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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
In 1997 the case of FBI whistleblower Dr. Frederic Whitehurst prompted President Clinton to issue an executive order enforcing FBI whistleblower protections. These protections are not perfect, but they have allowed FBI employees to come forward and report civil liberties and civil rights abuses. Currently, the Senate is "hotlining" the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (S. 372), which means it could pass without any public debate or vote. This bill eliminates the protections FBI employees have currently. S. 372 must be fixed now.
TAKE ACTION NOW! Read Fred Whitehurst's letter and urge your Senator to contact the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to ensure S. 372 is fixed!
Why does the FBI want to get rid of protections provided under 5 U.S.C. § 2303?
Under 5 U.S.C § 2303, FBI whistleblowers have the right to independent review of their claim, either by the Office of the Inspector General or the Office of Professional Responsibility.
The following reports are examples of these independent reviews, which have resulting in findings critical of the FBI. It is no wonder they are lobbying aggressively to push S. 372 through the Senate. If S. 372 passes as is, independent IG and OPR investigations like those listed below, will cease to exist:
A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of Exigent Letters and Other Informal Requests for Telephone Records, January 2010
A Review of the FBI's Use of National Security Letters: Assessment of Corrective Actions and Examination of NSL Usage in 2006
A Review of the FBI's Actions in Connection With Allegations Raised by Contract Linguist Sibel Edmonds, January 2005
Investigation Regarding Removal of Tiffany Globe from the Fresh Kills Recovery Site, December 2003
A Review of the FBI's Response to John Roberts' Statements on 60 Minutes, February 2003
Double Standards Report
The FBI Laboratory: An Investigation into Laboratory Practices and Alleged Misconduct in Explosives-Related and Other Cases, April 1997
The FBI Laboratory One Year Later: A Follow-Up to the Inspector General\'s April 1997 Report on FBI Laboratory Practices and Alleged Misconduct in Explosives-Related and Other Cases, June 1998
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March 23, 2010. Washington, D.C. Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, has agreed to participate in an independent debate with Mr. Norman L. Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, regarding the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (S. 372), which is currently being "hotlined" in the Senate. Mr. Eisen has currently declined the invitation to participate in the debate.
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S. 372 repeals existing FBI protections and expands state secrets privilege
Washington, D.C. March 10, 2010. Prominent national security whistleblowers and advocacy groups issued a letter today urging the Senate to vote against the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 (S. 372) unless the dangerous national security whistleblower provisions are corrected. This bill, which is currently being “hotlined” for unanimous consent, repeals existing FBI protections and strengthens the state secrets privilege.
The letter, signed by national security whistleblowers and respected advocates for national security employees, explains in detail the deficiencies in the Senate bill that will harm national security by covering up intelligence failures and civil liberties abuses: -
Washington, D.C. March 3, 2010. Nationally recognized FBI whistleblower Dr. Frederic Whitehurst issued a letter today strongly opposing the repeal of FBI whistleblower rights contained in the current Senate version of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (S. 372). This bill is currently being "hotlined" for unanimous consent.
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TAKE ACTION!
FBI Whistleblower Urges Strong Corrective Action
Washington, D.C. January 20, 2010. Today the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General released a report that confirms the allegations regarding an illegal FBI domestic surveillance program, which were reported on the front page of the Washington Post yesterday, January 19, 2010.
Attorneys for Bassem Youssef , the highly decorated Chief of the FBI's Communications Analysis Unit in the Counterterrorism Division, are requesting that Attorney General Eric Holder take strong corrective action to ensure that civil liberties are protected and that the FBI properly conduct counterterrorism investigations. According to a letter sent today by Mr. Stephen Kohn, the Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center and one of Mr. Youssef's attorneys: -
FBI Whistleblower Instrumental in Exposing Constitutional Violations That Threaten National Security
Washington, DC. January 19, 2010. In response to the front-page article appearing today in the Washington Post, the following statements were released by Stephen M. Kohn, attorney for Mr. Bassem Youssef (Chief of the FBI’s Communications Analysis Unit/Counterterrorism Division) and National Whistleblowers Center Executive Director:
“Since 2005, when he first learned of the abuses reported in today’s Washington Post, Mr. Youssef has attempted to ensure that the FBI complied with the law. Between 2006-08 he provided extensive testimony before the DOJ Office of Inspector General. In 2008 and 2009, his counsel provided three detailed letters to the Attorney General of the United States setting forth details on the misconduct committed within the FBI and urging that effective corrective actions be taken."
TAKE ACTION! Demand Congress protect all national security whistleblowers! -
The Senate will be marking up its version of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 (S. 372) this Wednesday. Now is the time to contact your Senators and President Obama and ask them to support adding jury trials for all federal employees, including national security employees.
Take Action! Demand Court Access for All Federal Employees!
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January 11, 2008, Washington, DC. Take Action! Click here to contact Attorney General Mukasey and tell him that he must not tolerate further retaliation against whistleblower Bassem Youssef by managers at the FBI. The Department of Justice is charged with overseeing the FBI, and it is time they begin doing just that.
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Washington, D.C. - Oct. 8, 2002. A FBI Agent has accused bureau investigators of stealing a Tiffany crystal globe from the World Trade Center ruins. Special Agent Jane Turner of the FBI's Minneapolis office said she turned the globe over to the Justice Department's inspector general's office after local FBI officials would not act on her complaint.
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Changes to the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act currently working its way through the Senate would cover up intelligence failures and civil liberties abuses in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by repealing existing protections for FBI whistleblowers and strengthening the state secrets privilege.
Mary Jane Wilmoth: truthout reports WPEA being "hotlined"
The bill is currently being "hotlined" through the Senate, which entails both the Senate majority leader and minority leader agreeing to pass the legislation by unanimous consent without a roll-call vote. This practice is usually used to pass uncontroversial bills and simple procedural motions, but opponents fear it is being used to push through this measure with little or no public debate.
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