Executive Order
Executive Grant of Clemency for John C. Kiriakou
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Published May 4, 2026
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- Cordova for President
- Moving Forward Together
- www.vincentcordova.com | info@cordova2028.com | (350) 229-1046 | Manteca, CA 95336
- Cordova for President 2028 | Presidential Executive Orders
- Monday, May 4, 2026
The United States Constitution
Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution imposes only three eligibility requirements on persons serving as president, based on the officeholder's age, time of residency in the U.S., and citizenship status:
U.S. Constitution - Presidential Candidate Eligibility
"No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."
Executive Grant of Clemency
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Whereas Clauses
WHEREAS John C. Kiriakou, a former officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, was charged in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia with multiple counts arising from the disclosure of classified information to journalists, including the disclosure of the identity of a covert intelligence operative; and
WHEREAS on October 22, 2012, John C. Kiriakou pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (50 U.S.C. Section 3121) and was subsequently sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 30 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release, a sentence he has fully served; and
WHEREAS John C. Kiriakou was the first CIA officer to publicly confirm and condemn the use of waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques, thereby contributing to the national dialogue and ultimate prohibition of those practices, and he has accepted legal responsibility for his actions; and
WHEREAS the President of the United States possesses the plenary power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, as set forth in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, and that power extends to the full restoration of civil rights and civic standing for those who have paid their debt to society in the service of a greater truth;
NOW, pursuant to the pardon power vested in the President by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, and by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Grant of Pardon and Restoration of Rights
Grant of Pardon and Restoration of Rights. John C. Kiriakou is hereby granted a full and unconditional pardon for the offense of which he was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia (Case No. 1:12-cr-00127), specifically a violation of 50 U.S.C. Section 3121, and for any and all other federal offenses arising out of or related to the conduct for which he was investigated, charged, or convicted in connection with the disclosure of classified information to the media. This pardon restores to John C. Kiriakou all civil rights, privileges, and immunities forfeited as a result of his conviction, including the rights to vote, to serve on a jury, and to hold public office.
Directives to the Attorney General
Directives to the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall take all necessary steps to ensure that his official criminal records are marked to reflect this pardon, and shall move for the expungement of the conviction from the public record to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Archival Direction
Let this proclamation be recorded as an enduring act of presidential justice and made a part of the permanent annals of the Republic.
Witness Clause
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifty-third.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of January 2029.
Signed,
Vincent Cordova
President of the United States
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