While we've been disappointed that Senator Chuck Grassley appears to
have a bit of a double standard with his staunch support for
whistleblowers when it comes to Ed Snowden, it is true that he has
fought for real whistleblower protections for quite some time. Lately,
he's been quite concerned that the White House's "Insider Threat
Program" (ITP) is really just a cover to crack down on whistleblowers.
As we've noted, despite early promises from the Obama administration to
support and protect whistleblowers, the administration has led the
largest crackdown against whistleblowers, and the ITP suggests that the
attack on whistleblowers is a calculated response. The program
documentation argues that any leak can be seen as "aiding the enemy" and
encourages government employees to snitch on each other if they appear
too concerned about government wrong-doing. Despite all his high minded
talk of supporting whistleblowers, President Obama has used the
Espionage Act against whistleblowers twice as many times as all other
Presidents combined. Also, he has never -- not once -- praised someone
for blowing the whistle in the federal government.
Given all of
that, Senator Grassley expressed some concern about this Insider Threat
Program and how it distinguished whistleblowers from actual threats. He
asked the FBI for copies of its training manual on the program, which it
refused to give him. Instead, it said it could better answer any
questions at a hearing. However, as Grassley explains, when questioned
about this just 10 minutes into the hearing, the FBI abruptly got up and
left:
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