CIA whistleblower reveals how agency controls almost every president
Kiriakou, who claims 'top level' agents 'really love' when a president-elect has 'no background in intelligence or foreign policy', said the CIA begins its efforts to control the president before he is even given keys to the White House . 'The day after an election the director of the CIA authorizes a president-elect to begin receiving a PDB - a president's daily brief,' he told Carlson. 'They go with this 16-page document marked at six levels above top secret and they say "Mr President-elect wait until you see the cool things we're doing all around the world." And they've sucked him in. They've made him one of the guys.'
Kiriakou claims agents eagerly feed the president classified information and then analyze his reactions to information they've provided. President Donald Trump has long criticized America's intelligence agencies, claiming they are abusing their positions, inefficient and bogged down by bureaucracy. Kiriakou's commentary with Carlson also seems to echo Trump's concerns, with the whistleblower implying agents use spy tactics to manipulate the nation's top boss.
'Everyday they're like "wait until you see the update on what we told you yesterday, it's incredible." And then we get the feedback at the CIA,' Kiriakou said. He claims the agency is briefed on what the president 'loved', had a 'follow-up question' about, and what he read that made him gasp 'oh my god'. Carlson interrupted his guest, questioning: 'It almost sounds like you're psychologically profiling the president.'
And the whistleblower shockingly admitted 'that's exactly what they do', before pointing to how the agency has a staff of psychologists and psychiatrists dedicated to do that very task. Kiriakou also suggested there is widespread insubordination throughout the CIA. He claimed if an agent doesn't like a commander-in-chief or his orders, the spy will play the waiting game until his presidency ends.
'Presidents come and go every four years, every eight years. But these CIA people, they're there for 25, 30, 35 years. They don't go anywhere,' Kiriakou told Carlson. 'If they don't like a president or if a president orders them to do something that they don't want to do, they just wait because they know they can wait him out, and then he's not going to be president anymore.' Kiriakou added that afterwards an agent 'can continue on with whatever plan the blob or the deep state wants to implement'.
He also alleged the 'deep state' has greater influence over intelligence agencies than elected officials, such as the president and members of Congress. 'Donald Trump took a lot of guff in his first term when he used on a regular basis the term "deep state." I argued from the very beginning, it is a deep state,' Kiriakou said. The whistleblower added if 'you don't like the terminology' than you can substitute the word 'deep state' with 'federal bureaucracy'. 'You can call it the state. But the truth is that it exists,' he added.
Last month it emerged the Trump Administration plans to reduce the CIA workforce by 1,200 over several years, and cut thousands of positions at the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies. In response to questions about the reductions, the CIA issued a statement saying Ratcliffe is working to align the agency with Trump's national security priorities .
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