Thomas Drake Sentenced In NSA Leaks Case

BALTIMORE — A federal judge has sentenced a former senior spy agency official who leaked information to the media to a year of probation, a move that could spell trouble for the Obama Administration's crackdown on leakers.

Fifty-four-year-old Thomas Drake has said he gave The Baltimore Sun information about alleged mismanagement inside the National Security Agency, which gathers electronic intelligence. But he denied giving away secrets.

Drake was indicted on felony espionage charges that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. But the case fell apart in June, and he pleaded guilty to a minor charge in a plea deal.

The administration is still pursuing similar charges against others, but whistleblower groups say officials accused of leaking to the media should not be treated like spies.

Comments

[stopnlisten]

07:06 PM on 07/16/2011

Media wants this to be allowed for the money and not for freedoms allotted. When single pictures of celebrities can fetch $1,000,000 the imagine what they pay for information. This isn't whistleblowing...this is leaking information that could damage our ability to safe guard our citizens.

[UtahSlim]

12:38 PM on 07/16/2011

With all the institutionsl level criminality to go after - tax evasion, mortgage fraud, voter suppression - they devote resources to this guy and med mj - a real disservice to the President.

[Thanks4Watching]

11:31 AM on 07/16/2011

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell

[altohone]

11:02 AM on 07/16/2011

Obama took the wrong side in this fight. Probably Rahms advice.

[Thanks4Watching]

12:17 PM on 07/16/2011

I agree wholeheartedly. As a Democrat, Obama's stance on this is entirely un-Democratic, and it is probably the number one thing I strongly disagree with him on.

[max08]

10:55 AM on 07/16/2011

This man should never have been sentenced. Never. Read the case.

[parlimentMike]

10:45 AM on 07/16/2011

Obama vs. Truth is a major theme of this administration.

[guveqzero]

10:39 AM on 07/16/2011

Compared to Cheney, this man is a saint.

[missmanners]

09:51 AM on 07/16/2011

But the real traitors got away with leaking the name of a CIA agent.

[hobo62]

07:01 AM on 07/16/2011

They should have given him a medal.

[muysuave41]

06:45 AM on 07/16/2011

That's right. Arrest this guy but fail to bring to justice the Wall Street criminals for smashing the world economy.

[RRK70]

09:38 PM on 07/15/2011

If one compares this case with that of Murdoch's NewsCorp and Assange's WikiLeaks investigations it's easy to see why one could draw the conclusion that these prosecutions have more to do with politics and political vendettas than actual security concerns.

[AfricanLivedit]

08:05 PM on 07/15/2011

60 Minutes did a terrific story on this guy. From what I saw of the case, this guy got screwed! It's too bad because we need more whistleblowers.

[DasBoot]

09:36 AM on 07/16/2011

Jane Mayer wrote a long article in the New Yorker about the case and comes to the same conclusion. I don't have the link, but it might still be available.

[pene]

07:51 PM on 07/15/2011

as an american citizen, and after reviewing this case with as much info as possible, i say he's not guilty of anything.

the NSA is a shadow government. Drake only exposted fraud, waste, and abuse. He could have outed them on their lawlessness and he didn't. somebody should.

[colourful]

07:12 PM on 07/15/2011

The media needs to stop saying that everyone that leaks information to the press are doing it for altruistic reasons - it's pure hog-wash. And, the press only cares because these stories help them with their bottom line – sales and profit.

[DasBoot]

09:38 AM on 07/16/2011

Thomas Drake has worked for decades in the NSA. He is by all means a model employee. From all that we know, he was simply disgusted by the waste of taxpayer money for electronic earsdropping systems that he knew did not work. There is simply no evidence that he had anything but altruistic motives.

[decora]

03:54 PM on 07/16/2011

well, its true. the biggest leakers historically have been the office of the president and the top committees of congress. for example, Nixon tried to leak part of the Pentagon Papers in order to make Johnson look bad. Reagan's people leaked information about the DEA in order to support their wars in Central America; they did it by briefing congresspeople they knew would leak it. Eisenhower leaked info about CIA operations in Iran to help him get re-elected. Bush's crew of course leaked the Plame stuff to make his opponents look bad. Obama's people leaked info about the Bin Ladin raid to make themselves look good.
There are dozens of other examples.

Thomas Drake? He "leaked" info about a billion dollar piece of vaporware and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens. Of course it's hard to know what that word "Leak" really means... Drake had discussions with a reporter about UNclassified information. Non-classified.

As far as I know, its not illegal, nor is it even wrong, to talk about unclassified information with a reporter.

[colourful]

06:02 PM on 07/16/2011

Employees are expected to follow the personnel policy, rules and procedures of their employer. The government is an employer. So, you may talk about what is going on with your company to the press, but if your company's rule is for the press to go through the public relations liaison, you may not go to jail, but you may be fired – it’s that simple.

Didn't this occur during the Bush Administration?