RT America: Whistleblowers Improvement Act to Weaken Whistleblowers’ Rights?
Summary: GAP’s National Security & Human Rights Counsel Kathleen McClellan discusses the Obama administration’s six Espionage Act prosecutions of whistleblowers (more than all other presidents combined), and legislation aimed at undermining federal whistleblower protections and rights.
Jane Mayer Receives Polk Award for Exposing Truth
Summary: Winners of the George Polk Awards in Journalism for 2011 were announced Sunday. Among the recipients is The New Yorker's Jane Mayer for her piece on GAP client/ NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake.
Key Quote: The award for magazine reporting went to Jane Mayer of The New Yorker for an article about Thomas A. Drake, a former official of the National Security Agency who had been charged with espionage in a highly publicized leak prosecution. The Polk judges called Ms. Mayer’s article “a study in prosecutorial excess that helped lead to all major charges against Drake being dropped.”
PBS Newshour: Lt. Col Daniel Davis – Commanders Sending False Impressions of Afghan War
Summary: Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis appeared on PBS Newshour to talk about blowing the whistle on top military officials misleading members of Congress and the American people about the situation in Afghanistan.
Tri-City Herald (WA): DOE Wants Whistleblower Lawsuit Dismissed
Summary: The US Department of Energy is asking that a whistleblower suit filed by Walt Tamosaitis – a former Hanford nuclear site Research Manager who raised a number of safety concerns – be dismissed. The suit alleges that the DOE and its contractor URS had Tamosaitis reassigned for raising concerns.
American Whistleblower Tour Coming to Rutgers-Newark
Summary: GAP’s American Whistleblower Tour will stop at Rutgers-Newark tomorrow. This stop features prominent whistleblowers Dr. Susan Wood (FDA/”Plan B”), Cathy Harris (US Customs), and Kenneth Kendrick (peanut butter/Salmonella scandal). GAP's Tour is a dynamic campaign aimed at educating university students and the general public about the phenomenon and practice of whistleblowing.
Tainted Chicken Link to UTI Adds to Need for Better Oversight
Summary: Researchers have found a strong link between E. coli-tainted chicken and urinary tract infections. GAP's Food Integrity Campaign details the study's impact, including concerns that antibiotic-resistant E. coli have made infections more difficult to treat.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
