How the Obama Administration Destroyed Thomas Drake For Exposing Government Waste

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/war-whistleblowers-how-obama-administration-destroyed-thomas-drake-exposing

When Thomas Drake, then an official at the National Security Agency, realized that the agency’s decision to shut down an internal data analysis program and instead outsource the project to a private contractor provided the government with less effective analysis at much higher cost, he tried to do something about it. Drake’s decision to join three other whistleblowers in asking the agency’s inspector general to investigate ultimately made him the target of a leak investigation that tore his life apart.

In 2005, the inspector general of the Department of Defense, of which NSA is a part, confirmed the whistleblowers’ accusations of waste, fraud and security risk.

Earlier this year, former NSA Director Michael Hayden even conceded that TrailBlazer, the program for which the NSA paid over $1 billion to the Science Applications International Corporation, had failed. The agency, after killing its own program (called ThinThread) “outsourced how we gathered other people’s communications,” he said in response to a question from investigative journalist Tim Shorrock. “And that was a bridge too far for industry. We tried a moonshot, and it failed.”

Nevertheless, Drake’s efforts to expose that waste and abuse would ultimately lead to his being charged under the 1917 Espionage Act -- a law intended for the prosecution of spies, not whistleblowers.

[newfie11]

1. +1. nt

[idwiyo]

2. K&R

[forestpath]

3. K&R

[cantbeserious]

4. Eric Holder - Possibly The Worst AG In American History

eom

[UnrepentantLiberal]

5. Except that Eric Holder isn't calling the shots.

His boss is.

[peace13]

7. As my son told the doctor when he was seven and faced with getting a shot...

'she can still say no'! People in position of power can still say no. Yes he may lose his job but hey, now he can wave bye bye to his soul. I don't know what Obama's excuse will be!

[peace13]

6. Gonzos part in the Iraq massacre .....he gets my number one.

Holder comes in with a tie but defaults to second because of the people he hasn't killed or maimed.....yet!

[rhett o rick]

8. I will be interested to hear what our "centristist" friends have to say.

How they will rationalize this away. They seem to hate whistle-blowers. I guess it upsets their reality/denial bubbles.

[xchrom]

10. they will, predictably, love whistle blowers once a repuke is in office again. nt

[rhett o rick]

11. Yes, they have simplified their lives. They should read Milton Mayer's, "They Thought They Were

Free."

For some, rationalization is the key to happiness.

[byeya]

13. A big "++" to you for mentioning Milton Mayer!

[sabrina 1]

18. They used to read it, airc. But Bush was president then.

[rhett o rick]

22. Actually I wont get to hear what they say, I decided I had enough of their unbridled adoration

that I put the worst on ignore. They seem to be trying to make GD into another Barack Obama Group.

We have to get a progressive candidate for 2016.

[emsimon33]

26. Amen!

[HiPointDem]

9. kr.

[Hotler]

12. Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!....

Come on everybody, sing with me. Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!....

[n2doc]

14. Drake must be a Republican!

He must be one of those "Bush Plants" we hear about! No way The Most Progressive President In History(tm) could be wrong!

if it isn't abundantly evident....

[zeemike]

15. A BILLION dollar contract for nothing.

It is really enlightening to read about these companies and easy to see the gross corruption they represent...

Science Applications International Corporation, also known as SAIC, is an American defense company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia that provides scientific, engineering, systems integration, and technical services and solutions. SAIC works extensively with the United States Department of Defense, the United States Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Intelligence Community, including the National Security Agency, as well as other U.S. government civil agencies and selected commercial markets...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIC_(U.S._company)

[sabrina 1]

19. I remember SAIC. I read about it here during the Bush years. It's coming back to me now.

And from what I remember, it's not good.

[zeemike]

20. And is run by retired military generals.

So you know they are going to get the contract.
It is right out in the open corruption...they don't care who knows it...nothing will change.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, xchrom.

[ProSense]

17. I love how this

The investigation that would ensnare Drake began in 2006, under the Bush administration. But he wasn’t charged until 2010, when the Obama administration accused him of providing information to Baltimore Sun reporter Siobhan Gorman...Rather than charging him with leaking classified information, the government charged him with retaining classified information...In 2011, the government dismissed all espionage-related charges against Drake, and he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge: unauthorized use of a government computer. The judge in the case, Richard Bennett, said the case against Drake “doesn’t pass the smell test,” when he sentenced him to probation. Today Drake works at an Apple retail store rather than serving the country in a high-level national security role.

...piece glosses over the Bush administration's involvement. The piece should be titled, "How the Bush Administration Destroyed Thomas Drake."

<...>

In July 2007, armed FBI agents raided the homes of Roark, Binney, and Wiebe, the same people who had filed the complaint with the DoD Inspector General in 2002.[26] Binney claims they pointed guns at his wife and himself. Wiebe said it reminded him of the Soviet Union.[21] None of these people were charged with any crimes. In November 2007, there was a raid on Drake's residence. His computers, documents, and books were confiscated. He was never charged with giving any sensitive information to anyone; the charge actually brought against him is for 'retaining' information (18 U.S.C. § 793(e)).[20] The FBI tried to get Roark to testify against Drake; she refused.[21] Reporter Gorman was not contacted by the FBI.[15][22]

<...>

In April 2010, Drake was indicted by a Baltimore, Maryland, grand jury on the following charges:[4][5][6][8]

<...>

In early June, shortly after the May 22, 2011 6:00 pm broadcast of a 60 Minutes episode on the Drake case, the government dropped all of the charges against Drake and agreed not to seek any jail time in return for Drake's agreement to plead guilty to a misdemeanor of misusing the agency’s computer system. Drake was sentenced to one year of probation and community service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Andrews_Drake

[zeemike]

21. The Bush is long gone

But the pain lingers on.
But who cares?...the party won...that is all that matters.

[librechik]

23. more despicable behavior from the US Justice Department--

being selectively ineffective assholes for decades.

[woo me with science]

24. More and more disturbing.

More and more chilling.

Had enough yet, America?

[rhett o rick]

27. Much of America does know what's going on. Part of America loves the "bully" govment.

I am not going to give up, but I honestly believe there isnt much hope. I cant see a scenario were the American people collectively come to their senses. And even if they do, what options are really available?

[progressoid]

25. Marking this for a later read.

[Octafish]

28. Drake was on Amy Goodman...

http://m.democracynow.org/stories/12654

[LondonReign2]

29. knr