Whistleblowing in the Wind

Guest-blogging at BradBlog yesterday, FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds made a passionate plea to America’s intelligence officials “to make yourselves available as witnesses and to serve the true supervisor of us all: the Constitution.”

High officials have perverse incentives to hide what is done in their orders by the employees below them. It is indispensable that Congress reach deep inside the National Security Agency and other agencies, seeking out employees at the operational level to determine how the President’s illegal order was carried into action. To assure that this occurs, we need for people with information from the agencies involved to come forward and ask to be interviewed by Congress. The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition calls on people with knowledge of unconstitutional surveillance of American citizens to contact NSWBC and let us know that they are willing to provide congress with information and testimony. Anonymity, if desired, will be scrupulously honored.

Meanwhile, as someone who did the right thing, and got her ass handed to her for it, appeals to others to similarly do the right thing, irrespective of the personal consequences, in an attempt to unearth the truth, the Justice Department has opened an investigation—not into the administration’s pernicious activities, but into who leaked the information.

The officials, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, said the inquiry will focus on disclosures to The New York Times about warrantless surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks…

The Justice Department's investigation was being initiated after the agency received a request for the probe from the NSA.

Fabulous. Nice to see the wheels of justice turning so smoothly as they crush the truth tellers in their path.