ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper (middle) grills WH Press Secretary on whistleblower charges.Yahoo News: Jay Carney and Jake Tapper Clash over ‘Aggressive’ Reporting
Summary: On Wednesday, ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper grilled White House Press Secretary Jay Carney about the administration’s hypocrisy in lauding “aggressive” journalism abroad, but stifling it here at home through its overzealous prosecution of whistleblowers under the Espionage Act.
GAP’s Jesselyn Radack looked at this event in a blog post this morning.
Baltimore Sun: Bradley Manning Charged in WikiLeaks Case
Summary: Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of giving classified information to WikiLeaks, was formally charged on 22 counts yesterday at his court martial in Fort Meade, Maryland. Manning faces a life sentence if convicted. His defense has deferred entering a plea, but is pushing for the trial to start in June.
Related Article: ABC News (Australia)
Orange County Register (CA): ‘Threat of an IED Being Detonated Aboard an Aircraft is Very Real’
Summary: The House Subcommittee on Transportation Security held a hearing last week on the role of the Federal Air Marshal Service post-9/11. This hearing comes in the wake of an Inspector General report vindicating a number of whistleblower complaints alleging discrimination and retaliation in the service.
Key Quote: MacLean is appealing a ruling against him made by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. While he seems to have some harsh critics (who show up in the comments section below each time we update his case), he has many supporters as well. TheGovernment Accountability Project and the Project On Government Oversight have begun citizen petitions on his behalf.
“We’re working hard to challenge the Board decision both in court and through the pending Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act legislation, because the stakes could not be higher,” GAP legal director Tom Devine told us by email.
Summary: A recent report vindicated a UK hospital whistleblower who alleged that his bosses created a culture of secrecy that led to patients dying. The report shows that more than 50 serious incidents were covered up – 20 of them deaths.
Food Safety News: Another Lawsuit Filed Against Jimmy John's
Summary: Two women sickened with E. coli have filed separate lawsuits this week against Jimmy John's, alleging that the sandwich chain's clover sprouts caused them to get sick in a multi-state outbreak. According to one complaint, the chain's raw sprouts have caused four previous E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks, with the latest event moving the company to permanently remove them from the menu.
GAP's Food Integrity Campaign blogged last week about alleged retaliation of Jimmy John's franchise owners against six employees who organized for sick days.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
