John Kiriakou, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison by Eastern District of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema for telling ABC News about CIA waterboarding, told Russian state-sponsored RT "They are going to try to make an example of Julian," adding "He's been charged in the Eastern District of Virginia. His judge was also my judge and ex-Snowden's judge and [CIA whistleblower] Jeffry Sterling's judge who reserves every national security case for herself."

"She is a hanging judge. She will not give him a fair trial. It's impossible for Julian to receive a fair trial in the Eastern District of Virginia," addid Kiriakou. 

Speaking from his own experience with the same district court, Kiriakou argued that it "gonna try to give him as many years as they can," which means a "sentence of 30-40 years" if served concurrently.

The only avenue worth taking a shot on is to protest the constitutionality of the Espionage Act, notorious for its vague language, to the US Supreme Court, Kiriakou said.

"He'll have immediate standing to appeal on the basis that the Espionage Act is unconstitutionally vague," he said. "The Supreme Court has never ruled on this issue. That may be the way to go." -RT