FORMER CIA OFFICER’S BOOK EXAMINES WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS, OVERSIGHT, AND EXECUTIVE POWER

The Broken Whistle - Memoir of a CIA Whistleblower

Pedro Israel Orta - 18 Year CIA Veteran

The Book Revue Five Star Rating

A firsthand examination of broken whistleblower safeguards, retaliation, failed oversight, and unchecked government power inside the Intelligence Community.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, September 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the 2026 midterm elections refocus national attention on congressional oversight and executive power, former CIA officer and Intelligence Community whistleblower Pedro Israel Orta is launching a renewed media campaign for The Broken Whistle: A Deep State Run Amok, a firsthand examination of what happens when government systems designed to expose wrongdoing, protect whistleblowers, and check abuses of executive power fail.

Drawing on eighteen years inside the Central Intelligence Agency - including service in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, CIA Headquarters, and the Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community - Orta takes readers inside a world largely hidden from public view. His experience working on whistleblower issues, and later becoming a whistleblower himself, provides the foundation for an examination of government accountability, institutional power, retaliation, and congressional oversight.

The book examines the 2019 Ukraine whistleblower controversy that contributed to the first impeachment of President Donald Trump. Orta questions how that complaint was handled and contrasts the extraordinary attention it received with the experiences of Intelligence Community whistleblowers who struggled for years to obtain investigations, protection from retaliation, or meaningful relief.

But Donald Trump is not the book's ultimate subject. The system is.

At the center of The Broken Whistle is a question that transcends political parties: What happens when the institutions responsible for investigating government wrongdoing and protecting whistleblowers fail the people who turn to them for protection? Orta argues that effective inspectors general, lawful whistleblower channels, and vigorous congressional oversight are essential checks on executive power, particularly within the classified world of intelligence and national security.

Orta also recounts his own allegations of retaliation, institutional resistance, failed oversight, and ultimately the termination of a CIA career in which he received eight Exceptional Performance Awards for contributions to U.S. national security, much of it involving counterterrorism operations.

Part CIA memoir, part whistleblower exposé, The Broken Whistle challenges readers across the political spectrum to confront difficult questions about secrecy, dissent, executive power, congressional oversight, and accountability. Its central argument is straightforward: government power must be accountable regardless of who holds it.

The book is supported by a broader multimedia platform. Orta executive produced and appears in the award-winning feature documentary Deep State Gangsters, available on Prime Video, and produced the award-winning short documentary The Broken Whistle, available through SalemNOW. The projects have received multiple international film-festival honors. Orta has also discussed his CIA career and whistleblower experience in high-profile media interviews, including appearances with Tucker Carlson and Clayton Morris of Redacted.

With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Orta plans a renewed media and promotional campaign this fall focused on the book's central themes: congressional oversight, executive power, Intelligence Community accountability, and the protection of lawful whistleblowers.

To coincide with the renewed campaign, the Kindle edition of The Broken Whistle: A Deep State Run Amok will be available on Amazon for a special promotional price of $5.99 from September 3 through September 10, 2026.

PRAISE FOR THE BROKEN WHISTLE:

“For anyone trying to understand how power actually operates inside the intelligence community, and what it costs the people brave enough to challenge it, this book is essential and deeply unsettling reading.”–The Book Revue

“The Broken Whistle is more than an exposé; it is a discerning examination of the mechanisms of power, corruption, and the pursuit of truth and justice.” –Literary Titan Reviews

“A stand-out exposure of the haphazard organization of the Central Intelligence Agency. This proves to be a valuable book in understanding how our intelligence agencies are run and often mismanaged.” –Reedsy Discovery, Philip Zozzaro, San Francisco Book Review

Pedro Israel Orta is available for interviews, Q&As, and bylined articles on topics including:

• Why Intelligence Community whistleblower protections can fail and the implications for U.S. national security.
• Congressional oversight and the challenge of holding secretive executive-branch institutions accountable.
• The 2019 Ukraine whistleblower controversy and how it compares with other Intelligence Community whistleblower cases.
• Orta's experience as a CIA whistleblower, including alleged retaliation and the personal consequences of challenging institutional power.
• Life and service inside the CIA, including counterterrorism work and assignments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Pedro Israel Orta is an 18-year CIA veteran whose career included counterterrorism, counterintelligence, technical operations, war-zone service, and Inspector General oversight. He served in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, CIA Headquarters, and the Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, where he worked on whistleblower issues. He received eight Exceptional Performance Awards for contributions to U.S. national security. Before the CIA, Orta served honorably in the U.S. Army.

Orta earned a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science, summa cum laude, from Florida International University and an M.A. in Security Policy Studies from George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. He is an author, executive producer, public speaker, ordained Christian minister, and photographer.

BOOK INFORMATION:

The Broken Whistle: A Deep State Run Amok - Memoir of a CIA Whistleblower
448 pages | Hardcover with dust jacket, paperback, and Kindle eBook
Published by Pedro Israel Orta Productions, LLC
More information: www.brokenwhistlebook.com

REVIEW COPIES AND INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Pedro Israel Orta
Pedro Israel Orta Productions, LLC
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A Clip From the Tucker Carlson Interview of Pedro Israel Orta