Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security,yesterday postponed a hearing on national security

November 30, 2005 -- Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, yesterday postponed a hearing on national security whistleblowers. The decision came one day after the US Supreme Court denied cert in the case of translator Sibel Edmonds against the FBI. The Edmonds case highlighted a Bush administration policy of harassment and termination of intelligence and law enforcement agents who demonstrate any degree of independence, adherence to ethics, or skepticism. Edmonds and other national security veterans formed the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition as a result.

The following letter was sent by wrongfully terminated National Security Agency (NSA) analyst Russ Tice to Shays prior to the postponement of the hearing:

28 NOV 2005

The Honorable Christopher H. Shays,

Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations,

U.S. House of Representatives,

1126 Longworth Building,

Washington, D.C. 20515-0704

Dear Congressman Shays,

I am a former intelligence officer with the National Security Agency (NSA), where I was retaliated against for following regulations, and reporting my suspicions that a coworker was involved in espionage. I have recently found out that the mother of the person I suspected was very highly placed at posts in the Department of Defense (DoD) at the Defense Information Security Agency (DISA), as a Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon for Intelligence, and the Principal Deputy Director of the Defense Security Service (DSS). She was granted these posts and given our country’s highest security clearances despite the fact that, as young women, she was a product of Communist China who came to the United States in 1960. Considering this, I believe the prospect of her daughter being involved in espionage is greatly enhanced.

The means of retaliation used against me by the security office at NSA was to have me declared psychotic in order to revoke my security clearance. This action was taken despite the fact that the very same office at NSA conducted my routine psychological evaluation only nine months prior and found me to be normal. The DoD Inspector General, and the Merit System Protection Board have already sanctioned this outrageous act. As you know, the whistleblower laws both current and proposed do not protect me from such a vile act as this.

Consequently, I believe I would be a perfect candidate to testify at your subcommittee hearing on national security whistleblowers and the abuse of security clearances. I have been informed by POGO that my name was submitted to your office as a candidate to testify at this hearing, yet I have received no word from you. From what I understand, your hearing will include the bureaucratic entities that condone and foster the very misconduct that is in question. I likewise have heard that the two whistleblowers to appear were not removed from their posts nor were their security clearances revoked in retaliation. Can you please explain to me why I was not contacted by your office about this upcoming hearing or why no intelligence officers will be testifying? At this date I am still very willing to testify at your hearing and I would think that the retaliation dealt to me by the “National Security” Agency (NSA) would be very pertinent to a hearing on “national security” whistleblowers.

As it currently stands, your proposed hearing does not represent me or the abuses perpetrated against U.S. intelligence officers. It also omits the only organization that is specifically dedicated to national security whistleblowers, the National Security WhistleBlower Coalition (NSWBC). To the detriment of the security of our citizens, the Intelligence Community (IC) is using security clearance revocations as weapons of retaliation to silence officers as a means of covering up malfeasance, misconduct, and incompetence. In this letter I have intentionally included some specifics of my case to alert you to the gravity of the potential consequences that involve national security whistleblowers.

It is with this in mind that I implore you to forgo the 06 December hearing and reschedule it to include intelligence officers that have been victims of security clearance abuses and other NSWBC members who have recent and firsthand knowledge of what these abuses mean in terms of our nation’s security. Anything other will be a travesty of justice and a serious breach of faith of the American people in terms of their safety and security that is entrusted into your hands.

Very Respectfully,

Russell D. Tice

Former Intelligence Analyst & Action Officer, National Security Agency Member, NSWBC


Shay's postponement notice:

POSTPONEMENT NOTICE
11/29/05
TO: Members of the Government Reform Committee Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations

The Subcommittee hearing entitled:

National Security Whistleblowers in the post-9/11 Era: Lost in a Labyrinth and Facing Retaliation by Security Clearance Revocation

originally scheduled for December 6 has been postponed.

Issues involving security clearances and whistleblower protections are both complex and controversial. Invited witnesses, particularly the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and the Government Accountability Project (GAP), requested more time to gather information and prepare testimony.

In the meantime, the Subcommittee has directed inquiry letters to key federal agencies seeking documents detailing the myriad of regulations, policies and practices that govern security clearance suspension and revocation. Clearance actions can be used as a retaliatory tool against whistleblowers. Agency responses are due on or before January 9, 2006. The hearing has been rescheduled for January 24.

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