{
  "id": 59,
  "slug": "2012-us-john-kiriakou-espionage-act-cia-torture-source",
  "title": "United States prosecutes former CIA officer John Kiriakou under the Espionage Act for identifying a covert colleague to a journalist",
  "occurred_on": "2013-01-25",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "US",
  "country": "US",
  "continent": "north-america",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
  "leader_slug": "barack-obama",
  "issue_of_the_day": "Public disclosure of the CIA's post-September 11 interrogation program, including its use of waterboarding.",
  "outcome": "upheld",
  "outcome_on": "2015-02-03",
  "outcome_note": "Kiriakou served his full 30-month sentence under the plea agreement and was released in February 2015; no CIA interrogation-program official faced comparable charges.",
  "granularity": "anchor",
  "era": "2010s",
  "summary": "Former CIA officer John Kiriakou, who in 2007 was the first CIA officer to publicly describe the agency's waterboarding of a detainee, pleaded guilty to identifying a covert colleague to a journalist and was sentenced under the Espionage Act to 30 months in prison.{c:220}{c:221}{c:222}{c:223}",
  "what_happened": "John Kiriakou, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, said publicly in a 2007 television interview that the CIA had waterboarded a detainee, the first time an agency officer had confirmed the practice, which international bodies have called torture. Federal prosecutors later charged Kiriakou under the Espionage Act, a 1917 law against disclosing defense information, for identifying a covert CIA officer to a freelance journalist investigating the interrogation program; the journalist did not publish the name. Kiriakou pleaded guilty in October 2012 to one count of passing information to a person not authorized to receive it. U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said Kiriakou \"put the life of a covert officer at risk.\" On January 25, 2013, Judge Leonie Brinkema sentenced him to 30 months, the statutory minimum under his plea agreement, saying she \"wished she could have imposed a greater sentence.\" No CIA official involved in the interrogation program was prosecuted.{c:220}{c:221}{c:222}{c:223}",
  "stated_justification": "U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said, \"John Kiriakou put the life of a covert officer at risk; he put the officer's family in danger; and he exposed our nation's vital secrets.\" Prosecutors also said Kiriakou was motivated by \"fame and money.\"{c:220}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "Kiriakou, not the journalist he spoke with, was prosecuted and imprisoned; press-freedom advocates said the case showed sources faced Espionage Act prosecution for contact with reporters even when no story identifying the covert officer was published.{c:221}",
  "unknowns": null,
  "status": "historical",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-22T23:07:48Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 5,
  "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:07:42Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T00:11:12Z",
  "stage": "punish",
  "ladder_note": null,
  "country_name": "United States",
  "tactics": [
    "secrets_and_espionage_laws"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "barack-obama",
    "name": "Barack Obama",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/barack-obama"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2012-us-john-kiriakou-espionage-act-cia-torture-source",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-22T23:07:48Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 1,
    "status": "historical",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": null
  },
  "actors": [
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      "slug": "barack-obama",
      "name": "Barack Obama",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/barack-obama"
    },
    {
      "slug": "john-kiriakou",
      "name": "John Kiriakou",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/john-kiriakou"
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    {
      "slug": "leonie-brinkema",
      "name": "Leonie Brinkema",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "ordered",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/leonie-brinkema"
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    {
      "slug": "neil-macbride",
      "name": "Neil MacBride",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "ordered",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/neil-macbride"
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  ],
  "outlets": [],
  "journalists": [],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 220,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 59,
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      "value": "MacBride on the danger of Kiriakou's disclosure",
      "statement": "U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said Kiriakou endangered a covert officer and exposed vital secrets.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 206,
      "evidence_quote": "John Kiriakou put the life of a covert officer at risk; he put the officer's family in danger; and he exposed our nation's vital secrets.",
      "evidence_date": "2013-01-25",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
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      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
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        "url": "https://abcnews.com/Blotter/john-kiriakou-30-months/story?id=18314999",
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        "title": "Former CIA Officer Gets 30 Months in Prison for Leak",
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/220"
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    {
      "id": 221,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 59,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Judge wished for a longer sentence",
      "statement": "Judge Leonie Brinkema said she wished she could have imposed a longer sentence than the plea agreement allowed.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 206,
      "evidence_quote": "wished she could have imposed a greater sentence.",
      "evidence_date": "2013-01-25",
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      "confidence": "medium",
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/221"
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    {
      "id": 222,
      "subject_type": "incident",
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      "field": "action",
      "value": "Prosecutors alleged a media-profile motive",
      "statement": "Prosecutors said Kiriakou's disclosures were motivated by fame and money.",
      "attribution": null,
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      "evidence_quote": "motivated by fame and money",
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    {
      "id": 223,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 59,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Prosecutors described a media campaign",
      "statement": "Prosecutors said Kiriakou's conduct amounted to a campaign to raise his media profile.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 206,
      "evidence_quote": "concerted campaign to raise his media profile.",
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  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2012-us-john-kiriakou-espionage-act-cia-torture-source/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "United States prosecutes former CIA officer John Kiriakou under the Espionage Act for identifying a covert colleague to a journalist. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2012-us-john-kiriakou-espionage-act-cia-torture-source. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}