Kiriakou writes: "I had lunch with an FBI agent last week. If you don't know
me, that's a highly unusual event. I hate the FBI."
John Kiriakou in the documentary Silenced. (photo: AFI Docs)
My Lunch With an FBI Whistleblower, Not Yet Out
By John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
11 April 16
I had lunch with an FBI agent last week. If you don't know me, that's a
highly unusual event. I hate the FBI. I hate what they've done to civil
liberties in the United States. I hate that they spy on peace activists,
civil libertarians, and people of color, all under the guise of "national
security." I hate the FBI's dirty history of COINTELPRO, of sending poison
pen letters to Martin Luther King Jr. to try to get him to commit suicide. I
hate that they tried to set me up on an espionage charge because they knew
that the case against me for blowing the whistle on the CIA's torture
program was weak. But I was intrigued.
The FBI agent in question told me that he had uncovered evidence of waste,
fraud, abuse, and illegality at the Bureau. He said that he had reported
this untoward behavior up his chain of command and was told to mind his own
business. He went to the FBI Inspector General and the FBI General Counsel,
and was told both times that he should walk away, that he should mind his
own business. He wanted to know what I thought he should do, based on my own
experience.
I told him that he could do one of several things. He could continue up the
chain of command and go to the Senate or House Judiciary Committees. If he
did that, there would certainly be an internal investigation, he would be
ostracized at the FBI, and he would likely face spurious charges that could
include espionage. That's what the CIA and the FBI did to me, to NSA's Tom
Drake, to the CIA's Jeffrey Sterling, to the State Department's Stephen Kim,
and others.
I told him that he could go to the press, in which case there would also be
an investigation, his security clearance would be suspended, and he would
likely be fired, at least, for insubordination. He also could be charged
with espionage or any number of national security charges related to
leaking.
I told him that he could talk to an attorney who specializes in national
security whistleblowing cases, like Jesselyn Radack of ExposeFacts. Radack
is a fearless advocate for national security professionals who take their
oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution seriously. She is also a
whistleblower. She lost her job as a Justice Department ethics officer after
insisting that John Walker Lindh, known in the press as the "American
Taliban," be allowed access to an attorney, a basic constitutional right
that the FBI denied him.
And finally, I told him that he could do nothing. Just keep quiet. He would
keep his job, his pay grade, and his clearances. But he wouldn't be able to
sleep at night.
The FBI agent, deep down, knew all these things. He recalled the recent case
of another FBI whistleblower, Darin Jones, who was fired after he blew the
whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse at the Bureau. Jones said that FBI
bigwigs had blown $234,000 of the taxpayers' money on an awards ceremony for
themselves, they had improperly spent taxpayer money without going through
proper channels, and that a former FBI assistant director had had a conflict
of interest related to a computer help-desk contract.
What did Jones do? He went through the chain of command. He complained to
his superiors about the waste, fraud, and abuse he saw. In response, he was
fired on the last day of his probationary period. That was three and a half
years ago. His appeal still hasn't been heard. And as with other
whistleblowers, especially those in the national security arena, it has been
virtually impossible for Jones to find work, and former friends and
colleagues avoid him. He has described himself as "radioactive," a
non-person.
Congress, over the years, has toyed with the idea of enhanced protections
for FBI whistleblowers. The chairman and ranking Democrat of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Pat Leahy
(D-Vermont), have introduced the FBI Whistleblower Protection Enhancement
Act, which would expand the number of people at the FBI eligible for
whistleblower protection and would allow them to appeal dismissal in the
court system. The problem is that the bill has languished in the Senate and
has not come up for a vote. It likely won't this year. Meanwhile, the House
has ignored it.
The bottom line is this: Jones, the FBI agent with whom I met, and others
who report on FBI malfeasance internally are screwed. There really are no
protections. It's the same in national security. A potential whistleblower
can go through the chain of command and likely be charged with crimes, he
can go to the press and likely be charged with crimes, or he can keep his
mouth shut. There are no alternatives. And until Congress recognizes the
patent unfairness of the current system, other good and patriotic men and
women will be ruined for doing the right thing.
________________________________________
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies.
He is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator
with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
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John Kiriakou in the documentary Silenced. (photo: AFI Docs)
http://readersupportednews.org/http://readersupportednews.org/
My Lunch With an FBI Whistleblower, Not Yet Out
By John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
11 April 16
had lunch with an FBI agent last week. If you don't know me, that's a
highly unusual event. I hate the FBI. I hate what they've done to civil
liberties in the United States. I hate that they spy on peace activists,
civil libertarians, and people of color, all under the guise of "national
security." I hate the FBI's dirty history of COINTELPRO, of sending poison
pen letters to Martin Luther King Jr. to try to get him to commit suicide. I
hate that they tried to set me up on an espionage charge because they knew
that the case against me for blowing the whistle on the CIA's torture
program was weak. But I was intrigued.
The FBI agent in question told me that he had uncovered evidence of waste,
fraud, abuse, and illegality at the Bureau. He said that he had reported
this untoward behavior up his chain of command and was told to mind his own
business. He went to the FBI Inspector General and the FBI General Counsel,
and was told both times that he should walk away, that he should mind his
own business. He wanted to know what I thought he should do, based on my own
experience.
I told him that he could do one of several things. He could continue up the
chain of command and go to the Senate or House Judiciary Committees. If he
did that, there would certainly be an internal investigation, he would be
ostracized at the FBI, and he would likely face spurious charges that could
include espionage. That's what the CIA and the FBI did to me, to NSA's Tom
Drake, to the CIA's Jeffrey Sterling, to the State Department's Stephen Kim,
and others.
I told him that he could go to the press, in which case there would also be
an investigation, his security clearance would be suspended, and he would
likely be fired, at least, for insubordination. He also could be charged
with espionage or any number of national security charges related to
leaking.
I told him that he could talk to an attorney who specializes in national
security whistleblowing cases, like Jesselyn Radack of ExposeFacts. Radack
is a fearless advocate for national security professionals who take their
oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution seriously. She is also a
whistleblower. She lost her job as a Justice Department ethics officer after
insisting that John Walker Lindh, known in the press as the "American
Taliban," be allowed access to an attorney, a basic constitutional right
that the FBI denied him.
And finally, I told him that he could do nothing. Just keep quiet. He would
keep his job, his pay grade, and his clearances. But he wouldn't be able to
sleep at night.
The FBI agent, deep down, knew all these things. He recalled the recent case
of another FBI whistleblower, Darin Jones, who was fired after he blew the
whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse at the Bureau. Jones said that FBI
bigwigs had blown $234,000 of the taxpayers' money on an awards ceremony for
themselves, they had improperly spent taxpayer money without going through
proper channels, and that a former FBI assistant director had had a conflict
of interest related to a computer help-desk contract.
What did Jones do? He went through the chain of command. He complained to
his superiors about the waste, fraud, and abuse he saw. In response, he was
fired on the last day of his probationary period. That was three and a half
years ago. His appeal still hasn't been heard. And as with other
whistleblowers, especially those in the national security arena, it has been
virtually impossible for Jones to find work, and former friends and
colleagues avoid him. He has described himself as "radioactive," a
non-person.
Congress, over the years, has toyed with the idea of enhanced protections
for FBI whistleblowers. The chairman and ranking Democrat of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Pat Leahy
(D-Vermont), have introduced the FBI Whistleblower Protection Enhancement
Act, which would expand the number of people at the FBI eligible for
whistleblower protection and would allow them to appeal dismissal in the
court system. The problem is that the bill has languished in the Senate and
has not come up for a vote. It likely won't this year. Meanwhile, the House
has ignored it.
The bottom line is this: Jones, the FBI agent with whom I met, and others
who report on FBI malfeasance internally are screwed. There really are no
protections. It's the same in national security. A potential whistleblower
can go through the chain of command and likely be charged with crimes, he
can go to the press and likely be charged with crimes, or he can keep his
mouth shut. There are no alternatives. And until Congress recognizes the
patent unfairness of the current system, other good and patriotic men and
women will be ruined for doing the right thing.
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies.
He is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator
with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
