John Kiriakou

Feds Charge Former CIA Agent John Kiriakou For Illegal Leaks

Ryan J. Reilly | January 23, 2012, 12:50PM

Updated: Jan. 23, 3:20PM

"Heavens no."

That's what John Kiriakou, the former CIA officer who defended waterboarding as an effective technique used against al-Qaeda suspects, allegedly told an FBI agent when asked if he had anything to do with a story which disclosed the name of a CIA agent involved in the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

But according to emails cited by an FBI agent in documents charging Kiriakou with repeatedly disclosing classified information (including the name of a covert CIA officer) to journalists, that wasn't quite the case.

A DOJ investigation led by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald started after Guantanamo detainees were found to have photos of CIA personnel in their possession, information which hadn't been provided by the government through any officials channels. The defense teams who provided photos of CIA personnel to Guantanamo Bay detainees did not commit any criminal violations, the investigation found. Instead, the feds say that Kiriakou, who has worked as a paid consultant for ABC News and previously worked for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, gave classified information to journalists, some of which ended up going to defense attorneys for the Guantanamo detainees.

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Topics: CIA, Guantanamo, John Kiriakou, Justice Department