Silenced: Three Whistleblowers Talk

By Catherine J. Frompovich

Before I tell you about the new movie highlighting three famous U.S. whistleblowers that opened in April 2014 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, please know that one of its main characters, CIA-torture-whistleblower John Kiriakou, now in prison, has experienced more harassment at the hands of those in charge at the federal prison in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and a concerted effort is being launched now to spare John Kiriakou any more such treatment.

Here’s the deal! Friday, May 9th, 2014, is designated as the day of action for John Kiriakou. Instead of my rewriting the story, I’d like to cut and paste what I received from Brian Sonenstein at FireDogLake.com regarding what happened to prompt an organized grand-scale, citizen action to get John relief from prison officials’ harassment:

John Kiriakou’s wife and 3 youngest children left at 5:00 in the morning to drive 210 miles to see him.

When they arrived, prison officials told them to leave because the visitation room was ‘too crowded.’ John’s family only gets to visit once a month, and he writes that, “My 7- year-old daughter and 2-year-old son cried all the way out the door.”

Of course, the room wasn’t actually crowded; aside from the fact that his family was among those who had traveled the furthest [sic] to see him, there were plenty of empty seats around the room. But then again, this isn’t about, as John writes, “the petty daily inconveniences that are a normal part of life here.” This is about a conscious effort to punish John Kiriakou for exercising his first amendment rights.

On Friday, May 9th, Firedoglake is organizing a Day of Action for John Kiriakou. We’re asking supporters to take a moment to drop by the local offices of their elected representatives and ask that they contact the Bureau of Prisons on John’s behalf.

I’ve included the link http://www.contactingthecongress.org/ where any member of the U.S. Congress can be contacted. When you click on your Congressperson’s name, his or her webpage opens. As you scroll down it, you can see the Congressperson’s Washington, DC and district office addresses that you can arrange to stop by and visit on May 9th. I’m planning on visiting mine. Will you?

Can you pledge to take a moment on May 9th to stop by your representatives’ local offices?

>>YES, I’ll visit my representatives’ offices in support of John Kiriakou.

>>I can’t make it, but I still want to help.

The Bureau of Prisons’ extralegal campaign to punish John Kiriakou for his free speech has gone on for far too long already. It’s time to get the BOP’s overseers in Congress involved in the fight for John’s fair treatment.

We’ve come up with a list of members of the House and Senate who we think might be willing to speak to the BOP on John’s behalf. They include members of the Judiciary and Appropriations committees that oversee the BOP; members of the influential Intelligence committees who have recently spoken out in support of whistleblowers and against the torture program John helped expose, and others. A few politicians like Ralph Nader, Rep. Jim Moran and Rep. Lloyd Doggett have already spoken out on John’s behalf, but we need many more to do the same.

The Bureau of Prisons could have honored their agreement to move him to a halfway house closer to home for the final 9 months of his sentence. Instead, it has opted to essentially — and repeatedly — spit in his face, offering him a mere 86 days alongside surprise cell searches, threats of ‘diesel therapy’ and fruitless attempts to turn fellow prisoners against him.

When John began speaking out about the Bureau’s shameless dishonesty, prison officials began a campaign of retaliation that has not let up despite direct appeals made by thousands of his supporters. If the Bureau of Prisons won’t listen to us, we’ll work to make sure they hear from their overseers in the federal government.

From the baseless use of the Espionage act to force him to enter a plea agreement, to the systematic destruction of his life to the unjust abuse he now faces regularly in prison, it’s no wonder why whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have opted to flee the country. This is what happens when whistleblowers ‘face the music’ in America.

We only have a few weeks left to convince the Bureau of Prisons to grant John Kiriakou his full 9 months in the halfway house. After that, every day he spends in prison is a day he could have been closer to his family had the BOP kept up their end of the deal.

Can you pledge to take a moment on May 9th to stop by your representatives’ local offices?

>>YES, I’ll visit my representatives’ offices in support of John Kiriakou.

Please read John’s Letter from Loretto, “Bureau of Prisons Throws CIA Torture Whistleblower John Kiriakou’s Children Out of Visitors Room” documenting how his family was treated.

The Movie

Now to the movie “Silenced” that opened to rave reviews. Coincidentally, the day that I’m writing this blog, I received a letter from John telling me “Tonight [4-20-14] is the premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival of the documentary “Silenced,” which is about Tom Drake, Jesselyn Radack, and me. I can’t wait to read the reviews, and my wife said the early press on the film includes Oscar buzz.”

In his letter to me, John mentioned that CodePink also have been working on John’s behalf. I signed the petition CodePink emailed to me.

Free Speech Zone with Alyona Mink interviewed the director of “Silenced,” James Spione and two of the main characters: Thomas Drake and Jesselyn Radack. Of course, John could not be on the interview set although he is spotlighted in “Silenced.” John’s story is the heart of the film, as he’s the one serving time in the federal pen at Loretto, Pennsylvania.

The movie tells interesting human stories about the three and what makes them tick. They are intimate stories about what they suffered at the hands of the U.S. government. Whistleblowers must become extinct, according to the federal government! Accordingly, and to make impressionable examples of how whistleblowers are treated, ‘enemies of the state’ are charged with the Espionage Act that is used as a lever, as in John’s case – and it works!

During the interview several things are pointed out:

• Torture is now referred to as “enhanced interrogation.”
• Freedom of the press might be at stake!
• The mainstream press had a very schizophrenic view of whistleblowers. However, the press is starting to wake up.
• The federal government has instituted the “Insider Threat Program” that jeopardizes any government employee who “talks” to anyone without government approval. Employees will lose their jobs and be prevented from working for the government.

What’s happened to the USA?

Resources:

2014 Tribeca Film Festival – the move Silenced
http://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/53208997c07f5df7d2000113-silenced

Naked Edge Films Movie, Silenced
http://nakededgefilms.com/films/silenced/

Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.