Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Transpartisan Coalition Calls for Whistleblower Hearings

30 liberal, libertarian and conservative groups are calling on Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to hold hearings on the case of gagged FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds.

The issues reported by Ms. Edmonds include:
  • Espionage activities within the FBI, DOD, and the Department of State.
  • Cover-up of information and leads pre and post 9/11, under the excuse of protecting certain diplomatic relations.
  • Deliberate mistranslation of crucial intelligence by FBI translators and management.
  • Foreign entities bribing government officials and elected representatives.
Your job is to call Congressmen Henry Waxman and John Conyers and demand hearings.

----------------
Statement:

Transpartisan Coalition Calls for Whistleblower Hearings

Petition with strong left-right support headed to Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, DC - The Liberty Coalition, a transpartisan public policy group dedicated to preserving the Bill of Rights, personal autonomy and individual privacy today sent a petition signed by 30 liberal, libertarian and conservative groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, Citizen Outreach, OMB Watch, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Government Accountability Project, Electronic Freedom Foundation, and the National Coalition Against the Censorship to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform urging prompt hearings on the case of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds.

Edmonds, a former FBI Language Specialist, brought charges of wrongdoing, criminal activity, cover-ups and national security threats inside the agency following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Edmonds was promptly fired, which she asserts was an act of retaliation. The Department of Justice (DOJ) then used the State Secrets Privilege to shut down court proceedings in her case and prevent Congress from exploring the matter. Civil Liberties advocates argue that Edmonds’s case in an example of other instances where whistleblowers who tried to inform Congress and taxpayers about national security threats were intimidated silenced and retaliated against.

“Mrs. Edmonds is not a national security threat but a national hero and the American public deserves to hear the truth of her case. Congress must act and act now by having public hearings. Without them, the cover-ups and criminal activities will just continue.” Said Michael Ostrolenk, National Director of the Liberty Coalition.

Mr Ostrolenk was supported in his contentions by Liberty Coalition partner Stephen Kohn, President of the National Whistleblower Center who said “Congress must hear from Mrs. Edmonds and others who corroborated her case - we cannot wait until after another attack to learn about threats to our security."

This popular position is echoed by Danielle Brian, Executive Director of the Project On Government Oversight, a watchdog group that signed the appeal brief in Mrs. Edmonds case who said "The issues surrounding the Edmonds case are so significant that Congress must hold hearings to investigate the government's actions.”

The issues reported by Ms. Edmonds include:

· Espionage activities within the FBI, DOD, and the Department of State.

· Cover-up of information and leads pre and post 9/11, under the excuse of protecting certain diplomatic relations.

· Deliberate mistranslation of crucial intelligence by FBI translators and management.

· Foreign entities bribing government officials and elected representatives.


Civil Liberty advocates assert that these issues point to an abuse of power, a criminal conspiracy and attempts to cover -up wrong doing by using the coercive power of the state.

In regards to abuse of power, Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director, ACLU National Office, and Lead Counsel in Mrs. Edmonds case said. “The government abused the state secrets privilege to deny Sibel Edmonds her day in court, and to prevent accountability in other cases for illegal spying and rendition. It is high time for Congress to intervene.”

Dr. William Weaver, Senior advisor and Board Member of the National Security Whistleblower’s Coalition, who is an expert on the state secret privilege agreed with Mrs. Beeson when he said, “In Edmonds' case tyranny comes in the form of the state secrets privilege, a foolproof mechanism of the federal government to hide executive branch corruption, incompetence, and illegal activity. This is a practice more at home with Czars and nabobs, and should have no place in the United States."

Ostrolenk continued by saying “This is worse than Watergate in that American lives have been lost and our national security has been compromised. Mrs. Edmonds case has been vindicated by the Justice Department office of Inspector General, and several congressional offices. The public has a right to know. The excuse of protecting national security is fallacious. They are protecting their own power and not the American people. Mrs. Edmonds must be heard.”
Please call Congressmen Henry Waxman and John Conyers between now and next Wednesday and beg, implore and demand them to hold hearings into Sibel's case and the State Secrets Privilege.

This blog Let Sibel Edmonds Speak will have new articles about the case, and a place where you can let us know that you called the offices, and what sort of response you got etc.

Please call Congressmen Conyers and Waxman and demand hearings.

Waxman:
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-3976 (phone)
(202) 225-4099 (fax)

Conyers:
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax
John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lukery, the site looks fabulous; well-organized. Great job!

Now, let's bring in the crowd & execute this mission.

lukery said...

:-)

thnkyou dcklng.

yes - let's execute. we got a lot of attention over at DKOS twice this week - so that's a great start. today and yesterday

I'll need your help, of course.

Anonymous said...

Sibel Edmonds is a genuine American hero. She has risked her security to expose the crimes of treasonous men in positions of power.

Scooter Libby is the tiniest tip of an enormous iceberg of unprecedented criminal conspiracy. Like Joseph Wilson, Sibel Edmonds can reveal crucial details needed to expose the lies of this most criminal administration in American history.

Sibel Edmonds must be heard, and the corrupt government officials trying to silence her must be identified, and charged with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and conspiracy.

SanderO said...

When you read what Ms Edmonds has to say in Part I and Part II, it opens up a rather frightening cap in the view of those who accept the world as it appears.

She lays bear the fact that what we are presented with is all window dressing and illusion. What is really going down is very very very ugly.

Our little "democracy" toots along oblivious to all the nefarious dealings of the generals, the MIC, and their seconds on K street, Capitol Hill and in the administation. These are power and get rich quick schemes. These people don't work for a living. They steal. They are criminals and they have set up the system to both fog everyone's vision and to provide all sorts of cover when the haze clears.

If what Sibel says is true, and I have no reason to douht a word of it. We have been robbed blind for decades and are being robbed every day by these criminals.

It is rather sad that the MIC employs so many people who blindly believe in the mission of the miliatry and that they are contributing to our safety. How very sad... but if we were to take down the MIC probably millions of people would be unemployed. The MIC is like a cancer that has so infected the body that its removal will kill the patient sooner... or though the cancer will eventualy get them.

There stil remain some laws and a constitution which might be used to get these criminals, but they are fast making the justice system ineffectual at getting the real criminals of society. But they are increasingly going after petty crooks, perps of victimless crimes, like drugs and prostitution.

They neutered to voice of the press by kiling the fairness doctrine and buying up the media outlets and controlling the message. It was particularly evident in the run up to the Iraq invasion where the oppostion wasn't even reported on despite the fact that tens of millions of people were in the streets around the world. They laid the propaganda ojn pretty thick but the truth still managed to seep through and even John Q Public is up to their ears in the truth now and want out of Iraq.

Real reporting in the media would reveal the HUNDREDS of criminal acts that the administration, and members of congres have engaged in over the past 6 years (and let's no forget the pervious 8).

The rest of the world sees America for what it is. Sibel is right that not all the citizens behave as those in power do. But the climate in each of these countries promotes criminality at the top and America leads the way. Wake up America.

I am proud that she pulls no punches and points our that Cohen and his lobby operation is on par with the evil ways of BushCo. These people in government simply see their time up there as license to steal although it's all legal cos they set it up that way... didn't they.

Hopefully the internet will pemetrate the consciousness of people as the mainstream media is losing it's ability to do this. The whole Katie Couric gambit is a perfect example of how the MSM is failing and falling faster then they can say POP. No one believes these "news readers"... newsfotainment assholes anymore. Fox is hopefully crumbliung in its own lies. Coutler, Malkin, Tucker Carlson, Wolfie, Rush, Hannity... the whole lot of them have no moral compass and are bold face liars... or hopelessly naive and uninformed.

Chances are the whole thing will collapse before anyone can rescue it. So much of wealth is just trading useless financial securities and creating wealth out of thin air. No one with wealth actually works.

First goes the oil and then the financial markets, pensions SS and so on and it all comes crashing down and fascism is installed to control the angry people.

The they will probably go for some mass extinctions to rid the world of the pests that have multiplied and made a mess of the world. Wars have their purpose...

The worst is yet to come.

Thank you Sibel Edmonds.

Unknown said...

I'm more comfortable using email; I don't live in the Valley anymore - so it took a bit of cheating to get the Contact form on Rep. Waxman's site. The reply address on the confirmation email is
ca30hima.pub@mail.house.gov

in case that enables others to contact him more easily. He works for all of us, not just the 30th district.

I've likened the opening of these hearings to that of Woodward and Bernstein upon printing the Watergate breakin. America deserves to have these hearings; and to grow from the consequences.

Anonymous said...

This email - ca30hima.pub@mail.house.gov - does not work. It just got kicked back.

Great words. Great truths. Great realities unfortunately.

I've already broken away from the compelled benefits of fascism and own no property, have no children, and pretty near no identity to speak of so far (another couple months and I will be a truly free and sovereign being). So when the fascist forces come, I will be waiting with protection in hand and absolutely no fear because I know that I am of light and truth and that these always win over the dark side.