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I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

theintercept.com

71–72 of 72 posts

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#71
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here I am veering from simply providing a précis to something closer to analysis, but not too close --- I think this is uncontroversial: Sterling isn't in prison for "whistleblowing", which describes the actions he took to alert the Senate Intelligence Committee to his concerns about "Merlin" and his complaints to CIA's IG about racial discrimination inside the agency. He's in prison for leaking details of a sensitiv…

Of course no whistle-blower ever got convicted of 'something else' as an act of retaliation for the whistle-blowing.

Especially considering that the leaking happened in 2003 and he was charged in 2011!

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#72
post #5

As background: Sterling was convicted after it discovered that he'd been leaking details of "Operation Merlin" to reporter James Risen. "Merlin" was a scheme in which blueprints for Russian nuclear arms technology was to be altered, such that attempts to test those weapons would fail, and then passed through to Iran's nuclear program. "Merlin" ultimately failed.

so where is the public interest to justify whistleblowing?

Our own government gave nuclear secrets to our enemy which hastened their progress towards nuclear weapons. The CIA should be held accountable for endangering the US and its allies.
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