A Whistle-Blower Leak Hits Close to Home

As we discussed in class today, whistle-blower leaks by career personnel are rare. Whistle-blowers who bring immoral or illegal conduct into the public sphere aren't just leaking information, they're making a statement of resistance towards the system. This can come with grave repercussions, even if they're bringing crimes to light. I am from Arlington, Virginia and my next-door neighbor was a CIA whistle-blower. His name is Jon Kiriakou and in 2007 he was the first government official to confirm that the CIA was using water-boarding to interrogate prisoners. In 2012, he was arrested and plead guilty to passing classified information to the media; his plea meant that his news media contacts did not have to testify in the trial. Jon was sentenced to 30 months in prison for this - to some he is a hero and to others he is a traitor. You can read about his story and decide for yourself here and here.