# Robert MacLean

> **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: "Robert MacLean," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/robert-maclean/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*TSA whistleblower; the person to whom John Kiriakou first described Rudy Giuliani's 2018 $2 million pardon-extortion attempt the same evening it occurred, and who in turn tipped the FBI (which declined interest) and then the New York Times.*

- **Known for:** TSA whistleblower
- **Kiriakou's characterization:** "A serious, serious whistleblower"
- **Role in Giuliani exposé:** First person Kiriakou told; called FBI (declined), then called the New York Times, which sent Mike Schmidt to Kiriakou

**Robert MacLean** is a TSA whistleblower. Per [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) he is *"an awesome guy … a serious, serious whistleblower."*[1]

## Role in the Giuliani exposé

On the evening of the 2018 [Rudy Giuliani](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/rudy-giuliani) pardon-extortion meeting, Kiriakou attended a Republican National Committee book launch in Washington at which MacLean was also present. Kiriakou described the meeting to MacLean. MacLean immediately called the FBI to report the attempted bribery; the FBI declined interest. MacLean then called the *New York Times*, which dispatched reporter Mike Schmidt to Kiriakou. The story ran on the Sunday front page.[1][2]

## See also

- [Rudy Giuliani](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/rudy-giuliani)
- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- [Bruce Fein](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bruce-fein)

## Sources

1. Most Hated CIA Spy on Hunting Osama & INSANE Covert Disguises (Episode 249) (2024-11-07), at 1:58:42. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_FDZozJ9zE&t=7122s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-11-07-julian-dorey-249/
2. Most Hated CIA Spy on Hunting Osama & INSANE Covert Disguises (Episode 249) (2024-11-07), at 2:02:54. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_FDZozJ9zE&t=7374s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-11-07-julian-dorey-249/

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