Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Liberty Coalition calls for Sibel hearings

The Liberty Coalition has put out the following statement regarding Sibel's statement yesterday:

----------------
Coalition Partner Unveils Evidence of FBI Misconduct

New development supports prior allegations by other national security whistleblowers

WASHINGTON, DC - The Liberty Coalition, a transpartisan public policy group dedicated to preserving the Bill of Rights, personal autonomy and individual privacy today received evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) abused its power and committed crimes in documents provided by the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). The NSWBC obtained a complaint filed by veteran FBI special agent Gilbert Graham with the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) charging that our nations chief law enforcement agency had conducted illegal wiretapping and surveillance against high ranking government officials.

Special Agent Graham, who has since left the FBI, originally filed his complaint on April 2, 2002 and waited for the justice system to proceed. After the serious complaint was not addressed, another FBI whistleblower brought the complaint to the attention of the NSWBC. According to NSWBC, several highly credible whistleblowers are ready to testify before congress about this and other alleged FBI wrong-doings.

“The failure to address Special Agents Graham’s complaint points to a major failure of oversight,” said Liberty Coalition National Director Michael Ostrolenk. “Our Nation’s security demands that allegations like this do not slip through the cracks, or worse, fall victim to cover up.”

Mr. Graham is not the only FBI employee to raise concerns about troubles inside the agency. Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI Linguistic Specialist, filed a similar complaint after September 11, 2001 with the DOJ-OIG and Congress. Ms. Edmonds was fired by the FBI, her court proceedings were blocked by the assertion of the State Secrets Privilege and Congress was gagged and prevented from investigating her case.

The discovery of Agent Grahams’ claim has boosted whistleblower rights advocates’ longstanding calls for congressional hearings.

"Congress is the elected eyes, ears and voice of the American people," continued Ostrolenk. “Congress should hold hearings to investigate the claims of these whistleblowers and determine the validity and extent of their claims.”

To view a copy of Special Agent Graham’s complaint, please click here (pdf)
------------------
we'll have more tomorrow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness, Sibel's story is gaining traction!!!!

Congressional hearings would be eye opening for sure.

lukery said...

tell your friends

bring popcorn!