John Kiriakou

John Chris Kiriakou (born August 9, 1964) is an American author, journalist and former intelligence officer. Kiriakou is a columnist with Reader Supported News and co-host of Political Misfits on Sputnik Radio.

He was an analyst and case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a consultant for ABC News. He was the first U.S. government official to confirm in December 2007 that waterboarding was used to interrogate al-Qaeda prisoners, which he described as torture. Kiriakou is a founding member of the organization Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

In 2012, Kiriakou became the only CIA officer to be convicted for exposing the CIA's enhanced interrogation program, having passed classified information to a reporter. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.