Inspector General Report Finds More Flaws with FBI's NSL Program

doj oigAs reported in the New York Times, ABC News, the Associated Press, and other media outlets yesterday, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General has issued a report on their continuing investigation of the FBI's widely criticized "national security letters" program.  The IG found that top FBI counterterrorism officials, including the current Assistant Director for Counterterrorism and Executive Assistant Director for Counterterrorism, signed off on "blanket" NSLs which authorized the warrantless obtainment of records for over 3,000 phone numbers.

Many of the deficiencies brought to light in the IG's findings were reported by Special Agent Bassem Youssef, an FBI whistleblower who has been critical of the NSL program.

More information:

 

Senator Grassley Demands Answers On Youssef Allegations from Attorney General Mukasey

AG Michael MukaseySenator Charles Grassley
Yesterday, January 30, 2008, in a Senate Judiciary Committee DOJ Oversight hearing, Senator Charles Grassley (above, right) had some tough questions for Attorney General Michael Mukasey. Notably, Senator Grassley, a longtime critic of FBI policies and actions against whistleblowers, asked the AG about Special Agent Bassem Youssef, who has exposed serious misconduct in the war on terror.


In his full written questions, Senator Grassley, citing an October 2007 letter to Mukasey sent by Mr. Youssef's attorney, Stephen Kohn, says:

"Special Agent Youssef, through his counsel, provided my office with a
copy of a ten page letter (dated October 11, 2007) filed with your
office detailing threats to our nation's security caused by the failure
of the FBI to hire and promote subject matter experts within the FBI's
counterterrorism division. The examples set forth in that letter are
extremely troubling.  [Mr. Chairman, I ask that the letter be placed in
the record.]

What action has your office taken to investigate the issues and concerns
raised in Mr. Youssef's October 11, 2007 letter?

Do you plan to seek an independent review of Youssef's allegations about how lack of expertise among FBI managers is hindering its
counterterrorism effo
rts?  Why or why not?"


He goes on to ask Mr. Mukasey about the abuses related to National Security Letters program, of which Mr. Youssef has firsthand knowledge, and has been a vocal critic.


You can read all of Senator's Grassley's tough questions for Attorney General Mukasey after the jump...


Continue Reading...

An FBI Whistleblower's Experience: Jane Turner's Blog

photo credit: Jeff Wheeler, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

By: Jane Turner

I find that the most amazing part of being an FBI whistleblower is watching while FBI managers who are directly involved in misconduct, malfeasance, obstruction, or criminal activity--which whistleblowers bring to light--are rewarded, promoted, and/or given bonuses. The Director of the FBI did not even have the common courtesy to exile the guilty parties to Butte, Montana or Minot, North Dakota. He allows them to continue to be elevated into the highest ranks of the FBI, receiving all the benefits that those lofty positions bring.


For instance, the Zacarias Moussoui debacle, where managers in the FBI would not allow FBI agents to get a search warrant for Moussoui's personal possessions, even though evidence presented was compelling. It is a long and tortured story, one that might have ended in FBI agents possibly stopping the attacks of 9/11 if managers at FBI Headquarters had not been guilty of "obstructionism, criminal negligence and careerism" (SA Harry Samit, FBI, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division 3/9/2006).


Senator Charles Grassley (R) and others have pointed out that no one in the FBI management team has been fired or punished for 9/11, and in fact, several have been promoted. Later, I will name not only those individuals involved in 9/11 who were negligent, but also name those in my case who were involved in that obstructionism, criminal negligence and careerism, and were subsequently promoted. One of the FBI managers in my case who was involved in misconduct, was also involved in the Moussoui investigation.


It is indeed a small world when one is a FBI Whistleblower.

An FBI Whistleblower's Experience: Jane Turner's Blog Post #3

Jane Turner -- photo credit: Jeff Wheeler, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

By: Jane Turner

The world of federal whistleblowers is a very small one. I have met Sibel Edmonds, and others who qualified for the whistleblower title. Colleen Rowley was in two of the same FBI offices that I was assigned. Fred Whitehurst (of the FBI Laboratory fame) spent hours on the phone helping me through the emotional tornado that hits each and every whistleblower. There were whistleblowers I have met in other federal agencies. What amazes me is that there are any whistleblowers at all. Every whistleblower counsels almost anyone who reaches out to them for advice, that the road of a whistleblower is exceedingly difficult, and filled with terrible events. Intimidation, reprisal, being ostracised, loss of friends, and the destruction of a career are typical. Loved ones leave you, and friends are tired of hearing over and over again of the misjustice that was perpetrated against you. The low number of federal whistleblowers demonstrates the world in which we live. A world that is terribly hostile to those who speak truth to those in power.

An FBI Whistleblower's Experience: Jane Turner's Blog Post #2

Jane Turner -- photo credit: Jeff Wheeler, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

By: Jane Turner

It is interesting that people think the whistleblowing ordeal is over once a whistleblower has been exonerated. It is never over. A whistleblower’s career is shattered, and the tag of "troublemaker", "unpatriotic", "snitch" or "whistleblower" follows you forever. Why? Because the organization that you blow the whistle on (in my case, the FBI), never forgets what they see as a betrayal. It is never about what is wrong or right, justice or injustice, but simply that the whistleblower is not following the party line. The organization itself cannot feel anger and betrayal, but those leading the bureaucratic department certainly can, and they do. A whistleblower threatens the internal machinery of an organization, which many times have been set up to benefit the individuals who are running the organization. That was certainly the case at the Minneapolis FBI Office. Managers collected big bonuses and big salaries by inflating the number and quality of cases in Indian Country (The Native American tribal lands, which I worked for years). They also used false and misleading data from Indian Country so they could get bigger titles, and more money. I loved the FBI, and tried to make it better. I wish I could have said the same about the managers I blew the whistle on. More on that later.

An FBI Whistleblower's Experience: Jane Turner's Blog Post #1

Jane Turner -- Credit: Jeff Wheeler, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

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The Whistleblower Protection Blog is proud to present an ongoing series of blog posts by FBI whistleblower Jane Turner. Ms. Turner was a highly respected FBI Agent for 25 years. She worked the "indian country" of South Dakota and specialized in child-crimes, investigating the most heinous offenses imaginable. Despite near-impossible circumstances, Ms. Turner obtained confessions and convictions from countless criminal sociopaths. She was forced from the position she loved after reporting widespread discrimination and mismanagement in these cases. Then, she was forced from the FBI after reporting that some of her fellow agents had, during the 9/11 investigation, stolen items from Ground Zero - items belonging to the victims and their families.

After a decade of fighting, Ms. Turner was finally vindicated when a Minnesota jury returned a verdict in her favor, determining that, yes, she had been the subject of retaliation by her FBI managers after she raised concerns of discrimination and mismanagement in her office.  

These blog posts, which are accessible by clicking "Jane Turner's Blog" on the left column, will be about Ms. Turner's experiences as a whistleblower.

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Blog Post #1:

By: Jane Turner

Ever since I was a little kid growing up in Rapid City, South Dakota, I wanted to be an FBI Agent. Not once in those early days, up to and including now (as a fifty six year old), did I ever aspire to be an FBI Whistleblower. I really do not think that anyone grows up desiring to be a Whistleblower. The path is too difficult, too dangerous, and not rewarding (either financially or spiritually). People become whistleblowers because the critical truth they speak is being denied, covered up, or trivialized by those with power and/or authority. In my case, the truth I revealed, that sex abuse cases in Indian Country were being dismissed as car accidents by FBI Agents who did not want to work them, was seen by FBI managers as questioning the legitimacy of all FBI investigations. Having the FBI training that qualified me as an Advanced Police Instructor, and Psychological Profiler; and certified to teach local, state, and federal law enforcement officials nationwide about the psychology of sexual offenders; and how to work crimes against children investigations, forced me to remain in the battle and try to speak truth to those in FBI power.   

As I write this blog, I will provide information regarding my struggle, hoping to help others. I will also speak for those still on the job at the FBI, who have been muzzled, smeared, and threatened with termination if they do not stop their battle to bring injustice, or truth to light. The path of a whistleblower is a lonely one, and a journey that no one else can take for you. This blog will address my journey.

DC Federal News Radio Interviews Stephen Kohn, Attorney for FBI Whistleblower Bassem Youssef

Early this morning, Stephen Kohn gave a 10 minute interview which provided some insight into the case of FBI counterterrorism whistleblower Bassem Youssef. For those of you who don't live in the DC area or who (like me) were not awake early enough to catch this interview, you can listen to it by clicking here.


Click here for more information and media coverage on the continuing retaliation against Mr. Youssef.


Sign up for our RSS feeds today, and get the latest whistleblower news.

Internet Coverage of Bassem Youssef's ALA appearance

Here are links to some of the blog posts and websites that covered FBI Whistleblower Bassem Youssef's discussion at the American Library Association conference, where he discussed the Bureau's counterterrorism shortcomings.


Here is a look at some blog posts:


Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/14/fbi-agent-criticizes-coun_n_81355.html


Wonkette:
http://wonkette.com/344491/the-fbi-agent-and-the-naughty-librarians


The Raw Story
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Whistleblower_effectively_gagged_by_FBI_0110.html


Some others:

And some traditional media sources:

 

Whistleblower's ALA Speech Now Being Censored by the FBI

Bassem YoussefOn December 28th, I blogged about FBI Counterterrorism whistleblower Bassem Youssef, and his intention to speak at the American Library Association conference this Saturday, January 12. Since that time, Mr. Youssef has been informed by his managers that he should be very careful about what he says regarding the Bureau's deficiencies and missteps in the War on Terror.


According to a letter sent to the Executive Director of the ALA's Washington Office by Mr. Youssef's attorney Stephen Kohn, The FBI has sent a "clear warning" to Mr. Youssef regarding the content of his speech, and further, has instructed Mr. Youssef to follow strict censorship rules -- rules which he is not allowed to share with anyone outside of the Bureau. Due to threats from FBI managers and these secret censorship requirements, he is now unable to give a speech at the conference. Rather than give a prepared speech, Mr. Youssef will only be available to answer questions from the audience.

The National Whistleblower Center has issued an action alert, calling for supporters to email the Attorney General and demand that he end the senseless retalition and censorship of Mr. Youssef.


Mr. Youssef is scheduled to discuss this issue in an interview with NPR, airing tonight. Check back, I will post more information as it becomes available.

UPDATE: NPR is airing the Youssef story tonight on "All Things Considered." It will be available online at 7pm. (listen here) 


**This issue was also covered in today's Wall Street Journal and on the Raw Story blog.
    (To view the entire WSJ piece, access it through a Google News search)


 

FBI Whistleblower Awarded Over $1.3 Million

Yesterday, Minneapolis Chief U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum ordered the FBI to pay over $1 million to former FBI Agent Jane Turner and her attorneys. Combine that amount with the $360,000 that Turner was awarded by a jury in February 2007, it brings her total court award, to nearly $1.4 Million. The judge's ruling yesterday dealt yet another solid blow to the FBI, which had filed an objection to Ms. Turner's request for reimbursement of her attorneys fees.


Special Agent Turner was a highly regarded child crime agent working in the "Indian Country" of North Dakota for thirteen years. She experienced harsh retaliation from her managers after blowing the whistle on sex discrimination within the FBI, as well as negligence in child abuse investigations. In January 2007, a Minneapolis jury awarded Turner over $500,000 for retaliation and backpay - which by law was reduced to $360,000.


**Tad Vezner of the Pioneer Press has a good article on this issue linked here**


The FBI initially appealed the jury verdict, but the Solicitor General of the United States intervened and forced the FBI to drop their appeal.  


Stephen Kohn, Ms. Turner's attorney and President of the National Whistleblower Center, called the Turner decision "vindication for an irrational attempt by the FBI to destroy one of its highly decorated veteran agents after she exposed highly discriminatory practices by her management."


In addition to disclosing discrimination, Ms. Turner also reported widespread theft by FBI agents at the 9/11 crimescene. A subsequent DOJ investigation found that scores of employees had stolen items belonging to the victims, including a crystal Tiffany globe and bloodstained clothing.


"FBI management at the highest levels must be held accountable for their crude attempt to cover up official misconduct. What the Bureau did to Jane Turner is unnaceptable in modern law enforcement." Added Kohn.


**North Dakota TV station KFYR has video on the Turner issue here


**Dan Browning of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has written numerous articles on the Turner case, and has more on the Judge's decision here (Free Subscription Required)

FBI Whistleblower Set to Speak at National Conference

youssef/freehBassem Youssef, a Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI, will be speaking at the American Library Association (ALA) conference in Philadelphia on Saturday, January 12th. Mr. Youssef (pictured at right with former FBI director Louis Freeh) is a whistleblower who exposed major shortcomings in the Bureau's conterterrorism efforts, including the fact that top counterterrorism officials have no knowledge of even the most elementary details regarding the Muslim religion or terrorist ideology (See Jon Stewart's hilarious "Daily Show" segment, featuring information from Mr. Youssef's case).

Mr. Youssef is slated to address the ALA about the FBI's use of "National Security Letters" to obtain phone records of Americans without a warrant. The NSL debacle was reported in the Washington Post earlier this year. Mr. Youssef will also speak about his experiences as a whistleblower.

The ALA has long been a champion for civil liberties, privacy and intellectual freedom.

  • The presentation will be videorecorded, and we will post the video as soon as it becomes available.

  • See more detailed information about Mr. Youssef's case at the National Whistleblower Center's "Inside the FBI's Counterterrorism Division" webpage.


 

 

 

Man Convicted on Faulty FBI Bullet-Lead Evidence Heading Back to Court

Today's Washington Post has an update on the FBI Bullet-Lead debacle. Lee Wayne Hunt , a North Carolina man who has maintained his innocence since being convicted of murder in 1986, is appealing his case to the North Carolina Supreme Court. 

This is not Mr. Hunt's first appeal, but this time he is doing so with the help of information obtained by the National Whistleblower Center's Forensic Justice Project. The FJP's lawsuits against the FBI produced a wealth of documents detailing how thousands of cases, including Mr. Hunt's, were prosecuted on the basis of a faulty forensic science known as bullet-lead analysis.

Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, a former FBI Special Agent and forensic expert, is the Executive Director of the FJP.

 

Senate Committee Taking Action on Bullet-Lead Cases

Yesterday, John Solomon of the Washington Post reported that the Senate Judiciary Committee is requiring that the FBI turn over records related to all criminal cases in which bullet-lead analysis was presented as evidence. There are over 2,500 such cases nationwide.

Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, the Executive Director of the Forensic Justice Project (a project of the National Whistleblower Center) has filed three lawsuits against the FBI since 1996 in an effort to obtain release of these records. Unfortunately, the FBI has never been fully compliant with the FJPs FOIA requests, and has engaged in extensive feet-dragging and stonewalling, even so far as demanding that the FJP pay over $70,000 for access to these public records.  

The Senate's action is in response to years of work by the FJP, which led to a joint investigation by the Washington Post and 60 Minutes.

 

Click here to read the article

Bullet-Lead Case Records and Stonewalling by the FBI

On November 18, 2007, the results of an investigation into the operations of the FBI crime lab were printed in the Washington Post and broadcast on CBS News 60 Minutes. The Forensic Justice Project (“FJP”), a project of the National Whistleblower Center, in Washington, D.C., and FJP Executive Director Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, cooperated with the joint Post-60 Minutes investigation by providing records released by the FBI to FJP and Dr. Whitehurst under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). These FBI FOIA records document the serious misconduct and other problems reported in the joint Post-60 Minutes investigation.


By way of background, since 1996 it has taken no fewer than three separate lawsuits filed on behalf of either Dr. Frederic Whitehurst or the Forensic Justice Project (or both) under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records regarding FBI Laboratory scandals. In each and every case, the FBI has delayed and stonewalled the release of records documenting misconduct in the FBI Lab, including the problems identified in the Washington Post-60 Minutes investigation.


The FOIA cases are:


1. Whitehurst v. FBI, Civil Action No. 96-572 (GK) (D.D.C.):


This was the original case filed on behalf of Dr. Whitehurst and it alleged that the FBI was refusing to process FOIA requests made on Dr. Whitehurst’s behalf in 1993 and 1995. These requests sought access to records about Dr. Whitehurst’s whistleblower allegations about serious problems in the FBI Lab, which also became the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) review of the FBI Lab. Dr. Whitehurst’s lawsuit also alleged that records about Whitehurst and his allegations that were responsive to the FOIA requests were being selectively released by the FBI to criminal defendants, the courts, members of Congress, but were being denied to Dr. Whitehurst.


On February 5, 1997, Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the FBI to release all records responsive to these requests. See the order here


This lawsuit was later expanded to include Dr. Whitehurst’s FOIA requests for copies of the Justice Department’s OIG report and work product.


Ultimately, this lawsuit was settled and part of the settlement covered granting Dr. Whitehurst a fee waiver and access to thousands of pages of records on his whistleblower allegations and the FBI Lab scandal.


2. Forensic Justice Project v. FBI, Civil Action No. 04-1415 (PLF) (D.D.C.):


This FOIA case against the FBI was filed on behalf of the FJP in 2004 and requested access to records of various FBI Lab examiners who had testified in criminal cases regarding bullet lead. The case against the FBI was settled in March 2006, with the FBI agreeing to grant a fee waiver and provide the FJP with the names of defendants and case numbers of cases in which these examiners testified.


This FOIA case also was filed by the FJP against the DOJ for the records of DOJ Criminal Division Brady Task Force review of the FBI Lab scandal and Dr. Whitehurst’s whistleblower allegations. The FOIA case against DOJ on the Brady Task Force records was settled on December 9, 2005, with the DOJ agreeing to grant a fee waiver to FJP and produce on a rolling basis records from the Brady Task Force review.


The FJP provided all of these records to the Washington Post and these FBI records on bullet lead provided important leads for the Washington Post-60 Minutes investigation.


3. Forensic Justice Project and Whitehurst v. FBI and DOJ, Civil Action No. 06-1001 (RWR) (D.D.C.):


This FOIA action was filed in 2006 and is currently pending. See the Complaint 

The FOIA request was filed with the FBI in September 2005 seeking copies of all records related to the comparative bullet lead cases and records related to the decision to stop using comparative bullet lead analysis that were referred to in a September 2, 2005 FBI press release. See the Original FOIA Request With FBI Press Release Attached


The FBI has refused to grant a fee waiver forcing the FJP and Dr. Whitehurst to appeal and then go to court. Reporter John Solomon of the Washington Post also wrote a letter informing the FBI and DOJ that he was interested in reviewing the records requested by FJP and Whitehurst. In February 2007 the FBI acknowledged that there exist approximately 250,000 records responsive to this request but the FBI demands that Dr. Whitehurst and the FJP pay approximately $70,000 to process this FOIA request.


The records responsive to this request are the actual case file records for all of the comparative bullet lead cases handled by the FBI Lab based on flawed science prior to the FBI’s decision to stop using comparative bullet lead analysis in criminal cases. In its September 2, 2005 Press Release, the FBI itself identified more than 500 cases where convictions were obtained using the scientifically flawed comparative bullet lead analysis. In addition, the FBI identified thousands of other criminal cases where comparative bullet lead analysis had been used prior to its discontinuance.


Continue Reading...

Bullet-Lead and The Forensic Justice Project

The entry below is a special contribution from Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, the Executive Director of the Forensic Justice Project (a special project of the National Whistleblower Center)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The justice system needs answers, and science never comes up with final answers. Science often discovers that previous answers to questions were not valid. When forensic science renders opinions in courts of law that are in the future found to be no longer valid, such as in the case of bullet-lead analysis, then we have no mechanisms to revisit the cases where people were unfairly accused. The FBI and the DOJ have for the past nine years strongly resisted efforts by the Forensic Justice Project to determine the names of those defendants who were treated unfairly as a result of bad forensic science.


One would assume that the reason for this lack of cooperation would be the perceived liability from discovery of falsely accused individuals who have spent years, possibly decades, incarcerated after being falsely accused by forensic science. Whatever the reason, Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation take an oath of office before receipt of their badges and credentials. That oath includes their willingness to enforce the law and uphold the US Constitution. That oath means that citizens become more important to FBI Agents than those agents are to themselves. It would seem that the US Department of Justice would agressively seek to protect the safety of all citizens, regardless of the source of any harm coming to those citizens. And therefore when the FBI Crime Laboratory makes mistakes and those mistakes harm US citizens, the FBI and the US DOJ should aggressively pursue making those citizens aware that they have been tried unfairly and offer any assistance necessary to make those citizens whole. The last thing the US DOJ should do is what has been done, to aggressively stop parties from discovery of those citizens harmed. It is obvious that the US DOJ does not have the assets or moral fiber needed to function fairly in this way. Therefore private citizen groups need to acquire the information from investigative files and make that information available and assist individuals who have been harmed by bad forensic science from the FBI Lab or any other crime lab.


Following revelations in 1997 of wrong doing and invalid science at the FBI Crime Lab, the Forensic Justice Project set about determining those individuals who had been harmed. With the mantra, "Stop It, Fix It, and Find Out Who Was Harmed" the Forensic Justice Project acquired a vast amount of information to determine the real reasons for the perceived problems. FJP makes that information available to parties all over the world, looking only for feedback of information from the recipients. The model built has been one of acquiring transcripts, data, lab reports and other information in order to determine the real issues associated with "bad" forensic science. Going beyond the simple "He said, She said" arguments that get nowhere, FJP has acquired the underlying data for open review. The team built around any issue involves criminal defense attorneys (who provide transcripts of testimony and laboratory work product), aggressive Freedom of Information inquiries, scientists who have been willing to provide a great deal of research resulting in papers written in the scientific literature, and victim defendants who are more than willing to share all of their data.


The project works on a shoe-string budget with individual participants conducting their individual parts on a pro-bono basis.


Dr. Frederic Whitehurst
Executive Director
Forensic Justice Project

Washington Post Bullet-Lead Story; Check Back Tonight for Updates.

The Washington Post-60 Minutes investigation, published in today's Washington Post, has confirmed that the convictions of hundreds of defendants have come into question because a bullet-lead analysis used for 40 years has been discredited and the FBI has failed for more than 2 years to properly notify those convicted about these problems. Read The Article 


Later tonight, after the 60 Minutes special begins, you can visit this blog for further information on the bullet-lead issue. We will have original documents from the FOIA lawsuit, as well as blog posts from former FBI Crime Lab whistleblower (and Executive Director of the Forensic Justice Project) Dr. Frederic Whitehurst and the General Counsel for the National Whistleblower Center, David Colapinto.

Major FBI Whistleblower Story Breaking This Weekend

 

This Sunday, The Washington Post and 60 Minutes will be breaking a major story detailing appalling injustices committed by the FBI. This story has been over 10 years in the making, and is the direct product of work done by the National Whistleblower Center. We urge you to read Sunday’s Post and watch 60 Minutes on Sunday night for more details.

Then, after the show …

Come back to this blog where Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, the original FBI whistleblower whose shocking disclosures were the impetus for many of the so-called “reforms” in the FBI Crime Lab, will be posting his thoughts on the current scandal. Dr. Whitehurst is now the Executive Director of the Forensic Justice Project.

Also blogging will be David Colapinto, the General Counsel of the National Whistleblower Center. Dave has been representing whistleblowers (including Dr. Whitehurst) for over 20 years.

Stay Tuned!

Click here to see 60 Minutes’ article about the upcoming show