# The Melber walkout

> **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 Melber walkout," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-melber-walkout/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*An incident on MSNBC in which John Kiriakou removed his microphone and threatened to leave the set after host Ari Melber introduced him as a leaker and a convicted felon, on a segment about whistleblowing recorded alongside Daniel Ellsberg. Kiriakou recounts it as the sharpest instance of the naming fight he has waged with the networks for over a decade.*

- **Programme:** MSNBC, hosted by Ari Melber
- **Format:** Recorded in advance, not live
- **Fellow guest:** [Daniel Ellsberg](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/daniel-ellsberg)
- **The introduction:** 'Leaker' and 'convicted felon'
- **Kiriakou's response:** 'If you are going to play games like that, I am walking'
- **Outcome:** Melber apologised and asked what he objected to

**The Melber walkout** was an incident during a recorded MSNBC segment in which [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) removed his microphone and told the host he was leaving. It is the sharpest episode in the long dispute over whether he is described as a whistleblower or [a leaker](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/leaker-versus-whistleblower).

The host, Ari Melber, introduced him not only as a leaker but as a convicted felon.[1] Kiriakou's reply was immediate: *"Okay, if you're going to play games like that, I'm walking"*, and he took his microphone off.[2] The segment was being taped in advance rather than broadcast live, and Melber apologised and asked what he objected to.[2]

What Kiriakou objected to was the pairing of the framing with the subject matter. *"You brought me on here with Daniel Ellsberg of all people, the godfather of all whistleblowers, to talk about whistleblowing. And then you introduced me as a leaker and convicted felon."*[2]

He places the episode within a wider pattern he has tracked across the networks: it took his attorneys a full year to get CNN to stop calling him a leaker, [Fox News](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-fox-news-military-analyst) used the word whistleblower from the beginning, and MSNBC has never changed.[1]

## See also

- [Leaker versus whistleblower](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/leaker-versus-whistleblower)
- [Daniel Ellsberg](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/daniel-ellsberg)
- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou on the CIA Ukraine Whistleblower (2019-10-15), at 14:40. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=audf56019545&t=880s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2019-10-15-david-gornoski-a-neighbors-choice-john-kiriakou-on-the-cia-ukraine-whistleblowe/
2. John Kiriakou on the CIA Ukraine Whistleblower (2019-10-15), at 15:12. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=audf56019545&t=912s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2019-10-15-david-gornoski-a-neighbors-choice-john-kiriakou-on-the-cia-ukraine-whistleblowe/

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