Ex-CIA Agent, Whistleblower John Kiriakou Sentenced to Prison While Torturers He Exposed Walk Free

[rachel1]

DemocracyNow.org - Former CIA agent John Kiriakou speaks out just days after he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, becoming the first CIA official to face jail time for any reason relating to the U.S. torture program. Under a plea deal, Kiriakou admitted to a single count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act by revealing the identity of a covert officer to a freelance reporter, who did not publish it. Supporters say Kiriakou is being unfairly targeted for having been the first CIA official to publicly confirm and detail the Bush administration's use of waterboarding. Kiriakou joins to discuss his story from Washington, D.C., along with his attorney, Jesselyn Radack, director of National Security and Human Rights at the Government Accountability Project. "This was not a case about leaking, it was a case about torture. I believe I am going to prison because I blew the whistle on torture," Kiriakou says. "My oath was to the Constitution. ... And to me, torture is unconstitutional."

[Fantastic Anarchist]

1. Holy fuck ...

This nation is shit.

[Overseas]

2. K&R. Very disturbing to me too.

[leveymg]

3. This is an historic injustice prosecuted by the Obama Justice Dept. A shocking abuse of power

motivated by a mindless deference to excessive governmental secrecy. The intelligence community has grown beyond any accountability to the public.

John Kitiakou is a true hero and patriot. The rest are mostly bureaucrats and yes-men.

[rhett o rick]

4. And those that exposed CIA agent Plame go free. We have a war on our hands

and it aint Democrats vs. Republicans.

[another_liberal]

5. This man . . .

This man should be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, not a prison sentence. Perhaps one day that is exactly what he will get.

[cstanleytech]

6. Doesnt matter imo if it was published or not, if he revealed it to a reporter then he is guilty.

On the other hand the ones involved in the torture itself and the ordering of it done should be in prison as well imo as there crime was far, farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr worse than what Kiriakou did.

[blkmusclmachine]

7. Police State:

The innocent shall be prosecuted, and persecuted.

[Orrex]

8. Fun fact: he's a native of my town

Local boy makes good.

[Crowman1979]

9. Let's face it, the criminals are running the prison now.

And that prison is the US government.

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. K&R

[cantbeserious]

11. In An Orwellain State - Exposing True Crimes Is Not Tolerated Well

eom

[90-percent]

12. Obama's chilling war on whistle blowers

Whistle Blowers are being selectively persecuted for doing the right thing! We need whistle blowers if there is going to continue to be some form of checks and balances in our government.

This is selective enforcement as there are many that have done worse and walk free. Why are the government officials that sanctioned the torture being prosecuted? Cheney and Rumsfeld are the engineers behind the U.S. Torture program. Yet they walk free among us. Selective enforcement is unjust at it's core.

America is growing their political prisoner ops at a frightening pace! This has a very strong totalitarian police state aroma to me!

-90% Jimmy

[cstanleytech]

13. So have there been any whistleblowers who

blew the whistle on something using the perfectly legal option under law to report it to congress and or the inspector generals office been prosecuted? Or have the ones the government been going over decided not to use that perfectly legal option?

[RVN VET]

14. What if the legal options turn a deaf ear?

I don't know the details of this guy's story. But I do know that our Government has been known to ignore complaints of wrongdoing by its own. Maybe he didn't attempt to use the proper channels route; and if that's the case, he erred, and will pay a stiff price for it.

But what would you do if, knowing that the US was violating its own laws -- and the laws of decency that lay out what is and is not acceptable treatment of prisoners by any Nation claiming to be civilized -- you tried to report what you knew following those "perfectly legal options" and were treated to inaction and maybe even a warning to keep your mouth shut?

Maybe we'll never know how far he might have gotten if he followed those "legal options". But I have a hunch the answer is "not very far." And it may have resulted in his being placed on a watch list.

To be clear, I agree with you completely about the need to pursue legal options before going outside of those channels. But I don't think a good citizen, a true American, if you will, can rightly turn away from the crime if the controllers of those legal options decide to do nothing -- especially for an issue as heinous and contemptible as the torture of human beings.

[cstanleytech]

16. Sure our government like others ignores stuff at times

but do you have something to show us that whistleblowers and only whistleblowers reporting to congress and or the Inspector Generals office were ignored during the past 2 administrations?

[cer7711]

15. A Clear Miscarriage of Justice

This is the kind of thing that engenders systemic cynicism and anger in ethical US citizens toward their own government.

"We're better than this"? Apparently not.

Good to know the whistle blower is going to jail while the torturers are being promoted, though. I'll sleep better tonight knowing that.

[cstanleytech]

17. A miscarriage of justice? Maybe on the sentencing I will go as far as that to agree with you

but you know what? If he broke the law he needs to pay for it just like Cheney and Bush should be paying for their breaking the law imo.

[idwiyo]

18. This sick. War criminals and torturers can walk free but this guy goes to prison?