Whistling without a net

Cokie and Steve Roberts advocate, in the Pasadena Star News, the development of a "balanced journlist shield law." They refer to the recent case case of Judith Miller (New York Times) and Matt Cooper (Time magazine), who refused to identify their sources to a federal grand jury investigating how Valerie Plame, an intelligence agent, came to be publicy identified by columnist Robert Novak. As a result, the reporters appear destined to serve jail time, and other reporters are being similarly threatened.

Without a federal shield law, write Roberts and Roberts, "Investigative reporters would be crippled, promises of confidentiality would be suspect, sources would be scared and wrongdoers would be relieved." Indeed, the consequences would be grave. National security vulnerabilities have come to light, in many cases, only because journalists were willing to keep a whistleblower's identity anonymous. Anonymity is essential for national security whistleblowers, who lack any meaningful protection from agency reprisal.

But, anonymity is a two-edged sword. As the Plame-Novak case shows, leaks of information can be used to chill whistleblower activity, by defaming whistleblowers or, in the cited case, violating the privacy rights of a family member. Federal agencies have used the tactic against scores of whistleblowers, leaking false allegations as well as accurate but highly personal information. The government officials who engage in such practices should be prosecuted, not protected.

A shield law should therefore take into consideration the motive and consequences of preserving anonymity. Its protections should extend to citizen journalists and "bloggers," as well as the "mainstream" news media. Commercial news outlets have decreased their coverage of government agencies and, increasingly, independent journalists are exposing government wrongdoing.

President Bush has opposed new legislation that would protect federal whistleblowers. Thus, the nation's federal employees are whistling without a net if they publicly report mismanagement of national security programs. The current attacks on journalists would deny whistleblowers the one remaining avenue to expose dangerous vulnerabilities, such as those that left the nation unprotected on September 11, 2001. Failing to protect whistleblowers and journalists would be another national tragedy.

On Capitol Hill, whistleblowers demand change

A contingent of current and former federal whistleblowers, led by Sibel Edmonds, former FBI translator and whistleblower, came to Capitol Hill today to speak before Congressional staff members and to demand legal reforms that would hold federal officials individually accountable for mismanagement of national security programs, and provide whistleblowers meaningful protection from reprisal. Those who spoke included Ms. Edmonds, Coleen Rowley, Bogdan Dzakovic, Mike Tice and Matthew Fogg. They are part of a group of fifty, organized by Ms. Edmonds, calling themselves the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition.

At a press conference, famed whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg spoke, as did Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), the only legislator to join the group today. Representatives from good government organizations, including the Project on Government Oversight, and the Government Accountability Project, confirmed that existing laws routinely fail to protect whistleblowers, and allow mismanagement to continue.

At their own expense, the whistleblowers came from all across the United States, from as far away as Hawaii, to advocate changes needed to correct mismanagement of national security programs at agencies like the FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, FAA, DOJ and others. Their commitment to protecting the nation from terrorists, and other threats, deserves our support.

Please write your Congressional representatives, today, to express your support for the Coalition and their efforts.

National security whistleblowers unite

An unprecedented coalition of national security whistleblowers will go to Capitol Hill tomorrow to press for new laws holding government officials individually accountable for whistleblower retaliation.

Government Executive reports today that a group of fifty whistleblowers, organized by former FBI translator and whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, will meet Thursday with House and Senate legislators to propose legal reforms. The group, called the National Security Whistleblowers' Coalition, includes former and current employees from the FBI and other federal agencies.

Ms. Edmonds and several other prominent whistleblowers and experts, will speak at a press conference. A news release for the event is available onMs. Edmonds' website, justacitizen.com.

DOD announces "new" whistleblower protections

In an April 19 newswire, the Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General's office announced the availability of "bolstered protections" for servicemembers and federal civilian employees who qualify as whistleblowers.

The Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) protects federal employees from all adverse personnel actions, from minor to severe. For years, however, most WPA protections have been denied by the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Thus, it is jarring to read the DOD claim that, "New policies adopted by the Defense Department on Jan. 7 broaden those protections even further. Whistleblower security clearances will be protected, and the "new" provisions also cover civilians in DOD's intelligence community.

The DOD news release tries to put a happy face on a controversial plan to conduct its own review of whistleblower cases rather than subject cases to external review. In fact, the DOD proposal has an inherent conflict of interest that has been criticized by members of Congress. While an alternative to the current situation is needed, this kind of fix will not ensure that whistleblowers and national security are protected. Instead, it may place both in greater peril.

Reporters banned from whistleblower hearing

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, notorious for failing to protect whistleblowers, has imposed a cloak of secrecy on a hearing in the case of Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator of wiretaps for the government's investigation of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Edmonds was fired after alleging misconduct at the FBI linguistics office, and subsequently filed suit in federal court.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reports that appellate briefs in the case "were not filed under seal and apparently neither side had asked for the arguments to be closed." A coalition of 13 media outlets, immediately filed a motion to open the oral arguments to the public, but the court refused to open the arguments or hold a hearing on the subject, and provided no explanation for the decision.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has a long history of decisions favoring the government, and the status quo, in dozens of whistleblower cases presented to it. Knowing this, federal agencies have continued their war on employees who report national security vulnerabilities and other abuses. The safety of all Americans is further undermined when civil servants, aware of the Court's failure to protect whistleblowers, remain silent rather than report mismanagement of homeland security programs.

FBI threatens firing of counterterror critic

Another national security whistleblower is under attack, this time at the FBI's counterrorism command office in Washington, D.C. The Washington Post reports (April 22) that veteran agent Robert Wright was placed on suspension last Thursday, pending termination of his federal employment in 30 days. According to the Post, Wright is to be dismissed, in part, for "publicly discussing sensitive FBI matters in 2003," when he criticized the FBI's counterterrorism work.

On June 19, 2003, CNN reported that the FBI secretly launched an investigation of Wright one week after he participated in a press conference at the National Press Club, a move that led Senators Charles Grassley and Patrick Leahy to write a scathing letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller. The FBI has banned Wright from publishing a manuscript on the inevitability of the September 11 attacks, wrote CNN.

The attack on Wright and other conscientious national security experts demonstrates, once again, the need for strong, effective federal whistleblower protections. It has been nearly four years since the 2001 terrorist attacks. What is Congress waiting for?