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NSA Whistleblower Warns National Press Club: U.S. Government Engaged in a ‘Direct Assault’ on Free Speech
(Photo: National Press Club
A former executive of the National Security Agency (NSA) is continuing his crusade against creeping encroachments on American liberty, speaking out at the National Press Club on Friday.
Thomas Drake had been with the NSA for 32 years and was the senior technical director when he decided he could no longer support the agency’s actions. For the past several years, he has been raising awareness as a whistle-blower about domestic spying, waste, and fraud, and was even prosecuted under the Espionage Act for allegedly leaking classified information (the charges have been dropped).
Featured prominently on TheBlaze’s premiere of “For the Record,” Drake asked the audience at the National Press Club to consider a cause dear to their own hearts: press freedom and the First Amendment.
The National Press Club wrote of the event (all subsequent emphasis added)
In a passionate plea for the sanctity of the First Amendment, Drake warned that journalists are being increasingly frozen out of government sources.
“How else will the press report the real news when their sources dry up and the government becomes a primary purveyor of its own news?” he asked in one of many disturbing scenarios posed to the audience. He quoted George Orwell and John F. Kennedy to the same effect: It is a slippery slope from government secrecy to tyranny.
Club President Angela Greiling Keane has made press freedom a priority for her presidency this year. Had Drake been convicted, “it would have had a chilling effect on whistleblowers and journalists, who often receive and keep defense documents,” she said in introducing Drake.
Speaking more generally, Drake spoke of national security as a “new state religion”:
“I like to think that we have reached a critical event horizon [on] whether national security as a new state religion will further suck the dwindling light of the First Amendment into the black hole of classification and secrecy hidden from public view. It seems that secrecy is actually strengthening the national security state in order to hide from accountability and oversight at the expense of informed public interest, where it matters the most.”
“What is the price of keeping the public in the dark, and having the government increasingly operating in the dark through secret law, or interpretations in secret of existing law?” he asked ominously.
“…In our post-9/11 world, the government is increasingly in the ‘First Un-amendment’ business, engaged in a direct assault on free speech and the very foundation of our democracy.”
The National Press Club posted video of Drake’s entire speech:
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Comments (58)
MainMan
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 4:17pmOk. A: dude you just signed your own death warrant,(see seal team 6 ex.) B: can we please get on with the destruction of this country, tired of waiting. Seriously Barry pick up the pace.
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michaelmoron
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 6:36pmPresident Kennedy tried to warn Americans and the newspapers/media to the dangers and the need for more transparency.
“The very word “‘secrecy’” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is a very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.”
– John F. Kennedy, New York City, April 27, 1961
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kenboo1
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 7:17pmThe Senate is the first to approve the president’s nominees to cabinet posts not to mention the supreme court. Republicans have taken a very weak position on these nominees and government oversight issues. It’s time we send them a message go to http://www.repeal17.net and see if you agree with this PAC. If you can support it…
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Obama Been Lauding
Posted on March 19, 2013 at 6:52amNow, anyone in the press with knowledge of Fast and Furious, Benghazi, Release of Illegals’, etc. etc., release your information.
Press, also go after Obama’s background, and expose everything, everything you find.
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TheBurningTruth
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:59pmIt is rather ironic that Mr. Drake has chosen to talk to the very group (National Press Club) that is colluding with that over-bearing govt busy destroying the first amendment. It is the Lame Street Media that follows the govt’s lead (at least when we have a Progressive Liberal govt) in what to, and not to report. It is the Lame Street Media that wants to water down our Bill of Rights protections and sees an ally in President Marxist.
You can bet that this story won’t go anywhere on the alphabet networks or NPR.
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Tom70
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:34pmKiss your job good buy you’ll definitely fry in Obama hell.
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PIGSWILLNEVERFLY
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:17pmThomas Drake a man that lived by the oath he took to protect and defend the Constitution. Not an ordinary man. In the post 911 world the “price is Way to high”. Journalist’s sources have “fear” of of their own government. Government is wire tapping journalists to go after their sources. The government is doing things in secret and have gone to the “dark side” they redact and expunge truth and hide. CONGRESS DO NOT GIVE 0 POWER TO HAVE ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RECORDS under the guise of “security and protection”. Do not allow them to build data bases on innocent American gun owners! We are NOW living in an fascist surveillance state Germany could only dream of. I hope everyone watches the entire video. It is breathtaking and heartbreaking. G-d bless you Mr. Drake.
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Daddy Hawg
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:17pmThe UN Arms Trade Treaty meeting is in full swing and as soon as they reach a consensus the 2nd Amendment is finished. This will complete the downfall of the 1st Amendment which is under attack now. As we all see that CNN, MSNBC, ABC, etc. are in cahoots with the administration to suppress any information “the one” deems potentially damaging to his reign. “the one” told an audience that he was not emperor but failed to roll dictator in with that denial.
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CulperGang
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:10pmDrake is speaking TRUTH tp POWER. Some of us still have brass in pocket.
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Trigus
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:32pmGive these Liberal Leftist and Inch and they will strip American of all their Rights.
They attack the 2nd Amendemnt publically and steal the 1st Amendment from right under your noses.
When will you people get off the coach, or pop that precious little bubble you live in?
Who will you Stand with?
“Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.
Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestierte..” – Martin Niemoller
Only you can make this Once Great Nation, Great Again!!
2013 American Patriot Spring, Who will you Stand with?
The distinctions between Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents are no more. I Am Not A Republican, But An American! – Sons of Liberty
The distinction between Races is no more. I Am Not A (Insert Race,) But An American! – Defenders of Liberty
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GuruMeditation
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:55pmOur freedoms are worth dying for. The Bill of Rights, and specifically the first, second, and fourth amendments. STAND and defend!
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kapnkd
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:08pmI, for one, WILL die a FREE person!! ….Period!!!
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Rayblue
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 6:05pmI’ve lived the word. Freedom.
I’ll continue a free man farther than any.
Just try to keep up.
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barber2
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:44pmToday’s ” press” is merely the MSM which is firmly in the pocketbook of the Left. There is no longer a Voice of America. There is only the Voice of the International Left : from the BBC to the NYT to NPR . They all spout the same Far Left propaganda which is basically anti-capitalist and anti-American . News ?? No . There is only Left wing opinion and bias.
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progressiveslayer
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:06pmAint that the truth the msm are just propagandists for this regime,the regime gives them their lines and they simply regurgitate it for the mind numbed robots to consume.
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ellietoo
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:40pmIsn’t this man speaking to the wrong bunch? The National Press Club is not interested in freedom of speech for anyone except the leftest agenda they represent. Mainstream media has become a tool used for coverups and misinformation for the leftest political party now called “Democrats.” The propaganda machine that once kept Soviet Russia under control now reigns supreme in the USA.
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oldguy49
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:49pmamen….pass the ammo
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slr4528
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:37pmThe White House Press Corps have made themselves irrelevant and they are too stupid to know it.
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DebateMe
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:34pm“How else will the press report the real news when their sources dry up and the government becomes a primary purveyor of its own news?”
As disturbing as the above quote is, what is more disturbing is that mainstream media isn’t interested in reporting ‘real news.’ Mainstream media is like a crack addict unable to stop their destructive behavior and only when they make their first feeble attempts to change their ways will they realize just how fierce the current of recovery pushes back against them.
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techengineer11
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:45pmName names please!
As the gentlemen says there’s no bigger danger to the 1st amendment than a gov’t run Media..
Of course some of us realize that what we have today is an Apartheid in DC run by the FED Reserve Bank and it’s boys who by and large have bought up the US Media as a result of their FED inside knowledge..
The fat lady has sung folks…
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GuruMeditation
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:33pmamong other things. Tyrants!
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ggr1868
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:32pmThey’re going after property rights in Cyprus and, if successful, other Euro countries will be next. These are banking cartels and the Fed as well as govts like the US that fund the IMF. Property rights are the last bastion before slavery. If we don’t stand against this, we will get the same treatment. The biggest problem with the post baby-boomers is the participation trophy. They don’t know what it means to win or lose, everyone gets a participation trophy. Is that the whimper that will send us into a global state of permanent slavery?
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TheGrtDcptn
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:29pmin the dark…in secret…
John 3:19-20 ‘This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.’
…they will reap what they sow, not all are fooled…
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carbonyes
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 3:43pmTHEGREATDECEPTION,
It is the TRUTH, that never fails. Obama and his cronies will never escape it.
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338lapua
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:27pmI am absolutely this is the first the lefty’s at the press club have heard of this….shocking! As soon as the president issues a statement….they will write their stories.
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Cavallo
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:25pmThe “press” don’t care. They are very well on board with their controlled access. They’ll parrot whatever scraps are fed them and smile and swoon like teenage Justin Beiber fans. The press doesn’t care. Captain Louis Renault would be a far more fair and honest an individual than any of the American “press”.
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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:23pmThanks to concerned Americans, we hear what people like this say, and we question the need for 2500 hundred “armored command centers” for the Department of Homeland Security, for the simple fact we never wrapped up N. Korea? Congress has to maintain control over the military, because it has to keep the Executive branch in check?
What was Congress thinking when it allowed Department of Homeland Security? The Executive Branch already has the NSA, CIA, US Marines, FBI, ATF, Coast Guard and IRS? How much more power do you have to have before you put Congress out of business?
Are you consolidating power or denying Congress power, such as when you don’t pass budgets? Americans don’t have high powered super computers or spy toys, but they do have common sense? I could ask Ronald Reagan these questions, and probably get answers? I could ask other Presidents these questions, and I would probably be ignored?
There is a reason why Presidents don’t talk about the US Constitution, they don’t like it? Pardon me, is that politically incorrect to say to our children? Is supporting Islam but not the Pope, part of the Open Society and Quantum of Solace for George Soros?
If they eliminate the Republic or the Republican Party, its that much easier for Islam to remove the US Constitution? Is it intolerable watching the Democrat Party build a monarchy and call it tax policy? They want people to spend their 401ks?
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revelation2012
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:33pm“THEY” don’t want ‘us’ to spend “THEY” are going to TAKE POSSESSION of them!
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Devildog7777
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 4:56pmThe United States Marines will NEVER fight against the American people. That’s a FACT
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welovetheUSA
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:18pmThey will try………..they will not have success.
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CulperGang
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:23pmReally? they have succeded already on most to all fronts. WE ARE A NATION OF COWARDS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA
trampled on by punks in uniforms.
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barber2
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:39pmCUL: I think more of the punks are wearing Democrat suits or hoodies or sporting OWS Guy Fawkes masks…
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armyofnibiru
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 4:14pmdon.t mistake civility with cowardness.let the left do it .so they won’t seet comeing.
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revelation2012
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:09pm“THEY” made a muslim movie aka “THE VIDEO” to INSITE RIOTS in California FIRST
it didn’t go over to well there re the ‘movie’ so was USED for the “ARAB SPRING”
“THEY” are going after First Amendment ,,, UNITED NATIONS ,,,, going “GLOBAL” Everything!
“THEY” WILL BE GOING AFTER ONE THING RIGHT AFTER ANOTHER – “THE BEAST”
“THEY” ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH OUR MONEY “THEY” WANT OUR CHILDREN
“THEY” WANT OUR FREEDOM AND OUR FREEDOM TO WORSHIP!
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revelation2012
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:21pmThere will be DIVINE INTERVENTION ‘they’ are filling their ‘CUP’ RAPIDLY – BE READY ,,,
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ArmedAndReallyPissed
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:08pmYes. They must pave the way for the MoBroHo takeover of AmeriKa soon. It’s all the Master plan of Mein Fuhrer and his Wookie.
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progressiveslayer
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:05pmMy favorite line from the idiots is ‘well if I didn’t do anything wrong sure go ahead and take my hard drive and search my vehicle,I have nothing to hide’. Warrantless wiretaps drones over head and the data collection center out in Utah to ‘keep us safe’. Drake couldn’t take it any longer,he watched as the NSA trampled the constitution and bill of rights and so he came forward and I applaud his actions and I hope more people come forward and expose the police state that we allowed to be constructed.
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Witness1974
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:02pmI feel like I’m in a distopian movie.
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DEMSfightinwords
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:46pmI think it’s more like a Steven King movie, starring The Golfing Dude.
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neiman1
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:00pmDon’t forget the Obama FCC diversity chief admired the way Hugo Chavez took control of the media so his agenda could be pushed…..
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/23/diversity-czar-takes-heat-over-remarks/?page=all
It is already happening here
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barber2
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:37pmNEI: No doubt about that media control. Since the Danbury Mint have started producing Micelle Obama dolls in bright red, inaugural ball gowns and styled with those new bangs for the adoring public, one can only wonder when our Hugo -Obama will start playing the guitar and sporting a red beret when he hits the next 24 / 7 teleprompter event ! Amazing mess….
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 1:55pmThe dark deeds and agendas of the administration are coming into the light in full; the matter is all too few people are bothering to see what is going on and to do something about it.
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woodyee
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 1:49pmMan, our resident Libs will not want to hear all the news they’ve been getting since yesterday and continuing this morning, confirming they’ve been wrong…about everything…
Kinda late to be opening your minds, eh, sphincters?
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justangry
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 1:57pmThey won’t hear about it. News outlets today skip over the inconvenient stories they don’t really want their readers to know about.
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woodyee
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 2:14pmOr maybe they’re just still sleeping, Angry!
Fox News money reported on Cyprus just a little while ago. Based on the charts they showed, if Cypriots and foreign depositors withdraw, it’s gonna be bloody. Rush is reporting that Italy is thinking about confiscating funds as well, and when asked for comment, the WH is silent.
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