Mike Baker has become a familiar face to Joe Rogan’s millions of listeners, appearing regularly as the podcast’s go-to intelligence expert. But according to a former CIA colleague, Baker’s departure from the agency reads like something straight out of a spy comedy rather than a serious intelligence operation.
John Kiriakou, himself a former CIA officer, recently revealed the circumstances behind Baker’s dismissal during an interview, painting a picture of an operation gone hilariously wrong. The incident that ended Baker’s career began with what should have been routine surveillance work in Athens, Greece.
Baker and a fellow operative were conducting surveillance on a terrorism suspect when they attracted the attention of someone far more observant than they anticipated. “The best security in the world is probably old Greek ladies peering through their drapes,” Kiriakou explained, describing how a vigilant neighborhood resident noticed two men sitting in a van “day after day after day.”
The situation escalated quickly when the concerned citizen called local authorities. “The cops come and surround the right Mike and his pal can’t get out,” Kiriakou recounted. When Greek police finally extracted the pair from their vehicle, they discovered what appeared to be the contents of a spy movie prop department.
Inside the van, officers found “three different changes of disguise each” and “six different ID cards all from different countries and in different names.” The discovery painted a picture of operatives who had perhaps over-prepared for their mission, carrying enough false identities and costume changes to supply a small theater troupe.
Baker and his colleague were forced to use what Kiriakou described as their “get out of jail free card,” instructing the Greek authorities to “call my boss in this certain section of the embassy.” This diplomatic intervention allowed them to avoid local prosecution, but their troubles were far from over.
Upon returning to CIA headquarters, Baker apparently misread the situation entirely. Rather than recognizing the severity of his operational security failure, he began “bragging to people that he was going to get an operation for standing up to the Greeks.” This display of misplaced bravado proved to be his final mistake at the agency.
Instead of receiving commendation, Baker found himself summoned to “the director of counter terrorism center’s office.” The meeting was brief and decisive: “We want your resignation by the end of the day,” officials told him. Just like that, Baker’s intelligence career was over.
The aftermath of Baker’s departure reads like an equally improbable career pivot. According to Kiriakou, the former operative briefly pursued male modeling, earning “a couple thousand bucks modeling whatever.” This venture into the fashion world was followed by an unsuccessful attempt to launch his own show at Fox News.
Eventually, Baker found his way into private security consulting, forming an unlikely partnership. “He ended up pairing up with a KGB officer and opening a security consulting firm in London,” Kiriakou revealed. Their client list apparently included some high-profile names, as “they did security for Madonna’s wedding to Guy Ritchie.”
Despite these various ventures, financial success remained elusive. “Mike never really made money like he thought he was going to,” Kiriakou noted, adding that Baker “never went back to the agency.”
The story is interesting considering Baker’s current role as a frequent Rogan guest, where he often discusses intelligence matters with the authority of his former position. His recent appearance addressing the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy provides new context when viewed through the lens of his unconventional departure from the CIA.
Baker’s insistence during that appearance that blackmail operations would be “too unethical” for the CIA to orchestrate now seems particularly noteworthy, given his own experience with operational mishaps. His claim that “blackmail is never really ever on the table as an option because it always leads to a problem” might ring differently knowing his career ended due to problems arising from a surveillance operation gone awry.
