# John Kiriakou

John Chris Kiriakou (born August 9, 1964) is a Greek American author, journalist and retired intelligence officer. Kiriakou is a columnist with Reader Supported News and co-host of Loud and Clear on Sputnik Radio.He was formerly an analyst and case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, counterterrorism and a consultant for ABC News. He was the first U.S. government official to confirm in December 2007 that waterboarding was used to interrogate al-Qaeda prisoners, which he described as torture.On October 22, 2012, Kiriakou pleaded guilty to disclosing the identity of a fellow CIA officer.