Former CIA Officer Claims Agency Paid Journalists to Plant Pro-American Stories
"Ken Dilanian was writing articles and sending them to the CIA for clearance before sending them to his own editor. So the CIA could say, 'Yeah, take that line out. You might wanna change this paragraph. Don't say that, say this instead.' That's propaganda. They're propagandizing the American people."
About this episode
In this wide-ranging interview, former CIA officer John Kiriakou spoke with host Jack about his 14-year intelligence career, the torture program he exposed, his subsequent imprisonment, and the inner workings of America's intelligence apparatus. Kiriakou, who spent 23 months in federal prison for confirming a colleague's name to a journalist, was the only person connected to the CIA torture program to serve jail time—while those who designed and executed the torture itself faced no consequences. The conversation opened with bizarre CIA programs including $20 million spent surgically implanting microphones in cats and led into explosive revelations about current intelligence operations. Kiriakou claimed NBC News correspondent Ken Dilanian submitted articles to the CIA for approval before publication, based on FOIA documents from 2011-12, and that domestic propaganda became legal again under Obama in 2015. He disclosed that CIA psychiatrists actively recruit people with sociopathic tendencies and detailed how torture techniques including 12-day sleep deprivation and hypothermia killed detainees, with deaths covered up through internal cables. Kiriakou accused former CIA Director Gina Haspel, nicknamed 'Bloody Gina' internally, of flying to black sites to watch torture for personal gratification. He discussed AIPAC's alleged $35 million spending to primary Thomas Massie over Israel policy, Facebook's suspicious launch the day after DARPA's LifeLog program ended, and CIA venture capital investments in companies like Palantir. The episode concluded with Kiriakou's personal reflections on his confrontation with Alec Baldwin, his record-breaking Cameo career, and his simple philosophy: always tell the truth, even when the cost is everything.
Key takeaways
- Kiriakou revealed NBC's Ken Dilanian sent articles to CIA for approval before publication, constituting domestic propaganda legal since 2015.
- CIA psychiatrists actively recruit people with sociopathic tendencies who will work in moral gray areas but can pass polygraphs.
- CIA torture techniques including 12-day sleep deprivation and cold cells killed detainees through organ failure and hypothermia, deaths were covered up.
- Former CIA Director Gina Haspel allegedly flew to black sites to watch torture sessions, earning the internal nickname 'Bloody Gina.'
- AIPAC allegedly spent $35 million on Thomas Massie's congressional race, systematically primarying candidates not 100% pro-Israel.
- Kiriakou was the only person imprisoned over CIA torture program, serving 23 months for confirming a name while architects faced no consequences.
- CIA's In-Q-Tel venture capital arm invested $1.5 million in Palantir as first investment, now a multi-billion dollar classified technology company.