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The "Insider Threat Program" And The Government's War On Whistleblowers
Submitted by Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
The Obama Administration’s Orwellian government employee snitch network, dubbed the “Insider Threat Program,” first made headlines about a year ago. I found it to be so disturbingly significant I wrote a post about it titled: The 3 Key Takeaways from the Ridiculous “Insider Threat Program.” Those 3 key takeaways were that it…
- Creates a horrible and counterproductive work environment where everyone distrusts everyone else.
- Solidifies the fact the government is not interested in solving problems, but rather is focused on continuing the cronyism and criminality and merely covering it up.
- Exposes how completely hopeless and terminal the status quo is.
Fast forward a year, and it appears that several members of Congress are also becoming increasingly concerned. Some are starting to ask questions, but as usual, the “most transparent administration in history” is entirely nontransparent. We learn from the Washington Post that:
In early April, Sen. Charles E. Grassley summoned FBI officials to his Capitol Hill office. He said he wanted them to explain how a program designed to uncover internal security threats would at the same time protect whistleblowers who wanted to report wrongdoing within the bureau.
The meeting with two FBI officials, including the chief of the bureau’s Insider Threat Program, ended almost as soon as it began. The officials said the FBI would protect whistleblowers by “registering” them. When Grassley’s staff members asked them to elaborate, the FBI officials declined to answer any more questions and headed for the door.
“We’re leaving,” said J. Christopher McDonough, an FBI agent assigned to the bureau’s congressional affairs office, said Senate staff members who attended the meeting.
The episode infuriated Grassley (Iowa), a leading advocate for whistleblowers in Congress and the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Any effort to register whistleblowers, he said, would “clearly put a target on their backs.”
The Insider Threat Program and a continuous monitoring initiative under consideration in the intelligence community were begun by the Obama administration after the leaks of classified information by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning, and the Navy Yard shootings by Aaron Alexis, who used his security clearance to gain access to the base.
The programs are designed to prevent leaks of classified information by monitoring government computers and employees’ behavior.
Grassley said the episode with the FBI illustrates how federal agencies are setting up internal security programs without giving careful consideration to whether they could dissuade whistleblowers from coming forward.
“The Insider Threat Program has the potential for taking the legs out from underneath all of the whistleblower protections we have,” Grassley said in a recent interview.
Greg Klein, the head of the FBI’s Insider Threat Program, and McDonough, the congressional affairs agent, did not return calls seeking comment. An FBI spokesman said the bureau does not plan to register whistleblowers. He said there was a misunderstanding about the nature of the briefing with staff members for Grassley, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and a law enforcement official who is assigned to the Senate panel. The spokesman noted that the FBI has a whistleblower training program for employees and a whistleblower protection office.
Of course not. Why would a federal police force have to answer to Congress or the media? It’s not like this is a democracy or anything.
Furthermore, of course there was a “misunderstanding,” your representatives stormed out of the meeting like petulant toddlers.
Grassley is part of a growing chorus of lawmakers on Capitol Hill and attorneys for whistleblowers who warn that the Insider Threat Program and the potential intelligence community initiative threaten to undermine federal workers’ ability to report wrongdoing without retaliation.
Together, the programs cover millions of federal workers and contractors at every government agency.
“I think it’s time to put up the caution light here,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“This really has the potential for abuse, and I think it could have a chilling effect on the public’s right to know and effective oversight of our government,” Wyden said.
Michael German, a former undercover FBI agent and whistleblower, called the Insider Threat Program a “dangerous” initiative.
“These agencies have long treated whistleblowers as security threats and this makes things even worse,” said German, now a senior national security fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
As I have maintained time and time again, what is clear since the Edward Snowden revelations is that the government has zero interest in reining in these programs. It merely wants to make sure the public can never learn about government criminality in the future. Hence the aggressive “war on whistleblowers.”
Full article here.
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"Creates a horrible and counterproductive work environment where everyone distrusts everyone else."
That one sounds an awful lot like everyday life. Wonder why...
The doctor told me i had a tumor needing removal. Turns out his wife needed a jet ski.
You have to be stupid or indifferent not to know what is going on
in government today. Take your pick.
the most obvious insider threat is ironically the Insider Threat Program itself
Does blogging stuff like this put me on the list??? lol
http://zionismsucks.com/2014/07/25/the-end-of-israel/
If you want government, you better expect to get every evil it can possibly do.
To think otherwise is foolish.
Don't fight.
Walk away from a crumbling empire!
Sounds remarkably like the old East Germany. Maybe that;s why Merkel can see right through it and is moving towards Russia?
A couple years ago, in a State of Russia speech, Putin asked why the US was going towards where Russia had just left.
Much respect for you here Plad, but where can one walk when all paths lead to the same enemy. Also, problem is, when one wants to fight it can be a bit challenging to figure out who the fuck is right. Personally I've struggled with this for years and I'm just now figuring it out, hard to imagine the confusion most might have, scratch that, most are apathetic and just dont give a shit....
No more lies, no mor lies
AD
What do you mean all paghs lead to the same enemy? The Federal Reserve is not everywhere.
The end-goal is truly Orwellian: neighbor to tell on neighbor, child to tell on parent, disciple to tell on master, husband to tell on wife.
Globalization helps acheive the necessary chaos against the unity of a community. Watch for patterns.
"See Something - Say Something" slogans here in Texas. Not sure about the rest of the States.
Do your local people abuse each other as per their recommendation? i.e. goody-2shoes calling the cops on homeboy smokin a J, taking a walk with a beer outside, etc.
Not sure I could answer that honestly. I know that I FINALLY secured 40 acres of raw land hours from any large city. Hopefully far enough out that no one can 'see' anything to feel the need to 'say' something ;)
I just think its sad that it is obvious to us what is going on in the world... the very few of 'us'
When we see something, we say something! - Smith & Wesson -
Good one Grumbleduke,
The meeting with two FBI officials, including the chief of the bureau’s Insider Threat Program, ended almost as soon as it began. The officials said the FBI would protect whistleblowers by “registering” them. When Grassley’s staff members asked them to elaborate, the FBI officials declined to answer any more questions and headed for the door.
I'm glad to know that none of these "Unintended Consequences" could ever happen by registering say, GUNS. /Sarc
Reach out and touch someone...
http://www.bushmaster.com/firearms/BA50.asp
Same in the NE - It should read 'Brown Shirts - See Something - Say Something"
The proto fascist Wilson administration did the same and worse about 100 years ago. He was a Harvard academic too, on record, and how, against our pesky Constitution.
So bad that he was worse than Obama, but Obama is not done yet.
over one hundred years of voting
repetitive same results
and yet, so few seem to realise
it's the SYSTEM, not the FIGUREHEAD
and so it staggers along
habitually.
If the whole neighbor-on-neighbor, brother-on-brother thing isn't corrected, then it is likely to devolve from snitching to shooting. Civil War Bitchez.
"husband to tell on wife."
Wife to tell on husband. Fixed it for ya. It almost never works in the vector you wrote.
Almost? They can do whatever they want and then say "he hit me". Game over...
Should be easy to fogure out where their "problems" lie-just have NSA kick on the webcam at each Fed.gov employee computer!!!!
Fuck you Obummer, Alexander, and all others who have contributed to the trampling of the US Constitution
Why pine away for the Constitution, it didn't make anyone free.
That's true, but adherence to it did - In Summary: My rights to do as I please end at the next person's nose and wallet. Unless someone else initiates force against you, you are in fact free from that force.
The definition of government is the opposite of that of freedom. The very existence of government means a corresponding loss of freedom.
So exactly how does that work?
A new slogan: Less Freedom Means More Freedom.
Yep, the Libs and their biased MSM screamed...
Bloody-murder at Bush for this,
But the Obozo Admin is doing the same damn thing...
But only on steroids (much much worse)...
And what do we hear from the Lib-biased MSM?
Crickets... not a fukin' peep!
Bush and Obama are both weak-willed, useless twats - the perfect type of people for the presidency because they're spineless and easy to manipulate.
Any potential candidate with a backbone is automatically smeared as "too far out of the mainstream" by the MSM and their masters so they don't have a chance in the end.
There hasn't been a president who was his own man since JFK and you see how he ended up.
There's not a smidgen of corruption....
TSA, NSA, etc. not involved in protecting but totally about controlling I hate my country at this point and hope for it to fail and break apart-
it has not been "United States" since the southern states were destroyed through scorthed earth (by big govenrment) and denied their right to freedom.
The original document was titled "Constitution FOR THESE United States." [Emphasis mine.] The plurality was lost with Mr. Lincoln's reign of terror.
As soon as you have "command central," your 'civilization' eats shit.
All a constitution does is to create a select group of individuals and give them made up rights to trump the rights you have.
After that, it's off to the races.
Some people get quite offended when you suggest there be no rules. It's like their whole world gets tossed into the blender and shoved down their throats, only for them to puke back at you "NO!"
Actually there would be more rules and more protections, they just wouldn't be used offensively and against a population the way government does. The right to carry and kicking the real criminals out of society and denying them any of its amenities would make society far safer.
Most people can't understand that their own government constantly wages war against them. More and more will though, as the government boot stomps on their faces.
Trading with the enemy act. Most don't get who the enemy is...
"hope for it to fail and break apart" Funny that you should say that as that is what O and many others are wanting also. They are now going for broke.
Totally disagree with you Klock. Its not about making it fail or breaking it apart, its about total capture of a system and reducing that system and all global human management systems to similar levels. Remove ambition, remove personal choice, remove freedom of movement, and above all else remove any physical threat to the "elected" controllers.
Know your enemy
AD
So you support dishonesty?
So you support corruption?
So you support fraud?
So you support MURDER? (That is what it is when Obama kills without due process.)
So you support the oligarchy?
You can place your faith in that if you so shall choose.
Of course you need be willing to accept the consequences of that support. You will reap the consequences of all of the sin which you have sown. There is no forgiveness for the unrepentant.
Personally I have absolutely NO FAITH and NO CONFIDENCE WHATSOEVER in the current United States Government.
It is a sham.
It is a Fraud.
It is a farce.
It has lost its Moral Compass and serves to bring about misery and suffering to, not only her own people, but to the rest of the Planet also.
It is of SATAN.
As I am a proponent of the Kingdom of God, it will give me nothing but cause for celebration when the Fraudulent, Dishonest, Corrupt and Murderous Oligarchy collapses and is trashed, rightfully, into the dustbin of History.
The Kingdom of God is the ANTITHESIS for which the United States Government currently stands.
I am looking forward to the wrath of God being set upon the deserving. That is where I place my Faith and Confidence. I place it in God Almighty through Christ Jesus.
And that is my choice.
Do you require any clarification? Am I clear?
And it won't be the united States of America again until you change your mind and enough other minds to stand up and fight for what you are willing handing it over to globalist scum.
I speak with a ridiculous number of people around the world every day. Our conversations are often cover global issues. These people almost all realize what you had for freedom, what you still have for freedom (although significantly less than before) and what you could have again for freedom in an instant if you would unite and fight for it. They almost universally have asked me: WTF is wrong with Americans?
Based on your comment "I hate my country at this point and hope for it to fail and break apart" it sounds like you've given up and are willing to just bend over for these pieces of shit destroying your country, but more importantly its ideals, without a fight. WTF?
My country is a puppet of your country which is a puppet of another country and so on and so on.
Your fight is our fight is someone else's fight. You see how that works? Stop surrendering already.
Take the John Paul Jones approach. "I have not yet begun to fight"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcskckuosxQ
Agreed. And for the record: How many senators or congressmen have resigned from office in protest against the abuses and violations of the constitution perpetrated by the US government? Put your money where your mouth is, Mr Representative/Senator, and walk away from the salary and the perqs. I am still waiting for: "I am resigning because I will not serve in a government that no longer serves the people it governs." That would get some attention. The old excuse "I am working to change things from inside" is just lip-service to obscure the fact that in the end...ya kinda like the lifestyle that living of other people's money gives ya.
TSL- don't believe the fairytale. They're all vetted and owned before they get anywhere near showing up on the ballot.
Interesting post. I think generally we are at the point where Americans who give a shit about this stuff are trying to figure out whether it's more expedient to let the system collapse or to destroy it.
Option 3: GTFO
I am now middle age. I see what is going on and don't have the interest in doing what would be necessary to keep it together. I also seriously doubt there would be any way for one person (me) to make a difference and that person would be hammered down like the standout nail. I am poo flinging solely and working diligently on finding another place to reside. I have even vowed to never follow politics when I am afar. Call it the head-in-sand strategy if you will but I would rather tend to some fruit trees in the back yard than get wrapped up in the latest bullshit power grab by the USG.
AssFire, I'm not sure about the Down-tics, as you made a 2 part statement. But my 1st guess is that 3 people's understanding of the South and The Civil War may have stopped at the Public Education Level.
The framers' vision of individual liberty, limited government & free enterprise economics that was America is long dead, replaced by the United State_, a consolidated government that has absorbed the states since the worst president, Lincoln, decreed that membership in the union was no longer voluntary.
Jefferson warned us that "...whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force...that the government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself..." "In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch8s41.html
"I think it's time to put up the caution light here,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee"
Oh, my God, you think so?
Just keep going. Do whatever the fuck you want. You lost all of us years ago. You can't fix this problem from the inside.
Haha, jump off a cliff, Wyden. It will be a start.
********
Why a Red? I was referring to Wyden as a generic politician.
More Kabuki theatre starring the the usual cast of elephant-jackass sock puppets.
Why didn't these U.S. senators have the Sergeant at Arms escort the alphabet-agency minions to the Capitol dungeon in chains? Why don't they de-fund the $#!+ out of the Kenyan Usurper's NSA, TSA, etc.? Obviously, CONgress is complicit.
Owned is the word you are looking for.
#mosttransparentadministrationever
Registered whistleblowers...lol...I can see it now.
Faceless-Unelected Bureaucrat: I can see by your file here that you haven't registered and paid your fee with the newly created FBRW (Federal Bureau of Registered Whistleblowers). You can't make a claim against the federal bureaucracy without registering with the bureaucracy first. These documents are out of order, unlicensed and furthermore we're reporting you to the IRS for conducting an activity without a license to see if you have any unreported monies flowing to your unpatriotic efforts!
You know that somewhere some NSA bureaucrat is reading this,taking notes, and wondering why they didnt think of this themselves.
I thought it funny when the Washington Post article's author dead-pan endorsed Pvt. Bradley Manning's silly name-change.
Stop me if you heard this Obama Joke.
Most. Transparent. President. Ever.
Transparently criminal.
As transparent as a shit smeared sheet of glass.
FUCK THE FBI...
FUCK THE CIA...
FUCK HOMELAND SECURITY...
FUCK THE NSA...
FUCK ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKING MONEYCHANGER CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND REPRESENTATIVES...
AND MOTHER FUCK YOU O'CONMAN...
Replace Washington D.C. with open source software. Replace the monetary ssystem with crypto-currencies (thousands of them). Replace Lawyers with the blockchain.
Do it for the kids.
To a small but Significant degree,
We are ALL whistleblowers.
AND Better armed than all the masked dudes at the end of V for Vendetta too
The difference between EBT cardholders and Wall Street welfare queens is the scale of handouts albeit some EBT cardholders have worked for a living and are unfortunate enough to have had their former jobs shipped off to developing countries.
The welfare queens and revolving door government lackeys see fit to spend tax payer money on security to fend off the great unwashed and so whistleblowers would obviously be a threat in exposing the corruption.
Unfortunately unlike the Taliban soft belly developed sheep still place value on their pathetic slave handout existence.
Nothing which has been written on the subject is news to the folks who give a shit and unfortunately WE are not addressing SOLUTIONS even at this late juncture in time, content to sit back, winge and wait impatiently frustrated for the GREAT RESET.
Rubbing it into our face tonight Barry states that it is clear that Russia has assisted the Ukrainian Resistence by supply arms.
Fucking incredible as he has assisted terrorists in Libya, Iraq twice, Syria and Ukraine itself not to mention a host of other countries we know and some we don't. FUCK YOU BARRY YOU DIRTY CUNT.
Ok I'm planning a million whistle march on washington whos in?
CONgress clueing in 6 years late. Yep, sounds about right. Clueless by design.
No comment.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/al-qaeda-targeting-u-s-infrastru...
No worries Basiat.
That's what smart meters are for. They'll protect us.
OH NOOOOOO! Not the tourists again!
O.K. class. ....Little Billy is gonna tell us who stole Judy Schelpelstein's bi-focal googly glasses. Afterwards, Little Billy's gonna wish he'd never been born!
the FBI, the DOJ, et al are worthless as tits on a rattlesnake
Speaking of snakes, this story is just more evidence that whole rotten system is like a snake eating it's own tail. Very soon the snake will run out of snake to eat and that's when the bubble pops.
Just as all the scary Truths (Power corrupts.....etc) are true, it is also true these Regimes do eventually self-destruct.
At one point, Hitler had the most powerful nation in Europe. It's evil nature and construct, however, assured its eventual destruction.
We hope this is not to be the Fate of the US, but it looks quite Dark right now.....
"It’s not like this is a democracy or anything."
Well, we used to be a Republic...
News Brief
Jewish deputy PM Groysman to serve as Ukraine’s acting prime minister | JTA, Jewish Telegraph Agency, Global Jewish News Source
July 24, 2014
(JTA) — Volodymyr Groysman, a deputy prime minister who is Jewish, was appointed acting prime minister of Ukraine following the resignation of Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
Groysman was tapped at a special Cabinet meeting on Thursday, according to the RIA Novosti news site. He joined the government in February as deputy prime minister for regional policy and is a former mayor of the city of Vinnytsia.
Groysman will serve until lawmakers elect an interim prime minister prior to parliamentary elections early next year. Oleksandr Turchynov, the parliament’s speaker, has asked parties to nominate candidates.
Yatsenyuk resigned Thursday after two coalition partners pulled out to launch the process for new parliamentary elections — the first since the ouster in February of Viktor Yanukovych, the Russian-backed president.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted a senior member of one of the coalition parties that pulled out as saying that they had expected Yatsenyuk to remain as interim prime minister, but Yatsenyuk said in his resignation announcement that he was frustrated at his inability to get laws passed.
Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/07/24/news-opinion/world/volodymyr-groysman-tapped-as-acting-premier-in-ukraine#ixzz38TTYSAce
You can't make this shit up. The ziobots aren't even trying to hide their ambitions anymore.
Jack booted thugs! Come here quick! My neighbor watered 2 days last week! Not only that, he's clearly for more border control and even likes the name "Redskins". Clearly racycissst and needs to be removed to a reeducation camp.
Your neighbor is a wuss. MY neighbor flies an American flag and has a vegetable garden in his back yard. He is clearly overdue for a 3 a.m. multi-agency SWAT raid.
When governments spy on their people and government propaganda programs intersect it is very dangerous and the potential of abuse is huge. This leads down a road towards less freedom and is paved with the bones of all those who have failed to be outraged by governments slowly removing their liberties
This leaves all of us open to both blackmail or abuse by those in power for what they claim is a greater good as they determine just what that might be. Never overestimate the sophistication and ability of our government to clarify exactly what is happening anywhere and at any time. The recent score of scandals plaguing Washington makes it clear that more fact-free confusion and speculation the fuel of propaganda-based reporting system is in no shortage. More on this subject in the article below.
http://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2014/07/when-propaganda-and-surveillance....
ussa is synching its policies and agencies with those of russia as was planned over 50 yrs ago. meanwhile even many zh'rs are largely falling for the obama bad/putin good false narrative. cheer for our demise and their ascendancy if you must, global communism is the essence of the new world order and all this nation state rising and falling and posturing is just intermediate to globalism w teeth. google global governance 2025. and ebay the book "communist america must it be" by billy james hargis 1960....
Is a guy in your office on the telephone? It may be an insider threat.
Is anyone on a computer? Insider threat!
Is anyone in the office today? Insider threat!
True story:
Through various consulting firms I used to do contract work for the Federal government: in medical research and later programming for medical diagnostic devices - usually in conjunction with major medical centers and diagnostics hardware.manufacturers. Since much of our work was published in medical and other scientific journals, it was hardly "top security" stuff. (Way back in the late 1970's, I worked on one "classified" project for the Army - but never had to undergo any security clearance even for that one.)
In the mid-2000's (I forget the exact year) one day we were all handed a "Security Questionnaire" by the FBI, which asked a great number of very personal questions. However, since the form clearly stated that participation was VOLUNTARY, I declined to answer any questions. About a week later an FBI agent appeared at my office (within that government agency) and stated that, although the questionnaire was technically "voluntary", failure to fully complete it would result in my NOT being able to work on any government projects.
Since I regarded the requirement of filling out this questionnaire as a breach of contract, I simply got up from my desk and walked out of that agency right then and there - and never returned. Our lawyer backed us up. Our firm never contracted with any Federal agency after that.
I used to pity the regular-guy Federal workers for all the bullshit bureaucracy they had to put up with.
“It is the invariable habit of bureaucracies, at all times and everywhere, to assume that every citizen is a criminal. Their one apparent purpose, pursued with a relentless and furious diligence, is to convert the assumption into a fact. They hunt endlessly for proofs, and, when proofs are lacking, for mere suspicions. The moment they become aware of a definite citizen, John Doe, seeking what is his right under the law, they begin searching feverishly for an excuse for withholding it from him.” Henry L. Mencken (1880-1956), Journalist and Author
Time for a caution light now, Senator Wyden? What color is that, yellow? Not thinking about any red lights yet?