Whistleblower John Kiriakou Says European Panel Blocked His Appearance

Former CIA analyst and whistleblower John Kiriakou says he was forced to scrap his address on national security before a panel at the European Parliament last week after a panelist refused to appear with him.

Kiriakou said that the panelist told him she did not want to be seen in connection with anyone associated with Russia. Kiriakou is a Sputnik Radio host and contributes to RT, a global television news network based in Moscow, as well as to Truthdig.

In an interview with RT, Kiriakou said, “While they were supportive of me as a person … and supportive of the fact that I blew the whistle on the CIA’s torture program, the fact that I was now associated with Russian media meant that they could not appear on this panel with me.”

Kiriakou also discussed a major shift in American politics since Donald Trump’s election. He said that the biggest agents of fear against Russia are coming from the left, although traditionally, as in the 1950s, this fear typically came from the right.

“This is only going to get worse as we move closer and closer to national elections here, whether it’s the 2018 congressional elections or the 2020 presidential elections,” he said. “It’s like a Red Scare all over again, where people are going to be accused of being in the pocket of the Russians, that if you don’t participate in this mantra of the Russians being behind every problem in the United States, you’re weak on Russia and you’re un-American, and that’s what we are seeing being laid as groundwork.”

Watch Kiriakou’s full interview with RT below: