#661 - John Kiriakou

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This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2h 20m 3 speakers 7 chapters transcribed 3 months ago
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Theo Von 0:00
Paramount Plus brings you the biggest event in MMA history. Live from America's greatest stage comes UFC at the White House on Sunday, June 14th at 8 p.m. Eastern. Two massive championship bouts headline a stacked card from the nation's capital on the iconic White House lawn. In the co-main event, the pride of Brazil, Alex Poiton Pereira. aims to become the UFC's first three-division champion against French icon Cyril Ghosn for the interim heavyweight title. That bout is then followed up by two legendary strikers with the undefeated Ilya Topuria defending his lightweight championship against America's own Justin Gaethje. These aren't the only superstars in action as fan favorite Sean O'Malley, Michael Chandler, and Diego Lopez hunt for signature victories on the greatest stage.
Theo Von 0:58
Plus, heavyweight standout Josh Hokut returns to the octagon after an all-time classic war to face knockout artist Derrick Lewis. Watch UFC Freedom 250 at the White House live on June 14th only on Paramount+. Today's guest is an author. He's a speaker. He's a former CIA officer who's also known for being a whistleblower in the CIA's use of torture. He has a new book coming out called The Ultimate Guide to CIA Skills, Tactics, and Techniques.
Unknown 1:33
Today's guest is Mr. John Kiriakou. Shine on me And I will follow
John Kiriakou 1:51
Yeah, I applied for a presidential pardon.
Theo Von 1:56
You applied for a presidential pardon? Yeah.
John Kiriakou 1:59
Yeah. In fact, I brought a couple of letters. I hope you don't... As long as you don't meet me. If I sign them, it's not going to help anything. I'm just telling you that. Oh, okay. I was going to ask if you thought it would be helpful. I got... Did you really? Oh, yeah. Oh, okay. Dang, I was joking. Oh, no, no, no. I'm talking Tulsi Gabbard on Friday. Did I tell you that?
Theo Von 2:20
Oh, nice. Her husband just went into surgery today, I saw.
John Kiriakou 2:22
Yeah, poor guy.
Theo Von 2:22
I messaged him with her yesterday. She's great. Yeah, Tulsi Gabbard, she seems – there's just something about her that seems genuine to me.
John Kiriakou 2:31
And that's why they tried to destroy her.
Theo Von 2:34
Is that what you think is going on with her right now? That's why the Democrats tried to destroy her. I really do. But even right now, I mean, she's just taking a leave. I know it's for her husband's health. Yeah.
John Kiriakou 2:44
Oh yeah. Headed into surgery this morning. Oh, is that what it says? Yeah. She tweeted or she, uh, Instagram day.
Theo Von 2:51
Yeah. Yeah. Do you think, cause she's kind of like, and she just took a break. She took a complete break from politics. Yeah.
John Kiriakou 2:58
You remember when she was running as a Democrat, every time she would inch up in the polls, the DNC would change the rules for participating in the next debate. So they would do it just one or two percentage points out of her reach every single time because they were threatened by her message. She just wouldn't get with their program.
Theo Von 3:15
She's always seemed very – like she has her own – Oh, she was definitely independent. Independent.
John Kiriakou 3:22
That's what it is. She's always seemed very independent.
Theo Von 3:24
Well, they did the same thing with Bernie Sanders. They did exactly the same thing with Bernie Sanders. So I guess my question would be like – and I can't remember if I asked Bernie this or not, but why would you stay in a party that you know at a certain point is not –
John Kiriakou 3:39
That's cheating you. Yes. And, you know, the Democrats did something after the 1972 election, which I think people don't pay anywhere near enough attention to. Nobody at the DNC wanted George McGovern to be the 1972 nominee. He was the most popular at the time, especially among young people, but he was the weakest nationwide. And he ended up losing 49 states. But... You know, it's a party of the people, right? If the people want George McGovern as the nominee, then George McGovern should be the nominee. And they didn't let him become the nominee?

What are the key themes of John Kiriakou's experiences in the CIA?

John Kiriakou 4:16
No, they let him become the nominee. And then as soon as he lost the race, they instituted this thing called superdelegates. So if you are a member of the House, a member of the Senate, a governor, a lieutenant governor, a state party director, a state committee chairman, you're automatically made a delegate to the convention.

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