The Intercept: Meet the Muslim-American Leaders the FBI and NSA Have Been Spying On
The latest media story based on documents from GAP client Edward Snowden details how the NSA and FBI secretly spied on prominent Muslim-Americans – who have no known history of connection to terrorism or wrongdoing whatsoever – for years. The five individuals profiled include an experienced Republican Party official and previous candidate for public office, a prominent attorney, two professors, and the leader of a Muslim-American civil rights group. It is unclear how such monitoring of citizens could be legal, as the rationale remains classified.
In the piece, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald also points out how the files passed on by Snowden show that “blatant prejudice against Muslim-Americans” by the government is present, as one target’s placeholder name is given as “Mohammed Raghead.”
Further, Greenwald relays that when Snowden turned over the spreadsheet of monitored emails to him, the whistleblower explained that he did so “because he wanted to give people subjected to electronic surveillance the opportunity to challenge the spying as unconstitutional. For years, the government has succeeded in having such challenges dismissed on the ground that the various plaintiffs lack standing to sue because they could not prove that they were personally targeted.”
GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack blogged this morning on the significance of the latest blockbuster, pointing out how she, as an attorney herself, is “particularly sensitive to the government’s targeting of attorneys based on their controversial clients.” Additionally, this morning Greenwald and fellow reporter Murtaza Hussain are holding a Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’on their new story.
Key Quote: The five Americans whose email accounts were monitored by the NSA and FBI have all led highly public, outwardly exemplary lives. All five vehemently deny any involvement in terrorism or espionage, and none advocates violent jihad or is known to have been implicated in any crime, despite years of intense scrutiny by the government and the press. Some have even climbed the ranks of the U.S. national security and foreign policy establishments.
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Given that the government’s justifications for subjecting Gill and the other U.S. citizens to surveillance remain classified, it is impossible to know why their emails were monitored, or the extent of the surveillance. It is also unclear under what legal authority it was conducted, whether the men were formally targeted under FISA warrants, and what, if anything, authorities found that permitted them to continue spying on the men for prolonged periods of time. But the five individuals share one thing in common: Like many if not most of the people listed in the NSA spreadsheet, they are of Muslim heritage.
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It is unclear whether the government obtained any legal permission to monitor the Americans on the list. The FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment for this story. During the course of multiple conversations with The Intercept, the NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence urged against publication of any surveillance targets. “Except in exceptional circumstances,” they argued, surveillance directly targeting Americans is conducted only with court-approved warrants. Last week, anonymous officials told another news outlet that the government did not have a FISA warrant against at least one of the individuals named here during the timeframe covered by the spreadsheet.
Boston Herald: VA Apologizes to Whistleblowers Facing Retaliation
At a Congressional hearing yesterday, a top official from the Department of Veterans Affairs apologized for the conduct of his agency in retaliating against whistleblowers. Prior to this, four VA employees testified for three hours about actions taken by VA staff to limit criticism and initiate reprisal against those speaking out. As of today, there are 67 claims of retaliation against employees who filed whistleblower complaints – including 25 since June 1.
Lawmakers at the hearing, held by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, publicly stated that they plan to introduce legislation – possibly as early as this week – that would better protect VA whistleblowers.
Related Article: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal
Miami Herald: Inmate’s Gassing Death Detailed in Florida DOC Whistleblower Complaint
A federal whistleblower complaint filed Monday against the Florida Department of Corrections alleges that the prison system allows for widespread corruption, brutality and sanctioned gang violence. The four investigators who filed the complaint claim that they were retaliated against when they tried to voice concerns.
Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.