Former CIA counterterrorism chief John Kiriakou said his 2012 prosecution was a trial run for the Democratic Party’s “template” for lawfare later used against President Donald Trump.

Kiriakou, the CIA officer who led the team that captured al Qaeda terrorist Abu Zubaydah, blew the whistle on the agency’s waterboarding program over a decade ago. He was jailed for nearly two years after the Obama administration charged him under the Espionage Act and the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA) for disclosing the identity of a covert CIA officer.

Kiriakou claims his conviction was a test case for federal prosecutors. He argues that by testing it on a former CIA officer, the government refined the legal tactics it would later use against President Donald Trump and members of his circle.

“Brett Tolman, the former U.S. attorney from Trump One, former U.S. attorney for Utah, said the Kiriakou case was the template,” Kiriakou said on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast, adding, “The template for the Democratic Party’s policy of lawfare.”

JIM JORDAN SAYS PROBE INTO FORMER CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN IS ‘HEATING UP’ AS DOJ SEEKS TESTIMONY RECORDS

Kiriakou claims federal prosecutors wanted to test the tactics on a “nobody” before targeting larger political rivals, including General Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and eventually President Donald Trump.

He described a system that he says bankrupts targets and ruins their reputations, leaving them unable to fight back. 

“The next thing you know, you’re drowning in millions of dollars of legal debt, your reputation is ruined,” Kiriakou explained, adding, “Of course there’s a deep state and it’s dangerous.”

Kiriakou cited what he described as a classified memo exchange among senior Obama administration officials. He alleged that then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for espionage charges against him, despite what he said were concerns from the Justice Department. He said the effort was meant to force him into a costly legal defense.

OBAMA CIA CHIEF UNDER DOJ SCRUTINY PUSHES FRINGE TRUMP OUSTER PLAN

It’s a technique he claims was later used against Trump, and that there are people in the federal bureaucracy who know how to “ruin” even a president.

“There are people in places like the CIA, the FBI, NSA, who are there for 25, 30, even 35 years and they know presidents come and go every four or eight years and they can outwait this president,” Kiriakou said.

“If this president does something that they don’t like, they know exactly how they can ruin him,” he added.

GREGG JARRETT: CIA REPORT MAKES IT CLEAR TRUMP WAS FRAMED

While Kiriakou maintains his prosecution was a political test run, a 2013 press release from the Justice Department accused him of revealing the identity of a covert CIA officer to a journalist.

“John Kiriakou betrayed the trust bestowed upon him by the United States and he betrayed his colleagues whose secrecy is their only safety,” then-U.S. Attorney MacBride said in a statement.

“John Kiriakou put the life of a covert officer at risk; he put the officer’s family in danger; and he exposed our nation’s vital secrets,” he added.

Watch the full interview with John Kiriakou on YouTube.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was pressed Thursday about whether his democratic socialism platform would work outside of New York City, in state or nationwide elections.

“After the campaign win, there were questions whether Democrats across the country could have the same success,” “CBS Mornings” co-host Vladimir Duthiers asked Mamdani. “Do you think it is possible a democratic socialist platform can translate to something that’s electorally viable in a statewide or national election given that, according to Gallup, many older and rural voters still have issues with the term, with the label, socialist?”

Mamdani argued that his politics are judged on whether people felt like it included them, and on its delivery, before pointing to universal childcare and his pothole initiative.

SOCIALIST MAYOR MAMDANI BACKS HOCHUL IN MOVE THAT COULD RESHAPE NEW YORK GOVERNOR RACE

“But, Mr. Mayor, presidential and statewide elections are often decided in battleground regions that do not look like New York City,” Duthiers followed.

“I will be honest with you, before I was the mayor I was an assembly member of Astoria in Long Island City. At that time, I was told you can only be a democratic socialist in northwest queens,” Mamdani said. “Then I became the mayor, now the next question is the state, and then the next question will be, the country.”

“I think that this is a politics that can flourish anywhere because, frankly, there’s only one majority in this country and that’s the working class,” he continued. “And it’s time we have a politics that puts them at the heart of what we’re pursuing and not as part of the appendix.”

ZOHRAN MAMDANI REVEALS WHAT HE PLANS TO DISCUSS WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP IN OVAL OFFICE MEETING

Mamdani was also pressed on his relationship with President Donald Trump, and whether they have spoken about the war in Iran.

He said it was no secret that he deeply opposes the war in Iran, and “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King pressed again on whether the two have spoken about Iran directly.

“We’ve had a conversation about a number of issues and that includes our disagreements on foreign policy,” Mamdani said. “I will keep the frequency and the nature of those conversations private, because that’s the premise of them.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Mamdani celebrated a proposal to tax luxury second homes owned by the ultra-wealthy – a plan expected to generate at least $500 million annually – in a post to social media on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more, allowing the city to impose an annual surcharge on ultra-wealthy nonresidents.

The proposal is projected to generate at least $500 million annually, according to Hochul.

Mamdani praised the plan, noting he campaigned on taxing the wealthy.

Fox News’ “Antisemitism Exposed” newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world.

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– ‘Not on our watch’: Global law enforcement leaders unite in Poland against hate
– Anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil one step closer to deportation
– Comedian says antisemites ‘aren’t even ashamed anymore’ after heckler targets her

TOP STORY: Top law enforcement officials from around the world gathered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial in Poland to launch the “Not On Our Watch” initiative. The summit aims to unify global policing strategies against surging antisemitism and hate crimes. By confronting the site of the Holocaust, leaders pledged to ensure historical atrocities are never repeated through proactive modern-day enforcement and intelligence sharing.

VIDEO: Rabid anti-Semite Hasan Piker calls Bill Maher an ‘Islamophobe’ while appearing alongside Michigan Senate candidate Abdul Al-Sayed. WATCH HERE:

BUH-BYE: Student organizer Mahmoud Khalil faces imminent deportation after the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed his challenge to a denied asylum claim. Khalil, a central figure in Columbia University’s anti-Israel encampments, was previously flagged for potential extremist ties. This ruling marks a significant victory for lawmakers demanding accountability for foreign nationals participating in disruptive, unauthorized campus protests and visa violations.

HATEFUL HECKLER: Comedian Jessica Kirson is sounding the alarm on brazen antisemitism after a heckler disrupted her performance with vitriolic slurs. Kirson noted a disturbing shift in public sentiment, observing that bigots no longer feel the need to hide their prejudice. The incident highlights a growing trend of aggressive, face-to-face confrontations targeting Jewish public figures and performers.

GUEST EDITORIAL: Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, an Israeli civil rights attorney who represents terror victims suing Iran, explains how Iran’s Islamic Republic has systematically weaponized antisemitism to maintain power. By dismantling once-thriving Jewish communities through executions, sham trials, and forced flight, the regime embedded hatred into its ideological core, she writes.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It’s come to this: Antisemites aren’t even ashamed anymore, even on the Upper West Side.” – Comedienne Judy Gold after a bigoted heckler was booted from her stand-up performance.

– Looking for more on this topic? Find more antisemitism coverage from Fox News here.

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