Speaker 1: 0:33

In this episode, I want to dive into my book, the Broken Whistle A Deep State Runamonk. Let's look at a few critiques and praises for this book by reviewing what some have written or said. Some of the critics have complained that this book is more about myself than the system. Others have basically called it a book that rails against the American bureaucracy and reads more like a rant than an actual read, while at the same time, some have accused me of being a misogist. Yes, the critiques have been very harsh, with one-star ratings. However, let's look at some of the praises for this book.

Speaker 1: 1:13

I have one review from Philip Cesaro, who is a professional book reviewer. He basically writes in his profile I love books. Have been writing book reviews since 2015. I have worked for San Francisco Book Review since March 2015, reviewed over 300 books. I have reviewed mainstream publications along with self-published books. This is what Philip has to say. This is what Philip has to say.

Speaker 1: 1:36

The broken whistle is a thrilling expose, unveiling a deep state bent on destroying dissent and preserving its power. It is an unapologetic chronicle of one man's fight for justice, a clarion call that thunders through the darkest corners of power. Prepare to be captivated by Orta's unflinching courage as he peels back the layers of deception, exposing a broken whistleblower system that has forsaken its sacred duty. He further states the truth must be told is equal parts. Memoir and government expose. I'll repeat that again the truth must be told is equal parts. Memoir and government expose. And he closes his book review with a very important statement this proves to be a valuable book in understanding how intelligence agencies are run and often mismanaged.

Speaker 1: 2:32

Another professional reviewer is Independent Book Review. In this particular instance, this is what they had to say A provocative memoir about doing the right thing even when your moral dilemma involves the deep state. They further add Orta's passion and dedication to what's right leaps from the page. His unique insight into why our whistleblower system needs fixed is the big reason why this book remains so engaging. And very important is the amount of detail in this book where they say from his Ukrainian starting point, orta then outlines his experiences in war-torn areas of Iraq, afghanistan and the Middle East from 2000 to 2019 to prove his thesis that the system of whistleblowing is broken. To prove so, he takes readers through a series of events recognizable to anyone following world events, even from a distance. And now here's the third and final review. We will go over. This one is from Literary Titan Review. They gave it five stars out of five.

Speaker 1: 3:38

The Broken Whistle by Pedro Israel Horta offers an insightful and intense exploration of the intricate world of intelligence and political dynamics. Horta, casting himself as the central figure, stands out as a significant personality in the realm of American intelligence and politics. The narrative insightfully addresses the corruption of the whistleblowing process within the intelligence community, a central theme that echoes throughout the book. They also say Orta's unfiltered and honest portrayal of events makes the book compelling and difficult to set aside. His narrative is robust and steadfast, providing readers with a clear, informative and intimately personal journey through his experiences. The bravery displayed by Orta in revealing the more ominous aspects of the intelligence community and political landscape is commendable. He infuses each page with an intense realism, plunging the reader into a critical period of American history. The author exercises prudence and discretion in handling sensitive material, particularly regarding the identities and confidential information of others. Orta adeptly navigates through a tangled network of allegations, political maneuvering and ensuing impeachment processes, illuminating the larger implications for American democracy and the principle of the rule of law, which can at times be unsettling to the reader. And the last paragraph, the broken whistle, is more than an expose. It is a discerning examination of the mechanisms of power, corruption, the pursuit of truth and justice. Orta's work is a significant contribution to literature. For those intrigued by the inner workings of the intelligence community, the complexities of political power and the audacity required to confront a system that often suppresses dissent, his story serves as a potent reminder of the continual struggle for transparency and accountability at the highest levels of authority, at the highest levels of authority. So there you have it.

Speaker 1: 5:40

Professional book reviewers have spoken and they tell you exactly what this book is. It's part expose, part memoir. The title tells you memoir of a CIA whistleblower is a tagline by the author's name and the title provides obvious, clear clues as far as what the narrative entails. In this particular case, specifically the Broken Whistle A Deep State Run Amok title and subtitle. So the book is about the broken whistleblower process and provides details of how that process is broken and calling it A Deep State Run Amok.

Speaker 1: 6:16

Now here's a clue to reading this book. Like any book, you really cannot cut out parts of a book. If it's in the book, it must be read. I mean, the book has basically a CIA disclaimer that you must read. It has an author's note and a prologue. The CIA disclaimer is there by their request. In order for me to publish the book within the confines of the law considering that I have a non-disclosure agreement and a secrecy agreement with the CIA I must submit the book for a pre-publication review, and I did so. Now, every part of this book is in there for a reason. Nothing can be missed.

Speaker 1: 6:59

The quotes are very specific. The quotes are there to show the reader certain aspects of the book. Immediately after the CIA disclaimer, I use a quote attributed to George Orwell, although it's unverified, and it says in an age of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. And that is it. Truth Confronting lies with the truth, revealing the truth that is a fundamental theme in this book. In the closing of the author's note I write what follows is the truth of what happened Preceding that. I have written this memoir with transparency and without self-censorship, to accurately convey what I experienced. And that leads me to the prologue, titled the Truth Must Be Told, and it's got a great quote from George Washington that states Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.

Speaker 1: 7:58

Now here's an important part of this book that has to be addressed the term deep state. I immediately defined the term deep state in the prologue and it's very, very specific. Reading from the book, from the moment political scientists coined the term administrative state after World War II, it was clear that a bureaucratic behemoth had taken root. Today we know it by a more fitting name, the Deep State, and I specifically call it out for what it is, and it's basically the United States National Security Bureaucratic State. Now this is a book devoid of conspiratorial nonsense. Everything in this book is basically first-hand material that I witnessed. I do provide some context by adding in stories of other whistleblowers, but I use their first-hand materials publicly available and I cite them as far as where the sources can be found. Now the prologue tells you why I wrote this book and in part, here's a quote from this prologue.

Speaker 1: 9:06

The evidence trail confirms the deep state's sinners are side One that won't hesitate to topple and ravage our constitutional republic for a clandestine agenda. If left unchecked, it will rot our nation to the core, sending it rumbling into the ashes of history, morphing our land into a dictatorial bureaucracy will become a despicable oligarchy that will force-feed its malevolent agenda to the masses, rendering our hard-earned constitutional liberties impotent. A group of corrupt deep state operatives are running wild, breaking laws and abusing their power, facing no consequences. They aim to avoid all forms of scrutiny, whether from within or outside the organization. Their method is to quash and annihilate any dissension or opposition. Our elected officials have let us down by failing to hold the deep state accountable for violating laws and abusing their state power. Many people have suffered irreparable harm because of their wicked actions. I further add the survival of our constitutional republic is at stake.

Speaker 1: 10:12

This book is a clarion call for action. As I write, we must rise up as one to save our constitutional republic from destruction and extinction. This book should ignite a flame that leads to corrective action, with a heat that melts away the fear of reprisal from tyranny and the abuse of state power. We must demand that our government fulfill its duty to serve us, and we must do so through peaceful and lawful means. Continuing to read from my prologue, prepare to enter the dark and dangerous world of the deep state, where the whistleblower protection process was weaponized to take down a sitting president. In what amounted to a political hit job, a supposed whistleblower was granted special status, attention and protection by sworn enemies of President Trump. Meanwhile, intelligence community whistleblowers with actual integrity faced vicious reprisals while Congress stood idly by.

Speaker 1: 11:09

I hope that the truth presented here will ignite a fire in readers and inspire folks to put an end to the tyranny of the deep state. It's crucial that we remain vigilant. As President John Adams wrote, liberty once lost is lost forever. Let it not be said of us that we lost our liberties because we failed to act boldly to defeat tyranny. If we do not act now to expose and dismantle the deep state, we risk losing everything we hold dear. Our constitution, our liberties and our way of life are at stake. We must rally together to demand transparency, accountability and reform, and I close my prologue with the following what follows is the unvarnished truth and nothing but the truth. May it free us from the clutches of deep state tyranny.

Speaker 1: 11:59

In the process of writing a first-hand account of my experiences working at the Central Intelligence Agency and exposing the deep state, I also wrote a memoir that is dedicated to my daughter. If you read at the very beginning, it states I dedicate this book to my daughter. You are dearly loved. I will always defend and protect you always. And there's a significant reason why I have done so.

Speaker 1: 12:26

One of the central themes of this book is the impact upon families as far as reprisals taken against whistleblowers. It's not just only the whistleblower that suffers, but it's their families. In this particular case, my daughter has suffered much and so has my ex-wife. This basically has cost us a significant separation where my daughter lives in a foreign country. My ex-wife went back to her foreign country and it ended our marriage and sadly my daughter is the big loser in this dilemma here where she has been separated from her father. So so much for being accused of being a misogist when essentially I was speaking up to defend the rights of my ex-wife and my daughter. I would have been an idiot not to stand up to defend them because they are flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone, and I must rise up and defend my daughter at all times and I will always do so.

Speaker 1: 13:23

Now, as far as the structure of the book, it is somewhat of a lengthy read, but if you take out the appendix it's not so much. It's roughly about 390 pages without the appendix. But I put the appendix in there because it definitely would add some context to understand some of the legal issues, because in part, as it says, government Exposé, it is a book on whistleblowing, and whistleblowing is a legal matter and there are laws that have to be defined and explained. Let's look at the appendix. I start here with list of principal characters, and it's important for me to have the names laid out so that the reader can go back and refer to them, because a lot of names are used in this book the true name, individuals and fictional characters. Since I had to protect the identities of former or current CIA intelligence officials, officers, employees, contractors, so forth, I ended up having to use fictional names. I also have a glossary of acronyms and abbreviations. It's almost impossible to write a book about the military or the US government without having some level of acronyms being used. Trying to explain or have a long narrative on a specific office or group or entity within the government would have even made it a much longer book. So it was much easier just to use the acronym and call it out immediately what it is and refer to it in the appendix, which I do so Now.

Speaker 1: 15:00

As far as the legal aspects of whistleblowing, I provide what is known as the US government ethical conduct requirements. I mean there are very strict guidelines of what government employees are supposed to abuses of power, waste fraud, significant and specific endangerment to public safety and harassment issues. I get into the federal EEO liability issues of what is a federal equal employment opportunity liability. Then, more importantly, as far as the whistleblower protections, that what is an intelligence community protected disclosure, a legal definition? Then you know there's the presidential policy directive 19 that mandates whistleblower reprisal protections and investigations and you know, throwing around some legal terms without actually having the definition would be worthless to the reader. So one of the legal requirements is to conduct investigations to the fullest extent possible. That is a legal term and there's actually a legal definition to the fullest extent possible. So I covered in the appendix and last but not least, let's go over here something called the zero tolerance policy on harassment. The CIA prides itself in having a zero tolerance policy on harassment. That turns out to be pretty letters on paper that are worthless, because the fact of the matter is, when, in my case, I had to put that to the test, I was immediately thrown out, kicked out and basically stripped of my clearance and fired.

Speaker 1: 16:39

Now, as far as the rest of the structure, I start with chapter one titled Weaponized Whistleblowing the Trump impeachment, september 2019. And again, remember that each quote at the beginning of the chapters are there for a specific reason. In this particular case, the quote that I have is by Immanuel Kant Truth is the child of time. Ere long she shall appear to vindicate thee. Now, this is a very important chapter because in the Trump impeachment, a fake whistleblower because that's what he was and is was hailed as a hero, while, as this chapter one tells and shows, the real whistleblowers were basically vilified as villains to be thrown out as yesterday's trash. In this chapter, I provide very specific details as far as why Vindman, sharamela, so forth, were really fake whistleblowers. For example, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel ruled that their so-called whistleblowing did not meet the statute of the law, the mandates of the law, the requirements of the law as far as being about an intelligence activity under the funding and authorization jurisdiction of the Directorate of National Intelligence or, for that matter, even the Office of Inspector General for the Intelligence Community. Despite the allegations not meeting the threshold of the law, they were heralded as heroes, receiving immediate attention and assistance, protection from Congress, the Inspector Generals and the media, and consequently, you know this led to the impeachment of Trump and consequently, you know this led to the impeachment of Trump. Now, speaking of the impeachment of Trump, I must add that I was the one who revealed to the public that this so-called whistleblower process the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act process was actually modified and changed, ironically just about the time that these allegations came out against Trump. As this chapter states and the rest of the book, I actually used the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act numerous times.

Speaker 1: 18:45

In early 2017, actually about April May 2017, I filed a series of disclosures with the Inspector General himself for the intelligence community. When I followed up two weeks later, three weeks later, silence crickets nothing. Apparently, they were suppressed. When I followed up again in June, july. Eventually, through an attorney, I had to find a workaround to try to get some of these disclosures to Congress, and the CIA Office of Congressional Affairs got involved and they tell me we don't pass all those materials to Congress. So I really have no idea what Congress got, if they got anything. On that note, I never received a response to my ICWPAs from the Inspector General or, for that matter, a legitimate response from Congress.

Speaker 1: 19:41

I was put in a situation where I followed up and filed again a second time a year later and this time with a new Inspector General at the Office of Inspector General for the Intelligence Community. I was told to refile them using the infamous Form 401 that mandated specific first-hand information. If it was not first-hand information, they would not consider it a disclosure and they would not file it at all. Following the direction of the Inspector General, I refiled some disclosures in early 2019, four of them to be exact and this time I get an immediate response from the Inspector General for the intelligence community. They actually told me that, because I was no longer an employee of the intelligence community, I had no right or standing to file any ICW PAs. So, essentially, when I was employed and they had the ability to process them, they refused to process my ICW PAs. Meanwhile, when I was finally fired, I get a response saying sorry, you can't file them any longer.

Speaker 1: 20:57

Now in the book, I provide some context as far as what these allegations were that I actually filed, and they were legitimate, credible, firsthand pertaining to intelligence activities intelligence funded activities under the jurisdiction of the intelligence community inspector general, as well as the directorate of national intelligence. So my point is real whistleblowers like myself and I name a few others in my book John Reedy, jonathan Kaplan, andrew Bakage and, most importantly, john Kiriakou we were treated like yesterday's trash, where we were basically discarded, receiving zero or no assistance from Congress and in one case, john Kiriakou, basically prosecuted under questionable conditions, instigated by director of CIA John Brennan. That basically cost him a significant price. He went to jail for, I believe, almost two years. So the short story is intelligence community whistleblower is beyond broken. It becomes a tool for political. Of how political opportunists with their connections within the intelligence community brazenly wield their power to enact retaliatory measures against whistleblowers, all while enjoying the cheerleading support of the media. A late bears the alarming absence of consequences for their actions, revealing a system where accountability is a mere illusion. This failure to hold such individuals accountable further perpetuates a lawless deep state, with Congress failing in its duty to restore order and uphold the principles of justice. Justice.

Speaker 1: 22:54

Then the book proceeds to get into the rest of my career at the CIA, but prior to that, I bring in my humble beginnings in Miami, florida, from an immigrant family, to provide people some perspectives as far as how I grew up, what motivated me and what led me to speak truth to power at the CIA and, more importantly, to show the reader that I had a reliable, steady, proven performance record of exemplary work in the private sector in Miami, where I worked for about 14 years in perishable commodities. So I did not go into the CIA having no work experiences, but indeed I went into the CIA what could be considered a mid-career hire, having proven work experiences, to be able to enter service for the government with a proven character and performance, to ensure that I would be a productive member of the US national security state, in this particular case, not just a career bureaucrat, but an individual that would go in and do what is right. Now for the next episode, I will go out through the structure of the book, but I want to close with a very important point here. My book in some ways actually mimics the book of one of the Ukraine whistleblowers, particularly. Alexander Vindman wrote a book called here Right Matters An American Story, and his book is actually a much lighter read than my book. He begins his book with his story as one of the whistleblowers that led to the impeachment of President Trump and proceeds by basically starting from scratch chapter two from scratch where he goes from his humble beginnings and eventually his career in the military down into the point where he eventually lands in the National Security Council and how he basically reports on what he believed evidence is wrongdoing. But, as we know, the reality is, according to the Office of Legal Counsel, he was never really a real whistleblower defined by the law for the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act. Now his book is published by a major publisher and is hailed as a bestseller by the New York Times. Where here's what most people don't realize the New York Times bestseller list is not actually a list of bestselling books. It's an editorial list of what the New York Times believes should be a bestseller book, what they endorse as a good book per their definition of good books.

Speaker 1: 25:33

Now, unlike my book, it's a light read. It's got little meat on the bones, shall we say, whereas I was forced to put a lot of meat on the bones Since I'm not considered to be a real whistleblower by many on the left. I wanted to make sure that the book had extensive details to prove the point that I was a legitimate whistleblower, where I reported what I reasonably believed evidenced wrongdoing, fraud, waste, abuse of power, significant and specific endangerment to public safety and, for that matter, equal employment opportunity law violations. Now, unlike Vindman's book, mine is self-published. However, I ensured that this book was edited by professionals. It went through a very rigorous editorial process On my end countless hours of just editing and editing, and editing and editing, until it was finally prime for an experienced copy editor to get the book and put the finishing touches to it, to turn it into a final book fit for printing. And in this case I ensured that I found the right copy editor, an individual with more than 20 years experience editing these type of books, who had actually edited an intelligence memoir that was a very highly regarded book, and, for that matter, also other individuals and former military officers. So the copy editor did an outstanding job to turn it into a final manuscript fit for publication.

Speaker 1: 27:07

But I did not stop there.

Speaker 1: 27:10

I took it a step further.

Speaker 1: 27:11

I took it to a proofreader who did a deep dive, proofreading line by line.

Speaker 1: 27:17

So the book actually was meticulously edited, meticulously proofread and, like any book, it's not going to be perfect.

Speaker 1: 27:31

There may be a few typos or a few minor errors, but there are so few of them. If there are any errors, we're talking about maybe half a dozen, and you would have to be reading it with a kind of a microscopic look to it to be able to find them. So let's close here and we will pick up the next time on the rest of the book, the layout, as far as why I wrote it the way I wrote it and, in comparison, some of the latest memoirs, because there's three other memoirs that I researched and looked into and the truth is that if you were to compare my book to the three other intelligence memoirs that came out recently, they're very comparable as far as length, structure, the formatting and how the narrative evolved. So thank you for listening and I look forward to coming back online here and producing another episode on the why of the broken whistle, deep State Run Amok and the details as far as why it was structured, the way it was structured.