Eric Holder has dropped charges against whistleblower Thomas Tamm.

[EFerrari]

In case you don't remember who he is, Thomas Tamm is the Justice Department attorney who blew the whistle on Bush's illegal NSA wiretapping. He contacted the New York Times and they held the story for a about a year, until after Bush was re-elected.

In return for this service to the American public, Tamm had his career ruined, he is in financial trouble, his family was subjected to an FBI raid in the middle of the night, all kind of property was seized, and his future was hanging in the balance for years.

Here is an article Joe Conason wrote about a year ago:

Friday, Apr 17, 2009 06:39 ET
A whistle-blower who needs Obama and Holder's protection

Thomas Tamm exposed the Bush administration's illegal domestic surveillance. Why is the government still holding a criminal indictment over his head?
By Joe Conason

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joe_conason/2009/04/17/whistleblower/

Here is the interview Tamm did this morning with Amy:

DOJ Drops Probe of Whistleblower Who Exposed Bush-Era Domestic Spying, Thomas Tamm: "The Bottom Line Is I Don’t Think I Ever Broke the Law"

In a national broadcast exclusive, we speak with Thomas Tamm, the former U.S. Justice Department attorney who helped expose the Bush administration’s domestic warrantless eavesdropping program that intercepted private email messages and phone calls of U.S. residents without a court warrant. On Tuesday, news broke that the Justice Department dropped its long-running criminal investigation of Tamm. The relatively quiet end to the investigation into Tamm’s warrantless wiretapping leak marks a sharp contrast to the controversy his information generated during the second half of the Bush administration about whether the government had overstepped its legal authority in response to the 9/11 terror attacks.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/28/doj_drops_probe_of_whistleblower_who

In 2009, The Nation Institute awarded Tamm the Ridenhour Truthtelling Prize. Here is his acceptance speech:

http://www.ridenhour.org/recipients_03g.shtml

Eric Holder did the right thing and he deserves credit for this one.

I respect Thomas Tamm more than I can say. I wish we could do something for him and his family.

[polichick]

1. Good decision - now he should go after war and Wall Street criminals.

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[sabrina 1]

3. That is very good news. I hope he can retrieve some of what he

lost and it is people like this who should be awarded medals, NOT torturers like Gen. Sanchez.

[EFerrari]

8. I just figured out that Tamm's lawyer, Paul F Kemp,

was also Bruce Ivins' lawyer.

I wonder if he's on a list somewhere for "representation for people stalked by BushCo". :)

[sabrina 1]

9. Interesting. I wonder if he's still involved in Bruce Ivins

case? I just saw an article recently that says Ivins may have been wrongfully targeted but I don't know if that would mean a new investigation, and/or a vidication of the man who many believed was scape-goated.

[EFerrari]

11. He probably still has the folder.

But the Ivins family wanted nothing but quiet after Dr. Ivins died. His death was the culmination of over a year of being stalked by the FBI, who parked their cars in front of their home and even rented the house next door.

[bobthedrummer]

4. K&R n/t

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. Tamm knew it was going to be dropped for several months now

I can only imagine how much more relaxed he must have been since he received that call from his attorney. Believing you're in the right and having a Federal probe dropped are two different things after all. I'm pleased the right thing was done in this instance. No matter what the reason may be.

[EFerrari]

6. I read that he comes from a family that has served in the DOJ.

He seems depressed about his career.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Who wouldn't be?

Your lifetime goals and achievements are there one day and then gone the next. He's smart, though. He will eventually restructure and refocus his life. It's just a shame he has to because of this.

According to some he's a fortunate man. A theory I don't share for many reasons, but those who say it have their own reasons. It's whispered if not for the fact that what he exposed was itself a crime worse than any which could have been brought against him, he'd have already been charged and be awaiting a trial date.

[DirkGently]

7. Credit where credit's due. More of this, please, Mr. Holder.

[Wilms]

12. Agreed. n/t

[malaise]

13. Great news

Rec

[mountainlion55]

14. Good news

Now if he would just leave us medical Cannabis users in Cali the fuck alone!:hippie: