26, May 2016 Assault on Whistleblowers
A former senior Pentagon official, John Crane,
has spoken out about how his superiors violated the law to punish a key NSA
whistleblower, Thomas Drake, for leaking information about waste, mismanagement
and an illegal widespread domestic surveillance program. Crane was a long time
employee for the DOD Inspector General’s Office, whose mission is to expose
federal abuse. Embarrassed by Drake’s revelations, the Pentagon charged him
with espionage based on information he freely provided to the Pentagon
inspector general. The unmistakable message is extremely troubling; expose our
dark secrets and we will destroy you.
This does not bode well for future
whistleblowers who are left with no option but to go outside the system much
like Snowden. Drake should have been rewarded and commended for his patriotic
duty in trying to eliminate waste. Drake’s saga is documented in Mark
Hertsgaard new book, "Bravehearts: Whistle-Blowing in the Age of Snowden”.
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