Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
newsNov 27, 201942:50pending

Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling’s Life as an “Unwanted Spy”

About this episode

Jeffrey Sterling was indicted in 2010 on charges under the Espionage Act for allegedly leaking sensitive national security information to then-New York Times reporter James Risen. Sterling discusses his time as a CIA case officer and how his internal complaint about Operation Merlin, a half-baked CIA scheme that had tried to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development, led to his firing. Sterling explains the discrimination suit he filed against the CIA and how there is no evidence that he was the source for Risen, who is now The Intercept's senior national security correspondent. Sterling also shares what it was like to be charged under the Espionage Act and comments on the appalling hostility toward whistleblowers in the U.S. Sterling’s new book is “Unwanted Spy: The Persecution of an American Whistleblower.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get every episode summarized

Each time The Intercept Briefing publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

Hosts & guests

No transcript yet

This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.

Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling’s Life as an “Unwanted Spy”

The Intercept Briefing

0:00
42:50

More episodes

More from The Intercept Briefing

View all episodes →