[GPSCC-chat] Ask Obama to pardon John Kiriakou, who blew the whistle on torture

Tue Jan 22 23:04:05 PST 2013

Hello, All:

       Please click on " 
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/pardon-kiriakou" to sign a petition 
to ask Obama to pardon John Kiriakou, a former CIA agent "who helped 
expose and end waterboarding - the very inhumane treatment Obama 
campaigned against in 2008." (See 
"www.scribd.com/doc/55315362/Remarks-of-Senator-Barack-Obama-the-War-We-Need-to-Win-Wednesday-August-1-2007-Washington-DC" 
for a 2007 campaign speech in which Obama, "When I am President, America 
will reject torture without exception. America is the country that stood 
against that kind of behavior, and we will do so again."  We must ask 
him to finally fulfill his pledge at least by pardoning those who 
exposed gross criminality in high places.

       Thanks,
       Spencer

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:     Fwd: this is not right
Date:     Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:17:14 -0500
From:     Brian, Firedoglake.com <act at firedoglake.com>
Reply-To:     act at firedoglake.com
To:     Spencer Graves <spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com>

Dear Spencer,

More than 10,000 people have signed our petition demanding President 
Obama pardon CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou - join them now!

If President Obama wants to claim he is against torture, he should not 
be imprisoning whistleblowers like John Kiriakou. It's time he end the 
war on whistleblowers, beginning with pardoning the man who helped 
expose and end waterboarding - the very inhumane treatment Obama 
campaigned against in 2008.1

Tell President Obama to pardon CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou.

Click here to read and sign the petition: 
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/pardon-kiriakou

Kiriakou is expected to be sentenced to 30 months in prison this week. 
With time running out, we need to bring the public's attention to this 
absolute injustice and call on President Obama to pardon this important 
torture whistleblower. For more information on this campaign, see my 
original email below.

In Solidarity,

Brian Sonenstein
Campaign Director,
Firedoglake.com

1. The War We Need to Win, Barack Obama, 8/1/2007: 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/55315362/Remarks-of-Senator-Barack-Obama-the-War-We-Need-to-Win-Wednesday-August-1-2007-Washington-DC

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brian, Firedoglake.com
Date: Fri. Jan. 18, 2013
Subject: this is not right

Tell Obama: Pardon CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou

Dear Spencer,

President Obama has opposed waterboarding as torture since the 2008 
campaign - so why is he sending the man who helped end that practice to 
prison?

Former CIA officer John Kiriakou, who helped expose the Bush 
administration's torture program, recently plead guilty to sharing the 
name of a colleague to journalists to use as a source. He is expected to 
receive a sentence of 30 months in prison.1

It's a cruel irony that the first agent connected to the CIA torture 
program to go to prison is the whistleblower who spoke out against the 
heinous practices of our government. From Bradley Manning to Aaron 
Swartz to John Kiriakou, the government's pattern of overzealously 
prosecuting activists and whistleblowers has ruined too many lives 
already. If President Obama wants to show he opposes torture and 
supports government transparency he should pardon Kiriakou immediately.

Tell President Obama to pardon CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou.

Click here to read and sign the petition: 
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/pardon-kiriakou

In fact, the Justice Department has refused to pursue any of the people 
who sanctioned and carried out the torture Kiriakou helped expose. Yet 
they have gone after whistleblowers and activists with a zeal unmatched 
by any administration in history. Bradley Manning faces life in prison. 
Aaron Swartz took his life to avoid prosecution. Thomas Drake, Shamai 
Leibowitz, the list goes on and on.

Kiriakou is the sixth person to be indicted under the Espionage Act by 
the Obama administration.3 It's time the president end this war on 
whistleblowers. He can start by pardoning John Kiriakou.

Sign our petition demanding President Obama pardon CIA whistleblower 
John Kiriakou.

http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/pardon-kiriakou

Kiriakou served his country in the CIA for over 15 years, risking his 
life as an undercover agent chasing Al-Qaeda overseas -- he does not 
deserve this treatment. Kiriakou says he engaged in rendition that 
resulted in the torture of detainees. He did not personally carry out 
torture. His leak was not even made public and presented no harm the 
country.

Compare this to the reckless and very public outing of Valerie Plame -- 
a case that resulted in four felony convictions for Scooter Libby, but 
not a single day in jail. It is unconscionable that Libby could avoid 
punishment, while Kiriakou must face years in prison for exposing the 
illegal and inhumane actions of the government -- actions the Obama 
administration claims to oppose.

President Obama should not punish, but pardon John Kiriakou for his 
exceptional patriotism in speaking out against torture.

Sign our petition demanding President Obama pardon CIA whistleblower 
John Kiriakou.

http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/pardon-kiriakou

Thank you for standing up for transparency and fighting to protect 
whistleblowers.

In Solidarity,

Brian Sonenstein
Campaign Director,
Firedoglake.com

Sources:
1. Pardon John Kiriakou, CIA Whistleblower Convicted of Classified Leak, 
Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter, 1/15/2013.
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/01/15/pardon-john-kiriakou-cia-whistleblower-convicted-of-classified-leak/

2. The Only CIA Officer Scheduled to Go to Jail Over Torture Never 
Tortured Anybody, Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter, 1/6/2013.
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/01/06/the-only-cia-officer-scheduled-to-go-to-jail-over-torture-never-tortured-anybody/

3. Obama's War on Whistleblowing: Ex-CIA Agent Indicted Under Espionage 
Act, Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter, 4/6/2012.
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/04/06/obamas-war-on-whistleblowing-ex-cia-agent-indicted-under-espionage-act/

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