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Subscribe to RSSThe Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act appeared to be headed for approval one year ago - until the release of hundreds of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables to the WikiLeaks website, allegedly by Army Pvc. Bradley Manning, thrust it to the sidelines.
Opponents of the bill seized on the incident to strip an important provision from the legislation, which ultimately died when Congress closed for Christmas without taking it up, advocates say.
“There suddenly became a concern in the Congress that was ill-informed, that the legislation would protect leaks of classified information … which wasn’t true,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan independent watchdog that seeks good government reforms. “… It was in large part a reason why the legislation stalled and it also caused a real backlash of overreaction by agencies to start clamping down on employees’ access to information.”
EPA file
Army Specialist Bradley Manning, accused of leaking US government documents published by Wikileaks
As Manning has his first court appearance on Friday – a pretrial hearing – proponents of the legislation to protect government workers who report illegal or unethical behavior by officials have regrouped.
They are pushing a measure -- the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011 -- winding its way through Congress, but they are encountering some familiar hold-ups. “The Manning case is certainly feeding the resistance,” said Brian, noting it was not the only factor.
Manning, who turns 24 on Saturday, is accused of using unauthorized software on government computers to pull classified information, illegally download it and send the data for public release by what the Army called the "enemy." He has been held for 18 months in confinement and his pretrial hearing at Fort Meade, Md., on Friday will be his first public appearance. He is charged with 22 counts that could land him in prison for life.
The Bradley Manning Support Network argues that the soldier is not a traitor but fits the definition of a whistleblower, citing online discussions in which he allegedly said he hoped to generate “worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms” and wanted “people to see the truth… regardless of who they are… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”
The law firm representing Manning did not respond to an email or phone call placed seeking comment on whether they would argue this he was a whistleblower as part of his defense.
Though the new legislation pending in Congress could make some "very modest improvements,” it is still only a Band-Aid, said Stephen Kohn, executive director and co-founder of the National Whistleblowers Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.
“I think that the underlying hostility to protecting national security whistleblowers pre-existed Manning … and there’s no end in sight -- meaning Congress, which excluded national (security) whistleblowers from protection in 1978 and has taken no action to fix the problem since, will continue in this current status,” he said.
Kohn said those opposed to the earlier legislation used the Manning case as a “smokescreen.”
“These folks were against it to begin with, they’ve been against it for years,” he said.
The Manning incident was bound to occur, he said, “because if someone was of conscience and did have concerns, they really have no legitimate place to go. … Under the current regime, there’s really no way to disclose these national security violations effectively and protect yourself. It does not exist.”
During the 2010 debate, Kohn’s group sent a letter to Congress with concerns that a provision in the legislation would allow “managers and political appointees to fire career civil servants who disclose violations of law.” This in turn prompted more than 90 organizations to voice their backing of the bill, The Washington Post reported.
Around the same time, the Post reported that Darrell Issa, a Republican congressman from California who had supported the bill, switched sides and argued for a delay. An Issa spokesman noted then that "new areas of concern that have been raised by the WikiLeaks" releases had convinced the congressman that the legislation should be considered in 2011.
In the first week of November, Issa and other lawmakers introduced the latest version of the legislation to the House.
"There’s really genuine interest in all three parts (White House, Senate, House of Representatives) to get something passed this spring. So I’m very hopeful actually," Brian said.
History has little to show for Americans in similar situations as Manning. In one of the most well-known cases of U.S. whistleblowing, former Marine Daniel Ellsberg in 1971 released what came to be known as the "Pentagon Papers," a secret government study put together during his time as an analyst in the Nixon Administration. The study revealed that previous administrations had deceived Congress about stepping up the Vietnam conflict. A judge eventually threw out the government's espionage and conspiracy case.
"The WikiLeaks’ unauthorised disclosures of the last year are the first in 40 years to approach the scale of the Pentagon Papers (and even surpass them in quantity and timeliness)," Ellsberg wrote in an editorial published in The Guardian, in which he called for other potential whistleblowers to not "wait until a new war has started."
Kohn did note a case that ended with positive results for whistleblowers in 1777, when 10 sailors and soldiers jumped ship and blew the whistle on the U.S. Navy commander for torturing British prisoners. The Continental Congress supported the whistleblowers, passed the country’s first whistleblower law and released all the documents -- regardless of how embarrassing they were to the United States.
“That was the first and maybe only time back in U.S. history that our government backed national security whistleblowers,” he said, chuckling. “It’s been pretty much downhill since 1777.”
Kohn also said the response to the incident showed “the founding fathers’ view of every person’s obligation to disclose misconduct was rather consistent with our view, and in fact, we believe that that is the legislative intent behind the First Amendment.”
Brian said she did not believe legislation to protect the Bradley Mannings of the world for leaking publicly classified information would ever be passed, but she hoped that his case would highlight the issue facing those in his situation. She noted that her organization and its allies were working hard to create "meaningful channels for a Bradley Manning.”
“I really believe that the lack of safe channels for disclosure is part of why people like Bradley Manning need to go straight to the public or to the media,” she said. “I’m hoping that what people learn from this is this is why we need to have a better way of handling this information, because the government does sometimes hide their misconduct behind classification and we need to have a robust way of dealing with that.”
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I consider Bradley Manning a traitor to his country. Personal opinion, that's all.
Manning you traitorous scum, I do sincerely hope that a General Courts-Martial finds you guilty of Treason and sentenances you to death. Your damn lucky you weren't in my unit, or I'd have had a frag with your name on it.
Wow, exactly what or who are you defending? It's people like you that make me wonder how Pat Tillman really died. Sick.
@Phil - then you would be guilty of murder, and summarily executed.
@sgurdog - I can tell you exactly how Pat Tillman died - he was inconvenient. Draw your own conclusions
He died serving his Country plain and simple
But not to the conspiracy theorists.
Did anyone outside of government know just how corrupt the government is on the inside before Wikileaks released some of the day to day actions that are considered governmentally acceptable ways of doing business? No one who through their own bad behavior was embarrassed by the leaks wants anything but the worst for whoever outed them for their own despicable or criminal behavior.
If you take a look at the leaks, there is treason there; by some of the people who were leaked on!
Why do leaks happen? Take Operation Fast and Furious, the 0bama and Holders DOJ attempt to get thousands of firearms into Mexico so they could call for gun control in the US, the Operation that involved the President of Mexico speaking-out against America, Americans and Americans rights. Why is this not Major and Ongoing News on MSNBC and in all the other National media? Because they are bought and paid for.
The media do a pick and choose avoidance of the actual important stories that are breaking all the time, at any moment, so, Freedom of Speech is DEAD in the media, by their own choice, and has come to mean that the information has to be stolen and disseminated to the public to ever find its way to the people who need to know about it.
When are you going to get it? The "media" is the government propaganda machine!
Not enough people question the gov't intentions, well, not when it comes to the military industrial complex anyway. When you have Dakota Meyer (Medal of Honor recipient/hero) telling us that his former employer BAE was selling better gear to the Pakistan gov't than our own troops that should be a serious warning bell that we're being misled by our gov't and media who choose to hide that sort of information. I would gather that if people start drawing conclusions that the money Pakistan is using to purchase this premium military gear is being funded by the American taxpayer, they're be hell to pay. So there's billions of reasons the establishment wants to hang whistleblowers who challenge their power grabs.
Thank God for Wiki-leaks, Bradely Manning and Daniel Ellsberg
I commend him for exposing corruption in the highest levels of the government and the military.
"History is written by the victors."
"History is written by those who have hanged heroes!"
Sometimes the victors are those who have hanged heroes!
Tor - Manning does not have the right to expose classified information(that's why it's classified).
Evil men like to label their misdeeds as "Classified" for this very reason.
Evil does not like to be exposed and displayed in the clear light of day.
Evil likes to be hidden in the darkness where it's safe from scrutiny.
Declaring something as classified does not make it right, good, or patriotic!
I believe he deserves to treated decentky!
Decent fed, Decently tried, and Decently Shot!!!!!!!!
Julian is next!
You would think America's CHRISTIAN VALUES would support a man who exposes massive corruption, lies and murder?
You need to get some fresh air. He mishandled CLASSIFIED information.
You need a fresh brain. Murder is murder! Lies and wasting taxpayer money cannot be hidden in CLASSIFIED information.
I believe he should be treated Decently!
Decent fed, Decently tried, and Decently shot!!!!!!
Julian is on deck.
What I find far more desructive to the USA than any wrong-doing Manning may have been involved in is this crazy split between so-called Liberals and Conservatives.
It has gotten so that there are two Americas completely at odds with each other over every issue. In most instances I don't even see a middle road. They both just seem way out to lunch on some other planet in their pitiful war of words that could inevitably lead to violence.
By a vote of 97 to 7, the senate has passed a bill that would allow USA officials to arrest and hold people without due process or trial indefinately. This cannot be tolerated. Regardles as to whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, we should be alarmed as this is blatantly against the 14th amendment of the constitution.
Manning has been held that way even before the Senate passed the bill. I don't claim to know if he is guilty or not, but I do know the way they are dealing with him is far more dangerous to all of us as citizens than anything he might have done. I think that is were much of our focus should be without the petty left, right crap I'm sick of hearing.
That's the beauty behind the strategy of divide and conquer. If you can divide people into 2 camps they will naturally participate in destructive groupthink.
I would suspect the reason Obama wanted the language omitted from the bill was because we have been holding Americans without charge and without knowledge already. This bill now codifies that previously unconstitutional action into law. We are indeed screwed and anyone who seriously challenges the gov't or is onto something huge will be disappeared by the shadows.
That homo traitor should hang for what he did. No excuse for it.
You're a sick fascist.
Dog- Your as pathetic as that manning piece of sh!t. Anyone with honor and dignity is a fascist? In the military your #1 priority is the men around you. this jilted faggot was trying to get back at "the man" for whatever injustice he felt was committed against him. If he had done this to help I might sympathize with him. He didn't, he did out of spite, hang him.
@Who ate my soup
If you wear the uniform, you're a disgrace. Your oath is your bond - I refer you to:
"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
Notice that you swear your oath to The Constitution Of The United States, therefore superseding any other person, group, agency or organization. Manning carried out his oath - these secrets, these coverups, were conducted by domestic enemies of the Constitution, and therefore he was duty bound to expose it.
Real men do what's right regardless of the personal consequences. Grow a pair and maybe - just maybe - you'll have a shred of Honor.
Sorry noise box, you're just wrong. Any soldiers first priority is to the men at his side. That little fag endangered every man and woman whose name appeared anywhere on those pages. And like I said if he had done it out of conscience that would be one thing, but he did it to get even. As you seem so proud to point out we did say an oath to "follow the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice." Where did it say anything that sounded like unless you don't agree? I don't remember anything that sounded like "but you can ignore any laws or orders you may feel are counter to your personal beliefs". Right and wrong are not for this twerp to decide for the rest of us. He should have followed his chain of command.
I would say that our "leaders" in Washington are guilty of treason. To allow the military or any part of the gov't to act in total secret from oversight of any kind is to abandon their responsibility to the Constitution itself. We should consider Bradley Manning a hero, not an traitor. We need to expose this shadow gov't that has grown untouchable and criminal in its power vacuum.
He is a traitor. He mishandled classified information. I had literally tons of TOP SECRET information pass through my hands in twenty years of Naval service without "leaking" it to anyone. It's something that you just don't do.
The sooner Manning is convicted of treason and sent to Leavenworth, the better.
Pvt. Manning is subject to the UCMJ, nothing else.
Unfortunately for you, and everyone else calling for his blood, that's not the case, as the Nuremberg Trials clearly showed.
I didn't call for his 'blood'.
He can be locked up like Rudolf Hess.
Reading comprehension is fundamental.
Manning has been blowing other things - not just whistles.
The DI told us over and over again that we were to do the right thing no matter what the orders were.
Did your DI tell you that there would be no consequences for doing the right thing? My TI (Air Force) told us to do the right thing and be ready for the consequences, which in this case is Life in Leavenworth or Death.
Except he did not do the right thing. If he did not trust his chain of command, then go to the IG, if he did not trust them, contact his Congress person.
@JustaGrunt - and if he didn't trust his Congress person (would you)?
Do you really think the President would've listened?
Look, everyone who wears the Uniform swears to protect and defend the Constitution - not the President, not the Generals, not their fellow soldiers but THE CONSTITUTION against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Those domestic enemies? Sometimes they wear the same uniform you do.
Still does not negate the fact that what he did was wrong, in my opinion, he will go to Courts Martial, and we will have to wait to see what the outcome will be.
Can tell ditgital has never been in a fox hole when the bullets starts flying. When there, the only thing that is important is the guy next to you, now adays it might be a girl. At the very least he should have done this the right way for his fellow soldiers.
Neal - It doesn't matter where he spends the rest of his life, many honest men have died in prisons all over the world. What matters is that you live your life with principles, it is pretty hard to understand that living in America when all of our leaders have no principles but it is a worthy human goal never the less.
The USA needs to return to the middle of the road...the government needs to be responsive to the people...all governments need to be moral and just...the practice of classifying documents to cover up abuses of power, criminal or just plain stupid actions as well is a government standard mode of operation...do we condone it and allow it to continue or change things...who really benefits from it...did you ever notice that in the event the government has to pay restitution to a person or group of people for mistreatment due to governmental abuses of power that those responsible suffer no consequences...even though they gave the orders...does legislation exonerate them by their position...this is tyranny...period
Now, if it can be proved that Manning has actually been the cause of physical harm to members of our intelligence or military sectors then I think he went beyond whistleblower actions...embarassing our diplomats for speaking their minds about others was just exposing human nature and hypocrisy that abounds in all politics...
I believe if all leaders walked the walk instead of just talking the talk...then our problems will eventually be solved...no foreign enemy is going to attack the US in force...lets use the majority of our budget to develope our domestic resources and return our economy to being the most dynamic economy in the world...helping out foreign entities needs to take a backburner until we can provide those in our own country with the basics and pay down our debts...
Thank God there is a difference between the United States Military and a Private Company, if you have a problem in the military you have a chain of command to resolve it, and it works very well. What manning did was treason by the definition of the word. Groups and organizations outside of the military who try to push their own motives by being on the outside and looking inside are clueless and reckless. Private Manning should be tried, found guilty, and shot for treason. If you feel so strongly for manning stand in for him and take his bullet, as for me I feel so strongly I'll gladly serve on the firing squad.
For the rest of the non-military posters here, they should know that a firing squad can have upwards of 6 members and that the line waiting for chance to participate would number in the hundreds of thousands of current and former military. Either you accept the rules regarding classified information or you refuse to get the clearance. Simple, cut and dried. If you accept the clearance with the intent of disclosing this information you should be shot ... twice.
He will not get the death sentence, they already took it off the table. Anyway, even if he did get it the military has not excuted anyone since April 13, 1961, and that person was U.S. Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder
Neal - you must be a non-military poster.
Keep it real - Mannings actions don't fit the definition of Treason. I know it feels go to say crap like that but it makes you look stupid.
The US doesn't have to worry too much about Manning or any other whistleblower, it is destroying itself...at an accelerated rate. People who will not give up their illusions are the most vulnerable to the implosion.
Then it is taking an awfully long time to implode as the illusions started at least as far back as 1935.
If found guilty . Just put him the general population of a military prison.
problem solved.
drdarby17
You are absolutely correct. He committed treason by giving out classified information. The real problem is that the liberal agenda/democrats do not recognize treason otheriwse most of them would be under arrest. You see, they don't care if it is classified, they just care if the information is going to hurt conservatives. If it does, they will use it. If it hurts liberals it will be hushed up. That is how they operate.
Black, ol' buddy ...What is interesting to me is that you automatically assume that only conservatives have lots of things to hide. Disclosing "everything" ... as Manning did ... would hurt anybody who had damaging secrets to hide. Why is it that only conservatives would be hurt?
(Not that I disagree. I think conservatives are the ones who scurry under rocks when the light turns on too.)
While there's little doubt Manning was blowing something, I don't think it was a whistle.
Just my thoughts.
If Manning had not leaked the information to Wikileaks then we, the public would not be having this discussion.
We are now more aware of how our elected leaders and non elected leaders are using their positions to either improve the world or not, what they think of other leaders, what some of them think about what we should be doing, and how some have no clue on what is going on.
We, Americans, are totally disgruntled with our current government, calling it a non-functioning entity, that is ran by corporate puppet masters.
So, Manning, who is also disgruntled, used his position to expose information that was embarrassing to the Government, showing the world that at least one person in this country still cares enough to do something.
You people, bloggers, most of you just bitch and complain, and then if you vote, big on the if, you elect the same people back into office. Talk about oxymoron's.
Sorry, been voting since 1972 and usually do not vote for incumbents. It is one thing to be disgruntled and another to break the oath you took to protect classified info. Manning broke the oath and Leavenworth will be his punishment for that, too bad they won't have the guts to execute him.
okay, Manning put alot of classified documents on the www. now the question is how much damage to US operations was caused by the leaks? were any troops lost because of his actions? did anyone profit from the leaks? I don't think he should spend the rest of his lif in an army stockde for a lack of judgement.
The result of the disclosure is not the question hear. The relevant matter is the disclosure after swearing an oath to not do so. Life in Leavenworth is the punishment he was warned about when he got the clearance and that is what he should get.
This is all about people's egos being bruised. For those who are angry about being exposed, buy a baby bottle - fill it with formula and suck on it. And for heaven's sake, grow up. You are so boring.
Obviously you have never been in the military or you would understand. And if you were in the military, you nver "got it".
comment-BUSH was never elected, he stole 2 elections. brother JEB in FLA stopped the vote count when he saw GEORGE was gonna lose ,as did BLACKWELL IN OHIO WHEN HE SAW BUSH was gonna lose OHIO. WITH dim witty BUSH nothing from nothing will always be nothing BUSH said speaking to a group of young people in a school- for every fatal shooting ,there are 3 non fatal shootings,this is not acceptable in AMERICA. BY THIS HE MEANS THE OTHERT 3 SHOULD ALSO BE Fso much for dim witty-thank GOD HE'S A texan. if the good lord was gonna give the USA,AN ENEMA.i'm sure he would insert the probe in MIDLAND TEXAS
Careful bill t, your blind hate of Republicans is showing.
JustaGrunt ... You make a good point. Simply pointing fingers at everything the other side doesn't seem right to me. But it works for Limbaugh and Faux News!
You have to admit that "Florida vote count" has entered the culture as a phrase synonymous with dirty politics.
-> Jeb and the Republicans were in charge. They deserve the blame for whatever went wrong.
-> It did put Jeb's idiot brother into the White House.
So ... I might agree with your criticism of bill t's sriting style. That doesn't mean everything he wrote is wrong.
More revisionist history. Florida's election troubles were only in predominantly dem-run precincts where folks claimed they didn't know how to vote. You may also recall the recounts that were done were only done in dem districts hoping to fluff up Gores numbers when, in fact, if Gore won his own state, Tennessee, he would have been president. So quit with the BS.
Also it was the SC that stopped the recount.
Predominantly dem districts were where Jeb and his den of thieves could steal the most votes!
And as for revisionist history, here's what Historyplace.com says about the Supreme Court decision:
"The five conservative justices on the Supreme Court sided with Bush while the four liberal justices sided with Gore. The 5 to 4 ruling effectively halted any further recounting and let stand a declaration by Florida's secretary of state that Bush had won Florida by 537 votes, and thus the presidency."
History.com:
In a televised speech from his ceremonial office next to the White House, Gore said that while he was deeply disappointed and sharply disagreed with the Supreme Court verdict that ended his campaign, ''partisan rancor must now be put aside.''
"I accept the finality of the outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College'' he said. "And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.''
That may be as close to the actual start of Republican "win-at-any-cost-to-the-nation" politics that we can find. It seems that, to Republicans, power is the only thing. They hold a gun to the head of America and Democrats give in.
If the demorcrates wanted to do a stated wide recount, then it would have been good. By targeting democratic districts, they messed up.
Abuse by Catholic priests, laymen and laywomen was systematically covered up by the church to protect its reputation, the commission said
City council members voted 5-2 on Monday that West Melbourne Police Chief Brian Lock will not be put on administrative leave. The meeting comes after surveillance video released one week ago showed Commander Chuck Schrum taking prescription drugs out of an evidence room in 2009. Schrum was not fired and the City Council was not informed. Some city leaders said Lock's lack of actions was a cover-up.
This is what our government has done. To protect their reputation, their jobs, their pride, their greed, their power, they have covered over misdeeds. They have led the population astray and Brably Manning wasn't about to tow the party line. He was couragous, much more couragous then those who follow rank and file while their superiors commit crimes. Allegience to the state, the church any institution before an allegience to justice and truth does not make you a hero.
How can you teach your children to tell the truth, WHEN OUR OWN GOVERNMENT AND LEADERS DON'T?
Telling the TRUTH is to be upheld and Commended - this is NO DIFFERENT than the SECRET Perversions of the Catholic Church...Murder - MASS Messing around with the rest of the WORLD! Hitler-like forces inside our Government for Decades without even the President's Knowledge....this is how we get the BUSHES who brought in the 'TERROR" - o watch out for the boogey men -and let's go kill them all in the world - as long as they sit on oil. Nobody believes our country's government is good and right, even it's people. And I think it is really weird the only man who is honest and beyond reproach, with wisdom and foresight (RON PAUL!) to lead us - Nobody thinks can get elected. So we hire more crooks, and hope they do 'right' by us.
We as a people are a reflection of our government, and I don't like being a murderer, thief, crook or bigot.
And I think it very strange we 'hire' someone with no years or RECORD of STANDING for anything, and virtually no HISTORY to 'lead' us....he looks like a muslim and a homosexual - and look what all the energy is going towards: Sharia Law and Tolerance and Again, this issue of what people want to do with their sexual matings - which has nothing to do with Government Policy!
But you obviouly love being an oathbreaker. I sometimes regret serving in the military to protect the likes of you.
I think I was sort of with you until that last paragraph. Really, I don't know what you're saying.