In mid-September, the National Security Agency, or NSA, announced it would undergo another massive restructuring, this time under its new director, Gen. Joshua Rudd, who’s only led the agency since March this year. The change would create five new organizations inside the NSA, focusing on artificial intelligence, China, cybersecurity, combat support or warfighting, and global intelligence.
Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Thomas Drake, a former NSA senior executive turned whistleblower, about this latest development at his former agency. Twenty years ago, Drake revealed the George W. Bush administration’s post 9/11 warrantless mass surveillance program, 9/11 intelligence failures and multibillion-dollar fraud and waste. To tell his story, Drake first went through all the proper government procedures, but finally talked to a newspaper reporter after he believed all established whistleblower channels had failed. He was indicted by the Obama administration in 2010 under the Espionage Act and faced up to 35 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
He was indicted by the Obama administration in 2010 under the Espionage Act and faced up to 35 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Eventually, the case collapsed and Drake pleaded guilty to one minor misdemeanor count, with all other charges dropped. Here, he says there may be justification for the NSA reorganization, but he’s skeptical about what it would accomplish and the rushed timeline for implementation.
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