Senate Intelligence Committee A Lot More Interested In Punishing Whistleblowers Than In Investigating Why They're Blowing The Whistle

from the but-of-course... dept

Fri, Jul 27th 2012 10:03am — Mike Masnick

A few weeks back, we noted how ridiculous it was that Senator Dianne Feinstein seemed a lot more upset that information about questionable US activities abroad was being leaked than she was about the fact that the US was involved in questionable activities abroad. And, now the Senate Intelligence Committee (of which Feinstein is the chair) has pushed out new rules targeting those who leak information to the press (what most of us call whistleblowing). The Secrecy News blog does a good job highlighting how this seems to be much more about sweeping bad activities under the rug and blaming whistleblowers, rather than actually stopping bad behavior by government:

In an earlier generation of intelligence oversight, leaks led to leak investigations in executive agencies, but they also prompted substantive oversight in Congress. When Seymour Hersh and the New York Times famously reported on unlawful domestic surveillance in December 1974, the urgent question in Congress was not how did Hersh find out, or how similar disclosures could be prevented, but what to do about the alarming facts that had been disclosed.

In contrast, while pursuing leaks and leakers, today’s Senate Intelligence Committee has not held an open public hearing for six months. The Committee’s investigative report concerning CIA interrogation practices from ten years (and two presidential terms) ago has still not been issued. Upon publication — perhaps this fall — it will essentially be a historical document.

Most fundamentally, the Committee’s new draft legislation errs by treating “classification” as a self-validating category — i.e., if it’s classified, it warrants protection by definition — rather than as the flawed administrative instrument that it is.

Effectively, the new rules would make it that much harder for anyone in the intelligence community to blow the whistle if they come across illegal activities by the government. It effectively treats all activity by the government as good and any "leak" as bad, even if it would serve to highlight massive government abuse. That's pretty scary. Not only will it create massive chilling effects for anyone seeking to stop illegal government behavior, but it will actually provide even more cover for the government to ignore the laws.

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Filed Under: chilling effects, dianne feinstein, investigations, privacy, whistleblowers

30 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:10am

HE STOLE MY BALOONS!
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Ninja (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:19am

Not only will it create massive chilling effects for anyone seeking to stop illegal government behavior, but it will actually provide even more cover for the government to ignore the laws.

US Govt said: Mission accomplished.
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art guerrilla (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:20am

difi is one of the worst 'offenders'...
the estimable glenn greenwald had a recent post at salon about this very subject...
needless to say, difi is well known among insiders as one of THE primary leakers of confidential/top secret gummint info...
'course, she is leaking to make the spooks look 'good', while the 'bad' leakers are leaking to make the spooks look 'bad', so there's that...
i'll say this again, it is one of the essential lessons of a free and open democracy (which we no longer are):
ALL secret, non-transparent institutions WILL become corrupted; it is not a matter of IF, it is only a matter of WHEN...
they will ALL become corrupted, as all of 'our' (sic) institutions (including 'our' (sic) gummint) have become...
simply inevitable human nature...
precisely why openness, transparency are CRITICAL to enforce on all institutions...
art guerrilla
aka ann archy
eof
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Kassam Spayed, 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:29am

"Senate Intelligence"
Senate Intelligence

OK, stop with the hilarious quips - I can't stop laughing after those first two words!
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:37am

Re: difi is one of the worst 'offenders'...
Yep, it's practically sacrilegious to offend the 'powers-that-bye'.

How DARE the proles think they can speak out about abuses!!
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:37am

Re: Re: difi is one of the worst 'offenders'...
*be

dammit.
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Nick Dynice (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:37am

Feel free to leave comments on Feinstein's Facebook wall posts regarding this topic.

http://www.facebook.com/SenatorFeinstein/posts/254424444658557
http://www.facebook.com/Se natorFeinstein/posts/420875764602267
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=420370754652768
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Mesonoxian Eve (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:41am

I just want to remind people the Senate Intelligence Committee works under the motto "Shoot First So Questions Are Never Asked."
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:41am

The business of government...
If Congress were to investigate all of the questionable and shady dealings revealed by whistleblowers, they'd never have time to do anything else.
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gnudist, 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:49am

Re: Re: difi is one of the worst 'offenders'...
Ignorance is strength doncha know.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:51am

the reason for that is obvious. how much work is involved in saying to someone 'you've been naughty and this is your punishment (5 years in Gitmo!)'

compare that to conducting an investigation to find out what was the cause for the whistle blowing in the first place, what exactly has happened, who was involved, when it happened, the consequences of what was leaked, then trying to change the law to fit the 'crime' and decide on a punishment, whilst keeping it secret from the rest of the world.

seems like a 'no-brainer' to me!
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Thor Luther, 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:51am

Crooks in the kitchen
This is what happens when cooks cap their teeth, buy nice hair (etc.) and muscle/buy their way into power. But... we play Let's Pretend that "we" are a nation of laws (democracy, indeed).
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 10:55am

Re: Re: Re: difi is one of the worst 'offenders'...
Ignorance is strength doncha know.

And the US is the strongest, by far.
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Rapnel (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:13am

Re: The business of government...
I'm sorry, I'm sorry but what "else" else is it that they're doing? Apart from jockeying for their next term of course.
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Anonymous Monkey (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:14am

Re: Re: Re: difi is one of the worst 'offenders'...
actually .. you were closer earlier:
'powers-that-buy'
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Jeff_Vader_runs_the_Deathstar? (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:15am

Re: The business of government...
You say that like it's a bad thing...
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Rekrul, 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:16am

This country needs an enema...
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Machin Shin (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:23am

Re:
"US Govt said: Mission accomplished."

You should be expecting the FBI any moment now. This information had been deemed "classified" and they must close this "leak"
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Josef Anvil (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:28am

The result of terrorism
This is largely the result of using "Terrorism" as the reason to ignore all rights. Couple that with using "Patriotism" as the reason not to question anything the government does and you have the perfect environment for government.

We are stopping the terrorists by [delete right], and the opponents of this legislation are not patriotic.
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New Mexico Mark, 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:31am

Re: Re: difi is one of the worst 'offenders'...
"powers-that-bye'

For a moment there, I was hopeful about the US Gov. Trust me, I'd like to say "buh bye" to a lot of the powers we have now!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 11:56am

Re:
I would think a lobotomy (they are the supposed to be the "head" after all)...
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Tunnen (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 12:00pm

I'm surprised that no one in Congress has though of introducing a bill to outlaw "whistles". Perhaps also make the manufacturing, possession, and/or use of whistles illegal. This will help protect the children's ears!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 12:21pm

I seems we owe anapology to Caligula.
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Jay (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 12:24pm

Hold the phone...
There's a lot of media saying that the largest leaker is Diane Feinstein herself.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 12:35pm

These are proposals right now. I am worried that leaving out details like this would cause panic.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 1:40pm

Re: Re: The business of government...
Those tax cuts won't extend themselves!
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Keii (profile), 27 Jul 2012 @ 1:46pm

Re: Re:
I think it could go either way at this point.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2012 @ 3:30pm

More laws to hide more corrupt behavior? Whistleblowers will find better ways to hide their identities, and increased corruption will just increase the number of leaks.
Honesty is still the best policy.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Jul 2012 @ 8:41am

So what they're saying is if I want to break the law with the least risk of it actually going public I should work for the government.

It would be pretty nice to rob a bank then receive a 6 month administr... paid vacation.
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McCrea (profile), 31 Jul 2013 @ 8:37am

Re:
Who? Glenn Greenwald?
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