Asked in March 2023 whether Joe Biden might be amenable to granting him a pardon, John Kiriakou said he thought so, and gave a reason drawn from ethnic politics rather than from the merits of his case.
The nickname
As you might have guessed from my name, he said, I’m a Greek-American. And Joe Biden has a reputation in the Greek-American community as being so pro-Greek-American that he’s called Joe Bidenopoulos. [1] So, he added, he was hoping that maybe he could make a little connection there, and that Biden would take some pity on him. [1]
The context of the request
The remark came at the end of a passage about the practical stakes of a pardon. Kiriakou said he had applied to have his civil rights reinstated and was allowed to vote — the episode described in the Virginia pardon and voting rights — but that when he was convicted the government confiscated his pension, and that unless he gets it back he will have to work until the day he dies, with literally nothing saved for retirement. [2] He noted that he had a great deal of support in Washington, including seventy former CIA officers who had signed a letter to the president asking for a pardon, and said he was going to apply for a presidential pardon and try to get the monkey off his back. [2]
No pardon followed from Biden. Kiriakou’s earlier and later attempts, including the solicitation he reported to the FBI, are covered in Kiriakou’s pardon request and the Giuliani pardon solicitation.
His Greek-American identity recurs elsewhere as a practical asset as well as an inheritance — in his Greek citizenship, in the community organisations that backed him publicly during his prosecution, and in the patron saint he keeps in his wallet, St Nectarios of Aegina.