FireDogLake: Congressman Criticizes ‘Selective Prosecution’ of CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou, Calls for Pardon
This week, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) asked President Obama to pardon CIA whistleblower and GAP client John Kiriakou, the first member of the CIA to publicly acknowledge that torture was official U.S. policy under President George W. Bush’s administration. Rep. Moran acknowledged that Kiriakou was a whistleblower and said “the real issue here is the extremely selective prosecution of John and the ongoing efforts to intimidate him from talking about our intelligence community’s misfires.” Read GAP’s press release for more details.
Key Quote: Jesselyn Radack, who is the Government Accountability Project’s National Security and Human Rights Director and Kiriakou’s attorney, has said, “John Kiriakou is the only CIA officer to go to prison in connection with the George W. Bush-era illegal torture program, and Kiriakou refused to participate in torture and helped expose it publicly.”
“If John Kiriakou had tortured detainees instead of blowing the whistle on torture, he would be free. The President should do everything in his power to correct such a perverse outcome.”
Taxpayer Protection Groups Urge Restoration of Grassley’s “Anti-Gag” Rights
GAP, along with taxpayer protection and good government groups, sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee urging restoration of Senator Charles Grassley’s (R-Iowa) “anti-gag” rider as part of the upcoming appropriations bill. The provision, which was removed from last year’s appropriations law, provides clarification that whistleblower protection laws supersede nondisclosure restrictions and outlaws spending on agency nondisclosure policies that do not include the rights in whistleblower statutes.
Multichannel News: Senate Punts USA Freedom Vote
The Senate voted this week not to consider the USA Freedom Act, a modest step toward reforming one of NSA’s mass surveillance programs. GAP released a statement expressing disappointment with the vote.
Key Quote: The bill revamps the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks about government bulk info collection from communications providers.
…
Not surprisingly, the Government Accountability Project, one of whose clients is Snowden, was not pleased.
“The Senate’s inability to pass even one moderate reform a year and a half after GAP client Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing revelations about the NSA’s illegal warrantless surveillance programs shows a shameful dereliction of duty by our elected representatives,” said GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack.
Greenwire: Hanford Whistleblower Probe Stalled Early On – Memo
In a memo obtained by Greenwire under the Freedom of Information Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General details the resistance he met from Hanford nuclear waste site contractors to give interviews regarding the IG’s investigation of whistleblower and GAP client Donna Busche’s termination. The contractors eventually granted the interviews but withheld thousands of requested documents, preventing DOE from making a judgement on Busche’s case. She was fired in February after she raised significant safety issues concerning the design and operation of Hanford’s nuclear waste treatment plant.
Meanwhile, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson plans to sue DOE over the longstanding failure to protect workers from toxic chemicals at the Hanford site.
Key Quote: “It seems to me that if we were party to a contract where we were being paid millions and millions of dollars, we would respond promptly to any concerns,” said Richard Condit, senior counsel for the Government Accountability Project and one of the lawyers representing Busche.
“These two contractors don’t seem to have any regard for those obligations at all,” Condit said. “That’s very troubling from a transparency standpoint, from a taxpayer standpoint.”
The Guardian: Are Financial Whistleblowers Worth It? Study Says Yes – to the Tune of $21.27bn
A new study finds that financial whistleblowers helped the U.S. government secure $21.27 billion more in fines over 35 years. The article highlights discussion at GAP’s recent American Whistleblower Tour stop at Baruch College, featuring Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins and whistleblower advocate experts.
Key Quote: For most whistleblowers, money is not the driving factor, said Louis Clark, president of the Government Accountability Project. Whistleblowers are usually hardworking people with high standards who believe in the institution they work for.
“Cynical people tend not to whistleblow,” he said.
Daily Nation: Somalia – Victim of Foreign Aid and Conspiracy
This article reviews the book “War Crimes: How Warlords, Politicians, Foreign Governments and Aid Agencies Conspired to Create a Failed State in Somalia” by former GAP client Rasna Warah. The book explores how foreign aid in Somalia rarely reaches those in need and includes an interview with Somali whistleblower Abdirizak Fartaag, the former head of Somalia’s Public Finance Management Unit.
Key Quote: In one instance, Warah interviewed a Somali Whistleblower Abdirizak Fartaag, a former head of Public Finance Management Unit, who narrated how senior politicians in former President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed often diverted donor funds from the Central Bank to their own use.