This post was received by email and it is of urgency and importance to all of us who believe that our governments have gone too far and need to be constantly reminded that we are watching them! PLEASE SUPPORT THIS PETITION TO LET OBAMA KNOW THAT HIS SECOND TERM NEEDS TO FULFIL THE PROMISES HE MADE WHEN FIRST ELECTED 4 YEARS AGO!
Tell Obama: Pardon CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou
SIGN THE PETITION
Dear Everybody,
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.(2)
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.
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.
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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