We need to call attn to the Espionage Act.100+ yrs old &top attorneys have argued over it's constitutionality. Our govt has now uses it against press sources,instead of what it was intended for,spies of a foreign country meddling in our govt, including interference w recruitment.
Armed w the Esp Act,the USgovt can keep a document marked as classified,even though the info in the doc is public knowledge,for the sole purpose of convicting a US Whistleblower.Bc of the classification, jurors wldnt know what was in the doc,again,even if it's public knowledge.
We know that the US govt supports whistleblowers bc we have Whistleblower Protection Laws. There are even radio ads encouraging ppl to call an 800# if they suspect thier employer is cutting corners on taxes or computer program licenses. But that whistleblowing road is one way.
Yes, there are "proper channels" for reporting when you're a govt employee, but there's no oversight to these channels. If any superior doesn't agree, for *whatever* reason, or worse is part of what needs reporting, that channel can become a deadend.
Even if the issue is passed along "legally"theres no protection from relatiation 4 a large swath of NatSec employees.This includes criminal charges. So even if the whistleblower did the right thing by 1)deciding to report &2)going thru proper channels,(s)he can still be arrested.
So in addition to using the Esp Act to prevent the whistleblower from defending him or herself, there's also no laws to protect ppl that report wrongdoings by the USgovt, yet there is protection for ppl to report others to the USgovt. A real "do as I say, not as I do" scenario.
We need to abolish, or at least ammend, the Espionage Act so that it cannot be used against American citizens that are reporting wrongdoings by our own USgovt. We also need to introduce whistleblower protection laws for everyone, no matter thier employer.
@threadreaderapp pls unroll.
