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John Kiriakou: Gina Haspel Is a Terrible Choice to Lead the CIA

The former CIA counterterrorism official and whistleblower discusses his opposition to the nominee for the head of the agency.
On his return visit to the podcast, the former CIA counterterrorism official and whistleblower discusses his opposition to the nominee for the head of the agency.

John Kiriakou served almost 15 years in the CIA and later spoke out about his opposition to its torture program. He served two years in prison after being charged with espionage and his most recent book is “Doing Time Like a Spy: How the CIA Taught Me to Survive and Thrive in Prison.” In their conversation, Kiriakou tells host Robert Scheer that CIA Director nominee Gina Haspel is not the right person for the job because of her alleged involvement with the torture program, which went against the Federal Torture Act. He says her promotion sends a negative message to the agency that agents do not have to respect the law to move ahead. And he says that even current progressive politicians knew more than they revealed about the extent of the torture program.

Credits

Guest:
John Kiriakou – Institute for Foreign Policy Studies – @JohnKiriakou

Host:
Robert Scheer

Producer:
Rebecca Mooney