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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNSA whistle-blower: Obama “worse than Bush”
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/07/nsa_whistle_blower_obama_worse_than_bush/
Wednesday, Mar 7, 2012 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Thomas Drake, the whistle-blower whom the Obama administration tried and failed to prosecute for leaking information about waste, fraud and abuse at the National Security Agency, now works at an Apple store in Maryland. In an interview with Salon, Drake laughed about the time he confronted Attorney General Eric Holder at his store while Holder perused the gadgetry on display with his security detail around him. When Drake started asking Holder questions about his case, Americas chief law enforcement officer turned and fled the store.
But the humor drained away quickly from Drakes thin and tired face as he recounted his ordeal since 2010 when federal prosecutors charged him with violating the Espionage Act for retaining classified information they believed he would pass on to then Baltimore Sun reporter Siobhan Gorman. While Drake never disclosed classified information, he did pass on unclassified information to Gorman revealing that the NSA had wasted billions of taxpayers dollars on Trailblazer (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0518-07.htm), a contractor-heavy intelligence software program that failed to find terrorist threats in the tsunami of digital data the agency was sucking up globally and sometimes unconstitutionally. While Trailblazer burned through cash, in the process enriching many NSA employees turned contractors, Drake found that another software program named ThinThread had already met the core requirements of a federal acquisition regulation that governed the proposed system at a sliver of the cost, all while protecting American civil liberties at the code level. The NSA leadership, however, had already bet their careers on Trailblazer. So Drake blew the whistle, first to Congress, then to the Department of Defense Inspector Generals Office, and finally, and fatefully, to Gorman.
Last June, the governments case collapsed. On the eve of trial, all 10 counts were dropped. In a Kafkaesque turn of events, Drake actually helped the government find a misdemeanor to charge him with exceeding authorized use of an NSA computer so federal prosecutors could save face. Once facing 35 years behind bars, Drake pled guilty to the misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to one year of probation and 240 hours of community service, what he sardonically calls his penance.
....
Salon interviewer: In the New Yorker article, Jane Mayer quotes you as saying, I actually had hopes for Obama. Whats your opinion on the Obama administrations stated support for whistle-blowers and, more generally, his counterterrorism record?
Worse than Bush. I have to say that. I actually voted for Obama. Its all rhetoric for me now. As Americans we were hoodwinked. Hes expanding the secrecy regime far beyond what the Bush even intended, interestingly enough. I think Bush is probably like, Whoa.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)solution: bring back the Bushies
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002438419
Considering that it was Bush who launched the raid on Drake, I'd say bullshit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Andrews_Drake#2007_FBI_raids
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)than yours'.
Obama didn't raid his office.
In fact, whistleblowers are seeing compensation under this administration.
Whistleblower facing foreclosure wins $18 million
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002426685
US Department of Labor finds Bank of America in violation of Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower protection provisions
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20111351.htm
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-making-whistleblower-advocates-nervous/2012/03/14/gIQAY2vrCS_story.html
By Joe Davidson, Published: March 14
Obama administration officials reject charges that they are trying to stop aggressive journalism in the United States by using the Espionage Act to take whistleblowers to court, as ABC News reporter Jake Tapper put it last month.
Yet, Tappers question during a White House briefing drew national attention to a growing sense of unease among whistleblower and good-government types who feel President Obama isnt fully living up to his billing, despite welcomed appointments to whistleblower-protection agencies.
snip
To the consternation over the Espionage Act prosecutions, add the Food and Drug Administrations surveillance of employees private e-mail accounts and you have two high-profile reasons for whistleblower discontent.
Obamas Justice Department has sent a clear message of fear and intimidation by vigorously pursuing prosecutions of whistleblowers and so-called leakers, rather than the people whose misconduct was being disclosed, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)http://www.whistleblower.org/press/press-release-archive/2011/1506-gap-praises-white-house-commitment-to-whistleblowers
The story is always changing.
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)GAP has had a change of heart concerning Obama's alleged promise to protect government whistleblowers. Try to keep up.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)"GAP has had a change of heart concerning Obama's alleged promise to protect government whistleblowers. Try to keep up."
The Drake plea was months before that release prasing the administration. What changed?
noise
(2,392 posts)That is the only explanation that makes sense.
Or maybe they found evidence that Drake was in league with al Qaeda leadership?
All we know for sure is that critics of the Obama administration are either GOP or al Qaeda supporters.
money?
I don't think President Obama is worse than Bush. I doubt GAP would have even considered praising Bush. Do you?
noise
(2,392 posts)Makes sense to me.
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)GAP's Tom Devine says so clearly in the WP article, and his comments are highlighted on GAP's own blog:
Summary: Numerous whistleblower advocacy and good-government groups are concerned with the recent Obama administration attack on intelligence whistleblowers from the president who once promised the most transparent administration in history.
Key Quote: Its valid to distinguish between leakers and whistleblowers, said Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project, but the administration is prosecuting both.
Shouldn't be too hard to understand.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-making-whistleblower-advocates-nervous/2012/03/14/gIQAY2vrCS_story.html
Nothing in it suggests that Obama is "worse than Bush."
noise
(2,392 posts)Like skinny jeans. Or parachute pants.
Pretty sad.
tpsbmam
(3,927 posts)-snip-
Gabriel Schoenfeld, a conservative political scientist at the Hudson Institute, who, in his book Necessary Secrets (2010), argues for more stringent protection of classified information, says, Ironically, Obama has presided over the most draconian crackdown on leaks in our historyeven more so than Nixon.
-snip-
Jack Balkin, a liberal law professor at Yale, agrees that the increase in leak prosecutions is part of a larger transformation. We are witnessing the bipartisan normalization and legitimization of a national-surveillance state, he says. In his view, zealous leak prosecutions are consonant with other political shifts since 9/11: the emergence of a vast new security bureaucracy, in which at least two and a half million people hold confidential, secret, or top-secret clearances; huge expenditures on electronic monitoring, along with a reinterpretation of the law in order to sanction it; and corporate partnerships with the government that have transformed the counterterrorism industry into a powerful lobbying force. Obama, Balkin says, has systematically adopted policies consistent with the second term of the Bush Administration.
(Only his pursuit and prosecution of whistleblowers is more aggressive than Bush.)
-snip-
Which is a load of horse shit. The only "secrets" Drake was exposing were the illegal spying on Americans, ineptitude, graft & waste at NSA. He wasn't "aiding the enemy," he was protecting Americans who've been taken to the cleaners by the kind of crap he exposed and who've had their civil rights trashed by being spied on, which Obama wants to protect at all costs.
Friend to whistleblowers. Unbelievable. I'm amazed you're still able to surprise me with some of the stuff you come up with..
moodforaday
(1,860 posts)In fact, whistleblowers are seeing compensation under this administration.
Corporate whistleblowers, yes. National security whistleblowers, no.
Number of national security whistleblowers prosecuted under Bush: 0.
Number of national security whistleblowers prosecuted under Obama: at least 5 so far (according to Daniel Ellsberg)
Since 5 is greater than 0, then yes, Obama's DoJ is worse than Bush's in this respect. Not because Bush was more kind-hearted or anything, maybe he just didn't care. I doubt Bush even knew what/who a whistleblower is, that's one. Two, as far as leaking state secrets is concerned, there was that little matter of Joseph Wilson / Valerie Plame he had to cover up. And three, please correct me if I'm wrong, but his administration was so made up of psychopaths that I don't recall any whistleblowers coming out of there that he'd have to even consider going after.
But, 5 is greater than 0, except maybe during elections. Right?
moodforaday
(1,860 posts)Six whistleblowers prosecuted by Obama/Holder so far, not five. They are:
Thomas Drake (referenced in the OP)
Shamai Leibowitz (sentenced to 20 months in the slammer for leaking documents concerning possible Israeli strike against Iran. He didn't want Iran bombed, see.)
Bradley Manning (and don't forget was Obama is going to do to Julian Assange!)
Jeffrey Sterling (CIA, talked to NYT about "a botched U.S. operation to thwart Irans nuclear weapons program" - that's where CIA intended to give Iran fake blueprints but actually gave them real ones, folks!)
John Kiriakou (CIA, talked about torture and interrogation of detainees)
Thomas Tamm (talked about Bush's illegal wiretaps that Obama helped make legal)
Six. Still greater than zero.
And then there's Peter Van Buren, who published a book about the State Department wasting cubic tons of money Iraq, looks like he'll be fired for telling the truth. Not quite prosecution yet, but persecution all the same.
And then there's James Risen, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of "State of War". He was subpoenaed as the DoJ wanted to force him to reveal the name of his source. Again ths falls short of prosecution, but you can add intimidating reporters to the list.
Great job, overall!
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)vaberella
(24,634 posts)How is this allowed to be posted and continued to stay here? And to suggest the President is worse than Bush? Give me a break!!!
Hawkowl
(5,213 posts)No dissent allowed! Pull your head out of....
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)facts the way they do on Rightwing websites.
Is any of the information in the OP false? If so you are free to refute it. Banning it here won't keep it off the internet, but if it is false, it can be corrected.
The case mentioned in the OP was a case that never should have been brought against someone who did the right thing. The case fell apart completely, but not before a man's reputation was destroyed. That man's life and reputation and his family's are as important as any politician's. He has a right to be heard especially since he was so wronged.
Democrats generally oppose censorship and support Whistle-blowers. There is no way to improve this country by refusing to pay attention to what the government is doing.
Zalatix
(8,994 posts)People, thinking for themselves. The NERVE!!! Who gave you authorization to do that??
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)vaberella
(24,634 posts)Which is clearly false on it's face.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)yeah....
Response to vaberella (Reply #5)
moodforaday This message was self-deleted by its author.
_ed_
(1,734 posts)than just supporting a political personality. They'd rather deal honestly with their party's failings than just hide them under the rug like Republicans.
gulliver
(13,186 posts)...tries to confront Holder and "America's chief law enforcement officer turned and fled the store." That sentence discredits the article. Just sad.
Obama is worse than Bush? Well, ya know, Thomas Drake from the Apple Store says so, so...
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)whose decades-long NSA career was destroyed because he dared to blow the whistle on government fraud.
We can only assume that you did more than simply read the first sentence of the OP, and that of course you forgot to add the "sarcasm" tag to your post.
gulliver
(13,186 posts)...and throughout was able to suppress laughter at the kind of "audience" it impresses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Andrews_Drake
I guess I need some cough suppressant.
saras
(6,670 posts)Personally I think we need a whistleblower law that completely and utterly protects them, like a witness protection program, until the thing they reported is PUBLICLY investigated, and the PUBLIC, not some bunch of insiders, decides there wasn't any inappropriate secrecy.
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)but Obama's hard prosecution of whistleblowers such as Drake suggest he agrees with Bush on the matter. In Drake's case, for instance, Drake was the one uncovering the crime -- but he got prosecuted for doing so.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)but Obama's hard prosecution of whistleblowers such as Drake suggest he agrees with Bush on the matter. In Drake's case, for instance, Drake was the one uncovering the crime -- but he got prosecuted for doing so.
...not. Here's another Bush case that was dropped:
Justice Drops Probe Of Leaker Who Exposed Bush-Era Wiretapping
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/04/26/135735752/report-justice-drops-probe-of-leaker-who-exposed-bush-era-wiretapping
Logical
(22,457 posts)"Has there ever been a VALID complaint about Obama in your opinion? Serious question."
...he puts up with too much shit from Republicans and he should withdraw from Afghanistan immediately.
Now, is that supposed to make the claim that he's "worse than Bush" valid?
Logical
(22,457 posts)honesty on the answers. I agree with both.
lamp_shade
(14,836 posts)JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)Most of the recent outrage widgets seem old and recycled.
MadHound
(34,179 posts)But the sad fact of the matter, the larger issue in this is that for decades now, there has been a bipartisan effort to reduce civil rights in this country.
We should concentrate on reversing this course, no matter who is in office.
Logical
(22,457 posts)Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)SHREDDED like old newspaper by both US parties. The constitution ignored or subverted is being shredded even if it is in a vault collecting dust (on the cover that is, the real document is sealed from indignities such as dust)
judesedit
(4,439 posts)Wake up, America. This guy's pissed off at the government. So much for his vow. He got slapped on the wrist. If the NSA wasted money, it should be found out, but to act like all this is new is bs. That program started in the 90's and due to the easy hackability of internet communications, it had to be done. Obama is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He has had GOP opposition all the way since being elected by the majority of the people. The right has actually made it their main objective. Sorry, country, we're busy making $$$$ for ourselves. You think it's scary now? Vote republican and be scared to death. Talk about secrecy... You had better start researching what's been going on for 10 years now.
TheKentuckian
(25,026 posts)a2liberal
(1,524 posts)Brian the Lion
(1 post)He spoke up very clearly in support of habeas corpus and whistleblower protection during the campaign.
Given his record as a scholar and teacher of Constitutional law, I expected much better from him than what we've seen of late.
Vattel
(9,289 posts)that Bush sucked worse than Obama.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)"pathetic that the most defenders of Obama can say is that Bush sucked worse than Obama."
...is the "Obama is worse than Bush" silliness.
Vattel
(9,289 posts)But he hasn't done particularly well. The Drake case was shameful both for the Bush DOJ and the Obama DOJ. It's pathetic that someone who was so "pro-whistle-blower-protection" in his campaign appointed people to the DOJ that let that go forward.
DCBob
(24,689 posts)Even if it seems benign.
Its absurd to say Obama is worse than Bush. How soon some forget.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Telling the truth, exposing corruption.
girl gone mad
(20,634 posts)There is also a lot of what I call false flag arguments with Manning. It took incredible courage, incredible risk. He ended up listening to his conscience. All the other stuff you hear about is a red herring. All the other stuff is personal and its misdirection. Remember, the government uses the court of public opinion, just as much if not more so than whistle-blowers. The advantage they had, in my case, remember, I was way behind the 8-ball. In essence they already made like six moves in chess, before I could make a move at all. They already had the upper hand. They had the narrative. They had the charges. They had painted me as a traitor. That I had violated my oath. That I had betrayed my country.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Sid
Burma Jones
(11,760 posts)To say that Obama is worse than Bush (I or II) or worse than Clinton completely misses the point. The Private sector fleecing of the Taxpayer has been going strong since Uncle Ronnie started handing over Government to for-profit corporations. These corporations must have increasing profits to survive. When the Defense Budget is cut, the vast majority of the sums are reaped from reductions in Warfighter and Veterans' Benefits, with a weapons system or two thrown in for show.
Government employees are judged by the size of their shopping lists (budgets). The most powerful Government employee is the one with the biggest Credit Limit.
This is the Oligarchy flexing its muscle........and Obama is as powerless against the Oligarchy as any other individual.......