March 13, 2025
Hi, everybody. It’s been a busy week, and there’s a lot that I wanted to update you on.
First, I want to thank all my new subscribers. I can’t believe that I’m up to 11,000. You come from all 50 states and 124 countries. Thank you very much for that! The pleasure is all mine.
I’ve picked up several fascinating rumors here in Washington this week. First, I’ve heard from a friend at the White House that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will likely only serve for two years before moving on, and the early choice to replace him is Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Tulsi is telling friends that she would, of course, welcome that promotion. Two years is a lifetime in politics, but even the fact that there’s a rumor tells me that Tulsi has Donald Trump’s trust.
Second, Donald Trump fired the Joe Biden-appointed US Pardon Attorney on Saturday. That was a HUGE move, and one that I welcome wholeheartedly. When the Office of the US Pardon Attorney was created in the late 19th century, it was supposed to be a clearinghouse for people having been convicted of federal crimes to clear their names. Instead, it has become an office that sees the denial of clemency as its mandate. In the meantime, Trump named former federal prisoner Alice Johnson as his “pardon czar.” Johnson now will be the final arbiter of who gets a pardon and who doesn’t. She doesn’t yet have any office space or a dedicated phone, but I’m told that that’s coming in the next two weeks. Expect to see some big changes.
I was in Iceland last week for a court case involving the Bank of Iceland. I am the “brand ambassador” for a tech startup called Panquake. Several years ago, the Bank of Iceland froze Panquake’s accounts—we believe at the behest of a foreign government. The company protested and the funds were finally released. But now we’re suing the bank. Preliminary hearings were last week, and I’m headed to Iceland again for the April 3 trial.
Finally, I’ve been working with Rebecca Myles and Chris Arnone on a new interview podcast called Deep Focus. You can find it below. We’re talking to people like Chris Hedges, Matthew Hoh, Jesse Ventura and others on the events of the day. It’s a rather serious show that we hope can get deeper into the issues that you might be used to seeing. Please check it out and consider subscribing. Thank you!
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajooPBe19Fc
https://www.youtube.com/@DeepFocuswithJohnKiriakou
John Kiriakou is a journalist, author and host of Deep Focus. He was a former senior counterterrorism officer for the CIA until he blew the whistle on its torture program. The interviews seek to explain the world we live in with some of the leading newsmakers, professors, investigative journalists and whistleblowers.
