--- title: CIA officer's daughter accused her dad of being an assassin description: They did not all respond well to the news. canonical: https://time.com/2823495/my-father-is-an-assassin-how-a-cia-spy-told-his-kids-about-his-job/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-05T10:40:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:29.038Z og:title: CIA officer's daughter accused her dad of being an assassin og:description: They did not all respond well to the news. og:url: https://time.com/2823495/my-father-is-an-assassin-how-a-cia-spy-told-his-kids-about-his-job/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CIA officer's daughter accused her dad of being an assassin twitter:description: They did not all respond well to the news. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 'My Father is an Assassin': How a CIA Spy Told His Kids About His Job ## Video: 10 Questions with CIA-veteran Jack Devine [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Questions with CIA-veteran Jack Devine](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WUM5wtSJ.m3u8) (6:57)  _Published 2014-06-04. Jack Devine, 32-year veteran of the CIA, talks to TIME's Belinda Luscombe about his new book "Good Hunting," what it's like being undercover, and his thoughts on Edward Snowden._  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Jun 5, 2014 10:40 AM UTC  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Jun 5, 2014 10:40 AM UTC Jack Devine is 32 year veteran of the CIA, working on the operations side. He helped oust Allende from Chile; he gave the _mujahedin_ the stingers with which they shot down the Russian helicopters. He trained with traitor Aldrich Ames. But in his new book _Good Hunting_, he also talks about being a family man, a father of six. He developed a method for the delicate job of explaining to his kids what he really did. (Officially, he was “a diplomat”). He liked to have “the talk” in the U.S., to prevent unanticipated leakage, and he had to catch each kid at just the right age. But for his middle daughter, he didn’t get the timing quite right. In the interview, which is available to subscribers here, Devine also talks about what spies do when they don’t agree with their mission, how they get people to betray their countries and the mishap he had with invisible ink. (HINT: it involves a receipt for a payoff.) 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