Whistleblower John Kiriakou, a former CIA veteran recently released from federal prison for disclosing the agency's torture program, says the federal government recommended he not work for a Washington think tank on account of his goal of prison reform.

Kiriakou tweeted Wednesday that the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) — a subagency of the US Department of Justice that is responsible for operation of all federal prisons, including the one Kiriakou served time in — said it was "inappropriate" for him to work at the Institute of Policy Studies, a social justice think tank located in Washington, given his stated desire to work for reform of the US prison system.

Kiriakou was a 14-year veteran of the CIA who was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison over his decision to reveal details about the CIA's post-9/11 torture tactics to the press, a disclosure that also leaked the name of a covert officer. His sentence began February 28, 2013, at the Loretto Federal Correctional Institution near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will officially finish in August 2015. He is serving house arrest after his release from prison in early February.