Podcasts about Government Accountability Project

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

Today, Hunter is joined by former whistleblower Brittany Iriart and Civil Rights Attorney Andy McNulty to discuss a scandalous coverup with the Denver Sheriffs Department. When she moved to a civilian oversight position with the Denver Sheriff, Brittany hoped to bring some much needed accountability to a department with a history of burying misconduct. Unfortunately, the incremental changes around the edges did little to reign in a department that viewed itself above the law.     Guests: Brittany Iriart, Former Whistle Blower, Colorado Andy McNulty, Civil Rights Attorney, Newman McNulty, Denver, Colorado   Resources: Coverage of Brittany's Case https://whistleblowersblog.org/whistleblower-of-the-week/brittany-marie-iriart/ https://kdvr.com/news/problem-solvers/denver-whistleblower-loses-job/ https://kdvr.com/news/problem-solvers/denver-whistleblower-put-on-administrative-leave-after-speaking-out-about-deputy-punching-inmate-in-wheelchair/ https://kdvr.com/news/problem-solvers/video-shows-denver-deputy-punch-inmate-in-wheelchair/ https://kdvr.com/news/problem-solvers/denver-pays-175k-to-fired-whistleblower-who-tipped-off-the-problem-solvers/ https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/denver-whistle-blower-claims-deputy-discipline-is-broken/73-fce759b7-def2-46a7-9ebe-36d39a3bfedd   Contact Andy https://nmlaw.squarespace.com/whistleblower-wins Government Accountability Project https://whistleblower.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/NewMayGovAcctProj_Blue-Wall-of-Silence-Report231.pdf Other Issues with Denver Sheriff https://www.9news.com/article/news/investigations/allegations-ties-gangs-denver-sheriffs-department-never-fully-investigated/73-8492c480-b933-448c-902a-598a50ba3274 https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/investigations/independent-monitor-denver-sheriffs-department-internal-affairs-investigation-flawed/73-529774856 https://www.westword.com/news/denver-sheriff-internal-affairs-bureau-to-be-put-under-civilian-control-11011209 https://www.westword.com/news/chris-colbrunos-naked-march-at-center-of-denver-sheriff-whistleblower-lawsuit-6771556         Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  

 Guest:   Scott Smith, CEO, US BioSolutions, Inventor, Whistleblower  Documentary, The Guy In the Blue Shirt (25 min) This interview with Scott Smith reveals the massive corruption between the medical and academic government colluding with private enterprise and many medical providers and boards, to cover up the massive effects of the chemical disaster caused by the train derailment on February 3, 2023 and the subsequent incineration of deadly chemicals on February 6, 2023 which effectively blew up and released the chemicals into the four winds. The travesty that occured in the #EastPalestine, OH and Darlington, PA region is an egregious dereliction of duty by the #EPA and points to a need to dissemble the entire corrupt inbred quasi government system that includes #NorfolkSouthern, #LabCorp, #Quest which are all funded by #BlackRock and #Vanguard. Additionally, the Medical System including medical boards, medical providers and physicians who are standing down as instructed are complicit. The system of care that should be made available to those taxpayers and citizens, has been thus far unwilling to seek the truth through proper testing. They are controlled by those at a high level in government and corporate enterprise who have been complicit in covering up the harm being done to an estimated 20,000 victims who live and work in this undeclared federal disaster area. EPA shut off their sensors so they couldn't find what they didn't want to know. Shocking. See this post by Scott on X. The Government Accountability Project has worked with Scott as a Whistleblower. Scott Smith is a Private Citizen and hero committed to helping people affected by chemical disasters while holding government agencies accountable.  Clearly, the EPA neglected to do their duty and fulfill the EPA mission to protect not only the environment but the people living in it..   To follow Scott on Social Media, go to: X: WaterWarriorOne Facebook: ScottSmithH20  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ralph welcomes back medical journalist and New York Times bestselling author, Jean Carper, to elaborate on her latest book, “100 LIFE OR DEATH FOODS: A Scientific Guide to Which Foods Prolong Life or Kill You Prematurely.” Plus, the latest news about Boeing and the UAW.Jean Carper is a medical journalist, and wrote “EatSmart” (a popular weekly column on nutrition, every week for USA Weekend Magazine)  from 1994 until 2008; she is still a contributing editor, writing health and nutrition articles. Ms. Carper is also a former CNN medical correspondent and director of the documentary Monster in the Mind. She is the best-selling author of 25 books, mostly on nutrition and health. Her latest book is 100 LIFE OR DEATH FOODS: A Scientific Guide to Which Foods Prolong Life or Kill You Prematurely.The reason I wrote the book was that I knew there is no other book like this. Nobody has taken a scientific look at all the studies that are being done on specific foods with conclusions as to how they are going to affect longevity. It is a totally new field. It really only started several years ago where scientists are getting interested in this. I thought of all the things that would be the most interesting about a food, and whether or not you wanted to eat it would be, “Oh, how long does it prolong my life? Or on the other hand, is it likely to shorten my life?”Jean CarperLess-developed countries with their natural food from over the history of their cultures are very often far superior [in longevity studies] to the so-called corporatized Western diet.Ralph NaderIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantis1. The International Criminal Court at the Hague is preparing to hand down indictments to Israeli officials for committing war crimes. The Guardian reports the indicted are expected to include authoritarian Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, among others. These indictments will likely focus on Netanyahu's strategy of intentional starvation in Gaza. Yet, lest one think that the United States actually believes in the “rules based international order,” they have touted so frequently, the Biden administration will not allow these indictments to be effectuated, baselessly claiming that the ICC does not have jurisdiction in Israel. Democracy Now! reports State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told the press “Since this president has come into office, we have worked to reset our relationship with the ICC, and we are in contact with the court on a range of issues, including in connection to the court's important work on Darfur, on Ukraine, on Sudan, as well. But on this investigation, our position is clear: We continue to believe that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the Palestinian situation.” Former Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth – who has faced retribution for his past criticism of Israel – called this “the height of hypocrisy.”2. Even as the United States shields Israel from international legal consequences for its crimes, an internal state department memo indicates the American diplomatic corps is increasingly skeptical of the pariah state. Reuters reports “senior U.S. officials have advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find ‘credible or reliable' Israel's assurances that it is using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law.” This memo includes “eight examples of Israeli military actions that the officials said raise "serious questions" about potential violations of international humanitarian law…[including]  repeatedly striking protected sites and civilian infrastructure; "unconscionably high levels of civilian harm to military advantage"; taking little action to investigate violations or to hold to account those responsible for significant civilian harm and "killing humanitarian workers and journalists at an unprecedented rate."” The State Department however will only release a “complete assessment of credibility” in its May 8th report to Congress.3. On Tuesday, the Guardian reports, an army of NYPD officers – including hundreds of armed officers in riot gear and heavy vehicles such as police busses, MRAPs, and “the Bear,” a ladder truck used to breach upper story windows – stormed the campus of Columbia University and carried out mass arrests at the college's Hamilton Hall – which had been non-violently occupied by students and renamed Hind's Hall after Hind Rajab, a six-year old Palestinian girl murdered by the IDF. Hamilton Hall was among the buildings occupied by anti-Vietnam War Protesters during the Columbia Uprising of 1968. Mayor Eric Adams used as a pretext for this militarized police action a claim that the student protest had been “co-opted” by “outside agitators”; there has been no evidence presented to support this claim. The NYPD also threatened to arrest student journalists, and the Columbia Journalism School Dean Jelani Cobb, per Samantha Gross of the Boston Globe, and videos show the cops arresting legal observers and medics. Columbia University President, the Anglo-Egyptian Baroness Minouche Shafik, has requested that the NYPD continue to occupy the Morningside Heights campus until May 17th.4. At the University of California Los Angeles, the New York Times reports “U.C.L.A. asked for officers after a clash between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and counterprotesters grew heated overnight.” This misleading report fails to clarify that, as Alejandra Caraballo of Harvard Law puts it “the police stood aside and let a pro Israeli lynch mob run wild at UCLA. They did nothing for two hours as violent Zionists assaulted students, launched fireworks into the encampment, and sprayed mace on students.” The accompanying videos must be seen to be believed. This is yet another glaring example of media manipulation on behalf of Zionist aggression against non-violent student protesters.5. In the nation's capital, a peaceful pro-Palestine encampment at the George Washington University continues to hold in the face of increasing pressure. The Washington Post reports that the university requested the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to clear the encampment last week, but the cops demurred. The Post article cites an unnamed D.C. official who “said they had flashbacks to June 2020, when images of mostly peaceful protesters being forcefully shoved out of Lafayette Square by U.S. Park Police officers with batons and chemical irritants made national news.” The university has issued temporary suspensions and did attempt to clear the encampment over the weekend, but failed to do so. Now however, congressional Republicans are heaping pressure upon the university and District of Columbia Mayor Bowser. According to the GW Hatchet, “[Representatives] Virginia Foxx and James Comer — who chair the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, respectively — wrote [in letter to Bowser and MPD Chief Pamela Smith] that they were “alarmed” by the Metropolitan Police Department's reported refusal to clear the encampment.” and threatened to take legislative action. Senator Tom Cotton, infamous for his New York Times op-ed calling for the deployment of the national guard to shut down Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, sent a letter to Bowser on Tuesday, writing “Whether it is due to incompetence or sympathy for the cause of these Hamas supporters, you are failing to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens by letting a terrorist-supporting mob take over a large area of a university…Your actions are a good reminder of why Washington, D.C. must never become a state.” So far, the District's leadership has exercised a rare and commendable restraint. One can only hope that continues.6. Looking beyond individual campuses, the Appeal reports over 1,400 students and staff have been arrested at “protest encampments or…sit-ins on more than 70 college campuses across 32 states during the past month.”  This piece followed up on these arrests by contacting prosecutors and city attorneys' offices in every one of these jurisdictions – and found that “only two offices said they would not charge people for peacefully protesting.” These were “ Sam Bregman, the prosecutor for Bernalillo County, New Mexico, [which] includes the University of New Mexico's Albuquerque campus….[and] Matthew Van Houten, the prosecutor overseeing Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.” Incredibly, this piece was published even before the recent mass arrests at Columbia and the City College of New York, which are estimated at nearly 300, per CNN.7. Bringing the civil war within the Democratic Party on this issue into full view, the College Democrats of America – the official student outreach arm of the DNC – has issued a statement commending the “heroic actions on the part of students...for an end to the war in Palestine…[and] for an immediate permanent ceasefire.” This statement goes on to say “Arresting, suspending, and evicting students without any due process is not only legally dubious but morally reprehensible,”  and excoriates the White House for taking “the mistaken route of a bear hug strategy for Netanyahu and a cold shoulder strategy for its own base,” noting that “Each day that Democrats fail to stand united for a permanent ceasefire…more and more youth find themselves disillusioned with the party.”8. Moving beyond Palestine, hard as that is, the American Prospect is out with a chilling new story on Boeing. This report documents how the late Boeing whistle-blower John “Swampy” Barnett – who died under deeply mysterious circumstances during his deposition against the aviation titan last month – was ignored, mocked, and harassed by his corporate overlords. When he tried to raise the alarm that Boeing's practices could be in violation of Section 38 of the United States Criminal code “The whole room…burst out laughing.” When he found planes riddled with defective and nonconforming parts and tried to report it, a supervisor emphatically declared “We're not going to report anything to the FAA.” Yet even more than Boeing's rancid corporate culture, this piece takes aim and corporate criminal law – specifically the Y2K era AIR 21 law which “effectively immunizes airplane manufacturers…from suffering any legal repercussions from the testimony of their own workers.” Per this law, “the exclusive legal remedy available to aviation industry whistleblowers who suffer retaliation for reporting safety violations involves filing a complaint within 90 days of the first instance of alleged retaliation with a secret court administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that lacks subpoena power, takes five years or longer to rule in many cases, and rules against whistleblowers an astounding 97 percent of the time, according to the Government Accountability Project.” No wonder Boeing acts as though they are above the law.9. The United Auto Workers union continues to rack up victories. On Tuesday, More Perfect Union reported “ Mercedes-Benz has abruptly replaced its U.S. CEO in an effort to undercut the union drive at Mercedes's plant in Alabama…In a video shown to workers…new CEO Federico Kochlowski admits that ‘many of you' want change and [promised] improvements.” As Jonah Furman, Communications Director for UAW, notes “Mercedes workers have already:-- killed two-tier wages-- gotten their UAW pay bump-- [and] fired their bossand they haven't even voted yet!If that's what you get for just *talking* union, imagine what you can win when you *join* the union.”Moreover, UAW President Shawn Fain issued a statement decrying the mass arrests of anti-war protesters, writing “The UAW will never support the...intimidation of those exercising their right to protest, strike, or speak out against injustice…This war is wrong, and this response against students and academic workers, many of them UAW members, is wrong…if you can't take the outcry, stop supporting this war.”10. Finally, the New York Daily News's Chris Sommerfledt reports “[New York City's] largest cop union [the Police Benevolent Association] is suing Police Commissioner Ed Caban and Mayor Adams for implementing a new “zero tolerance” policy on NYPD officers using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.” The fact that the PBA is suing this ardently pro-cop mayoral administration is alarming enough, but the fact that enough NYPD officers are using steroids to warrant this policy – and enough for the union to step in on their behalf – raises an even more alarming question: how many roid-rage fueled NYPD cops are terrorizing marginalized people on the streets of New York City? Perhaps this could explain some of the NYPD's outrageous, disproportionately violent behavior in recent years.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

On February 3rd 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying thousands of gallons of hazardous chemicals derailed. It was later set on fire in part to clear the tracks.Residents have reported illnesses that they believe are the result of exposure to the chemicals. Now complaints are growing that the government's and EPA's response has failed them.An independent testing expert who has been helping residents of East Palestine, Ohio better understand what they have been exposed to is being subpoenaed by Norfolk Southern in what has been described as an attempt to intimidate him.Also the Government Accountability Project, a storied whistleblower organization, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to shed light on what it believes could be censorship of citizen groups and residents attempting to share information on the East Palestine disaster.In this episode of Breaking Green, we will talk with Scott Smith, an independent testing expert and CEO of US BioSolutions LLC.  He frequently works on the ground in contamination events to help affected communities by investigating and bringing people together to diagnose and solve water contamination events. Smith has been to more than 60 oil and chemical disasters in the US and abroad. He is a graduate of Baylor and Harvard business school. He was recently subpoenaed by Norfolk Southern regarding his work in East Palestine. We will also talk with Lesley Pacey, who is an environmental investigator with the Government Accountability Project. Her daughter Sarah was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4 in 2004. She is a cancer survivor, now 23 years old. While living on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, Lesley noticed several other children who had Leukemia.  Lesley demanded a study by the Alabama Department of Health that eventually identified a cancer cluster. Recently she has focused on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, helping chemically exposed workers, residents and tourists with chronic health issues seek justice in the mass tort related to the disaster.She works with the Government Accountability Project to educate lawmakers and propose measures that will protect coastal communities from toxic chemical dispersants.Don't miss an episode and subscribe to Breaking Green wherever you get your podcasts.This podcast is produced by Global Justice Ecology Project.Breaking Green is made possible by tax deductible donations from people like you. Please help us lift up the voices of those working to protect forests, defend human rights and expose false solutions.  Donate securely online hereOr simply text GIVE to 716-257-4187Marilyn Leistner, who is mentioned in this episode was the last mayor of Times Beach Missouri, a town wiped off the map by dioxin contamination.FOR BACKGROUND ON TIMES BEACH VISIT:  TimesBeachMissouri.Com

Daniel Ellsberg, the famed whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the Washington Post, died six months ago. On this week's On the Media, hear about his life, how the Pentagon Papers made it to print, and the impact he had on generations of whistleblowers. Plus, the women who covered the War in Vietnam.  1. Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, on Daniel Ellsberg's legacy and the ways he changed public perception of whistleblowers in the U.S. Listen. 2. Les Gelb, former columnist and former Defense Department official, on his experience leading the team that wrote the Pentagon Papers, subject of the Hollywood drama, "The Post." Listen. 3. Seymour Hersh, on how he broke the story of My Lai — the massacre now regarded as the single most notorious atrocity of the Vietnam war. Listen. 4. Reporters Kate Webb, Jurate Kazickas [@juratekazickas], and Laura Palmer on how they covered the Vietnam War and why they went. Listen.  

Dr. Sahar Khamis and her guest Dr. Maha Hilal discussed important topics about the current human rights and social justice issues impacting Muslims, in general, and American Muslims, in particular. Dr. Maha Hilal is a Muslim Arab American and an expert on institutionalized Islamophobia, the War on Terror, and counternarrative work. Dr. Hilal is the author of the book Innocent Until Proven Muslim: Islamophobia, the War on Terror, and the Muslim Experience Since 9/11. Her writings have appeared in Vox, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, Newsweek, Business Insider, and Truthout, among others. Dr. Hilal is the founding Executive Director of Muslim Counterpublics Lab, an organization that works to disrupt and subvert dehumanizing narratives that are designed and deployed to justify state violence against Muslims. This includes serving as a founding steering committee member of the Guantanamo Survivors Fund, which provides small grants to the men transferred out of detention. Through her work at MCL, she also co-coordinates the For Us Not Amazon coalition that challenges the presence of Amazon in the greater Washington, DC area. She has worked at a number of human rights/social justice organizations including Institute for Policy Studies, the Government Accountability Project, and Center for Victims of Torture. Additionally, Dr. Hilal is an organizer with Witness Against Torture, an organization that organizes and advocates for the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison and an end to torture. Dr. Hilal earned her doctorate in May 2014 from the Department of Justice, Law and Society at American University in Washington, D.C. She received her Master's Degree in Counseling and her Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her spare time, Dr. Hilal enjoys spending time with her family and practicing Arabic calligraphy. The episode was broadcast on June 30, 2023 US Arab Radio can be heard on wnzk 690 AM, WDMV 700 AM, and WPAT 930 AM. Please visit: www.facebook.com/USArabRadio/ Web site : arabradio.us/ Online Radio: www.radio.net/s/usarabradio Twitter : twitter.com/USArabRadio Instagram : www.instagram.com/usarabradio/ Youtube : US Arab Radio

Daniel Ellsberg, the famed whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the Washington Post, has died. On this week's On the Media, hear about his life, how the Pentagon Papers made it to print, and the impact he had on generations of whistleblowers. Plus, the women who covered the War in Vietnam.   1. Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, on Daniel Ellsberg's legacy and the ways he changed public perception of whistleblowers in the U.S. Listen. 2. Les Gelb, former columnist and former Defense Department official, on his experience leading the team that wrote the Pentagon Papers, subject of the Hollywood drama, "The Post." Listen. 3. Seymour Hersch, on how he broke the story of My Lai — the massacre now regarded as the single most notorious atrocity of the Vietnam war. Listen. 4. Reporters Kate Webb, Jurate Kazickas [@juratekazickas], and Laura Palmer on how they covered the Vietnam War and why they went. Listen.

As we approach the end of our reporting, Tessa revisits Gina Demas, the whistleblower, to see where the events of our story have left her, and to give her an update on our investigation. Will she get any vindication? More information on Dana Gold and the Government Accountability Project: https://whistleblower.org/ https://whistleblower.org/our-team/dana-gold/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to a special series of the Whistleblowing Now and Then podcast, called:The Public Interest and National Security Whistleblowing: Looking Back, Thinking Forward.This 3-part series is a collaboration between Whistleblowing International Network and Kaeten Mistry, Associate Professor of History at the University of East Anglia, and co-author of the book Whistleblowing Nation: The History of National Security Disclosures and Cult of State Secrecy.This week's episode looks at the United States. A nation founded on the principles of free speech and open government, is today home to the largest state secrecy regime in human history. A country that does not permit national security officials making public interest disclosures, has nonetheless produced some of the most famous cases of national security whistleblowing that have made history such as Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, and Daniel Ellsberg.Such cases have generated widespread debate about security and liberty, secrecy, and transparency, in the U.S. and internationally. Yet while public interest disclosures are commonly seen as whistleblowing in the public sphere, they are deemed to be “unauthorized disclosures” by the US government. To unpack this, we sit down with two leading experts of whistleblowing and secrecy in the United States. Tom Devine, Legal Director at the Government Accountability Project and Sam Lebovic, Associate Professor of History at George Mason University, author of the prize-winning book Free Speech and Unfree News.   Additional ReadingCitizenfour (2014) A documentary concerning Edward Snowden and the NSA surveillance program. National Bird (2016) A documentary following 3 whistleblowers including Daniel Hale who was a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence analyst who sent classified information about drone warfare to the press. United States v. Reality Winner (2021) A documentary exploring story of 25-year-old NSA contractor Reality Winner who disclosed a document about Russian election interference to the media and became a target of the Trump administration. TOP SECRET: Our Classified Documents System Is [Redacted] | The Problem With Jon Stewart PodcastJon Stewart and Matt Connelly discuss the U.S. classification system and system of secrecy. Whistleblowing and the Press  Panel The keynote panel on ‘Whistleblowing and the Press' at the conference Exposing Secrets: The Past, Present & Future of US National Security Whistleblowing and Government Secrecy, featured US intelligence community whistleblowers, Edward Snowden and John Kiriakou, and The Guardian journalist Ewen MacAskill, in conversation with Kaeten Mistry.  The Espionage Act Has Been Abused — But Not in Trump's Case | Politico Opinion piece by Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, on the Espionage Act and the need for reform. Support the Show.

David Seide serves as Senior Counsel at Government Accountability Project (GAP), a non-profit supporting government whistleblowers, where he specializes in immigration issues. David began his career in 1983 after earning a JD from NYU Law in the federal court system as a clerk to Hon. Morris E. Lasker. David soon rose to the position of Assistant US Attorney, serving as a White Collar and Securities Fraud Prosecutor. Before joining GAP, David worked as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and served as Partner at multiple private practices through the years. David also holds experience as Lead of High-Profile Internal Investigations for the U.S. Department of State. David has authored multiple books on internal and governmental investigations, including Warning the Witness: A Guide to Internal Investigations and the Attorney-Client Privilege and Navigating Multiple Government Investigations: Critical Issues and Guiding Principles.   Warning the Witness: A Guide to Internal Investigations and the Attorney-Client Privilege - https://www.amazon.com/Warning-Witness-Investigations-Attorney-Client-Privelege/dp/160442916X    Navigating Multiple Government Investigations: Critical Issues and Guiding Principles - https://www.americanbar.org/products/ecd/ebk/217821/    David Seide Social Media LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-z-seide-a648965/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/davidseide    Government Accountability Project Social Media LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/government-accountability-project/  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GovernmentAccountabilityProject  Twitter - https://twitter.com/GovAcctProj  Homepage - https://whistleblower.org/   Remember to subscribe and follow us on social media…   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mass-tort-news Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/masstortnewsorg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masstortnews.org

For the past two years, the news has been stark and at times, downright terrifying. War, disease, supply shortages – but these matters do not exist in a vacuum. These global concerns have trickle-down effects on industries across the board, including the food world. From food recalls to fast food worker strikes to global shortages, we look to shows across our network to uncover the history, legislation, and key issues behind headline news and how it relates to what we eat. Further Reading and Listening: Learn more about the founding of the FDA on A Taste of the Past episode 346: Poison Squad: Founding of the FDA and about the FDA's present short-comings on What Doesn't Kill You: episode: 364: Explosive Report on How the FDA is Failing Our Food System. You can read Deborah Blum's book Poison Squad here or watch the film about it here.Dig deeper into the history of, and current controversies surrounding OSHA on What Doesn't Kill You Episode 316: Where is OSHA in meatpacking?Listen to the full episode of What Doesn't Kill You episode 347: Poultry Farmer Blows the Whistle on Perdue and find out more about Rudy Howell's story and how you can support the Food Integrity Campaign at https://foodwhistleblower.org/Find out more on Why the War in Ukraine Will Affect Food Supplies Globally on episode 363 of What Doesn't Kill You Keep Meat and Three on the air: become an HRN Member today! Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate. Meat and Three is powered by Simplecast.

This week's program focuses on whistleblowers -- their contributions to society, the retaliation they often endure, and the legal protections they need. Mickey's guests for the hour include Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit organization that supports whistleblowers, and three historic whistleblowers who dared speak truth to power. We learn about the dangers and abuses these three men exposed over the past half century, and what reforms are needed to defend individuals who take the risks of becoming whistleblowers, and the journalists who help bring their stories to the public. Notes: Tom Devine is Legal Director at the nonprofit Government Accountability Project. Frank Serpico is a retired NYPD detective who became a household name after exposing widespread corruption within the department. His story was the subject of the 1973 Hollywood movie “Serpico." Rick Parks is a nuclear engineer who worked at the damaged Three Mile Island power plant in 1980, and has spoken out about management's and regulators' failures to prioritize safety above utility profits. He is featured on the new Netlix docu-series “Meltdown: Three Mile Island" Robert MacLean was fired from the Transportation Security Administration after criticizing dangerous shortcomings in airline security procedures after 9/11. A National Whistleblower Summit will take place in July; more information can be found here. Music-break information: 1) "After the Ordeal" by Genesis 2) "Snatch it Back" by Government Mule the Project Censored Show: Hosts: Mickey Huff, Eleanor Goldfield Producer: Anthony Fest Image by Daniel Bone from Pixabay

Zack Kopplin  is a journalist for The Government Accountability Project. His investigative work has been published in the New Republic, The Daily Beast, and The Guardian, among other places. Here are links to the stories we talked about https://prospect.org/world/the-real-war-dogs-of-iraq/ https://newrepublic.com/article/158609/iraq-barzani-pentagon-oil-beverly-hills-mansion  

Tom Devine, Legal Director of the Government Accountability Project on whistleblower legislation here and around the world.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would you glue if they come for you? Young people are ghosting jobs more than ever before, which worries Frank that some of his listeners will start ghosting his show. What's the best solution to protest a worthy cause? Adhesives. Unlike Frank, some are finding their true loves behind bars, so naturally he asks callers what they think of jailers falling in love with inmates. America's top mixologist, spirits historian, and award-winning cocktail book author Brian Van Flandern joins The Other Side of Midnight to talk about what Frank is most excited about in the world today: the comeback of the martini. He also discusses the state of spirits, and how the to proper mixed drink. Lawyer, investigator, lobbyist, teacher, and advocate for whistleblower rights, and also the legal director at the non-profit Government Accountability Project joins Frank to talk about the nuclear nightmare that almost took out the east coast, and the importance of corporate whistleblowers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across news outlets, crime reporting often relies on police sources and incomplete data. On this week's show, hear how to spot bias in crime stories and what more nuanced coverage looks like. And, the struggle to protect whistleblowers calling out police abuse. Plus, the story of one powerful tabloid that has stymied bail reform for decades. 1. Laura Bennett, the co-author of ​“Freedom, Then the Press: New York Media and Bail Reform,” on how to read a crime story. Listen. 2. Matt Katz [@mattkatz00] WNYC reporter, on what bad coverage of bail reform looks like. Listen. 3. Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project, on how to protect whistleblowers on police misconduct. Listen. 4. Tauhid Chappell [@TauhidChappell], Philadelphia Project Manager for Free Press, on abolishing the crime beat. Listen.

We begin with our weekly conversation with Mercedes Stephenson, Global News Ottawa Bureau Chief and Host of “The West Block”. Mercedes brings us the latest on the ongoing Trucker Protest, now in its 12th day, which has made life very difficult for residents living in Ottawa's downtown core. Today, is “Safer Internet Day,” a chance to shine the spotlight on the dangers our kids are exposed to in the “online world”. We discuss the issue and what we, as parents, can do to safeguard our children with Kristen Duval, a Senior Research Analyst with the RCMP. According to a recent study, Canada ranks among the worst countries for protecting ‘whistle blowers'. We get the details of the study and what more needs to be done to protect those who have a need to come forward with issues in the workplace with Tom Devine, Legal Director of the ‘Government Accountability Project'. Finally, are you officially ‘hooked' on Wordle? It's the most popular game on the internet right now, and if you want ‘more' you're in luck! We check in with the ‘Gadget Guy' Mike Yawney, for details on how you can access an ‘archive' of past Wordle challenges.

By law, government whistleblowers are supposed to be protected against retaliation by their superiors. Unfortunately, that protection is more theoretical than it is reality. Recent history is littered with stories of retaliation against those exposing waste, fraud and abuse in the government and outside of it. Dana Gold is Government Accountability Project's Senior Counsel and Director of Education, as well as the Director of its Democracy Protection Initiative. She is also the author of a post headlined “Whistleblowers Risk Everything—Lawmakers Must Protect Them.” She joined the show to discuss whistleblower protection.

"How common is it that we buy tainted food?" That is one of many important questions Kathy asks Amanda Hitt, the director of the Government Accountability Project's Food Integrity Campaign. In this wide-reaching conversation, they discuss: the work of the Food Integrity Campaign, started by Amanda to help whistleblowers raising concerns regarding animal welfare, worker safety, and tainted foodthe risks and rewards of stepping forward as a whistleblowerAmanda's view that whistleblowers, whom she describes as “generally compliant people,” are society's heroes"survival tips" for whistleblowers, featured on their websitehow to spot humane washing in a grocery store Check out Food Integrity Campaign's Week of Action page and stay updated on their work on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Kathy Stevens:Facebook: Kathy Stevens, Catskill Animal SanctuaryTwitter: @CASanctuaryBooks: Where the Blind Horse SingsWebsite: CASanctuary.orgInstagram: @catskill_animal_sanctuaryYouTube: Catskill Animal Sanctuary

Each year, National Whistleblower Day is observed on July 30 to commemorate the first American whistleblower protection law, a resolution passed by the Continental Congress in 1778 after ten whistleblowers reported wrongdoing and abuses committed by a superior officer in the Continental Navy. Since the beginning of the United States, whistleblowers have been an integral part in government oversight and accountability. Irvin McCullough is a National Security Analyst at the Government Accountability Project. He joined the show to discuss National Whistleblower Day and the state of whistleblower rights. 

On FEDtalk this week, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley provides a keynote address on the importance of whistleblower protection. In our special lead up show to National Whistleblower Day, Senator Grassley highlights the importance of ensuring whistleblowers are safe from reprisal and have access to a forum to adjudicate their disputes. Following the Senator's address, host Debra Roth continues the conversation with Tom Devine, Legal Director of the Government Accountability Project and Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy for the Project on Government Oversight. The group discusses how far we have come since the first whistleblower law and how far we still need to go. They touch on a variety of issues related to whistleblower protection and how their organizations provide support for those blowing the whistle across the federal government and private sector. Finally, inaugural director of the House Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds, Shanna Devine, sits down with Roth in the final segment to introduce the new office and its functions. Devine reviews the Office's core mission and how her staff is working to help Congressional offices navigate the complex world of whistleblower law and handling claims. The show airs live on Friday, July 16th, 2021 at 11:00 am ET on Federal News Network. You can stream the show online anytime via the Federal News Network app and listen to the FEDtalk podcast on PodcastOne and Apple Podcasts. FEDtalk is a live talk show produced by Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm. Bringing you the insider's perspective from leaders in the federal community since 1993. FEDtalk is sponsored by the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). The FLTCIP is sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, insured by John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company, under a group long term care insurance policy, and administered by Long Term Care Partners, LLC (doing business as FedPoint).

On FEDtalk this week, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley provides a keynote address on the importance of whistleblower protection. In our special lead up show to National Whistleblower Day, Senator Grassley highlights the importance of ensuring whistleblowers are safe from reprisal and have access to a forum to adjudicate their disputes. Following the Senator's address, host Debra Roth continues the conversation with Tom Devine, Legal Director of the Government Accountability Project and Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy for the Project on Government Oversight. The group discusses how far we have come since the first whistleblower law and how far we still need to go. They touch on a variety of issues related to whistleblower protection and how their organizations provide support for those blowing the whistle across the federal government and private sector. Finally, inaugural director of the House Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds, Shanna Devine, sits down with Roth in the final segment to introduce the new office and its functions. Devine reviews the Office's core mission and how her staff is working to help Congressional offices navigate the complex world of whistleblower law and handling claims. The show airs live on Friday, July 16th, 2021 at 11:00 am ET on Federal News Network. You can stream the show online anytime via the Federal News Network app and listen to the FEDtalk podcast on PodcastOne and Apple Podcasts. FEDtalk is a live talk show produced by Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm. Bringing you the insider's perspective from leaders in the federal community since 1993. FEDtalk is sponsored by the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). The FLTCIP is sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, insured by John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company, under a group long term care insurance policy, and administered by Long Term Care Partners, LLC (doing business as FedPoint).

We speak to Zack Kopplin, investigative journalist with the Government Accountability Project about a corrupt deal involving a US military contractor and the Afghan government. Read Kopplin's report at: https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/how-afghanistans-president-helped-his-brother-secure-lucrative-mining-deals-with-a-us-contractor

  Last week, more than 200 groups called on President Biden and congressional leadership to enact stronger whistleblower protection laws, especially to ensure that the government is fairly spending trillions of dollars in pandemic relief funding. The groups, led by the Government Accountability Project, argue that the current whistleblower protections are outdated and insufficient to protect individuals who disclose wrongdoing in the federal government.   Irvin McCullough is a National Security Analyst at the Government Accountability Project. He joined the show to discuss the letter and the state of whistleblower rights.

Mark Pedroli defends Missouri's Sunshine Law and the right of Missourians to government transparency. He started the Sunshine and Government Accountability Project and is a civil rights attorney. We talk about his important work, litigation we have both undertaken involving Eric Greitens and Missouri's state officials, and our fight for public access to public records. You can learn more about Mark at https://pedrolilaw.com/ The #EladPod is hosted by civil rights attorney, government accountability advocate, educator, and lifelong Missourian Elad Gross. These are recordings of our live, uncensored town halls with audience questions designed to bring our government back to you. To participate in our town halls and view recordings, visit www.EladGross.live Recorded on 3-13-2021

In advance of the inauguration of Joe Biden, Vigjilenca Abazi interviews Samantha Feinstein, Staff Attorney and Deputy Director of the International Program at Government Accountability Project. They discuss Samantha's work and recommendations for the incoming administration. Plus Anna Meyers reflects on the podcast's first year. Support the Show.

In December, a group of good government organizations sent a letter to 25 federal departments and agencies asking them to reinforce their employees' whistleblower rights amid the presidential transition.  The letter mentioned specifically the import of whistleblowers to the ongoing transition and came just a week before President-elect Joe Biden called out unnamed outgoing Trump administration officials for not cooperating with the transition. One of those groups was the Government Accountability Project. Aman Panjwani serves as the Government Accountability Project’s Democracy Fellow and Irvin McCullough is a National Security Analyst for the Government Accountability Project. They cowrote a post on our site last month headlined “Federal Workers Need to Know Their Anti-Gag Rights" that outlines the rights feds have. They joined the program now to discuss gag orders during the final weeks of the Trump administration.

Our final 2020 episode, focusing on the kafksesque trial of Julian Assange, is one of the most important, informative and compelling programs of the year, if not of the past 4. We discuss everything from A(ssange) to Z(imbabwe). The combo of the dynamic Sam Adams Award recipients Thomas Drake and Jesselyn Radack is a tour de force. Together, the two are the whistleblower community's Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers or William Powell and Myrna Loy. Jesselyn Radack heads the Whistleblower and Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) at ExposeFacts. As National Security & Human Rights Director of WHISPeR, her work focuses on the issues of secrecy, surveillance, torture and drones, where she has been at the forefront of challenging the government's unprecedented war on whistleblowers, which has become a war journalists, hacktivists, and those who reveal information that the public has right to know but the government wants kept secret.Among her clients are national security and intelligence community employees who have been investigated, charged, or prosecuted under the Espionage Act for allegedly mishandling classified information, including drone whistleblower Brandon Bryant, NSA whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou. She also represents clients bringing whistleblower retaliation complaints in federal court and other administrative bodies. Previously, she headed the National Security and Human Rights program at the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection organization, served on the DC Bar Legal Ethics Committee and worked at the Justice Department for seven years, first as a trial attorney and later as a legal ethics advisor.Thomas Drake is a former senior executive at the National Security Agency, where he blew the whistle on massive multi-billion dollar fraud, the widespread violations of the rights of citizens through secret mass surveillance programs after 9/11, and critical 9/11 intelligence failures. In 2010, he was charged under the draconian Espionage Act for his oath to support and defend the US Constitution. In 2011, the government's case against him collapsed and he went free in a plea deal. He is featured in the “Silenced” documentary as well as the US PBS Frontline special “The United States of Secrets”.In 2017, Drake received his PhD in public policy and administration. His dissertation “Eyewitness to History in Devolution of Democracy and Constitutional Rights Following 9/11” focused on the centrality of the post-9/11 security driven world and the price paid by those who speak truth about the abuse of power and the erosion of our rights and freedoms. He speaks widely on privacy and security issues and the critical need to protect our inalienable human rights. Mr. Drake has a varied career background that includes teaching, information technology, systems and software engineering, code analysis and military and intelligence experience. He is now dedicated to the defense of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

How has COVID-19 impacted whistleblowing? Vigjilenca Abazi interviews Tom Devine, Legal Director at the Government Accountability Project. The Government Accountability Project's mission is to promote corporate and government accountability by protecting whistleblowers, advancing occupational free speech, and empowering citizen activists.Support the Show.

Workers in meatpacking plants already process our pigs and beef and chickens extremely fast, but recently, there’s been a push to make the meatpacking factory line move even faster.  Isaac Arnsdorf, a ProPublica reporter, takes us deep into his reporting on why that would be extremely dangerous for workers’ health. Then Jill Mauer, a federal meat inspector, explains why she’s worried that the changes in inspections necessary to make these faster line speeds possible could endanger us all. Further listening and reading:  We based the first half of this episode on reporting in Isaac Arnsdorf’s ProPublica piece on changing line speeds. For more on changing line speeds, there are great background pieces from the New York Times’s Julie Creswell and the Washington Post’s Kimberly Kindi. Jill’s full NBC interview, which we excerpted in the episode The Food Integrity Campaign within the Government Accountability Project pulled together this report with affidavits from federal inspectors in pilot plants. We always want to hear from you! Please send comments and questions to futureperfect@vox.com.  Subscribe to Future Perfect on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app to automatically get new episodes of the latest season each week. This podcast is made possible thanks to support from Animal Charity Evaluators. They research and promote the most effective ways to help animals. Featuring: Isaac Arnsdorf (@iarnsdorf), reporter, ProPublica Host: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox  More to explore: Follow all of Future Perfect’s reporting on the Future of Meat. Subscribe to Vox’s Future Perfect newsletter, which breaks down big, complicated problems the world faces and the most efficient ways to solve them. Follow Us: Vox.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A nurse working at a detention centre in Georgia has claimed a doctor at the facility is performing hysterectomies on detainees at an alarmingly high rate. Dawn Wooten says the surgeries are being performed on Spanish-speaking women and many did not appear to understand why they had undergone the procedure. Wooten blew the whistle on the private Irwin County Detention Center which houses immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Irvin McCullough is the nurse's lawyer and is deputy legislative director at the Government Accountability Project. He speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Photo of Minneapolis police aiming weapon at camera from Physicians for Human Rights, from their report “Shot in the Head” On this show: 0:08 – Peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan are kicking off this week in Qatar. But at stake in the peace talks is the presence of U.S. ground troops, and not its deadly air war against Afghans. We talk with Phyllis Bennis (@phyllisbennis), Middle East analyst and director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. 0:34 – Private neighborhood Facebook groups and right-wing Facebook groups have spread viral misinformation falsely alleging antifascists and Black Lives Matter protesters are setting fires in Oregon, leading to militia members menacing journalists and members of the public traveling near evacuation zones. But how widespread is the misinformation? We talk with Jason Wilson (@jason_a_w), a journalist based in Portland, Oregon, reporting for The Guardian on white nationalist violence, the recent Portland protests and wildfires. His latest piece is “Social media disinformation on US west coast blazes ‘spreading faster than fire.'” 0:45 – A new open source investigation by Physicians For Human Rights has uncovered 115 cases of protesters being shot in the head or neck by law enforcement during protests across the U.S. this spring against police brutality. Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician in Oakland, medical advisor at Physicians for Human Rights, and adjunct professor at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, joins us. She led the Shot in the Head investigation. She has conducted research on the health and human rights impacts of crowd-control weapons for nearly a decade, and says the companies who manufacture these weapons face little oversight. 1:08 – Betsy Ann Cowley, a property owner in Pulga, California, shares her experience of being in an area vulnerable to fire and trying to prepare to defend her property. She also gives tips on how to provide help and aid to people who have to evacuate during the fires. 1:15 – We get updates from Lynn Tolmachoff of Cal Fire and David King of the National Weather Service on how containment of California's wildland fires is going, and how long the smoke event will last. 1:25 – Vic Bedoian reports on the Creek Fire in Fresno and Madera counties. 1:30 – A whistleblower in Georgia has brought forward horrifying claims that a doctor has been performing mass hysterectomies on groups of immigrant women at the Irwin County Detention Center, or ICDC, operated by private prison company LaSalle Corrections. Lawyers from Project South and the Government Accountability Project have filed an official complaint with the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security, which is supposed to oversee and regulate ICE detention facilities. We talk with the lawyer for the whistleblower, Azadeh Shahshahani (@ashahshahani), legal and advocacy director for Project South. You can read their complaint here. 1:45 – The officer who killed Steven Taylor in a San Leandro Walmart in April is being arraigned at the Alameda County Courthouse right now on manslaughter charges — it's the first time that DA Nancy O'Malley has brought these charges against an officer. We get an update from the courthouse from organizer Selina McManus, who grew up in San Leandro, went to high school with Steven Taylor, and is organizing for justice for his family. Visit their Instagram page for updates: Justice 4 Steven Taylor. The post Did ICE allow a doctor to perform mass hysterectomies on jailed women in Georgia? Plus – Fire updates, and a new report that police have shot 115 people in the head during U.S. racial justice protests appeared first on KPFA.

Despite defiance from police departments and police unions, efforts to limit police secrecy have notched at least one recent victory. On this week’s On The Media, hear how the public can now view misconduct records that had long been closely guarded by the nation’s largest police force. Plus, how America's most famous cop-whistleblower views the present moment. And, the Black nationalist origins of Justice Clarence Thomas’s legal thinking. 1. Eric Umansky [@ericuman], deputy managing editor at ProPublica, on never-before-seen New York Police Department misconduct records. Listen.   2. Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project [@GovAcctProj], and Frank Serpico [@SerpicoDet], former New York Police Department detective, on the whistleblower protections necessary in any police reform. Listen. 3. Corey Robin [@CoreyRobin], writer and political scientist at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, on all that we've missed (or ignored) about Justice Clarence Thomas. Listen.  

This season, there’s more I Spy with I Spy Plus. Get ad-free episodes and access to weekly bonus material right in your favorite podcast app. This week, Amy Mackinnon and Dan Ephron discuss 'The Whistleblower' with Irvin McCullough, the deputy director of legislation at the Government Accountability Project. Listen to this excerpt of the episode and subscribe to I Spy Plus at foreignpolicy.com/ispy.

Live Broadcast of the U.S. Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing: “Protecting Scientific Integrity in the COVID-19 Response (Panel I). Witnesses Richard A. Bright, Ph.D. Senior Advisor National Institutes of Health –Testimony Hosts: Mitch Jeserich, Cat Brooks, and Brian Edwards-Tiekert.  Guests: Zain Rizvi, Law and Policy Researcher with Public Citizen.  He is an expert on drug pricing, access to medicines and global health. Tom Devine is the Legal Director of the Government Accountability Project. Katherine Eban, is an investigative journalist and author. She is a Vanity Fair contributor. Her latest book is Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom       The post Special Broadcast – U.S. House Hearing on Protecting Scientific Integrity in the COVID-19 Response appeared first on KPFA.

by Libbe HaLevy | May 13, 2020This Week’s Featured Interview: Hanford Nuclear and Covid nightmares get explained and exposed by Tom Carpenter, Executive Director of Hanford Challenge, the Washington state watchdog group. He is an attorney and worked as the Director of the Nuclear Oversight Campaign for the Government Accountability Project from 1985 to 2007. Previously, Tom founded Cincinnati Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE) and served on the Cincinnati Mayor’s Environmental Advisory Council. In this interview, he provides background on the current status of the neverending clean-up, how Hanford has become a budgetary football for the current administration, and the impact of Covid19 on the site’s safety.Sign up for weekly newsletters at:www.nuclearhotseat.comAlso posted on YouTube channels: nutzforart & UCYTV

A lawsuit filed Friday aims to open closed-door meetings and obtain documents held by a city working group considering leasing St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The plaintiffs allege members of the Airport Advisory Working Group knowingly violated the Missouri Sunshine Act in eight instances. Host Sarah Fenske talks with Mark Pedroli, founder of the Sunshine and Government Accountability Project.

Whistleblowing in the national security sphere is complicated and difficult. Irvin McCullough of the Government Accountability Project says the current Ukraine whistleblower is a poster child for following the rules. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Irvin McCullough, a National Security Analyst at the Government Accountability Project, joins FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald on this episode of the On The Hill podcast. Given the headlines surrounding the President and the whistleblower complaint against him, we look at how the whistleblower protections are supposed to work, why they exist and how the current blowback from the White House could impact other whistleblowers from coming forward. Join us!

The impeachment inquiry into President Trump is tangled up in Ukrainian politics, but few Washington reporters understand the dynamics at play. This week, On the Media looks at what we all need to know to make sense of the news. Plus, why there are no whistle-blower protections for those in the intelligence community. And, how the Nixon impeachment makes a case for a more deliberate Trump inquiry. Don't miss... 1. Tim Naftali [@TimNaftali], historian at New York University, on what the Nixon impeachment teaches us about the need for a deliberate process. Listen.  2. Tom Devine, legal director at the Government Accountability Project, on the poor protections for intelligence community whistle-blowers. Listen. 3. Adam Entous [@adamentous], staff writer at The New Yorker, on the patchy validity of Trump's Hunter Biden accusations. Listen. 4. Kyrylo Loukerenko [@K_Loukerenko], executive director at Hromadske Radio, helps us make sense of the misinformation about Ukraine. Listen. Music: Nuages (Clouds) by James Carter Life On Mars? by Meridian String Quarter A Ride With Polly Jean by Jenny Scheinman Nocturne for piano in B flat minor   

Amanda Hitt from the Government Accountability Project gives a long view perspective on the new rules in pork inspection. What Doesn't Kill You is powered by Simplecast.

Amanda Hitt from the Government Accountability Project gives a long view perspective on the new rules in pork inspection. What Doesn't Kill You is powered by Simplecast.

Few federal management challenges are as vexing as how to deal with whistleblowers. For whistleblowers, things can be even tougher. They face retaliation and job loss. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Project on Government Oversight, or POGO, has teamed with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Government Accountability Project to produce a new survival guide for whistleblowers. POGO executive director Danielle Brian joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin with details.

Michael Cohen comes to Capitol Hill to testify to Congress today. According to his leaked remarks, he will accuse Donald Trump of breaking the law WHILE he was President of the United States. He says he knew about the Wikileaks story and worked with Roger Stone to get the story out there. He will accuse him of being a racist. Bottom line: There will be plenty of evidence to impeach Trump after these remarks, but will the GOP actually do anything about it?The House has voted to block Trump's "national emergency." The Senate is up next. Even Mitch McConnell can't give a definitive statement as to whether or not the declaration is legal.... But he still supports it. We talk to Matt Ford from The New Republic, Irvin McCullough from the Government Accountability Project and Matt Ford from HuffPost!

Thank you for listening to the Audible Café podcast. With our public employees enduring the fifth week of their forced furlough during a government shutdown resulting from the actions of a despotic and vindictive President Trump, this interview — and my interview with Kyla Bennett from PEER last week — couldn’t be more timely. In today’s episode, I am sharing my interview with Jeff Ruch, Executive Director of PEER - Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. PEER is a watchdog of our public environmental agencies, and works extensively to empower public employees so that they are literally peers within their agencies, with a seat at the table that respects and relies on their knowledge and expertise to set and enforce policy, and honors their years of service and dedication. This honoring of our nation’s environmental laws and policies and employees is sorely missing, to say the least, under the Trump administration. Which means that PEER has been receiving many, many calls from deeply concerned and disenfranchised public employees. Jeff has been the Executive Director of PEER since 1997. He helped to start PEER and for the first four years served as General Counsel & Program Director for the organization. Prior to founding PEER, Jeff was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sector. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted literally hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. We’re grateful to Jeff for taking the time to talk with us. And we’re especially grateful to him for his years of devotion to the people who serve our country as public employees in environmental agencies. Protecting the protectors - it is not an easy job. But these public servants do not deserve to be disrespected, harassed, and harmed by abusive government practices. And neither do the great diversity of species who live all across our nation — whether in public parks or on other lands — who literally depend on our environmental agencies for their lives. So please, after you listen to the show, visit PEER’s website, learn about the campaigns they are working on, and support them. Our public agencies are responsible for ensuring that the lands and waters and living beings in their care are protected and allowed to flourish. Public employees hold the future of our nation in their hands. Let’s not let dictatorial, corporate-funded politicians keep them from doing their jobs! Thank you for listening. As always, you can learn more and access archives and show notes with lots of resources at audiblecafe.com, or visit the FB page - just search for Audible Café, or follow us on Twitter @audiblecafe. If you listen on iTunes, please subscribe, and leave us a review. It’s helps a lot. We appreciate your feedback. So if you’d like to get directly in touch with us, email listenup@audiblecafe.com. Note: During this interview, Jeff Ruch describes the censorship and bureaucratic and legal punishment of a government scientist, Dr. Charles Monnett, who was one of the first to report polar bear mortality as a result of drowning — a deeply sad result of melting ice flows due to climate change. The images associated with this phenomenon are terribly disturbing and yet have served to bring the shocking truth of climate change before the public eye in a way climate change reports cannot. At one point in our discussion, the deceased polar bears are referred to as “floaters,” not in any negative way at all. I considered editing that descriptor out of the interview because it upset me, but then stopped myself. The importance of the scientist’s work— and especially the resulting media storm that ensued when he reported it appropriately in an “observational note” in a scientific paper and Al Gore picked up on the story and put it his book “An Inconvenient Truth” — brought important attention to the plight of these majestic creatures. I decided that I can’t let my personal, emotional reaction to a word outweigh my goal of staying true to... truth. At Audible Café, we strive to uphold the values of free and independent journalism. I hope you will agree this is more important than softening the blow of human destruction of the earth and its creatures. We must all face this truth, and act now to address it. SHOW RESOURCES www.peer.org Dr. Charles Monnett Polar Bear Case  

Amanda Hitt, Director of the Food Integrity Campaign at the Government Accountability Project takes listeners through a lawsuit the organization has filed on behalf of a Pilgrims Pride poultry grower. If he succeeds, how will this change the game for integrators and contractors? What Doesn't Kill You is powered by Simplecast.

Amanda Hitt, Director of the Food Integrity Campaign at the Government Accountability Project takes listeners through a lawsuit the organization has filed on behalf of a Pilgrims Pride poultry grower. If he succeeds, how will this change the game for integrators and contractors? What Doesn't Kill You is powered by Simplecast.

Gaurav is Free Press' policy counsel and works alongside the policy team on topics ranging from internet freedom issues like Net Neutrality and media ownership to consumer privacy and government surveillance. Gaurav's human rights and civil liberties work has taken him from Capitol Hill to Uganda, India and Liberia. Before joining Free Press, he worked at the Government Accountability Project protecting the rights of national security whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, and prior to that as a legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. He earned both his B.A. in international affairs and his J.D. from the George Washington University. Outside of work he can be found getting some fresh air riding his bike to and from one of D.C.'s many roof decks.

Mr. Peter Van Buren is a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Department of State. He spent a year in Iraq. Following his book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, the Department of State began proceedings against him. Through the efforts of the Government Accountability Project and the ACLU, Buren instead retired from the State Department with his full benefits of service.  We will be discussing his latest book Hooper's War:  A Novel of WWII Japan which I find relevant today. 

Blow the whistle with Amanda Hitt and Katy Keiffer on a brand new episode of **What Doesn’t Kill You. ** Amanda Hitt is the Director of The Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign (FIC). Amanda oversees FIC operations and is responsible for ensuring that FIC fulfills its mission of enhancing food integrity by facilitating truth telling. To do this, Amanda works closely with partner organizations, clients, legislators, and the media to alter the balance of power between the food industry and consumers. She acts to protect the rights of those who speak out against the practices that compromise food integrity, and empower whistleblowers and food activists. “Things are not in a good place when it comes to the industrialized food industry.” [14:00]

Blow the whistle with Amanda Hitt and Katy Keiffer on a brand new episode of **What Doesn’t Kill You. ** Amanda Hitt is the Director of The Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign (FIC). Amanda oversees FIC operations and is responsible for ensuring that FIC fulfills its mission of enhancing food integrity by facilitating truth telling. To do this, Amanda works closely with partner organizations, clients, legislators, and the media to alter the balance of power between the food industry and consumers. She acts to protect the rights of those who speak out against the practices that compromise food integrity, and empower whistleblowers and food activists. “Things are not in a good place when it comes to the industrialized food industry.” [14:00]

Under current U.S. law, national security whistleblower Edward Snowden has no recourse to a public interest defense. This event discusses options for reform. Speakers: Steven Aftergood, Sandra Coliver, Beatrice Edwards, Morton Halperin, Bill Leonard, Anna Myers. (Recorded: Jul 15, 2015)

Co-hosts Mickey Huff and Peter Phillips discuss the Importance of Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection. They speak with attorney Jesselyn Radack, National Security & Human Rights Director at the Government Accountability Project, about her work around clients such as Edward Snowden, Thomas Andrews Drake, and John Kiriakou, among others, and the state of Whistleblower protection in the US and around the world. To wrap up the program, Peter discusses his research about the .0001% Transnational Capitalist Class and those who attend the annual gathering at the Bohemian Grove in Northern California this week. The post Project Censored – July 10, 2015 appeared first on KPFA.

Jesselyn Radack, a Justice Department whistleblower and director of the National Security and Human Rights Division of the Government Accountability Project, joins the show to talk about the case of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Monday for leaking to a New York Times reporter. She discusses how he was punished for being a whistleblower, compares his case to other recent prosecutions of leaks and describes the personal toll that such a prosecution can take on people. We highlight the first interview Sterling did for an advocacy organization called Expose Facts as well.     

Bennet speaks with Former high-level National Security Agency intelligence official William Binney following his trip to Germany for a parliamentary inquiry in Berlin into the NSAs activities. William discusses the creation of his new Government Accountability Project supported whistleblower website, how he blew the whistle on NSA surveillance programs plus his outspoken criticism of the NSA during the George W. Bush administration that made him the subject of FBI investigations.

TODAY ON BACKROOM POLITICS...SPECIAL GUEST LOUIS CLARK, PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT  joins the roundtable to discuss EDWARD SNOWDEN,the NSA, and civil rights...has terrorism destroyed our civil liberties? ALSO, how has America lost it's mojo with the international community...and when did we loose it? America is offering convicted spy David Pollard as a way to get Middle-East talks back on track....is America selling our security or is this a smart strategy?  Tbis and TELL ME A STORY....today on BACKROOM POLITICS!!!

Jesselyn Radack  & Thomas Drake are a force to be reckoned with.  She is the legal adviser to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and the Director of National Security & Human Rights at the Government Accountability Project.  He is a former senior executive of the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and a whistleblower.  In 2006, Thomas leaked information about the NSA's data-gathering Trailblazer Project and was prosecuted under the Espionage Act, but in 2010, but the case collapsed.

This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking poultry and public health with Amanda Hitt, the Director of the Food Integrity Campaign for the Government Accountability Project. Amanda oversees FIC operations and is responsible for ensuring that FIC fulfills its mission of enhancing food integrity by facilitating truth telling. Founded in 1977, GAP is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. Located in Washington, DC, GAP is a nonpartisan, public interest group. In addition to focusing on whistleblower support in our stated program areas, we lead campaigns to enact whistleblower protection laws both domestically and internationally. Tune in to learn about the microbial swabbing of poultry, and why it is likely to be less effective in locating disease than prior methods of inspection. Hear how antibiotic resistance has affected the poultry industry, and how poultry often escapes criticism when compared to beef. What are some alternatives to industrial poultry, and what should the consumer expect to pay for safe, quality birds? Find out on Straight, No Chaser! This episode has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch. “When the going gets tough, and the government wants to save money, they go after inspectors.” [8:40] “It’s hard for consumers to ‘keep the faith’ when the industry isn’t doing the right thing in [poultry] production.” [12:45] — Amanda Hitt on Straight, No Chaser

This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking poultry and public health with Amanda Hitt, the Director of the Food Integrity Campaign for the Government Accountability Project. Amanda oversees FIC operations and is responsible for ensuring that FIC fulfills its mission of enhancing food integrity by facilitating truth telling. Founded in 1977, GAP is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. Located in Washington, DC, GAP is a nonpartisan, public interest group. In addition to focusing on whistleblower support in our stated program areas, we lead campaigns to enact whistleblower protection laws both domestically and internationally. Tune in to learn about the microbial swabbing of poultry, and why it is likely to be less effective in locating disease than prior methods of inspection. Hear how antibiotic resistance has affected the poultry industry, and how poultry often escapes criticism when compared to beef. What are some alternatives to industrial poultry, and what should the consumer expect to pay for safe, quality birds? Find out on Straight, No Chaser! This episode has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch. “When the going gets tough, and the government wants to save money, they go after inspectors.” [8:40] “It’s hard for consumers to ‘keep the faith’ when the industry isn’t doing the right thing in [poultry] production.” [12:45] — Amanda Hitt on Straight, No Chaser

This week on Straight, No Chaser, host Katy Keiffer discusses the Ag Gag Laws with Amanda Hitt is the Director of the Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) for the Government Accountability Project. Amanda oversees FIC operations and is responsible for ensuring that FIC fulfills its mission of enhancing food integrity by facilitating truth telling. Iowa and Utah have just enacted new Ag Gag Laws, and clearly there is an increased interest in the industry to enact more of this type of legislation. Ag-gag bills remain pending in Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York and Tennessee. Is transparency a good idea for the livestock and farming industry or will people get the wrong idea with the curtain pulled back? This program was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. “The whole business of agriculture as we know it requires a certain veil of secrecy.” “We need to change our relationship to the industry itself, and how they present themselves with regards to food safety and wholesomeness. More than often that presentation is not grounded in reality.” –Amanda Hitt, Director of the Food Integrity Campaign

This week on Straight, No Chaser, host Katy Keiffer discusses the Ag Gag Laws with Amanda Hitt is the Director of the Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) for the Government Accountability Project. Amanda oversees FIC operations and is responsible for ensuring that FIC fulfills its mission of enhancing food integrity by facilitating truth telling. Iowa and Utah have just enacted new Ag Gag Laws, and clearly there is an increased interest in the industry to enact more of this type of legislation. Ag-gag bills remain pending in Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York and Tennessee. Is transparency a good idea for the livestock and farming industry or will people get the wrong idea with the curtain pulled back? This program was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. “The whole business of agriculture as we know it requires a certain veil of secrecy.” “We need to change our relationship to the industry itself, and how they present themselves with regards to food safety and wholesomeness. More than often that presentation is not grounded in reality.” –Amanda Hitt, Director of the Food Integrity Campaign