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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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Manning is/was under the UCMJ. Those of you that are in or were in the military know what that means. If he found something wrong the right thing to do is first attempt to go up the chain of command and he knew this. What ever he did there is a wrong way and a right way. The means does not justify the ends.
Bravo. For those not in the know that is the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The UCMJ is the body of law governing people serving in the military, not the civilian body of law most people are familiar (if they are familiar at all) with. Unless you research the UCMJ, you have no idea what the rules Manning was operating under.
@OlePlayer
I'm very familiar with the UCMJ - I have a recent copy here on my desk. However, I am not a lawyer.
That said, the UCMJ can be summed up fairly easily - obey orders, but obey your conscience. As was demonstrated after WW II at the Nuremberg trials, simply following orders is not a defense for illegal acts - and hasn't held up in US Military Trials since.
If his Chain of Command was the problem - and, from all the leaks, that is precisely the case - then what option did he have? The evidence he had indicated illegal acts - the UCMJ requires that he must report them, but his Chain of Command were the ones that had committed the illegal acts.
What other option was there?
Did he try going up the chain? Did he try doing everything he could first. Did he go to the provost there's one on every post (legal branch of the mlitary) How about the IG. I guess they were a corrupt too.
Skip levels of the command structure until there is somone not implicated, then the Inspector General, if they are implicated, then the Chief of Staff of your service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of the applicabe service, the Secretray of Defense, then the White House, then and only then someone in the public. I have not been in the military since 1981 and I can still recite (might have the order wrong) the sequence to try. The IG should have been enough, since it is supposed to reside outside the Chain of Command for just this purpose. The point of Manning is that he did not even try, he just grabbed everything willy-nilly and dumped in the lap of not just a publisher, but a foreign publisher. Totally irresponsible. Regardless of the information he leaked and its applicability to exposing illegal acts, his actions are still oathbreaking and treason.
Thank you
This is NOT about protecting a simple "whistleblower"!!! If he had released only that one video then maybe he would have a defense but he released THOUSANDS OF HIGHLY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS most having NOTHING to do with the video of the shooting!! Maybe he gets a walk for the video but he needs life or lethal injection for the OTHER secrets he released! He has endangered nearly every military member in service today and given our enemies advantages by his stupid actions. I have ZERO sympathy for the idiot!
To all you bleeding hearts - Manning is a traitor, so blow your whistle someplace else.
They don't need a whistle, just get them to stand cross-wise to the wind, their empty heads will whistle.
wonder who would like him the same fox hole
no one with any sense. if a guy is willing to sell/leak classified information, what will he do on the battlefield, signal our intentions?
OK ... What Manning did was wrong and he deserves to be prosecuted.
... However ...
Power still corrupts, just as it always has, and we need the fresh air of transparent government to clean out the corruption. There are too many in power who believe that it's not wrong if nobody finds out about it. Manning did it the wrong way, but forcing some of the lies and deceit out into the light did some good.
Transparency? Please start with our beloved president, Nancy Pelosi and Hary Reid. These three would rather craft legislation in hiding and ask their cronies to pass it without reading it. Then go back to the previous 10 or so administrations and publish everything about them also. Secrecy for the benefit of those currently in power has been an ingrained habit since at least the Civil War.
However to your point, if Manning had leaked only that which was applicable to illegal acts and corruption, I would grant him leniency in the sentencing phase of his treason conviction. But he grabbed everything he could and leaked all of it! Just because the outcome exposed crimes does not justify the immense collateral damage of leaking everything. Pat him on the head for good intentions and sentence to life in prison anyway.
Yes, transparency! The Party of No doesn't care what's in a bill. They only care about doing everything ... even sacrificing America ... to try to make President Obama look bad.
And speaking of transparency, if the director of the CIA, William Casey hadn't died the day after Congress began its public hearings on the Iran-contra affair, your precious demi-god Reagan might have died behind bars. Awfully convenient heart attack.
Well apparently the democrats don't care what is in it either. Remember "We got to pass the bill to find out what is in it" Face it, no-one in Washington likes transparency.
He is not a Whistleblower. A whistle blower is someone who through the course of their a legitimate work, finds information of misconduct or wrongdoing by their employer, and reports that information to the appropriate authorities despite the threat of reprisal by the employer.
How is PFC Manning different?
First, He did not come by the information he leaked as part of his normal work. He used illegal software on classified government systems to search out information he did not have routine access to.
Second, had he actually found evidence of wrongdoing, he did not turn it over to legitimate authorities. Instead, he released it to a website which simply posts the infromation for all to see, with no regard to the consequences.
PFC Manning behaved maliciously. I do not believe for an instant that he was in any way a "whistleblower". He was simply a hacker, and he got caught. Unless he can explain how releasing confidential cables containing diplomats opinions of other countries leaders is wrong-doing, all he did was violate his oath as a soldier, and the agreement he signed which gave him his security clearance.
He is not a hero. He is a petty criminal whose nonsense had massive implications.
Manning simply released everything he could get his treasonous hands on. He wasn't blowing the whistle on anything. Besides, as these docs were released and reports hit the press, I don't recall any great revelations that exposed any wrong doing by our government. I could have missed the big news, if there were any big news. Many of these classified docs showed that the government had acted in a very respectable aboveboard way. Unfortunately, many had names of foreign collaberators who may have met their end because of this jerk.
I have never understood why this Assange character of wikileaks is not being charged for receiving stolen property, at the very least.
good point
he should have a fair trial and then get exeuted...
Manning did wrong. The released documents described more wrongs. Two wrongs don't make a right. He is responsible for his actions as much as those who perpetrated the actions he revealed.
"Tens of thousands of Dutch children were sexually abused by priests and other Roman Catholic figures, but church officials failed to take adequate action or report problems to police, a panel finds." By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2011
"Iraq Massacre Retold Through Journalist’s Junkyard Discovery" By Joe Coscarelli, New York Magazine, 12/15/11 at 1:56 PM
"Congress May Probe Leaked Global Warming E-Mails" By Declan McCullagh, CBS News, November 24, 2009 11:40 AM
The events exposed by Manning, the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine CBS News are not new to our world, just more difficult to hide. We owe great debts to those who created the information age and all who participate.
If releasing damning information against a corrupt American Govt. that continues its war against mankind , with bloodshed by the 99% for the 1% , then all these comments truly represent America at its height of IGNORANCE ..........
Drones over American skies , Militarized terrorist pepper spraying cops beating American Veterans in Oakland Ca. , Incarcerating American citizens in military styled F.E.M.A , Concentration camps on American tax paid land ,the Violation of this True American soldier is only the beginning in a string of Corruption against American Citizens , or soon to be numbered scared GOATS .......
The only thing Mr. Manning did wrong , was enlisting in An American Tax Paid Torture and kIlling Machine , created by this American Govt. to create PEACE .........
Well as a military member my only comment to you is, Your Welcome.
tried! waterboarded! and shot!
not coddled with three squares and a cot!
TRAITOR PLAIN AND SIMPLE in peace time we jail traitors in war times we shoot them. Lat time I looked we have been a country at war over a decade now. Some one give me the bullet. The rest of you traitor defenders can pack your bags and get out of America your not wanted or welcome here. A traitor defender is no better than the traitor.
America has been at war for over 94 years. What is right and what is legal is sometime a wide variation in America. We need whistle blowers in America to keep our Government honest. If you want to be lied to and if you want to believe that America is run by good men go ahead.
What I want is a safe way for people that know the truth to tell us because I know that there are few good men in power.
This kid has no idea how deep he is actually into this, I would seriously consider requesting a new defense team, the best defense they can offer is he did these things because his hormones were scrambled and he is or was sexually confused or overwhelmed or PMSing???? He seriously needs better legal counsel than he currently has, they're going to definitely get his butt in front of a firing squad.....
Sometimes I wonder just who the enemy is. All these people advocating for a man who did serious damage to our nation's security.
Are you serious!?! This traitor? A whistle-blower?
Sheesh!
For the last time, he's not a whistleblower. WB's have targeted goals. He released everything he could get his hands on without even reviewing it. That's wreckless and malicious.
Smarter then anything MSM or the 1%'r owned Military Politi'cons' can come up with. You can't make this story up in Hollywood, but it's 24/7 in DC and happens either in 'declared' war or CIA 'covert' war. FREE PFC MANNING! COURAGEOUS WHISTLEBLOWER, example of a PATRIOTIC AMERICAN, prior to the 'self-serving BUSH/CIA UNPATRIOTIC ACT! You think these criminals in congress are going to 'elevate' the ability to expose and prosecute them for their crimes, hardly. Congress is completely unregulated, they vote themselves more power every day. I'm not taking a 2 week Christmas Break, can't afford that on my 'new' reduced to poverty middle class salary. Of course, I don't have lobbyists to 'pay' for my 'family' holiday. Screw them, turning America into Dumb@!$%#istan, get back to work, YOU GET MONDAY OFF, like the few who still get a holiday off. Not two weeks! These idiots are blind to what they have wrought with their ALEC agenda.
Here is an example of Treasonous actions and congress's push for total 'Government' dissinformation and/or coverup using current 'American (owner = non-US Born 1%'r) Media/Internet' resources:
Rupert Murdoch, that Aussie with his 'I'm Rich and Don't have to Pay Taxes' US Citizenship, showing up on the 'Hill' last week for back slapping and a round of 'covert PAC checks' to push HIS agenda to monopolize and control AMERICAN Internet Content coming into, and going out of, the US based. This is WHOLLY a 'cut n paste' of the current 'Iran Plan' which Iranian citizens are subjected to. His Republi'con' Puppets spin it as a 'business protection.' This attempt to suppress free information is certainly more criminal and treasonous then what PFC Manning is 'alleged' to have done.
All of this combined with all the other self-serving 'laws' and authority agencies created to suppress democracy over the last 4 Republican held White House years, from Nixon to Shrub Jr., has increased the power of the federal government, created 'thought' police, contracted Military run amok, Trillions in debt and is WHAT the 99% is looking at..
The CRIMES these 1%'rs have committed since the Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Financial Reform Act of 1936, in..... drumbeat.... 2000, gave them carte blanc to commit financial murder against the 99%. Reinstate that puppy, make it retroactive to 2000, and watch Congress, Wall Street and the Financial Banks CEO's line up in a row, like the piggies they are, and march into prison.
PFC Manning gave us the source of the 'Real' criminals, in congress, in military, contractors, 'cash for murder' in this very first American/Barbarian Invader 'guns for hire' economic war. I LOVE IT!!!! The 'Fools on the Hill,' i.e. current 'sitting' CONGRESS, and 'G' Jr.'s CONGRESS/White House clan, should be prosecuted before the ICC for Crimes Against Humanity. Really, we could load them up in a couple of jets and drop them in just about any foreign country for immediate prosecution. Bet ol' Cheney and Rove, Bushies, don't leave American soil..... much now, if at all.
Improve the image of America and you improve our relationship with the rest of the world. Keep committing acts of war from American bases using Drones and other Covert CIA style operations and fully expect to be engaged on US Soil. I certainly don't trust the Americans who labeled themselves as 'Christians' and led us onto this path of hate, war and destruction, do you?
He's not a whistleblower. He released everything he could touch without regard for its content. That is a massive security threat, no matter the results. What's more, he released it to a foreign national with a history of anti-American sentiments, instead of the proper channels to qualify for protections.
As for your last statement, I don't trust anyone who gives a @!$%# about the difference between "Christians" and anybody else. @!$%# organized religion, it has no place in this.
First of all secret and top secret material is compartmentalized, even though you may have secret or top secret clearance, you are not entitled to see every bit of material, the material you are privy to is on a need to know basis. Pvt Manning released the information and should not be given whistleblower protection what he did was espionage at best and treason at worst. He will be afforded an opportunity to answer for his crimes in a Court Martial. The bad thing is we taxpayers will have to support this low life weasel for the rest of his life.
bush an his admin classified everything because everything they did was hurting this country.They are the
ones that betrayed their country and should be on trial.Manning should be given a medal.Their admin did
more damage,2 unfunded wars,1000000 dead,millions homeless,deep recession,trillions of
dollars in Trash AAA bonds an derivitives,emptied banks world wide,the 1% richer by billions,etc
Never have so many 99% been screwed by so few1%,"MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"
You have zero idea how the classification system works. And you have zero idea what it really means to be a hero.