What kind of courage and character does it take to challenge the national security policies of the most powerful nation on Earth? How can a democracy that purports to champion human rights simultaneously attempt to quash criticism from within its ranks? What is the effect on our First Amendment right to dissent--and on the whole idea of a free press--when those in power single out whistleblowers for prosecution? What does it take for an individual of conscience to speak out in this environment? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? MEET THE WHISTLEBLOWERS. Jesselyn Radack In 2001, Ms. Radack, then a Justice Department lawyer, resigned over official misconduct in the case of American Taliban John Walker Lindh, leaking critical emails to Newsweek magazine. A campaign of retribution followed, in which Radack was forced out of her new job, referred for discipline before the bar in two states, threatened with prosecution, and effectively kept from working as an attorney for years. Media investigations of the emails eventually lead to the revelation that a secret program to torture prisoners in U.S. custody was being hidden by the White House. Now Jesselyn works at the nonprofit Government Accountability Project in Washington DC, and has dedicated her life to helping other whistleblowers. Thomas Drake After sounding the alarm for years through internal channels at the National Security Agency, Thomas Drake released non-classified information regarding warrantless surveillance programs targeting millions of Americans to a reporter at the Baltimore Sun. An investigation ensued, and in 2007 Drake’s home and those of several other NSA employees who had made complaints were raided by armed agents. In 2010, the Obama Justice Department charged Drake with an unprecedented use of the Espionage Act in relation to his contact with the press, but the case collapsed in 2011. Nonetheless, Drake was left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills. John Kiriakou In 2007, Mr. Kiriakou became the first current or former CIA officer to confirm that waterboarding was official United States policy, criticizing the practice on national television. While initially claiming the technique worked, he later retracted that stance when he found that the CIA had been providing him with false information. As he continued to give interviews he became more critical of enhanced interrogations, calling them torture. An active source for the press, Kiriakou named a former colleague involved in the rendition and interrogation program to a journalist, and the name of the agent ended up in a legal brief for lawyers of Guantanomo Bay prisoners. Mr. Kiriakou was soon hit with numerous charges from U.S. prosecutors, including Espionage Act charges. Earlier this year he pleaded guilty to revealing the identity of an undercover agent, and will shortly begin serving a 30-month sentence in federal prison. activistpost/2014/12/silenced-official-trailer-2014.html
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:13:12 +0000
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