Jesselyn Radack, a whistleblower from the Department of Justice, has called on Congress to enact legislation that will give national security whistleblowers access to jury trials. In an op-ed article for the Massachusetts Herald News, Radack describes how Bush-era surveillance of emails is continuing with a new “Einstein 3” program. Promoted as a protection against hackers, the program will also monitor the outgoing emails of government employees. In this environment, those government employees will need the protection of jury trials when they raise concerns about illegality and abuse that their bosses want to hide.
Radack blew the whistle on how the Justice Department knew that “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh had an attorney when they questioned him without his attorney’s presence. She now works for the Government Accountability Project.
The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA), as proposed in the House (HR 1507), would provide access to jury trials for all federal employees, including those in national security agencies. A Senate bill, S. 372, would exclude national security agencies, and impose barriers to jury trials for all other federal employees. The National Whistleblowers Center (NWC) analysis of the Senate bill is available online. If you want to join Jesselyn Radack in calling on Crongress to enact a strong whistleblower protection with jury trials for all federal employee whistleblowers, sign up for NWC’s action alerts.