Podcasters on foreign payrolls
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Podcasters on foreign payrolls is a claim John Kiriakou says he had not considered until roughly a year before recounting it, when an investigative journalist changed his mind. Asked how many prominent commentators he believes are paid or otherwise compromised, his answer was direct: "You know what? I actually think it's a lot."

The basis is second-hand and he presents it as such. A journalist "whom I respect a great deal" told him that people had independently come to her about four podcasters, "kind of household names", who she was under the impression were taking CIA money. He asked whether she intended to publish. She would not: "No, because I can't find anything to confirm it."

What he does with the claim is extend it by inference rather than evidence: "if podcasters have taken CIA money, you can bet your bottom dollar they're taking Israeli money, Russian money, maybe even Chinese money. Who knows? Depending on what the issue is."

Who could actually find out

Asked separately what it would take to establish who is being funded by Israel, Qatar or anyone else, Kiriakou first moved the question to the right agency. It is "an FBI issue", "the CIA by law would be forbidden from doing that on Americans", though the agency could properly examine foreign nationals. On feasibility he was not pessimistic: "you probably need a couple of months to really dig it up, but you could dig it up."

See also

- Laura Loomer
- Central Intelligence Agency
- FBI
- Congressional intelligence oversight
