Introduction
Thomas Drake and Jesselyn Radack paid high prices for whistleblowing. Drake, a former National Security Agency executive, lost his job after revealing cost overruns with an NSA spying program. Radack, a former Justice Department ethics adviser, received a negative performance review after revealing FBI ethics violations involving the interrogation of “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh. She is now a director at the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower support group. (Getty Images/The Washington Post/Matt McClain)
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Whistleblowing is drawing increased attention as more workers in government and the private sector come forward to decry what they contend are waste, fraud, abuse and illegal activities in the workplace. Civil libertarians have derided President Obama for his tough approach to high-profile national security leakers, such as former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. But Obama has won praise for his efforts in areas relating to non-national security whistleblowing, including appointing an official who has strengthened the federal agency that represents government whistleblowers. Meanwhile, whistleblower advocates and national security experts are debating whether Snowden and other such leakers qualify as whistleblowers. Congress has passed several laws relating to whistleblowing over the last 25 years, but experts question how well some are working. Advocates expect whistleblowing to become easier because of technological advances and to gain even more widespread public acceptance.
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Jan. 31, 2014 |
Whistleblowers |
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Feb. 18, 2011 |
Lies and Politics |
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Apr. 30, 2010 |
Gridlock in Washington |
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Jun. 22, 2007 |
Prosecutors and Politics |
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Jun. 16, 2006 |
Pork Barrel Politics |
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May 07, 1999 |
Independent Counsels Re-Examined |
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Feb. 21, 1997 |
Independent Counsels |
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May 27, 1994 |
Political Scandals |
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Apr. 06, 1979 |
Assassinations Investigation |
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Dec. 05, 1973 |
Presidential Impeachment |
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May 16, 1973 |
Ethics in Government |
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May 10, 1961 |
Secret Societies and Political Action |
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Jun. 29, 1960 |
Conflicts of Interest |
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Oct. 26, 1955 |
Businessmen in Government |
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Apr. 07, 1954 |
Fair Investigations |
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Apr. 25, 1952 |
Congressional Immunity |
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Dec. 05, 1951 |
Ethics in Government |
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Jan. 28, 1948 |
Individual Rights and Congressional Investigations |
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Jul. 02, 1934 |
Political Reform and Federal Patronage |
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Mar. 07, 1924 |
Congressional Extravagance and the Budget |
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Nov. 12, 1923 |
Issues Developed in the Teapot Dome Inquiry |
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