A former CIA officer accused of leaking the names of covert operatives involved in the handling of alleged terrorists has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. John Kiriakou, who was one of the first government officials to confirm the agency's use of waterboarding and other controversial interrogation methods, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act by leaking the identify of an agent to a reporter. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema said she thought 30 months was too light a sentence. "This is not a case of a whistleblower," Brinkema said. "This is a case of a man who betrayed a solemn trust." Kiriakou allegedly furnished classified documents to a New York Times reporter about another CIA officer's role in the capture of Abu Zubaydah, a former high-ranking al-Qaida leader who was waterboarded more than 80 times following his capture. Kiriakou has also been accused of lying to the government about his involvement in the leak. The guilty plea will spare journalists, who were questioned about the case, from testifying at a trial. He is the sixth person charged by the Obama Justice Department under the 1917 Espionage Act.
