Section 403 strips any protection for whistleblowers. It stifles speaking the truth to power, and it shuts down any access to courts and due process. But even sadder, it devalues acts of courage and patriotism and destroys them completely and ruthlessly.
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Wikileaks
Pension Stripping Bill Passes Senate Committee
Yesterday, the Senate published the bill and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) issued a press release and floor statement announcing his strong opposition to this bill because it will chill employee rights to report wrongdoing at intelligence agencies and will not afford employees due process if they are accused of violating this provision.
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Bill targets intelligence whistleblowers
The provision will give the “head of each intelligence agency broad discretionary power to decide what a ‘leak’ is – which could be defined as complaints about waste, fraud and abuse – or even risks to public safety.”…
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Whistleblowers’ Pensions Threatened By Intelligence Committee
Tomorrow in a “closed” mark-up at 2:30 pm EST, the members of the Senate Intelligence Committee plan to slip into an appropriations bill a provision that will give the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the heads of other intelligence agencies, such as the CIA and NSA, the power to strip whistleblowers of their pensions by simply accusing them of leaking classified information…
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Release Bradley Manning
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
These words are enshrined in our Bill of Rights in the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They apply to every American. They apply to Private First Class Bradley Manning.
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NWC Executive Directors Discusses 1st Amendment and WikiLeaks on CBS Evening News
On Saturday, January 8, 2011, Stephen M. Kohn, National Whistleblowers Center Executive Director, appeared on CBS Evening News. The news segment covered the United States Department of Justice subpoena of private information on select WikiLeaks supporters. The government may have the right to this type of information, but it is vital to weigh First Amendment …
WikiLeaks Scandal Demonstrates Need for Whistleblower Protection
Today, Stephen Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, issued the following statement expressing his concern about the rise in retaliatory investigations in the wake of the WikiLeaks scandal:
The WikiLeaks scandal is being used to justify a witch hunt against federal employees suspected of being whistleblowers. Currently, the NWC has obtained information documenting abusive investigatory tactics being used against federal employees, including monitoring the private emails and seizing computer hard-drives from employees who disclosed non-classified information to Congress. The U.S. Constitution protects government workers who report waste, fraud and abuse to the American people. However, in the first two years of the Obama presidency, more Americans have been indicted for alleged media leaks then under any other president in U.S. history, including Richard Nixon.Continue Reading WikiLeaks Scandal Demonstrates Need for Whistleblower Protection
Kohn recalls “sad day” under Espionage Act
Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, wrote a history lesson published today by England’s Guardian. Responding to recent calls to prosecute WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning under the 1917 Espionage Act, Kohn recounts how the Espionage Act was actually used. "The law has nothing to do with prosecuting spies. From its…
In “Charging WikiLeaks,” Washington Post misses a better alternative
In yesterday’s Washington Post, an editorial called "Charging WikiLeaks" urges the Obama administration to refrain from pressing criminal charges against WikiLeaks leaders for releasing classified State Department cables. "Media outlets do not have a legal duty to abide by the government’s secrecy demands," the editorial declares. What should the government do? At the end of…
WikiLeaks provokes DoD threat against whistleblowers
A front page story in today’s Washington Post looks at the growth and effects of the popular anonymous whistleblower website, WikiLeaks. Daniel Schmitt, a WikiLeaks director, told Post writer Joby Warrrick that, "The message of WikiLeaks to the controllers of information is this: You can either be transparent, or transparency will be brought to…