National Security Agency (NSA) Senior Executive Thomas Drake identified a massively wasteful and ineffective program that sacrificed security and privacy. Drake reported the program first using all proper internal channels (NSA, Congress, DoD IG), then later to a reporter in 2005. Prosecuted under the Espionage Act, he saw his case collapse by June 2011. Nonetheless, he was forced to mount a crushing legal battle for four years and his career was destroyed.
