Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

NWC Executive Director Stephen Kohn appeared live on RTTV last night to discuss the treatment of national security whistleblowers under the Obama administration. Specifically, RTTV asked him about the FBI's attempts to censor Sibel Edmonds as she attempts to publish a book about her experience blowing the whistle at the Washington Field Office.

How does Obama's record on whistleblowers compare to that of the founding fathers? The answer might not be what you think. Here's the full interview:

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For nearly a year, the FBI has attempted to prevent the publication of whistleblower Sibel Edmonds' new book, Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story.

On April 26, 2011, Ms. Edmonds followed official procedure and submitted her manuscript to the FBI for pre-publication clearance. Under the terms of her employment agreement and controlling regulations, the FBI was required to review and approve the submission within thirty (30) days. Instead of complying with the law, the FBI intentionally stalled the approval process for over 341 days and has still refused to "clear" the book for publication.

Ms. Edmonds will speak today for the first time about the FBI's attempts to suppress her book. The interview will be aired live at 1:30pm ET on Honesty Without Fear, and the podcast will also be available for download.

Today, the NWC is released documentation confirming that the FBI required employees, including Ms. Edmonds, to sign the illegal contracts that allowed the FBI to censor issues of "public policy" it found embarrassing. According to Ms. Edmonds attorney, Stephen M. Kohn, "the controlling law strictly limits government's ability to censor its employees. Agencies like the FBI may require pre-publication review of its employees' writings, but may only censor classified or secret information. The government may not censor books or other writings on 'policy' grounds. The FBI's employment contract with Ms. Edmonds is overreaching and illegal."  Additional documents demonstrate that the agency acted illegally to prevent Ms. Edmonds from publishing a manuscript that might embarrass the agency.

To read the rest of today's press release please click here.

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Last week, Stephen M. Kohn was invited by Sibel Edmonds’ Boiling Frogs Post to debate Norman L. Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform on the controversial “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act” (S. 372). In Mr. Eisen’s absence (he declined the invitation to participate), Stephen M. Kohn appeared on Boiling Frogs with Sibel Edmonds and independent moderator Peter B. Collins to discuss his opposition to provisions in the bill that roll back existing whistleblower protections for FBI agents. Follow this link to join Steve Kohn on opposing the poison pills in S. 372. Now, Thom Hartmann has posted a blog entry about Sibel Edmonds' interview of Steve.

Mr. Kohn discusses in detail the “poison pills” that exist in the current version of S. 372, and how these provisions will discourage national security employees from coming forward and how hurdles included in the bill make it virtually impossible to obtain a finding in their favor. He also pointed out that individual Americans, who contacted their Senators individually out of concern for our nations security, have created much of the public focus on this bill.

Visit Boiling Frogs Post to hear the entire podcast.

*Meryl Grenadier (NWC fellow) contributed to this post.

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To get the latest news on today's deposition testimony by national security whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, I have been reading The Brad Blog.  Investigative journalist and commentator Brad Friedman reports that Edmonds was able to testify in response to all the questions.  No attorneys from the Department of Justice or the FBI showed up.  No court orders prevented the depostion from proceeding.  Of particular relevance to Rep. Jean Schmidt's complaint against challenger David Krikorian, Edmonds reportedly confirmed that Schmidt's donors were agents of the Turkish government intent on suppressing public awareness of the Armenian Genocide.  However, the Brad Blog reports that Edmonds' testimony went further in showing the extent to which Turkish agents will go.  According to The Brad Blog, in one incident, a female Turkish agent allegedly seduced a married female member of Congress who was going to support a resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.  The Brad Blog reports that the agent recorded the seduction, and then allegedly used it to extort the congresswoman to oppose the resolution. 

 

Friedman shares a conversation he had with reporter Elizabeth Chouldjian, freelancing for Armenian Horizons TV.  Chouldjian says that Schmidt's attorney, Bruce Fein "was a Board member of the Turkish Coalition of America, Turkish American Legal Defense Fund and legal counsel for Assembly of Turkish American Associations."  Chouldjian adds that Fein has initiated other legal actions intended to suppress information about the Armenian Genocide. Fein did not stay long enough after the deposition to answer Chouldjian's follow-up questions.

In a "bombshell" revelation, The Brad Blog reports that Edmonds provided a new revelation about the demise of Brewster Jennigs & Associates, the CIA front company that employed outed CIA agent Valerie Plame. Edmonds said that the CIA shut down Brewster Jennings in the summer of 2001 (two years before Robert Novak outed Valerie Plame in retaliation for her husband's criticism of President Bush).  Friedman reports that the American Turkish Council was about to hire Brewster Jennings when the State Department's Marc Grossman found out.  He tipped off a suspect of an FBI counterintelligence investigation.  According to The Brad Blog's reporting, the FBI reported the disclosure to the CIA which then promptly shut down Brewster Jennings -- long before Robert Novak's article revealed Plame's identity as a CIA agent.

Edmonds' attorney, Michael D. Kohn (President of the National Whistleblowers Center) said that he was pleased government attorneys refrained from intervening in the legal case, and allowed the deposition to proceed.  He said he hopes that the video tape of the deposition can be released soon.  Also, The Brad Blog's reference to Rep. Dick Gephardt is in error to the extent it indicates that he was implicated in any wrongdoing.

This case well exemplifies the strategic risk of trying to use the legal system to sue or punish someone for what they say.  Schmidt, through her attorney Fein, sued Krikorian for saying that Schmidt accepted "blood money" from Turkish interests. With the hearing before the Ohio Elections Commission now looming, the facts are spilling out.  Schmidt and Fein have now ramped up the very information they sought to supress.

You can also find coverage of the Sibel Edmonds deposition on Talking Points Memo.
 

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The National Whistleblowers Legal Defense and Education Fund today fought efforts by the FBI and the Department of Justice to prevent FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds from testifying in a case of alleged election fraud.  The FBI has asserted that she, “does not have approval for any disclosure of any information” and the DOJ has claimed that Edmonds is under “no compulsion” to testify in the Schmidt v. Krikorian case.  Neither the FBI not the DOJ has stated why testimony in a case of alleged election fraud would involve State Secrets and/or involve national security.

Please read the NWC press release for links to the letters from the FBI and the DOJ and the response from Ms. Edmonds’ attorney Michael D. Kohn (President of the NWC).

For more detailed information on Ms. Edmonds’ case please read today’s posting on www.bradblog.com.

Click here to TAKE ACTION in support of strong whistleblower protections for national security employees.

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