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John Kiriakou
John Chris Kiriakou (/kiriˈɑːkuː/ kee-ree-AH-koo; born August 9, 1964) is an American former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, author, and whistleblower who, in 2007, exposed the CIA's use of torture during the war on terror. He was an intelligence analyst and operations officer for the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and a senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kiriakou joined the CIA in 1990 as an analyst. He became the chief of counterterrorist operations in Pakistan following the September 11 terrorist attacks and led the capture of Abu Zubaydah, who was then believed to be a high-ranking Al-Qaeda member. Kiriakou left the CIA in 2004, joining the private sector thereafter. In 2009, he rejoined government service as a U.S. Senate investigator under John Kerry.
In December 2007, Kiriakou became the first US government official to openly confirm that waterboarding was used to torture prisoners at CIA "black sites" during interrogations. In 2012, he was indicted for disclosing CIA officer identities to reporters, receiving a sentence of 30 months in prison after pleading guilty. After his two-year imprisonment ended in 2015, Kiriakou received multiple awards recognizing his whistleblowing, including the PEN First Amendment Award and the Sam Adams Award.
Since his release, Kiriakou has been an activist on issues of intelligence, whistleblowing, prison reform, civil liberties, covert foreign policy, and the national security state in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. After running a podcast for Russian state-owned Sputnik, he began his own podcast shows. In 2026, edited clips of Kiriakou on podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience and The Diary of a CEO went viral online.
Kiriakou was born on August 9, 1964, in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and is of Greek descent. He was raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He is the oldest son of Christos and Stella Kiriakou. Both of his parents were elementary school teachers; his father became an elementary school principal. His grandparents had immigrated from Greece. His younger brother is the musician Emanuel Kiriakou. He also has a sister, Tina.
Kiriakou attended New Castle High School, where he was a member of its American Field Service program, debate society, Key Club, and played baseball. He was an honors student in high school and also played in the school band. In his autobiography, Kiriakou recalled viewing the Iranian Revolution on television as a teenager as a pivotal event which began his interest in international affairs. After high school, he received a scholarship to attend George Washington University (GWU), where he majored in Middle Eastern studies. He received his bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at GWU in 1986 and, in 1988, obtained a master's degree in legislative affairs from the same university.
As an undergraduate, Kiriakou completed a Greek-language program at Georgetown University and spent his junior year studying abroad at the University of London. He was also the vice president of the College Democrats chapter at George Washington University, during which time he hosted George McGovern. He briefly worked as a high school teacher before joining the CIA, and taught actor Jared Leto, who considered him his favorite teacher.
After obtaining his master's degree, Kiriakou accepted a job as a federal investigator at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in May 1988. However, he withdrew after Jerrold Post, a CIA psychiatrist who taught him in a psychology course at George Washington University, identified him as a potential candidate to be recruited into the CIA and recommended him to the Directorate of Intelligence. On January 7, 1990, Kiriakou began working as a leadership analyst at the agency focusing on the Persian Gulf.
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John Kiriakou
John Chris Kiriakou (/kiriˈɑːkuː/ kee-ree-AH-koo; born August 9, 1964) is an American former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, author, and whistleblower who, in 2007, exposed the CIA's use of torture during the war on terror. He was an intelligence analyst and operations officer for the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and a senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kiriakou joined the CIA in 1990 as an analyst. He became the chief of counterterrorist operations in Pakistan following the September 11 terrorist attacks and led the capture of Abu Zubaydah, who was then believed to be a high-ranking Al-Qaeda member. Kiriakou left the CIA in 2004, joining the private sector thereafter. In 2009, he rejoined government service as a U.S. Senate investigator under John Kerry.
In December 2007, Kiriakou became the first US government official to openly confirm that waterboarding was used to torture prisoners at CIA "black sites" during interrogations. In 2012, he was indicted for disclosing CIA officer identities to reporters, receiving a sentence of 30 months in prison after pleading guilty. After his two-year imprisonment ended in 2015, Kiriakou received multiple awards recognizing his whistleblowing, including the PEN First Amendment Award and the Sam Adams Award.
Since his release, Kiriakou has been an activist on issues of intelligence, whistleblowing, prison reform, civil liberties, covert foreign policy, and the national security state in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. After running a podcast for Russian state-owned Sputnik, he began his own podcast shows. In 2026, edited clips of Kiriakou on podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience and The Diary of a CEO went viral online.
Kiriakou was born on August 9, 1964, in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and is of Greek descent. He was raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He is the oldest son of Christos and Stella Kiriakou. Both of his parents were elementary school teachers; his father became an elementary school principal. His grandparents had immigrated from Greece. His younger brother is the musician Emanuel Kiriakou. He also has a sister, Tina.
Kiriakou attended New Castle High School, where he was a member of its American Field Service program, debate society, Key Club, and played baseball. He was an honors student in high school and also played in the school band. In his autobiography, Kiriakou recalled viewing the Iranian Revolution on television as a teenager as a pivotal event which began his interest in international affairs. After high school, he received a scholarship to attend George Washington University (GWU), where he majored in Middle Eastern studies. He received his bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at GWU in 1986 and, in 1988, obtained a master's degree in legislative affairs from the same university.
As an undergraduate, Kiriakou completed a Greek-language program at Georgetown University and spent his junior year studying abroad at the University of London. He was also the vice president of the College Democrats chapter at George Washington University, during which time he hosted George McGovern. He briefly worked as a high school teacher before joining the CIA, and taught actor Jared Leto, who considered him his favorite teacher.
After obtaining his master's degree, Kiriakou accepted a job as a federal investigator at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in May 1988. However, he withdrew after Jerrold Post, a CIA psychiatrist who taught him in a psychology course at George Washington University, identified him as a potential candidate to be recruited into the CIA and recommended him to the Directorate of Intelligence. On January 7, 1990, Kiriakou began working as a leadership analyst at the agency focusing on the Persian Gulf.
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