Exclusive: CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling Speaks Out Upon Sentencing to 3.5 Years in Prison

On Monday former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was sentenced to 42 months in prison for leaking classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen about a failed U.S. effort to undermine Iran’s nuclear program. Risen later exposed how the risky operation could have actually aided the Iranian nuclear program. In January Sterling was convicted of nine felony counts, including espionage. He becomes the latest government employee jailed by the Obama administration for leaking information. Since he was indicted four years ago, Jeffrey Sterling’s voice has never been heard by the public. But that changes today. We air an exclusive report that tells his story, "The Invisible Man." We are also joined by Norman Solomon, who interviewed Sterling for the piece and attended both his trial and sentencing. Solomon is a longtime activist, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, co-founder of RootsAction.org, and coordinator of ExposeFacts.org.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AARON MATÉ: On Monday, former CIA officer, Jeffrey Sterling, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for leaking classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen about a failed U.S. effort to undermine Iran’s nuclear program. Risen later exposed how the risky operation could have actually aided the Iranian nuclear program. In January, Sterling was convicted of nine felonies counts, including espionage. He becomes the latest government employee jailed by the Obama administration for leaking information. Since he was indicted four years ago, Jeffrey Sterlings voice has never been heard by the public, but that changes today. Prior to his sentencing he agreed to do an interview with Norman Solomon of exposefacts.org and Judith Ehrlich, who directed "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers." Their piece is called, "The Invisible Man."

JEFFREY STERLING: They already had the machine geared up against me. The moment that they felt there was a leak every finger pointed to Jeffrey Sterling. If the word retaliation is not thought of when anyone looks at the experience that I’ve had with the agency, then I just think you’re not looking.

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http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/12/exclusive_cia_whistleblower_jeffrey_sterling_speaks