HOME ABOUT STAFF INVESTIGATIONS ILAB BLOGS WORKSHOP NEWS SHOP NOTES CIA whistleblower files health complaint in prison B Y: C H A R L E S L E W I S Posted: Aug. 17, 2016 | Tags: whistleblowers The biggest surprise of the Barack Obama presidency to me and to many others has been what I have called “the unexpected national security obsessiveness” of his administration. Since 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice has repeatedly used the draconian 1917 Espionage Act to prosecute journalists’ sources, effectively criminalizing investigative journalism. Or as James Goodale, The New York Times’ lead lawyer during the seminal Pentagon Papers case put it in his recent memoir, “Obama has used the Espionage Act to indict more leakers than any president in the history of this country.” No president’s administration in the past century — indeed, all of them combined — has prosecuted more whistleblowing sources using the Espionage Act than the Obama administration. What happens to these courageous Americans who speak truth to power and courageously illuminate for the American people what’s really happening when it comes to the uses and abuses of power, beyond the press releases and other incessant puffery? Simply stated, they and their families suffer and pay a very severe human price. We are proud to re-publish this story, this cautionary tale about what the U.S. government does to inconvenient truthtellers, by Corey Hutchins and the Colorado Independent news organization. CONNECT WITH THE WORKSHOP Donate Email Find us INVESTIGATIONS DOCUMENTARIES ISSUES MORE Sign up for our newsletters. The Years of Living Dangerously climate­ Frontline: Big Sky, Airlines About change series on Showtime. Big Money Banking Staff Email address... Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria, a co­ Frontline: Digital Courts Partners production with FRONTLINE. Campaigns Digital Divide Blogs Subscribe The Hole: On any given day, about 300 Economy Workshop News immigrants are held in solitary confinement. Environment Contact Health Publish Our Stories BankTracker: For the vast majority of banks profits are harder to come by. Immigration Legal Jobs Privacy Momentive: Inside a company after private Politics equity takes over. Toxic Influence: Children exposed to toxic substances can develop learning disabilities. © Copyright 2008­2016.