The Boiling Frogs Show Presents Jesselyn Radack
Jesselyn Radack joins us to talk about the case of CIA officer John Kiriakou and his decision to plead to a lesser charge, and the abuse of the Espionage Act and persecution-prosecution of government whistleblowers by President Obama. Ms. Radack shares her own experience as a whistleblower, and answers the question, “who is the new John Yoo”.
Listen to the preview Here
Jesselyn Radack is the former DOJ legal ethics advisor who blew the whistle on government misconduct in the case of the so-called “American Taliban,” John Walker Lindh–America’s first terrorism prosecution after 9/11. She is currently the director of National Security & Human Rights at the Government Accountability Project. Her writing has appeared in the L.A. Times, Washington Post, Salon, Legal Times, National Law Journal, and The Nation. A graduate of Brown University and Yale Law School, Ms. Radack lives in Washington, D.C.
Here is our guest Jesselyn Radack unplugged!
This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by SUBSCRIBING, and by ordering our EXCLUSIVE BFP DVD .
CIA Whistleblower Kiriakou Indicted for Exposing Waterboarding Practices
No one can accuse Barack Obama of not tackling our government’s still-continuing torture practices. No sir. The man has made it clear – he is going to hunt, prosecute and cage those involved … in exposing them. In fact he has just tucked one under his belt. Former CIA officer John Kiriakou was indicted Thursday for allegedly disclosing classified information to journalists. The following is what triggered the administration’s resolve in pursuing, hunting and finally indicting him yesterday:
In 2007, Kiriakou gave an on-camera interview to ABC News in which he disclosed that accused al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah was “waterboarded” and that waterboarding was torture. Kiriakou was one of the first CIA officers to label waterboarding as torture.
He is also accused of leaking classified information to reporters. This is part of his 2007 interview with ABC’s Brian Ross.
John Kiriakou: “At the time, I felt that waterboarding was something that we needed to do. And as time has passed, and as September 11th has moved farther and farther back into history, I think I’ve changed my mind. And I think that waterboarding is probably something that we shouldn’t be in the business of doing.”
Brian Ross: “Why do you say that now?”
John Kiriakou: “Because we’re Americans, and we’re better than that.”
You see, those involved in planning, sanctioning, executing, and later covering up our government’s illegal (nationally and internationally) yet rampant torture practices have all been given medals, immunity, and a guaranteed lavish good life to live. However, our President wants to make sure that what happened to his predecessor – being caught and exposed in the middle of torture mayhem – will never happen to him. After all, he is not one for stopping wars-murders-torture. So how does he go about ensuring a black-out of his illegal practices today and tomorrow? Easy – he will send a strong message to deter any soul from even thinking about exposing murder, torture and other illegalities committed by this government. Read more
