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Drake's First TV Appearance Since Sentencing: "Yes, I Would Do It Again."

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by Jesselyn Radack on August 12, 2011 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 )

National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Thomas Drake appeared with me on Russian Television's The Alyona Show yesterday, his first TV appearance since the Espionage Act case against him completely imploded days before trial and the Judge slammed the Justice Department at sentencing.


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Former Classification Czar: Information Drake Accused of Retaining Never Should Have Been Classified

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by Jesselyn Radack on August 10, 2011 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 )

J. William Leonard served in the George W. Bush administration as classification czar (head of the Information Security and Oversight Office). He worked with NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake's defense team as an expert on classification. He writes in today's L.A. Times that

. . . in my opinion, the classified information Drake was charged with having possessed illegally . . . never should have been classified in the first place.

The e-mail Leonard refers to is one of the allegedly classified documents Drake was accused of retaining at home – a charge that was dropped along with the rest of the felony charges when the prosecution's case imploded days before trial.

Leonard says:

Having served as an expert witness for Drake's defense, I have read the email in question, and it clearly does not meet even the minimal criteria for classification, namely that it "reasonably could be expected to result in damage to the national security."
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Seventh Circuit Rules Rumsfeld Can Be Held Liable for Torture of U.S. Citizens in War Zones

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by Dylan Blaylock on August 08, 2011 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 )

GAP, POGO, SPJ Filed Amicus in Support of Citizen Whistleblowers Who Were Contractors in IraqTortureSlide2

(Washington, D.C.) -- Earlier today, the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, in the case Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel v. Donald Rumsfeld and The United States of America, ruled that two American citizens (both contractors who were wrongfully detained and subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques" by American military officers) can continue with their lawsuit holding former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld personally responsible for their alleged torture.

The Court agreed with several rulings of a lower court regarding the case. Specifically, the Seventh Circuit found that Vance and Ertel "alleged in sufficient detail facts supporting Secretary Rumsfeld's personal responsibility for the alleged torture," "that Secretary Rumsfeld is not entitled to qualified immunity on the pleadings," and that "a Bivens remedy is available for the alleged torture of civilian U.S. citizens by U.S. military personnel in a war zone." (Bivens remedies allow for citizens to sue for damages for constitutional violations committed by federal agents.)

The full opinion by the Seventh Circuit can be read here.

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Thank You, Federal Court! Judge Decides Torture Suit by GAP Client Against Donald Rumsfeld Should Go Forward

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by Dylan Blaylock on August 04, 2011 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 )

TortureSuitSlideOn Tuesday, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the validity of a constitutional rights claim against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for his role in the torturing and illegal imprisonment of a U.S. citizen who was working as a translator in Iraq.

This was a good decision. Released publicly yesterday morning, the case, John Doe v. Donald Rumsfeld, et al, (No. 08-cv-1902 CKK), is available here.

Out of many suits brought against Rumsfeld over the torture of detainees in Iraq, this is only the second case that has been allowed to proceed. GAP is co-counsel in this suit, along with Chicago-based civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy.

The other case that is proceeding against Rumsfled, by the way? Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel v. Donald Rumsfeld, et al (06 C 6964). Those in the whistleblower community might remember Vance as the winner of the prestigious Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize back in 2007, which is really one of the highest national honors a whistleblower can receive. Last year, a federal court in Chicago held in Vance that two American citizens who were also tortured while detained by U.S. forces in Iraq could bring constitutional claims against Rumsfeld. That decision is currently on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. A decision is expected soon.

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Drake's First Op-Ed Since Sentencing, When The Judge Slammed The Justice Department

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by Jesselyn Radack on August 01, 2011 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 )

JessTomI know we are all supposed to be writing about the debt ceiling deal, but today's Philadelphia Inquirer published a joint op-ed by myself and NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, his first public writing since pleading guilty to a minor misdemeanor after the Justice Department's Espionage Act case against him unraveled in spectacular fashion days before trial.  

Drake and I wrote:

The Espionage Act was meant to help the government go after spies, not whistle-blowers. Using it to silence public servants who reveal government malfeasance is chilling at best and tyrannical at worst.

This administration's attack on national-security whistle-blowers expands Bush's secrecy regime and cripples the free press by silencing its most important sources. It's a recipe for the slow poisoning of a democracy.

Drake was sentenced to one year of probation and community service on July 15th after pleading guilty to a minor misdemeanor (misuse of a government computer), a far cry from the 35 years he was facing under the Justice Department's original charges. Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News obtained a transcript of the sentencing hearing, and summarized Judge Bennett's choice words for the Justice Department's handling of the case:

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Tom Drake Post-Sentencing Statement

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by Dylan Blaylock on July 20, 2011 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 )

The following statement was made to the press by GAP client and National Security Agency whistleblower Thomas Drake on July 15, 2011, after he was sentenced to one year of probation and 240 hours of community service for his role in exposing gross wrongdoing and waste at the agency. A video clip from The Baltimore Sun is available here, which also features further comments by Drake, GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack, and protesters.

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Today provides real closure for the ordeal I have endured from the indictment of April 2010 and the investigation of the past 5-plus years. The stakes could not have been higher, since I was originally charged by the government with a total of 10 felony counts that I never committed. Today's fair and appropriate sentence for a minor misdemeanor demonstrates that justice did prevail in the end, because truth does matter.

It is always a David vs. Goliath struggle when you are up against the government.

This outcome was not possible without the truly superb criminal defense attorneys who have so ably represented me these past 15 months. I am also most grateful that the Government Accountability Project -- provided crucial whistleblower advocacy and media outreach support during this time, while also serving as my voice when I did not have one. I am worried that the next target of such a witch-hunt will not be as fortunate.

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Judge Has Choice Words for Justice Department's Prosecution of Drake

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by Jesselyn Radack on July 18, 2011 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 )

TomDrakeJess
NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake standing with GAP's Jesselyn Radack after the trial. Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Sun.

I went to the sentencing of former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake, who was charged with 10 felony counts and faced 35 years in prison for allegedly retaining allegedly classified information.

The case extravagantly collapsed as Drake pleaded guilty to a minor misdemeanor of "Exceeding Authorized Use of a Computer" and received a sentence of no jail time and no fine.

Besides the flop of the Obama administration's centerpiece "leak" prosecution, what really stood out to me were the strong words of Judge Richard Bennett, who called the government's handling of the case "unconscionable."

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