Several recent incidents make it clear DOD’s Inspector General should not be the one to investigate claims that top officials are politicizing the intelligence on the fight against ISIS.
Obama Assures Japan’s Abe We Don’t Spy on Trade Discussions As They Discuss Trade
August 28, 2015
President Obama called Shinzo Abe to apologize for spying on Japanese Ministers’ discussions about trade deals and climate change at the same time as reiterating plans to work together on trade deals and climate change.
Declaring Chelsea Manning’s Voice against Torture Contraband
August 17, 2015
Among the items Chelsea Manning faces indefinite solitary confinement for reading was the Senate Torture Report.
The Pentagon and the Papers
August 12, 2015
The New York Times has focused on DOD’s embrace of censorship generally. But less attention has been given to the Air Force’s instructions on how to censor pictures of classified materials available (because of an accident or other incident) off a base.
How a Recent Department of Justice Decision May Harm Whistleblower Protections
August 6, 2015
A recent OLC decision that limited how much information DOJ has to share with its Inspector General may also limit whistleblower protections.
The Sixth Circuit Upholds Journalist’s Right to Invoke the Fifth Amendment
August 3, 2015
The Sixth Circuit just ruled that Journalist David Ashenfelter may refuse to testify by invoking the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
Roll Call Embarrasses Congress into Considering Whistleblower Protections for Its Staff
July 31, 2015
When asked why they were declaring Whistleblower Appreciation Day before extending whistleblower protections to congressional employees, a number of prominent Senators agreed they should provide those protections.
Is the Intelligence Community Inspector General Trying to Give Contractors Whistleblower Protections?
July 30, 2015
One of the first intelligence community whistleblowers to get an appeal under a new process, John Reidy, raises many of the core issues with intelligence whistleblowers.
In Political Press, Hillary Clinton Gets Subjected to the Thomas Drake and Jeffrey Sterling Standard
July 24, 2015
The political press is attacking Hillary Clinton using the same standards of retroactive classification DOJ used against whistleblowers Thomas Drake and Jeffrey Sterling.
The 702 Capitulations: a Real Measure of the “Deep State”
There were two details of the Section 702 reauthorization in the House that deserve more attention, as the Senate prepares for a cloture vote today at 5:30.
First, in the Rules Committee hearing for the bill, Ranking House Judiciary Committee member Jerry Nadler revealed that the FBI stopped engaging with his staffers when the two sides reached a point on negotiations over the bill beyond which they refused to budge.