Leak Culture Protects the Powerful
Excerpt: One recent story details the sufferings of Bryan Paarmann, whose name came out of a Freedom of Information Act request related to the investigation of FBI leaks. According to the Washington Examiner, “the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s international operations division from 2016 to 2017, ‘improperly disclosed court-sealed and law enforcement sensitive information to the media’ in violation of FBI rules.” Although Paarmann violated several laws, he was not prosecuted and simply resigned. In October 2018, Natalie Edwards, a senior advisor at the Department of Treasury’s financial crimes unit, was arrested for leaking “suspicious activity reports” related to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. These reports, which are not generated with any due process, are treated with the highest degree of secrecy by banks and the government. Naturally, these formed the basis of a hit job in Buzzfeed. In October of last year, Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Henry Frese was arrested on federal charges that he leaked classified information, including details of a foreign country’s weapons systems. He apparently was involved romantically with one of the reporters he leaked to. (...) Far from being a means of “speaking truth to power,” the chief motive of many leakers—just as with many turncoat spies—consists of the small indignities of office politics, anger at being passed over for promotions, ideological fervor, and simple vanity. [Loose lips can still sink ships. Ron P.]
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