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It bears noting that the author is not just anybody. He's one of the people charged under Espionage Act, so he certainly should know what the process involves a
by bostik 13y ago
It bears noting that the author is not just anybody. He's one of the people charged under Espionage Act, so he certainly should know what the process involves and how a whistleblower is treated in the current political climate.
I would also like to point out the second-to-last paragraph. "The press also has a role to play, one that, so far, it has largely ignored. That role is to report on and investigate the whistleblower's revelations of illegality, not on the kind of car he drives, the brand of eyeglasses he wears, where he went to college, or what his nextdoor neighbor has to say about their childhood." That would be cynical, if it wasn't so horrifyingly accurate.
- griffordson 13y agoFor anyone who doesn't know, he's the guy doing time for the CIA torture program. Not for torturing, of course, but for confirming the fact that it was happening. He was interviewed in January just after being sentenced: http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/30/ex_cia_agent_whistleblower_john_kiriakou http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/30/ex_cia_agent_whistlebl...
- twoodfin 13y agoIt's also worth pointing out that while the Espionage Act charges were dropped as part of his plea bargain, he did plead guilty to a charge under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act[1]. The judge didn't buy that his prosecution was politically motivated: Kiriakou, who wrote a book detailing his CIA career, had tried to argue after the charges were filed that he was a victim of vindictive prosecution by government officials who believed he portrayed the CIA negatively, but the judge rejected those arguments as well. [1] http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/22/14626249-ex-cia-agent-pleads-guilty-to-leaking-identity-of-covert-operative?lite&ocid=msnhp http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/22/14626249-...