# The CIA under a left-wing president

> **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: "The CIA under a left-wing president," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-cia-under-a-left-wing-president/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's two-part answer to a hypothetical about a socialist administration — that most of the CIA would carry on as though nothing had happened, because officers serve at the pleasure of the president, while elements of the directorate of operations would actively seek to remove such a president. His supporting example is John F. Kennedy.*

- **First prong:** Most of the CIA would operate as if nothing happened
- **Reason given:** The president is the chief executive; officers serve at his pleasure
- **Second prong:** Elements of the directorate of operations would seek to remove him
- **Example cited:** John F. Kennedy — a Cold War hawk and war hero, which did not save him

**The CIA under a left-wing president** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s response to a hypothetical put to him on air: if the country elected a government of the far left — *"red and yellow bunting all over the country and hammer and sickle flags"* — would the [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) dutifully continue to operate under it, or would that be too much for the agency?[1]

## The first prong

Kiriakou announced the shape of his answer before giving it. *"I'm going to give you a two-pronged like a forked answer."*[2]

The first half is institutional and unsentimental. *"on the on the one hand most of the CIA would continue to operate as if nothing happened because the the president is the chief executive. They serve at the pleasure of the president."*[2]

## The second prong

The second half is narrower and more serious. *"With that said, I think there would be elements of the CIA's directorate of operations that would actively seek to remove a president like that."*[2]

When his interlocutor reacted, Kiriakou pre-empted the obvious objection — that a president with anti-communist credentials would be safe. *"I mean John Kennedy was a Cold War Democratic hawk, anti-communist."* Told that Kennedy was also a war hero, he agreed and closed the point: *"And uh that didn't save him."*[3]

He does not spell out what "remove" is meant to cover, and does not restate the [Kennedy assassination](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/jfk-assassination) claim explicitly; the example is left to carry the implication.

The same exchange produced his flat denial that the agency involves itself in New York City elections, recorded at [the NYPD intelligence post](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-nypd-intelligence-post) — so the distinction he is drawing is between routine municipal liaison, which he says the agency cares about, and a national government it might regard as intolerable.[4]

## See also

- [The NYPD intelligence post](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-nypd-intelligence-post)
- [JFK assassination](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/jfk-assassination)
- [Central Intelligence Agency](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia)
- [CIA political neutrality tradition](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-political-neutrality-tradition)

## Sources

1. On CIA Psychologists, Torture, Mamdani (2026-01-04), at 07:15. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0g3SxGsqQ&t=435s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-04-deprogram-ted-rall-on-cia-psychologists-torture-mamdani/
2. On CIA Psychologists, Torture, Mamdani (2026-01-04), at 07:47. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0g3SxGsqQ&t=467s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-04-deprogram-ted-rall-on-cia-psychologists-torture-mamdani/
3. On CIA Psychologists, Torture, Mamdani (2026-01-04), at 08:17. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0g3SxGsqQ&t=497s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-04-deprogram-ted-rall-on-cia-psychologists-torture-mamdani/
4. On CIA Psychologists, Torture, Mamdani (2026-01-04), at 06:44. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0g3SxGsqQ&t=404s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-04-deprogram-ted-rall-on-cia-psychologists-torture-mamdani/

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