# John Fetterman > **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: "John Fetterman," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-fetterman/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *The Pennsylvania senator whose fall from progressive Democratic hero to reliable AIPAC vote John Kiriakou has been tracking week by week on his own show, including the September 2026 Wall Street Journal investigation, based on more than a dozen former staffers and leaked internal texts, that reported Fetterman had lost interest in the job of a senator, skipped a June meeting with three paralysed veterans from his own state to appear on Fox News less than an hour later, and dismissed a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia request as *"they just want free trips to DC."** - **Role:** United States senator from Pennsylvania (Democrat) - **Per Kiriakou:** One of the most crucial swing votes in the U.S. Senate - **Focus (per WSJ, Sept 2026):** *"Cultivating relationships with conservative media figures and advocating for Israel"* rather than day-to-day Senate work - **The paralysed-veterans incident:** Skipped a June 2026 meeting with three paralysed Pennsylvania veterans, telling staff he felt ill; appeared on Fox News less than an hour later - **The CHOP quote:** Text message on a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia request over Medicaid cuts, *"I'm convinced they just want free trips to DC"* - **Fetterman's response:** The former staffers' account was *"lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears"* **John Fetterman** is the Pennsylvania Democrat whose senate career [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) has been documenting week by week on his own show as an object lesson in how a swing-state progressive gets converted into a reliable AIPAC vote. Kiriakou has said he does not want to become *"obsessed with John Fetterman"*, and then, in each episode, kept returning to him.[1] ## The September 2026 Wall Street Journal exposé The story that framed Fetterman's autumn was a *Wall Street Journal* investigation citing *"more than a dozen former staffers and lawmakers"*, plus leaked internal text messages. Its top line, in the passage Kiriakou aired: *"Behind closed doors, Fetterman has focused more on cultivating his relationships with conservative media figures and advocating for Israel than doing the job."*[2][3] ## The paralysed veterans and Fox News The specific incident Kiriakou pulled forward: *"In one instance, Senator Fetterman reportedly skipped a June meeting with three paralysed veterans from his state, but appeared on Fox News less than an hour later despite telling staff he had to miss the meeting because he felt ill."*[2][3] ## The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia text Kiriakou aired the second incident from the same report: *"Last September, according to the Journal, when an aide told Fetterman officials with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia wanted to meet because of concerns about Medicaid cuts, he was dismissive, writing in a text message, quote, 'I'm convinced they just want free trips to DC.'"*[3][4] ## Fetterman's response Fetterman *"blasted what he called smears from disgruntled staffers"*, saying: *"Per usual, these were lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears, and anonymous."*[5] ## Kiriakou's reading Kiriakou marked the story as unusual for how much of it survived in writing. Ordinarily *"there are staffers who don't like their bosses, who leave the office, who whisper about it off the record"*, but here, an entire pattern of texts came out at once, and *"you look on social media platforms and there are former staffers who are saying they regret ever working to help elect this senator."* Fetterman, in Kiriakou's rendering, had already lost the confidence of the people he needed to keep the job running.[5][6] ## See also - [AIPAC](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/aipac) - [Pennsylvania](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/pennsylvania) - [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) ## Sources 1. The CIA’s Hollywood Secrets & Fetterman’s Staffer Mutiny | Ep.17 (2026-09-08), at 21:33. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zNt7SnxegI&t=1293s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-09-08-john-kiriakou-the-cia-s-hollywood-secrets-and-fetterman-s/ 2. The CIA’s Hollywood Secrets & Fetterman’s Staffer Mutiny | Ep.17 (2026-09-08), at 22:05. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zNt7SnxegI&t=1325s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-09-08-john-kiriakou-the-cia-s-hollywood-secrets-and-fetterman-s/ 3. The CIA’s Hollywood Secrets & Fetterman’s Staffer Mutiny | Ep.17 (2026-09-08), at 22:36. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zNt7SnxegI&t=1356s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-09-08-john-kiriakou-the-cia-s-hollywood-secrets-and-fetterman-s/ 4. The CIA’s Hollywood Secrets & Fetterman’s Staffer Mutiny | Ep.17 (2026-09-08), at 23:06. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zNt7SnxegI&t=1386s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-09-08-john-kiriakou-the-cia-s-hollywood-secrets-and-fetterman-s/ 5. The CIA’s Hollywood Secrets & Fetterman’s Staffer Mutiny | Ep.17 (2026-09-08), at 23:37. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zNt7SnxegI&t=1417s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-09-08-john-kiriakou-the-cia-s-hollywood-secrets-and-fetterman-s/ 6. The CIA’s Hollywood Secrets & Fetterman’s Staffer Mutiny | Ep.17 (2026-09-08), at 24:08. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zNt7SnxegI&t=1448s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-09-08-john-kiriakou-the-cia-s-hollywood-secrets-and-fetterman-s/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-fetterman/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt