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Wiretap Whistleblower, a Life in Limbo?
Newsweek has an interesting report on Thomas M. Tamm, the individual who blew the whistle on the Federal Government's warrantless wiretaps. The piece takes a look at some of the circumstances leading up to the disclosure and what has happened since. "After the raid, Justice Department prosecutors encouraged Tamm to plead guilty to a felony for disclosing classified information — an offer he refused. More recently, Agent Lawless, a former prosecutor from Tennessee, has been methodically tracking down Tamm's friends and former colleagues. The agent and a partner have asked questions about Tamm's associates and political meetings he might have attended, apparently looking for clues about his motivations for going to the press, according to three of those interviewed."
Very chilling. Do not take your freedom for granted. I'll share my personal story to show how quickly a thriving democracy can turn into an oppresive regime, here in the US.
Remember the times that led to the invsasion of Iraq? American flags on every highway overpass?
I just happened to be in the process of getting my green card, which means my future was at the mercy of a faceless US government bureaucrat. A rejection and I'd have to pack with my family (including two US born children) and find another place in the globe to settle.
I had published a couple of letters to the editors in the San Jose Mercury News, discussing politics. I was reading foreign media which were hinting that US intelligence on Iraq WMD was bogus. Guess what? I stood very quiet, very silent. Who knows who was listening and how far the goverment was willing to go to silence dissent. If it had been just me, I would have stood up and fought for my rights, but with my family in mind, I decided to cave.
Think about this for a second: the best place on earth, and still scared of what the government might do to me. Call me paranoid, but it felt like a very real threat. It's only in the last two years or so, with Obama rising, that the oppressive feeling has left.
--
http://fairsoftware.net/
Thomas M. Tamm was entrusted with some of the government's most important secrets. He had a Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance, a level above Top Secret
Its my understanding that SCI is lateral to Top Secret, not above. Can anyone refute my claim or substantiate the authors?
Am I the only one to notice the irony of having a guy named Agent Lawless at the Justice Department?
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
Sadly, corrupted politicians count as people to.
Isn't Newsweek about on par with the National Enquirer? I don't mean to flame, but jeez, Newsweek?
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Perhaps he is related to a brother and sister who also seem to be in trouble with the government.
here's a clue: he believed it was illegal
Errr I'm taking a massive shot in the dark here but I'm guessing that the motivation would be
CONCERN ABOUT THE MASSIVE SUBVERSION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND THE CONSTITUTION
I mean I know its a crazy mad sort of idea that someone might be motivated by decency and the desire for what is right rather than some political ideology. When George W. Bush and Dick Cheney talk about the principles of American freedom... well that is what this man has stood up to defend.
How sad that its the defender of freedom who is being shafted, while those who look to subvert the constitution are getting away scot free.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
He will be recognized as a hero for defending the constitution, like those civil rights advocates who once violated state/local ordinances on segregation.
Unfortunately, today is not that day. But he is a true hero none the less.
My rights don't need management.
Agent Lawless, a former prosecutor from Tennessee...
Most ironic... name... ever...
I'm sure he never got ridiculed for that name from other students while studying for his law degree. (Yeah, I read the story earlier about sarcasm)
Developers: We can use your help.
How about basic patriotism?
Why do all these controversies keep having names like something out of a Sheridan play?
blew the whistle on the Federal Government's warrantless wiretaps... [agent] looking for clues about his motivations for going to the press
Concern over illegality and the fact that his superiors didn't seem to care that it was? Isn't that the obvious answer? Are they expecting to find that he's a communist mole, sent to destroy us by exposing our blatant disregard for our own laws? I thought that's what whistleblowers were *supposed* to do. Who cares why?
Magic doesn't work in my presence. My power of disbelief is too strong.
Think we all did :-)
If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
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Bushco limbos YOU !!!
Cordially,
Kilgore Trout
This is a classic case of a good deed being punished.
Here's a guy who had ethical problems with:
1. Rubber-stamping death penalty, as in, anyone who qualifies for it will be prosecuted as such.
2. Knew the American government was intentionally shipping it's enemies off to countries where torture is a part of law enforcement culture.
Does the right thing and leaves as a professional. "Thanks, but this stuff is not for me."
Ends up at another department where the notion of Laws are even **more** willfully disregarded and does the right thing by telling the press. No grandstanding. Just tips them off.
Now Federal law enforcement won't leave him and his friends alone.
Subverting the Rule of Law is now sanctioned at very lowest levels of government.
G r e a t.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Agent Lawless? Please tell me that's a cover name...
Print link.
And a damned interesting read, no matter your political stripe.
Some days it's just not worth
chewing through my restraints.
You mean Joe the plumber who didn't pay his taxes so my own tax burden is larger? I don't care about his library record, but if you are going to whine about taxes on the public stage and didn't pay them, expect to be given the big 'naughty, naughty'.
People love to be angry about hypocrites.
I think this statement says it all: "..If somebody were to say, who am I to do that? I would say, 'I had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution'..."
I think that counts for a lot. If the gov is doing something unconstitutional, then it's your duty to uphold that document first. As a gov official, you have an oath to that body of laws first and foremost. Loyalty to gove agencies or executives is secondary at best.
Health Insurance Quotes
I am actually fascinated by this guy Lawless. How does the guy pay his bills exactly? Investigations aren't cheap. Does he have a job? With who?
He might just be a right wing fruitball but it could be more than that. If there are any film students out there he might make a good docco subject regardless of what ever his reasons turn out to be.
Whistle Blows You!
Hello Agent Lawless. I'm bored and read /. all day. I have no girlfriend, no life, and just sit around and hack shit. You are my new toy.
Trying to install linux on my microwave, but keep getting a kernel panic...
With all the bad news I read about every day, it warms my heart to read about heroes. Even in terrible circumstances like this.
Thomas M. Tamm is a hero to the world and to the American public. He put the needs of the greater good above those of his own. He is fighting the fight that the vast majority of us are too scared to fight - a fight for his country, and a fight for freedom.
When the perpetrators of this current facism are vanquished, like they always are, we will look back and remember the good that rose to counter.
A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
Every second these people are allowed to live is another denial of any true justice.
These people should not be allowed to return to a life of luxury when so many people who actually worked for a living have lost everything they own.
I'd like to see these "men" marched out of the whitehouse forced to their knees and shot publicly. Anything less is a denial of justice.
I bet Obama pardons them all.
"Money stands for money, the devil for his own" -Billy Bragg
Realisticly every agent participating in this harassment needs to be fired and banned from holding a government job.
I've had quite enough of ineffective pussyfoot solutions.
Government officials of the American Republic swear an oath to the Constitution, NOT to the President or any other individual.
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
these are the correct treatments for the individuals who work for a government that has grown to see itself OVER and ABOVE its citizens, trying to intimidate them down, trying to subdue them.
disobedience. this is what such a government deserves.
this is what had happened in 1774.
Read radical news here
Your party is about to have both a congress majority and a president, at the same time. You can deal with this kind of stuff if you want to, and if you do, I'll stop holding Obama's FISA vote against him, and view it in the nicest it-was-a-regrettable-compromise light. You can pardon this guy on the first day of office. You can pass legislation that both protects whistleblowers like this, and also makes those who fail to blow the whistle, criminally liable.
Or we can have 4 more years of Bush-Obama.
What'll it be? Soon we'll know.
I will support and defend the Constitution of the
United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to
the same; that I take this obligation freely, without
any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that
I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the
office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
'Nuff said. Still, it sucks to see Slashdot staff drinking the FBI's "National Security" kool-aid. He did what he believed was the right thing, and that was to call attention to illegal activity within the intelligence services.
Now let's say, in the near-too-distant future, that the United States becomes a full-blown dystopia and Slashdot's still around:
Would you, Pudge, help the feds round up all of the Slashdotters who have been known to post subversive opinion? Would you receive satisfaction from the doggie bones and pats on the head? Or maybe you're just making deals with the devil because you want that DUI expunged or you have a few foreign-born relatives you want to bring in...who knows?
.
It's amazing with all the people working on these things, that an in-direct attorney was the one who ratted the program(s) out. Usually getting an SCI says if don't agree, leave. This goes to show how much support is from within, since it was a guy who 'just' came across the info.
.
An Attorney? Since most are $$$ chasers, he can get 'the book' and goto jail for what he has done, but will sure make a lot of cash from a book deal or better suited, a movie.
Brave decision, but somewhat overrated/overhyped by the media IMO.
The government may not classify something to prevent disclosure if it would cover up an illegal act. That's not the right wording, but it is the gist of the law. Basically, classifying info to cover it up is, in itself, illegal. The problem is that the people who are classifying the material are most likely the ones doing the illegal act in the first place, and adding a cover up charge is relatively inconsequential to the actual illegal activity. It's like perjury - if you lie and lose, you're no worse off; if you lie and win, you generally are scott free (since, based on the evidence available, you didn't actually lie).
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
According to the Newsweek article.... The guy's motivation wasn't 100% to be a good citizen. He had an axe to grind over other issues/feelings, and he broke a clearly defined (and signed to by himself) law.
ATnT was the biggest contributor to the party conventions (well to the DFL; don't remember if they were #1 for GOP.)
Fix the money and then politicians who will not compromise their ethics can get somewhere. When they compromise in order to win it makes you wonder just how far they will let their ethics lapse and if they will get worse with prolonged exposure to corporatism.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
Bank of Georgetown
5236 44th Street
Washington, DC 20015
Everyone who cares about freedom in the US should chip in. I'm going to (despite being quite strapped at the moment).
Your god may be dead, but mine aren't!
...is gonna kick this guy's arse.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
"After the raid, Justice Department prosecutors encouraged Tamm to plead guilty to a felony for disclosing classified information -- an offer he refused. More recently, Agent Lawless, a former prosecutor from Tennessee, has been methodically tracking down Tamm's friends and former colleagues. The agent and a partner have asked questions about Tamm's associates and political meetings he might have attended, apparently looking for clues about his motivations for going to the press, according to three of those interviewed."
uh, that's maybe supposed to sound all spooky and scary and stuff, but that's stuff that happens BEFORE you even get a clearance!
He revealed the details of a classified program he admits he knew nothing about because it didn't smell right? He's going to jail, and rightly so.
The next time some idiot says "If you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about," (re: privacy), we have a clear counter-example to point to.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
Can he do that? It sounded like an offer that can't be refused...
totalitarian, authoritarian
You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean.
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The mentality that there is a government, naturally separate from [i]us[/i] is probably the single largest threat to the US democracy.
The US government is made up of people. The officials are elected by people and it's rights and responsibilities are our rights and responsibilities. By making some arbitrary distinction we open the door to exactly these kinds of abuse.
If we could shift this mentality we could have a democracy.
Quack, quack.
"He revealed the details of a classified program he admits he knew nothing about because it didn't smell right? He's going to jail, and rightly so"
davecb5620@gmail.com
From my perspective, the man is a hero. The Constitution was put in place to protect the people from a tyrannical government. In the spirit of the Constitution, he saw a tyrannical government on the horizon, and with a sworn duty to protect the Constitutional rights of the people, he made a sacrifice to stop it. That's the definition of an American hero. Anything else that the Bush administration tries to state about him and is actions is nothing more than the Bush administration trying to cover their own asses.
First lets point out that the INS system is fatally flawed - it gives applicants no fair process, and that is fundamentally against the principles of the US Constitution, but since the system is applied to non-citizens, there is no valid constituency to object to this behavior.
Second, the INS is only the INS because the entirety of the US Government wants it that way, particularly include Congress and the Senate. Dont BS your way into delusion that the Bush 43 administration is solely responsible for the INS treating immigrants like crap. As a nation we've treated lots of people that way - my grandparents came through Ellis Island and passed the "your white and disease free" test. Many other failed and took a sailing voyage back to their origin.
Finally, and I'll probably take a karma hit here from the "progressive" moderation block, the author's failure to "stand up" is a straw-man argument. Its not up to non-citizens to object to our government's actions. By his own admission he was applying for residency. We as a nation have a right to ask potential citizens to be 'good' citizens. While controversial in many cases, we do refuse citizenship to some based on their political standings that may be in direct conflict with the national consensus.
NOTE: I make no claim for or against the author's opinion about the wiretap program - this post _only_ addresses the immigration issue and how it pertains to his purported right to voice his opinion.
I would agree with and support any lawsuits against the INS that attack the idea of a faceless bureaucrat applying any political test on immigrants, since that leads to abuse of power. An open records policy, strongly enforced (FOIA) and a valid (read methodical) application & approval process is long overdue for our ailing immigration system.
I think it's indicative of just how fouled up the government is when one's motivations are investigated when you spill the beans on blatantly illegal government activities. Seems to me that questioning one's motivations in a case like this isn't too far removed from the old Soviet Union's practice of labeling anyone that criticized the government of being mentally ill.
Tamm wasn't an elected official and likely never had to swear to uphold the Constitution, the laws of the land, and all that, but I am sure glad he took it upon himself to call the New York Times when he found out what the government was up to.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
Look at history: COINTELPRO, agents provocateurs, enemies lists, McCarthyism.
And those obscure characters, Nixon and Kissinger...
Imagine. 5 years of secret bombings in Indochina that short circuited the chain of command and without public knowledge or oversight. How soon we forget (even when reminded by Bush and Cheney how low the US government can go).
you had me at #!
In a case like this is for us ALL to send him a letter thanking him for what he's done.
Then the FBI will have millions of contacts to investigate. And you know what? They might just get the picture.
The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
From TFA:
Tamm concedes he was also motivated in part by his anger at other Bush-administration policies at the Justice Department, including its aggressive pursuit of death-penalty cases and the legal justifications for "enhanced" interrogation techniques that many believe are tantamount to torture.
This guy was just another Bush Hater.
Any number of high level Senators (not some stupid aid) would have been estatic to listen to what he had to say, conduct classified hearings, and then work with the administration and pass appropriate laws. But he hated Bush and had to have a go at him in public. He had to take the authroity to make such a decisions away from the elected officials and vest it in himself.
If he wanted the wiretaps to stop, he failed, because congress passed laws that are pretty much the same as the Bush policies. What he did was stupid, reckless and a dangerous precedent. What if the next guy decides something should be made public because he disagrees with it and people end up getting killed or the national interest is significantly harmed in some way?
He should be in jail.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
I'm ex military, and one of the first things you are taught is that it is your responsibility to uphold the Constitution first and foremost. There are such things as illegal orders and it is your responsibility to report violations. Tamm is in a situation to know the legality and tried going through the proper channels. He has done nothing criminal. I would have liked to have seen Obama mark him for attorney general, and I hope Obama lets it go to court and get a ruling that protecting the constitution is the most important part of the oath you take when becoming a fed of any sort. And grants a pardon if the judge is a dumb @$$.
The reason you do something is as or more important than what you did. This is true morally, but also legally. For example the main difference between manslaughter and murder is intent. Did you intend to kill your victim or not? If you did, it is murder, if you didn't it is manslaughter. Now of course the law is a bit more complex than that, but that is the main difference. Either way the person is just as dead but you get more time in jail if you meant to cause their death than if you didn't.
In this case it's similar. Blowing the whistle because you feel something going on is wrong, the public needs to know, the proper channels ignored you, etc is a noble thing. Blowing the whistle because you want to see someone get egg on their face is not. Basically the question is one of was your interest the public good or not? Were you doing this for the public good, or for a private vendetta? The first is noble, the latter is petty.
As an example: Suppose I'm aware of a dangerous situation at work. So I decide to reveal it. Consider these two different ways:
1) I let management know as soon as I find out. They ignore me, so I take it to HR. They also ignore me so I call OSHA, they are too busy. Out of options, I call a local news station and have them bring pressure on the company.
2) I don't reveal it right away, instead I sit on the information. I wait until a big company event, when all the directors and employees are present. I tip off the media to be there. Then, when the CEO gets up to speak, I reveal it to try and make him look like a jackass.
I think you'd agree in the second case, I'M the asshole here. While I found something bad, I chose to use it for personal purposes. I didn't try to do the right thing, I did the wrong thing and tried to cover it as doing the "right thing". In the first example it would be hard ot argue that I'm motivated by anything but doing the right thing.
So, while I do feel it is a good thing that he blew the whistle on this, how I feel about him really depends on WHY he did it and to a lesser extent how. If he did it because he hated Bush and wanted to sandbag the 2004 election, well I'm sorry I can't support that. That is trying to use something important for your own self interest. If he did it just because he felt the public needed to know and it needed to be stopped, I support that fully.
This is exactly like a woman jaywalking on the way to the police station to report her own rape. When she gets there, the police not only refuse to arrest or even investigate her rapist, because the rapist is the chief of police, but they do make strenuous efforts to investigate her jaywalking while running to the station to report the rape. Those at the Justice Department (no irony in the name huh ?) who are abusing their authority to harass a genuine Patriot should be sacked, disbarred, and charged themselves. Perhaps our new Chief Executive can do something about this, I don't think he will though. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Like his vote on telcom immunity.
Seriously, we don't allow anybody to live in the U.S. who can't understand what a totalitarian government is.
Hint: Generally, totalitarian governments don't simply quit every few years because that's what the law says they must do. There are many other reasons, but I suspect you don't quite understand yet.
"Six years ago a radio station had children stomping on and setting fire to Dixie Chicks albums because they were ashamed of the president"
I think private citizens organized that. Generally, that's considered "freedom of speech".
You'd have a point if the government organized it, but I've not heard of that sort of thing happening. Perhaps what you're saying is that this radio station had people doing and saying things that you didn't agree with?
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Wow. I'm guessing you purchased that low ID?
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Deep Throat's identity was kept under wraps until Deep Throat himself admitted it. I'd love to know how Tamm was found out.
Along those lines, I have relatives living in Europe who would be happy to help me relocate, should something like this happen to me. I wonder how hard/easy it would be for Tamm to find work in the UK.
From TFA
Now, as he slipped through the parade of midday subway riders, his heart was pounding, his body trembling. Tamm felt like a spy.
Because he IS. There are proper channels that one can use to report activities that one finds questionable. He chose not to use them. I won't shed a tear if he spends the rest of his miserable life in the slammer.
Given my life experiences I can affirm that the activity everyone is so upset about goes as far back as the telephone and telegraph has existed, it's just easier with digital technology, you know longer have to go to the wire room and connect. As far as the poltical argument goes, neither Democrat or Republican can claim clean hands. JFK, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, both Bush's and Obama will continue the process.
Eisenhower was correct and his fear has materialized and become mainstream.
Yes, I did this kind of work for the government which is how I know.
A true patriots will keep the former to their graves -- and shout the latter from the rooftops. When in doubt, it's probably safe to presume that any given secret may be the former.
I think that it is a better world, and the USA is a better country because of people like Tamm who spoke up about The Program.
Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
Protecting the American people isn't sufficient motivation? When the government begins willfully breaking its own laws, it places us all in danger. Tamm's actions *reduced* the threat we face, and he should be counted as the hero he is, not scrutinized, threatened, and harassed. This government is a disgrace, and wouldn't know freedom from a hole in the ground.
You must be new here!
No, I be new here!
I got some bad grammar
Wait wait wait - it was not Obama that 'investigated' Joe. It stinks, but there's never been a reputable allegation that Obama directed the apparatchiks in Ohio to abuse privacy rights. They did it on their own accord because they didnt like his message.
Now we've reached a point in politics where "he did it first" is a reasonable excuse for degrading our civil liberties?
Its NEVER appropriate for the State (capital S) to exercise its power on behalf of any particular political opinion.
totalitarian, authoritarian
You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean.
That would be ... inconceivable.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Think about this for a second: the best place on earth, and still scared of what the government might do to me.
You have a strange concept of "best". Nowhere is perfect but there are still countries where you do not need to worry about the government taking punitive action for speaking your mind.
Man, dont snitch on a nigga, snitch on the motherFARKING government
i am Transmitting rage!!!!!!!!
AH
I see a new series for Fox: The Lawless Files
It has a nice ring to it.
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
That would be ... inconceivable.
I think most of the /. posters have the inconceivable problem.
conceive means to become pregnant with (young). As in conceive a child.
The 'in' prefix tends to mean not or opposite.
So, inconceivable could mean not being able to conceive a child.
Tim S
Isurrection against the legal authority too!
Should he and the writers of the subversive anti-government documents be posthumously claimed traitors?
You're WHOLE FUCKING COUNTRY was formed from illegal acts.
If "illegal acts" are always illegal and the definition of what you can talk about to be done by government, then what the FUCK did you break from the lawful government of the United Kingdom?
outside nigger houses?
It's just *symbolic* violence, not real against real people.
Or is that different?
Remember Valerie Plame?
If it was so important to find and punish the leaker (Richard Armitage, who BTW was never charged with any crime) who outed her, then why aren't you defenders of law and freedom crying out for the prosecution of this leaker?
Oh, I forgot, it doesn't count if it makes a Republican look bad.
Don't correct someone's usage of a word if you yourself are not knowledgeable about the word. OP used the word correctly in the correct context.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/conceive
Freedom?
Justice?
The American Way?
Upholding the law?
The 4th Ammendment?
Patriotism?
If everyone who ever had anything to do with Tamm (to the best of their admittedly human and therefore fallible memory can recall) got word to Agent Lawless that they might have something to contribute, said Lawless (Agent) might suddenly suffer an overabundance of leads to follow.
The fact that he (Tamm) apparently smuggled his sister out of a research hospital aboard a Firefly class ship would probably be at the extreme end of such reports. Most would probably be more plausible. "He told me he knew how to make free long distance calls." (Later - He said all I needed to do was call those that started with 800.)
Tamm might go down for this. The guy who did the same to the tobacco companies did too. But, they made a movie based on it ("The Insider") so people could know there was a story, and all the billions of dollars the tobacco companies paid to the states (most subsequentely wasted by the states) were a pay off they made before the statute of limitations expired and their true culpability became known. One day it will.
Hopefully Tamm will get picked up by a large enough concern to protect him. There are, after all, corporations that are large enough to deflect such puny attempts at law enforcement, whether questionable or not.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Don't correct someone's usage of a word if you yourself are not knowledgeable about the word. OP used the word correctly in the correct context.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/conceive
Spare me from grammar nazis with no sense of humor. I was simply continuing the previous poster's reference to the movie "The Princess Bride". Don't attempt to correct someone's cinematic references if you just don't get the joke.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
That would be ... inconceivable.
I think most of the /. posters have the inconceivable problem.
conceive means to become pregnant with (young). As in conceive a child.
The 'in' prefix tends to mean not or opposite.
So, inconceivable could mean not being able to conceive a child.
Tim S
Most /. posters would get the Princess Bride reference that the GP made and that I simply continued.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Sorry, thought you were replying to me.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
I don't know what's with Slashdot this evening: it's sometimes not showing replies correctly. Anyway, please ignore the previous comment.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.