A former CIA officer who became a key player in the debate over waterboarding as an interrogation technique was indicted on charges he leaked classified secrets to journalists, including the role of an associate who participated in a covert mission to track down a top al-Qaida figure.
The indictment of John Kiriakou, returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday, is part of an aggressive justice department crackdown on leakers and is one of a half-dozen such cases opened during the Obama administration.
The five-count indictment charges Kiriakou, 47, who was arrested in January, with divulging to journalists – including a New York Times reporter – the role of an associate who participated in the capture of suspected al-Qaida financier Abu Zubaydah in the months after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The officer's participation in that mission was classified.
The indictment also accuses Kiriakou of separately disclosing a covert officer's name to an unidentified journalist.
TVNL Comment: The man deserves a medal, not prosecution.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump White House to let Associated Press journalists return...
Abed Shaat drifted off to sleep on Sunday night, exhausted after covering Israeli air strikes all...
