Wired: Snowden – I Left the NSA Clues, But They Couldn’t Find Them
Additional coverage of Edward Snowden’s recent interview published in Wired. This piece explains how the GAP client and NSA whistleblower left hints on networks to show exactly which documents he copied. Snowden states that these hints should have allowed the agency to avoid national security risks created by a public release. GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack is quoted in the piece.
Key Quote: The repetition of the 1.7 million number by political figures and the press is at least partly intended to mischaracterize Snowden’s intentions, argues his lawyer Jesselyn Radack, who is also national security director for the whistleblower-focused Government Accountability Project. “I think they probably didn’t spot the bread crumbs,” she says of the NSA’s investigators. “Even if they did get them, I think this [1.7 million] number is manufactured out of whole cloth to give the impression of a wholesale data dump. In fact, Ed very carefully selected exactly what he wanted to turn over and why.”
When WIRED asked an NSA spokesperson to comment on Snowden’s new claims or its internal estimate of the size of his leak, spokesperson Vanee Vines responded with this statement: “If Mr. Snowden wants to discuss his activities, that conversation should be held with the U.S. Department of Justice. He needs to return to the United States to face the charges against him.”
GAP’s Radack also spoke at a press conference yesterday at the National Press Club. The event looked at the Obama administration’s efforts to force journalist James Risen to disclose a confidential source. Radack explained the threats against Risen jeopardize the relationship between whistleblowers and journalists, which is essential to keep government agencies accountable and the public informed.
USA Today: Whistleblower Calls 7 Fatal Border Shootings ‘Suspect’
A whistleblower has filed a retaliation complaint with the Office of Special Counsel after being reassigned, allegedly for raising concerns that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials tried to alter the details of at least seven fatal shootings by border agents.
Business Week: United Technologies Overbilled U.S., Whistleblower Says
According to a recently unsealed False Claims Act, a whistleblower from Derco Aerospace alleges the company overbilled the Navy by $50 million.
Fresno Bee: California Lawmakers Kill Bills on Condoms, Pot and Whistleblower Protections
The Californian legislature killed a bill that would have established an outlet for employees of the legislative body to anonymously raise ethics concerns.
Michael Riley is a Communications Intern for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.