The CIA Is an Ethics-Free Zone

The CIA Is an Ethics-Free Zone

I joined the CIA in January 1990. The CIA was vastly different back then from the agency that emerged in the days after the 9/11 attacks. And it was a far cry from the flawed and confused organization it is today. One reason for those flaws — and for the convulsions...
Let’s Talk About Torture

Let’s Talk About Torture

The CIA’s torture-era leadership won’t repent. Even after the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released its report saying in no uncertain terms that the CIA had tortured its prisoners, that torture was official U.S. government policy, and that torture never...
The Sentence They Don’t Tell You About

The Sentence They Don’t Tell You About

Eight years ago I blew the whistle on the CIA’s torture program. I knew there’d be trouble, but I never could’ve predicted the years-long ordeal that followed. My revelations led to a four-year-long FBI investigation and five felony charges — against me,...
The Latest Victim in the War on Whistleblowers

The Latest Victim in the War on Whistleblowers

Jeffrey Sterling recently stood before a judge as his sentence was read. The former CIA officer, the judge declared, would spend 42 months — that’s three and half years — behind bars. The feds had convicted Sterling on nine felony charges, including seven counts...
Closing the Door on Torture

Closing the Door on Torture

After I blew the whistle on the CIA’s torture program in 2007, the fallout for me was brutal. To make a long story short, I served nearly two years in federal prison and then endured a few more months of house arrest. What happened to the torture program? Nothing....