Politico: Hillary Clinton Faults Snowden for Fleeing
Last week, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made several questionable remarks and claims about NSA whistleblower and GAP client Edward Snowden. Clinton proclaimed that she was “puzzled” by Snowden’s actions “because [the U.S. has] all these protections for whistleblowers,” and that she questioned his extended stay in Russia.
The same article rightly corrects some of Clinton’s assertions, as Snowden’s supporters relayed that the whistleblower “could not have availed himself of whistleblower protections because he was not a government employee (he worked for contractor Booz Allen) and his claims would not have been viewed as exposing any impropriety because authorities in all three branches of government had blessed the NSA telephone program as legal.” Furthermore, the assertion that Snowden deliberately chose to stay in Russia is false, as the U.S. revoked his passport, meaning he was unable to travel to other countries.
Related Article: FireDogLake
We’re Listening to USDA Poultry Whistleblowers. Petition Secretary Vilsack to do the Same!
GAP’s Food Integrity Campaign lists numerous concerns USDA inspectors have voiced regarding the agency’s poultry inspection plan, the latest being the excess use of chemicals that has made workers sick. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has failed to acknowledge these concerns while whistleblowers continue to speak up on behalf of the public. GAP has launched a TakePart petition urging Vilsack to heed these concerns and withdraw the plan.
Washington Times: Probe Looks at Marine Higher-Ups Suspected in Retaliation Against Whistleblower
The Pentagon Inspector General is investigating a whistleblower’s claim that Marine Corps General James Amos asserted “unlawful command influence” in trying to “dictate punishment in the cases of Marines charged with wrongdoing in a video of snipers urinating on Taliban corpses in July 2011 in Afghanistan.”
Oregonian: Clackamas County Fires Executive Mike Kuenzi, Who Wrongfully Dismissed Whistleblower
After a fraud examiner’s investigation substantiated problems identified by a former public employee in Oregon’s Clackamas County, the County Administrator fired the official who retaliated against the whistleblower. Daniel Henninger was wrongfully discharged after he raised concerns that his boss awarded contracts without competitive bidding, split contracts to avoid board oversight, and misrepresented a $300,000 expenditure. His attorney released a statement asserting “there should be no surprise the county fires a manager who broke the [whistleblower] law,” which “is intended to encourage public employees to come forward when they see misuse of public funds.”
Sarah Damian is New Media Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.