In the case at bar, Drake was reporting waste and abuse within the NSA program, as many of you have identified

In the case at bar, Drake was reporting waste and abuse within the NSA program, as many of you have identified. Drake’s complaints would mean the end to a specific program and its funding to the NSA. Some of you may have noted that had anyone in Drake’s chain of command to the Congressional Intelligence Committee investigated and substantiated the allegations Drake reported to them, then perhaps Drake may not have ultimately contacted a news reporter. As a side note, Drake did not reveal any classified information

Executive Order 13526 , (See Week 4 course materials for more details) precludes an agency from classifying records that conceal program waste and abuse, such as the activities Drake reported, regarding the issue of over-classification of documents. But that may not deter the person or persons to whom whistleblowers must report their allegations from classifying records to protect themselves from internal audit and review. Those individual(s) is/are not independent and maybe incentivized not to investigate such allegations (see recent whistleblower cases involving the National Security Council and Department of State), rendering any investigation of whistleblower allegations ineffective. In other words, the process designed to investigate independently is vulnerable to the moral compass of those who control it, separate and distinct from the judicial and legislative oversight Sagar mentions.

Do you have a solution to this problem or internal conflict, and if so, what would it be? Discuss.