Whistleblowers in the FBI
There's a lot of big news today -- a Senate election in Massachusetts, continuing recovery efforts in Haiti -- but one revelation raising eyebrows in D.C. is the Washington Post's front-page article detailing how the FBI may have illegally searched thousands of phone records from 2002 to 2006 during terrorism investigations. The gist of the story is that FBI agents searched phone records, and only sought the proper documentation after the fact -- and that they invoked "nonexistent emergencies" for searches, which the FBI's general counsel has admitted may be a technical violation of law.
Depending on how you look at it, this either seems like a bureaucratic mishap -- it looks like the FBI might have had the legal right to search the records, had they followed the correct procedure -- or yet another example of federal agencies overstepping their power, and possibly violating personal privacy, following the Sept. 11 attacks.
But the National Whistleblower Center notes that the issue likely never would have been corrected or come to light if it weren't for the efforts of one federal employee, Bassem Youssef, a special agent and unit chief in the FBI's counter-terrorism division who specializes in communication. Youssef, the highest-ranking Arabic speaker in the FBI, tried to bring the agency into compliance with the law when he first learned of the possible violations in 2005, his attorney said in a statement released by the Whistleblower Center. Youssef testified to the Department of Justice inspector general, and also sent letters to the attorney general's office outlining corrective actions. The IG report was scheduled to be released later this month, according to the Post.
The Whistleblower Center said this is yet another reason why Congress should pass the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009, which would increase whistleblower protections for intelligence workers.
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Government Executive Editor in Chief Tom Shoop, along with other editors and staff correspondents, take a fresh look at news affecting the management and operations of the federal bureaucracy.
Publish the real story of fbi torturers and assassins in the USA:
geral sosbee Posted Tuesday, January 19, 2010 4:23 PMhttp://ttu.academia.edu/geralsosbee
I believe in whistleblower protection but I also believe that in some cases the end justifies the means. We have to be very aware of an attempt within our own government to dismantle our freedom and security. It seems a bit odd that the only person within the FBI to consider this as an illegal action which should be made public was a guy whose name is Bassem Youssef. Check this out to know the inside information on Bassem. http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=youssef5.26.08%2Ehtm
I wouldn't be susprised to see Bassem linked to another Fort Hood episode.
SATOS Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 8:24 AMI understand the urgency and must accept that “agents were working quickly under the stress of trying to thwart the next terrorist attack and were not violating the law deliberately.”
But… this was a system put in place BY the FBI to prevent abuse. The most telling statements in my mind were “In some cases, agents broadened their searches to gather numbers two and three degrees of separation from the original request” and… “Although concerns about their legality first arose in December 2004, exigent searches continued for two more years.”
As someone somewhere once said “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”; a truism if I’ve ever heard one. If we are not to become like our enemies, we must preserve the faith of the American people in a system that protects them AND their rights, privileges, and freedoms. We do NOT need another Japanese-American interment or McCarthyistic campaign. We’ve been there and done that TO DEATH!
As happens more often than I care to admit, I do not know the answers; other than that breaching the law, circumventing the Constitution, and/or throwing out the Bill of Rights is NOT the way to go. I firmly believe that the vast majority of those standing the thin blue, green, and tan lines that protect us wish only to do their jobs legally and above reproach; as demonstrated by the oath we ALL take in assuming our jobs and roles and protectors of the Constitution.
Tip off Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 1:19 PMThanks for highlighting an important part of this story. Specifically, support is needed for H.R. 1507. Similar protections would be stripped if the Senate version (S. 372) passes.
Readers can take action and let their representatives know they support this version of the bill by following this link to the NWC's most recent action alert: http://bit.ly/88fuhB
Lindsey M. Williams Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 7:34 PMIt takes a lot of courage to report wrong doing in the government because most people in the govt do not want to know the truth. The FBI & ATF have done their best to cover up the truth in their respective cases that I sued them. They will smear the reputation of a good employee & protect the bad conduct of others. This is not a good use of taxpayer money.
Adam Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 9:37 PMI understand the urgency and must accept that “agents were working quickly under the stress of trying to thwart the next terrorist attack and were not violating the law deliberately.”
But… this was a system put in place BY the FBI to prevent abuse. The most telling statements in my mind were “In some cases, agents broadened their searches to gather numbers two and three degrees of separation from the original request” and… “Although concerns about their legality first arose in December 2004, exigent searches continued for two more years.”
As someone somewhere once said “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”; a truism if I’ve ever heard one. If we are not to become like our enemies, we must preserve the faith of the American people in a system that protects them AND their rights, privileges, and freedoms. We do NOT need another Japanese-American interment or McCarthyistic campaign. We’ve been there and done that TO DEATH!
As happens more often than I care to admit, I do not know the answers; other than that breaching the law, circumventing the Constitution, and/or throwing out the Bill of Rights is NOT the way to go. I firmly believe that the vast majority of those standing the thin blue, green, and tan lines that protect us wish only to do their jobs legally and above reproach; as demonstrated by the oath we ALL take in assuming our jobs and roles and protectors of the Constitution.
Tip off Posted Thursday, January 21, 2010 2:54 PMPlease remove the duplicated submission posted: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 1:19 PM
Evidently I didn't see the original posting and resubmitted.
Thank you, as always.
Tip off
Tip off Posted Tuesday, January 26, 2010 10:53 AM