The Obama administration is attempting to silence government employees, past and present, from publicly discussing information released by whistleblowers.
A pre-publication review policy dated 8 April 2014 from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) details the agency’s strategy – that “ODNI personnel must not use sourcing that comes from known leaks or unauthorised disclosures of sensitive information.”
This means that ODNI’s current and former officials are now not only banned from citing whistleblowers’ disclosures, but from citing any journalism or writings based on unauthorised disclosures.
This policy follows a recent ODNI ban on officials at 17 agencies from discussing any “intelligence-related information” with journalists, whether that information is unclassified or not – unless authorised by the public affairs official or head of their department.
The directives constitute a restraint on the free speech of employees past and present, and demonstrates an aggressive denial of freedom of press and freedom of information – both internally and externally of US intelligence agencies.
Related articles:
Intelligence Policy Bans Citation of Leaked Material, by Charlie Savage, 8 May 2014, New York Times
Intelligence Chief Issues Limits on Press Contacts, by Charlie Savage, 21 April 2014, New York Times