# CIA/FBI Budget Fearmongering

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
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> Cite as: "CIA/FBI Budget Fearmongering," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-fbi-budget-fearmongering/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account of how the FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, pioneered the tactic of citing a shifting parade of enemies before Congress to justify annual budget increases — communists, anarchists, gangsters, beatniks, anti-war protesters — a tactic the CIA later adopted wholesale, citing "communism" until 2001 and "terrorism" since, without needing further explanation to win budget increases.*

- **Originator (per Kiriakou):** J. Edgar Hoover, FBI
- **FBI budget cuts in 100 years (per Kiriakou):** None
- **Cited enemies over time (FBI, per Kiriakou):** Anarchists, communists, fascists, 1930s gangsters, beatniks and drug users, anti-war protesters
- **CIA's adopted justification:** "Communism" until 2001; "terrorism" since

**CIA/FBI budget fearmongering** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s account of how both agencies have historically justified budget increases to Congress. He says the FBI has never had a budget cut in its history, crediting J. Edgar Hoover's 48-year tenure for pioneering the tactic: appearing before the Appropriations committees every year and warning of coming catastrophes tied to a rotating cast of enemies — first anarchists, then communists, then fascists, then 1930s-era gangsters, then beatniks and drug users, then anti-war protesters.[1]

Kiriakou says the CIA saw what Hoover was doing and adopted the same playbook, telling Appropriations committees simply *"communism, communism"* until 2001 and *"terrorism"* ever since — needing no further explanation to secure what he calls monstrous budget increases, especially after 9/11.[2]

## See also

- [Central Intelligence Agency](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia)
- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)

## Sources

1. CIA Whistleblower Exposes the US Security State (2025-01-26), at 15:47. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpTnt74kYus&t=947s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-01-26-neutrality-studies/
2. CIA Whistleblower Exposes the US Security State (2025-01-26), at 16:52. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpTnt74kYus&t=1012s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-01-26-neutrality-studies/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-fbi-budget-fearmongering/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt