 3, 2015.

Early Life and Career

John Kiriakou was born in 1964 and his hometown is New Castle, Pennsylvania. Some secondary sources provide a full birth date of August 9, 1964, and list his birthplace as Sharon, Pennsylvania, though this is not verified by primary sources.[1] Kiriakou earned a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern studies and a Master of Arts in legislative affairs from George Washington University.[2] He was recruited into the CIA by a graduate school professor at George Washington University.[3]

Criminal Case

Kiriakou served in the CIA from 1990 to 2004, initially working as an analyst and later as a counterterrorism operations officer. After the September 11 attacks, he became the chief of counterterrorism operations in Pakistan and led the March 2002 raid that captured Abu Zubaydah.[4] In a December 2007 ABC News interview with Brian Ross, Kiriakou became the first former CIA officer to publicly confirm that the agency waterboarded detainees, describing the practice as torture.[5][6]

A federal criminal complaint was filed against him on January 23, 2012. On April 5, 2012, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Kiriakou on one count under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, three counts under the Espionage Act, and one count of making false statements to the CIA's Publications Review Board.[7] The core allegation was that he disclosed the identity of a covert CIA officer to a reporter. Prosecutors said he also passed classified information to journalists at other news organizations.[8]

Trial and Sentencing

On October 23, 2012, Kiriakou pleaded guilty to a single count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. The other counts were dropped under the plea agreement, which spared journalists from testifying.[9][10] On January 25, 2013, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced him to 30 months in prison, the term specified in the plea deal. The judge remarked that the sentence was, in her view, too light.[11] The case was captioned United States v. Kiriakou, No. 1:12-cr-00127, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.[12][13]

Incarceration

Kiriakou began serving his sentence on February 28, 2013, at FCI Loretto (low-security) in Loretto, Pennsylvania.[14][15] During his imprisonment, he wrote a series of public 'Letters from Loretto' about prison conditions.[16] His federal Bureau of Prisons register number is not publicly available in the cited sources.

Release and Aftermath

Kiriakou was released from FCI Loretto to home confinement on February 3, 2015, completing the remainder of his sentence at his home in Arlington, Virginia. His term concluded in the spring of 2015.[17][18] Following his release, he worked on criminal justice and national security issues, including with the Institute for Policy Studies. He also authored books and became a commentator and advocate on whistleblower and prison reform matters.[19]

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What did John Kiriakou do?

He pleaded guilty in October 2012 to one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 by disclosing the name of a covert CIA officer to a reporter. A former CIA officer, he had earlier confirmed the agency's use of waterboarding in a 2007 ABC News interview.


Q: How long was John Kiriakou's sentence?

He was sentenced to 30 months (2.5 years) in federal prison on January 25, 2013, plus a term of supervised release. The 30-month term was the sentence specified in his plea agreement.


Q: Where was John Kiriakou incarcerated?

He served his sentence at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto (FCI Loretto), in Loretto, Pennsylvania, beginning February 28, 2013.


Q: When was John Kiriakou released?

He was released from FCI Loretto to home confinement at his home in Arlington, Virginia, on February 3, 2015, and completed his full sentence in the spring of 2015.


Q: Who was the judge in John Kiriakou's case?

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia, in the case United States v. Kiriakou, No. 1:12-cr-00127.


See also

References

  1. ↑ "John Kiriakou, CIA Officer Turned Whistleblower, Shares His Story". '. Retrieved .
  2. ↑ "Bio: John Kiriakou". '. Retrieved .
  3. ↑ "John Kiriakou, CIA Officer Turned Whistleblower, Shares His Story". '. Retrieved .
  4. ↑ "Bio: John Kiriakou". '. Retrieved .
  5. ↑ "John Kiriakou, CIA Officer Turned Whistleblower, Shares His Story". '. Retrieved .
  6. ↑ "Bio: John Kiriakou". '. Retrieved .
  7. ↑ "USA v. John Kiriakou: Selected Case Files". '. Retrieved .
  8. ↑ "Former CIA officer Kiriakou sentenced to 30 months in prison for leaking information to reporters". '. Retrieved .
  9. ↑ "Former CIA Officer Kiriakou Sentenced for Leak". '. Retrieved .
  10. ↑ "Former CIA officer Kiriakou sentenced to 30 months in prison for leaking information to reporters". '. Retrieved .
  11. ↑ "Former CIA officer Kiriakou sentenced to 30 months in prison for leaking information to reporters". '. Retrieved .
  12. ↑ "United States v. Kiriakou, 1:12-cr-00127". '. Retrieved .
  13. ↑ "District Ct. Op., United States v. Kiriakou, No. 1:12-cr-00127 (E.D. Va. Oct. 16, 2012)". '. Retrieved .
  14. ↑ "Former CIA Officer Sentenced To 30 Months For Revealing Identity Of 20-Plus-Year Covert CIA Officer". '. Retrieved .
  15. ↑ "CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Released from Prison: Here's His Final 'Letter from Loretto'". '. Retrieved .
  16. ↑ "CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Released from Prison: Here's His Final 'Letter from Loretto'". '. Retrieved .
  17. ↑ "Bio: John Kiriakou". '. Retrieved .
  18. ↑ "CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Released from Prison: Here's His Final 'Letter from Loretto'". '. Retrieved .
  19. ↑ "John Kiriakou, CIA Officer Turned Whistleblower, Shares His Story". '. Retrieved .


Retrieved from "https://prisonpedia.com/index.php?title=John_Kiriakou&oldid=7157"