Early in March, the whistleblower John Kiriakou was released from prison, after serving nearly
2 years for revealing information about the CIA’s torture program.
Even though the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 offers federal protection to whistleblowers,
the costs of whistleblowing are still often very serious.
So what dangers do whistleblowers face?
Well, people who expose corruption in the company they work -or have worked- for, can
be unlawfully fired from their jobs, they can be subject to long-term unemployment,
and they can even face prison time and death threats.
Various legislation was enacted in the 20th century to guard against these repercussions.
The Whistleblower Protection Act worked specifically for employees of federal agencies, and guaranteed
against any retaliatory actions towards the whistleblower.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was another federal law which prohibited
employer discrimination against whistleblowing employees.
Unfortunately, employer discrimination can be hard to prove, and there are numerous other
laws and loopholes which exist that interfere with these protections.
That’s why Kiriakou was convicted in what was, a “tremendous miscarriage of justice”
according to the non-profit group, “the Government Accountability Project”.
In 2007, Kiriakou publically blew the whistle on CIA torture practices, like waterboarding.
But because the FBI proved that he released sensitive information on his former co-workers,
Kiriakou was prosecuted on five felonies related to the Espionage Act and the Intelligence
Identities Protection Act.
More allegations against the CIA were later released in the Torture Report, yet no other
high ranking official has been convicted.
To learn why, watch Trace’s video on the subject.
Edward Snowden is perhaps the most well-known whistleblower of recent times, who released
classified NSA documents revealing the invasive scope of their spying program.
While the leaks have resulted in more government transparency to the public, Snowden has been
forced to seek political asylum in Russia.
Snowden’s lawyer has accused US officials of threatening Snowden with bodily harm.
Despite all the potential dangers that whistleblowers face, there are still some benefits.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission created a whistleblower program in 2012, which
promises confidentiality to the whistleblower, and also rewards them with a 10 to 30% cut
of the penalty money collected from the perpetrator.
In March 2015, the SEC reported a payment of around half a million dollars to an anonymous
whistleblower.
Despite the dangers and ramifications of revealing an employer’s secrets, honesty and transparency
remain the driving motivations for many whistleblowers.
Snowden has said that his sole motivation for leaking classified documents was to inform
the public.
And when a reporter asked Kiriakou, after all he’s been through, if he would blow
the whistle again if given the chance, Kiriakou said, “I’m proud to have played a role
in the end of torture as US government policy, and I would do it all again.”
So we’ve got a really fantastic new show where we take a look at some amazing untold
stories around the world.
This one’s about some inspiring death photographers in India, and how they play a vital role in
the rituals of burial.
You can click the link at the top of the description to see it now.
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