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From 2001 through 2008, Mr. Drake was a senior executive at the National Security Agency (NSA) and served in various technical management and leadership capacities. While there he became a material witness and whistleblower for two 9/11 congressional investigations and a Department of Defense Inspector General audit of a failed multi-billion dollar flagship program called TRAILBLAZER as well as an operationally ready, highly innovative, revolutionary and breakthrough multi-million dollar intelligence data collection, processing and analysis system called THINTHREAD -- that was specifically designed to handle the massive data volumes and information flows of the Digital Age, with built-in 4th Amendment and privacy protection safeguards for U.S. Persons, but rejected by NSA. His recently concluded legal ordeal involving a targeted, multi-year, many millions of dollars federal government investigation and prosecution of him, ended when the Department of Justice dropped all of the felony charges in the indictment against him (including the Espionage Act) in a plea agreement to a minor misdemeanor. His case lies at the nexus of overreaching national security, the 1st and 4th Amendments, wrongdoing and illegalties cloaked in secrecy, overclassification, a unitary executive branch state secrets privilege hiding 'off the books' domestic warrantless wiretapping, electronic surveillance, eavesdropping and data mining, freedom of thought and association, as well as the alarming erosion of our civil liberties and the enshrined rights in the Constitution. Mr. Drake was the recipient of the 2011 Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize and currently works as an Expert at an Apple Retail Store in the greater D.C. area.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 17, 2018 National Security Trumps the Constitution
FISA Reauthorization Act, 4th Amendment, Privacy, Personal Rights, Secrecy, National Security, mass surveillance
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, May 16, 2016 Exposing Government Wrongdoing
actions by the government against those disclosing government wrongdoing are very troubling for the future of our own democracy, when exposing government criminality and those engaged in torture and mass surveillance is regarded by that same government as a criminal act.
(7 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 21, 2011 The Perfect Storm of Whistleblowing -- Our Duty, Our Dilemma
Today we assemble together at the center of a perfect storm for whistleblowing - defined by our conscience of duty to speak out while challenged by the real dilemma of making our world and our welfare a better place -- by placing at great risk our own personal and professional well-being.
I also stand and speak before you to sound the alarm and ring the warning bell regarding what power and politics will