# Podcasters on foreign payrolls

> **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: "Podcasters on foreign payrolls," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/podcasters-on-foreign-payrolls/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account of being told by an investigative journalist he respects that four household-name podcasters were taking CIA money — an allegation she could not corroborate and would not publish. He treats it as credible and extends the logic: if the agency is paying podcasters, foreign governments will be paying them too.*

- **Source of the claim:** An investigative journalist Kiriakou respects
- **The allegation:** Four household-name podcasters taking [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) money
- **Why it was never published:** She could find nothing to confirm it
- **Kiriakou's extension:** Israeli, Russian and possibly Chinese money on the same logic
- **Where the law puts it:** An FBI matter; the CIA is barred from investigating Americans

**Podcasters on foreign payrolls** is a claim [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/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."*[1]

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](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) money. He asked whether she intended to publish. She would not: *"No, because I can't find anything to confirm it."*[2]

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."*[3]

## Who could actually find out

Asked separately what it would take to establish who is being funded by [Israel](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/israel-united-states-relations), 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."*[4]

## See also

- [Laura Loomer](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/laura-loomer)
- [Central Intelligence Agency](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia)
- [FBI](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fbi)
- [Congressional intelligence oversight](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/congressional-intelligence-oversight)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou on Netanyahu's Private Meeting with JD Vance (2026-08-06), at 25:29. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF51y2a5Od0&t=1529s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-06-the-kiriakou-archive-john-kiriakou-on-netanyahu-s-private-meeting/
2. John Kiriakou on Netanyahu's Private Meeting with JD Vance (2026-08-06), at 26:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF51y2a5Od0&t=1562s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-06-the-kiriakou-archive-john-kiriakou-on-netanyahu-s-private-meeting/
3. John Kiriakou on Netanyahu's Private Meeting with JD Vance (2026-08-06), at 26:32. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF51y2a5Od0&t=1592s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-06-the-kiriakou-archive-john-kiriakou-on-netanyahu-s-private-meeting/
4. Valuetainment (2026-04-25), at 00:30. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb8nK12TbnM&t=30s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-04-25-valuetainment-valuetainment/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/podcasters-on-foreign-payrolls/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt