# CIA Gmail account felony case

> **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.
>
> Cite as: "CIA Gmail account felony case," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-gmail-account-felony-case/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*Per John Kiriakou, a CIA colleague working the counterterrorism fusion center night shift was ordered by cable to check a terrorist suspect's Gmail account and password, did so, and was later charged with a felony for illegally accessing a computer, despite having acted only on explicit written instructions from headquarters.*

- **Assignment:** Counterterrorism fusion center, night watch officer
- **Order:** Cable instructing him to check a named Gmail account and password
- **Charge:** Felony count of illegally accessing a computer
- **Outcome:** Plea to a misdemeanor; 12 months probation; lost CIA job and pension

[John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) describes a CIA colleague who was working the overnight watch at the counterterrorism fusion center, reading incoming cables and calling people in if anything urgent broke, when he received a cable identifying a terrorist suspect's Gmail account and, in a separate cable, the password. He logged in, found nothing of intelligence value, and logged back out. A subsequent cable told him the information had been sent to him in error and asked him to delete it, which he did.[1]

Days later, the CIA's Office of Security asked whether he had accessed the account. He explained he had done so only because headquarters had sent him the account and password and instructed him to check it. Investigators told him he had lacked authorization to access a Google account without law-enforcement sign-off; he was charged with a felony count of illegally accessing a computer. Kiriakou's summary of his colleague's reaction: *"I'm the watch officer, they sent me the cable telling me check it out. We just got the information, here's the information."*[1]

Facing the felony charge, the officer took a plea to a misdemeanor, serving 12 months of probation. He lost his job at the CIA and his federal pension, and spent a year on welfare before he was able to find work in Oklahoma.[2]

## See also

- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- [Government Purchase of Social Media Metadata](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/government-metadata-purchase)

## Sources

1. Interview with CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou (2020-05-15), at 25:35. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6GK5GOzv1Q&t=1535s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2020-05-15-choo-radio-network/
2. Interview with CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou (2020-05-15), at 27:07. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6GK5GOzv1Q&t=1627s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2020-05-15-choo-radio-network/

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