- Nov 26, 2011
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After 9/11, the United States government began a program of warrantless wiretapping of all Americans. They were (are?) reading all of our emails, monitoring our phone calls, capturing our internet traffic, etc. These violations of the Fourth Amendment were carried out by the National Security Agency (NSA).
The government consistently denied it was doing so. Both Bush and Obama lied.
There were some people within the NSA and on Capitol Hill who were angry about this "Trailblazer Project" and the lies the government was telling to the American people. After trying everything they could through official channels to get the NSA to end the program, they began to discuss the "nuclear option" of going to the press.
One of them ultimately did leak to the press. His name is Thomas Drake.
The government prosecuted Drake under the Espionage Act, which is extremely rare. Drake was facing life in prison.
www.justice.gov
Eventually, Drake's case was pled down to a misdemeanor due to the media's focus on the case and how the government treats whistleblowers.
The way Drake was treated had a significant impact on Edward Snowden's decision to go public with what he knew, and to do it from where the US government could not get to him.
Okay. So that's the backstory.
A few days ago, I was watching a Frontline episode about all this called The United States of Secrets. Thomas Drake is one of the people interviewed on the show.
The Frontline episode aired in 2014.
Now check out this screen capture I made of Thomas Drake in the Frontline episode, and see if you notice anything unusual:
The government consistently denied it was doing so. Both Bush and Obama lied.
There were some people within the NSA and on Capitol Hill who were angry about this "Trailblazer Project" and the lies the government was telling to the American people. After trying everything they could through official channels to get the NSA to end the program, they began to discuss the "nuclear option" of going to the press.
One of them ultimately did leak to the press. His name is Thomas Drake.
The government prosecuted Drake under the Espionage Act, which is extremely rare. Drake was facing life in prison.
Former NSA Senior Executive Charged with Illegally Retaining Classified Information, Obstructing Justice and Making False Statements
A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland has returned a 10-count indictment charging former National Security Agency (NSA) senior executive Thomas A. Drake with the willful retention of classified information, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
Eventually, Drake's case was pled down to a misdemeanor due to the media's focus on the case and how the government treats whistleblowers.
The way Drake was treated had a significant impact on Edward Snowden's decision to go public with what he knew, and to do it from where the US government could not get to him.
Okay. So that's the backstory.
A few days ago, I was watching a Frontline episode about all this called The United States of Secrets. Thomas Drake is one of the people interviewed on the show.
The Frontline episode aired in 2014.
Now check out this screen capture I made of Thomas Drake in the Frontline episode, and see if you notice anything unusual:
