Espionage

Ex-CIA officer says staff sometimes claim to execute orders they did not

Name: Ex-CIA officer says staff sometimes claim to execute orders they did not
Uploaded: 2026-08-02T16:18:00+00:00
Description: Andrew Bustamante claims intelligence officers sometimes respond to an instruction by appearing to carry it out but returning with a written statement asserting it was completed. He presents this as a cultural feature of intelligence work shaped by “lies and misdirection”, contrasting it with military structures he describes as more “reality based”.

Everyday Spy · Ex-CIA Officer Reveals Which World Leader Will Actually Launch a Nuke First · August 2, 2026

Everyday Spy

Ex-CIA Officer Reveals Which World Leader Will Actually Launch a Nuke First

"There are many times where an officer gets a direct order. They leave to go execute the order, never actually execute the order, and then come back and make a formal statement that it was executed. And that's just the way it works."

Andrew Bustamante claims intelligence officers sometimes respond to an instruction by appearing to carry it out but returning with a written statement asserting it was completed. He presents this as a cultural feature of intelligence work shaped by “lies and misdirection”, contrasting it with military structures he describes as more “reality based”.

About this episode

Former CIA officer Andrew Bustamante describes intelligence work as driven by incentives and secrecy, arguing that internal culture can reward career protection and “moral flexibility” more than the public image presented in films. He alleges that, in pursuit of high-value access, agencies may be willing to facilitate ethically fraught exchanges, and he gives an example in which an allied service could pass “confiscated” illegal material to a target for intelligence. Bustamante also claims officers sometimes depart with a direct order, do not complete it, and return with a formal statement asserting it was executed.

He discusses clandestine payments and tradecraft, suggesting gold has become a preferred medium for certain exchanges and linking this to a high-profile case of alleged stockpiling. On staffing, he asserts there was a “mass exodus” from 2018 to 2020—“one undercover officer a day”—and argues recruitment later reflected political priorities; he does not provide documentary support within the episode.

Bustamante outlines a counterintelligence rule-of-thumb (“if you haven’t found a mole, you assume there’s two”) and explains compartmentalisation and audit trails as core defences against penetration. He also reflects on how the CIA creates loyalty through organisational “echo chambers”, and describes personal effects of long-term deception and distrust, including a tightly controlled wedding and his stated desire to step back from being a public-facing figure while continuing to teach skills for financial reasons.

Key takeaways

Bustamante alleges intelligence services may pursue ‘moral flexibility’, including ethically controversial exchanges, to obtain secrets.
He claims officers sometimes report orders as completed even when they were not executed.
He argues gold is an increasingly used currency in clandestine exchanges, and links this to reported hoarding cases.
He asserts the CIA saw a ‘mass exodus’ from 2018–2020, claiming an average loss of one undercover officer per day.
He describes a counterintelligence assumption that agencies are continuously penetrated and rely on compartmentalisation plus audit logs.
He says the CIA keeps employees loyal via ‘echo chamber’ reinforcement of personal motivators and insecurities.