In Support of National Security Whistleblower Protections

On the heels of revelations that the FBI violated its own rules when issuing “national security letters” for records on private citizens, a bureau official has now stated that he raised concerns about the process two years ago and was ignored by his superiors.

The NY Times reported yesterday:

The official, Bassem Youssef, who is in charge of the bureau’s Communications Analysis Unit, said he discovered frequent legal lapses and raised concerns with superiors soon after he was assigned to the unit in early 2005.

Stephen M. Kohn, the lawyer for Mr. Youssef, said his client told his superiors that the bureau had frequently failed to document an urgent national security need — proving “exigent circumstances,” in the bureau’s language — when obtaining personal information without a court order through the use of “national security letters.”

The Justice Department’s Inspector General released a report earlier this month detailing the FBI’s use of “national security letters.” Bureau Director Robert Mueller has generally agreed with the IG’s assessment that rules were violated, and the FBI’s General Counsel testified today on the matter before the House Judiciary Committee. The IG is scheduled to testify tomorrow before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In a response to the developments, the President of the National Whistleblower Center issued the following statement:

Bassem Youssef did the right thing by reporting NSL violations to his managers and fully cooperating with the Inspector General’s investigation.  He is a loyal public servant who has put his loyalty to the U.S. Constitution and national security above his own career.  He has paid a price.  It is time for the FBI to stop its retaliation of Mr. Youssef.

Youssef filed suit against the FBI in 2003, alleging that the bureau discriminated against him because of his Egyptian ethnicity. That lawsuit is currently ongoing and instances of retaliation against Youssef have been reported.

His case is a clear example of why Congress should include national security employees under the Whistleblower Protections Act. After being ignored by his superiors, Youssef had no other options for reporting his concerns and, consequently, two years passed. Meanwhile, the civil liberties of private citizens were placed in jeopardy.

-- John Pruett

Comments

[Posted on: Apr 02, 2008 at 11:13 PM]

Hats off to Bassem Youssef for standing up to these bullies. We need more people like him to speak out in defense of our civil liberties. The fact that the FBI is retaliating against him for doing the right thing is pathetic. No wonder we're going down the tubes.