WASHINGTON - July 28 - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly objected to the government’s attempts to crack down on brave whistleblowers who come forward to report on illegal or unconstitutional activity in government agencies. On Wednesday, Russell Tice, a whistleblower and former National Security Agency intelligence analyst was served with a federal grand jury subpoena to “testify and answer questions concerning possible violations of federal criminal law.”

The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

“Transparency should be applauded, not punished. Courageous federal employees like Mr. Tice who bring hidden truths to light, letting lawmakers and the American people know when official misconduct has occurred, perform a valuable public service.

“This latest revelation comes as the president continues to block all attempts to investigate his violations of the law – including his authorization of NSA to conduct surveillance on Americans without a warrant. The administration is trying to deflect the real issues and intimidate these brave public servants. All the while, Congress tries to help the president evade responsibility by drafting legislation to make the President’s illegal acts legal.”

For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the warrantless NSA eavesdropping program, go to: http://www.aclu.org/nsaspying

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