A former CIA officer who expressed public doubts over the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique was indicted Thursday on charges that he leaked classified secrets to journalists, including the role of an associate who worked with him on a covert mission to track down and capture a top al-Qaida figure.
Kiriakou received public attention for his statements on waterboarding, which he called an “unnecessary” form of interrogation during a 2007 interview with ABC. Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times.
“(W)e were really trying to do anything that we could to stop another major attack from happening,” Kiriakou said. “I don’t think we’re in that mindset right now. ... And, as a result, waterboarding, at least right now, is unnecessary.”
The Supreme Court voted to lift temporary blocks on President Donald Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship...
